too much e-marketing?

Electronic marketing has contributed vast amounts of positive value to the life of modern societies. It assists in the purchasing of goods at little cost without limit or restrictions. It allows the user to easily compare goods between companies in relation to price, model, location, etc. all from the comfort of their home/office. e-Marketing has quashed the monopoly of goods and materials, all which have resulted in benefits for the consumer

Although e-marketing is perceived to have all these strong positive associations, there are many disadvantages that a coupled to it as well. Privacy of the consumer has been deleted as all movements through the internet are traceable and under control, not to mention such acts of hackers and false merchants who reveal private information and credit card details. Facebook for example, has the right to access all of your “private” information; despite it appearing confidential. Should they have so much power, even though you agreed to the contract that allows them to do so?

Agents, merchants, ‘middle men’, have been vanquished, whole industries downsized, because it gives consumers the chance for direct contact with the producer of the goods they are seeking. This technology has been blamed for the downturn of retail, as consumers can purchase the same goods online, with less effort and at a lower cost. Small businesses, have struggled to compete with the mass providers, as they cannot compete on cost.

E-marketing is no doubt here to stay and is evolving at a rampant rate, but have society, jumped behind e-marketing too much, with a lack of regard for the repercussions it may have on you and greater society? Do we need to think more about our actions on the internet? How will it affect the future?

YouTube, possibly the greatest online invention ever?

Video assignment, from class.

thoughts?

future of ads?

More and more companies are choosing to advertising on the internet.

Companies do no longer have to fork out large amounts of money for advertising space to have their ads shown on T.V. as advertising on the internet can occur at little or no cost.

The internet is able to provide unique ad formats that reward the viewer, and are sought out by consumers rather than forced upon them like on the TV. By targeting individual segments, companies would be able to gain the attention of their market segment, without the consumer having to sift through ads on TV until they find something that attracts them. Targeting customers with greater ease, becoming more engaging and being much more entertaining, internet advertising has the potential to threaten the existence of advertising on television.

Ads like the two below are unique, internet only ads that were not intended to appear on television. Instead of being missed due to television watchers skipping over ads, muting the TV, or simply switching to another channel while the ad break was on, they have been sought out by millions of viewers on the internet, gaining a cult following and really promoting strong brand image.

With new technology such as digital television, smart televisions, and ad free media on the internet, is the existence of TV ads slowly on the way out? Do they have to become more unique and engaging to compete against the internet? Which do you think is more effective, ads that are sought out, or ads that are forced upon you?

Extinction of text books?

As we all know, bookstore magnates such as Angus & Robertson and Borders have gone bust, due to the emergence of e-books.

Modern technology has provided us with access to tablets such as the Kindle and iPad which offer the reader easy access to novels, newspapers and magazines, at an extremely low cost.

From this we all know books are becoming outdated, as they are large, heavy and in comparison, extremely expensive to their electronic counterparts. Despite these trends Textbooks seem to have prevailed thus far in universities and colleges all over the world. But why is it then that universities and colleges around the world have stuck with the traditional books and is this tradition short lived?

Publishing companies are able to maximize the costs of textbooks due to little switching costs presented by the universities compulsory reading lists, and students are the ones forking out the bills. The high turnover of text books and the fact they become outdated almost as soon as they are released, does not allow students to make the most of reselling their textbooks.

Why should students be satisfied with stagnant, rapidly outdated, heavy textbooks that can cost almost as much as the course fees alone, especially when there could be a much cheaper and just as effective alternative option available.

Amazon.com offer’s rental textbooks on their Kindle device, with savings of up to 80% this is very attractive for students as there is no risk of the text book becoming outdated as you only rent the book for as long as you need it.

Some universities have adopted these innovations; Oxford university and The Open University has contributed free, open eBooks to iTunes, allowing students free access to some of the textbooks; By 2015, all of South Korea’s school-age curriculum will be delivered on an array of computers, smart phones and tablets. 

Should the rest of the world take note and follow?

Will all text books become digital? Do you want them to?

Still Free

As the world of marketing evolves online, new, intriguing ways to market a brand must be invented to help separate the best.

In response to lukejohnnewman's  post regarding a clever marketing campaign adopted by The Chaser, where they rented space on a billboard in the middle of Iraq for a small sum of $150. An innovative approach which surely turned enough heads.

This got me thinking of other internet phenomena, that have turned heads, to promote or market a brand.

In 2006, Marc Ecko, a well known artist and fashion designer, decided to commit a heinous crime all for a bit of publicity for his website stillfree.com.

 

Now most of you may already have seen this and know that its not entirely real.

But just have a look at how much of a scene it made...

Although the cost of this marketing ploy, has greatly dwarfed that of The Chaser's. The main lesson to take from these campaigns, is that you should strive to be innovative, invest in creativity, do something different, be controversial without
defaming anything and allow the imagination of the reader/viewer, to explore. This, will give your brand a big edge on the competition.

Can  you think of any others? let me know.

Searching for answers...

Blogging allows us to communicate our thoughts about anything we feel necessary to communicate.

Although some blogs may not aim to attract too many different opinions, the main focus is to facilitate communication between the reader and the owner of the site. Once the reader has made a connection with the blog the interest to read further posts would increase. This connection tends to develop into a communal forum where blog owners read and comment on each other’s blogs while linking to those of their choosing through discussion.

But what to blog about is the question? And what makes people ‘+1’ or ‘like’ the comments you publish? What makes your piece stand out from the endless lists of blogs that plague the internet? Hopefully this will help me and any other strugglers who may be finding it hard to get the ball rolling….

The best advice given on most ‘how to blog’ sites, exclaimed that it is essential to find your own voice, your own perspective and never try to mimic the words of others. This blog promises to do just that.

As a first time blogger, it was hard to come to an agreement with myself about what my first blog should contain (hence the delay).

After intense thought I asked myself this…

Do I jump straight into a topic which I’m most passionate about and provide a very biased one sided view of my account on the subject? Do I take an idea from someone else, partially plagiarise, flip it around to make it look like my own piece of prose, hoping to look original and gain some attention with some pretty pictures or videos? Do I leave it open, keep it balanced, and general hoping not to piss any one off? Or do I attempt to grab the attention of potential followers by appealing to a broad scope of interests that are common among most?

Tough decisions when your name is being attached to the blog for everyone to judge, critique, chew up and spit out straight back at you.

After some serious deliberation my blogging destiny finally emerged from the clouds and shone light onto my blank screen.

And it came to one idea.

Feed me…..

Feed me some food, some food for thought.

I was once told that many companies develop products and then attempt to match them to the needs and wants of the consumers. I pledge to stand against this, and do exactly exactly the opposite.

I commend you to post anything you like in the comments below that you would like to appear in the next post. And I do mean anything, from content, to style, video or script you name it. For this blog shall be a blog of the people, it shall not conform to a single theme or to the ideas of a lone individual. It will take the shape and form of the class of MKF3881. It will represent you. 

But most of all it will be….. (insert comments below)