Without sounding like a fraggle, technology scares me a bit.
I was so reluctant to sign up to Twitter for fear of getting tangled in yet another social network, and I resent all the 5-year olds that can effortlessly navigate through an iPhone when I can't.
But if I really want to be in this industry, I need to embrace it. And in contrast to the constant pressure of keeping up with what's new, this vid gives me back the twinge of excitement about technology that I think I'd replaced with frustration.
Thursday 17 February 2011
Intuitive art direction
Of late, possibly because after Chris met with the headhunters IndigoMile who told him that if we walked into an agency proclaiming us both as copywriter's they'd laugh us out of the door, I've taken more of an interest in art direction.
During our One Day in January event, I visualised 4 storyboards within a couple of hours, when usually it would take me around two hours to visualise just one due to my complete rut in confidence when it comes to drawing. And if I'm honest, I didn't think they were half bad. I think my increasing interest in art direction is mainly due to necessity, partly curiousity but mostly my downright OCD drives me towards it. But I still believe a certain degree of good art direction is down to pure intuition.
The following ad is a brilliant demonstration of what I perceive to be intuitive art direction. Each frame is so beautifully shot that they could make still photos; a very Stanley Kubric-esque style of film-making. I have no idea how the art director, Shishir Patel of DDB London, knew what shots to film and how they'd come together to bring out such emotion, but he did, and they do.
During our One Day in January event, I visualised 4 storyboards within a couple of hours, when usually it would take me around two hours to visualise just one due to my complete rut in confidence when it comes to drawing. And if I'm honest, I didn't think they were half bad. I think my increasing interest in art direction is mainly due to necessity, partly curiousity but mostly my downright OCD drives me towards it. But I still believe a certain degree of good art direction is down to pure intuition.
The following ad is a brilliant demonstration of what I perceive to be intuitive art direction. Each frame is so beautifully shot that they could make still photos; a very Stanley Kubric-esque style of film-making. I have no idea how the art director, Shishir Patel of DDB London, knew what shots to film and how they'd come together to bring out such emotion, but he did, and they do.
Wednesday 5 January 2011
Seminar 3: The Gaze
 |
| Extra diegetic gaze - we are being addressed directly by the subject although she is in quite a provocative position so we may experience a feeling of guilt. Not me. |
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| Intra-diegetic gaze - we are looking at one subject looking at another. |
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| Suture - we are looking at the subject through the perspective of someone who's laying next to her. She appears relaxed in our company so we do not experience a feeling of guilt. |
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| Scopophilia - the pleasure of looking at others bodies as objects. Like cheeky little bunny rabbits for example. |
Looking at these different forms of the gaze was interesting in that it made tangible the connotations and feelings that are evoked each time we see an image, but are rarely conciously aware of. Such a high exposure to imagery in the media means that, after time, the emotions we feel towards each image become so ingrained that they become a natural response. This autonomy lessens our awareness of these emotions. Therefore, the lecture helped us to take a step back from the image and realise what it is that makes us feel a certain way. Especially beneficial for our understanding of art direction, which so often seems that it can't really be taught.
It's clear that from my selection of images, most types of gaze are evident in fashion and fragrence photography. 'The gaze' is not to be confused however with 'male gaze' which is shown in my choice of images. Although they link, the gaze as a concept can be related to any image. For example, the clearest example of where suture is used is in the comedy series Peep Show (below).
 |
| Peep Show - filmed entirely through suture gaze |
Although there are different types of gaze, that is not to say that only one type is visible in any given image. They can overlap. I scoured through http://www.genderads.com/Gender_Ads.com.html for ages trying to find images that most coherently showed only a single type of gaze. To me, extra-diegetic and suture forms of gaze both seem pretty much the same, the only separation being a feeling of guilt which I still find a bit ambiguous. Also, if referring to the 'male gaze', I think the different names for ways of looking merely rename what we already have words for e.g. extra-diegetic = perving, intra-diegetic = voyeurism, scopophila = fantasising.
One of the most interesting points I heard about ways of seeing is the idea that,"men look at women, whereas women look at themselves being looked at". I had never considered this outlook and discussing this with a couple of girls, after a bit of 'umm'ing and 'ahh'ing, they reluctantly agreed that there is an element of truth in it. This lecture will definately help me as an advertising creative to understand one way of portraying 'emotion' in advertising, but the idea of how women look at men is more relevant as a whole to advertising. Our industry strives to understand what people should really see when they see things. When you look at an Audi, you don't imagine yourself driving it, you imagine people looking at you driving it.
Wednesday 1 December 2010
Seminar 2: Critical Positions in the Media
What are the arguments and possibly evidence against the advertising industry being part of the Ideological State Apparatus (ISA)?
Marxism & Althusser
Althusser identified the 'Ideological State Apparatus' as, "the method by which organizations propagate ideology". In short, it is how institutions in society reinforce power structures. Manipulation without using force. In contrast to a 'Repressive State Apparatus', the ISA allows willing as opposed to forced compliance from the subjects.
From what I could gather from the lecture, Marx proposes that society structure is split into two levels: the base and the superstructure. The base relates to the productive element of society e.g. the tools/skills required to be productive and the relations that allow production to occur such as employer/employee. The superstructure being the institutions that control and enforce production. These institutions can include the army, the police, the NHS and any other institutions that force compliance. Some countries enforce National Service. If you break a law, you will be punished in the hope that you will behave as the 'superstructure' wants you to. Similarly if you need an injection to stop you dying, the NHS will perform it, regardless of if you'd prefer them not to. You are forced to comply.
The Press, News Corporation & Advertising
Comparitively to the opinions of others in the class, I initially disagreed in that advertising does not fall under either bracket. I understand that people don't willingly comply with advertising. I understand that the 5000 pieces of advertising that city-dwellers are exposed to each day doesn't make them dip into their pockets 5000 times. But surely, the purpose of advertising is to 'sell' your product, service or event and in turn, manipulate someone's behaviour. If someone decides to buy Cornflakes because they think it is a better start to morning than Weetabix, then they have willingly complied with Cornflakes' proposition and call to action. So in this sense, I do think that advertising can be seen as part of the ISA. It is only when I look at the views of individuals such as Herbert Marcuse that I differ in opinion. He states that, 'products indoctrinate and manipulate; they promote a false consciousness which is immune against its falsehood ... It becomes a way of life.'
Rupert Murdoch of News Corp is prime example of a position which holds a significant amount of influence over much of the media we receive. In the run up to the last general election, Murdoch's position allowed him to exert a massive editorial swing towards a conservative government in each of his papers. The worrying capabilities of his power over the general public triggered a response by Trevor Beattie and those at BMB, who created a viral campaign for the Independent to spread awareness of just how much of an influence Murdoch could have. With regard to the ISA, Beattie used his position in the advertising industry to warn the wider public, which I suppose demonstrates how advertising can be viewed as part of the ISA. More recently, leaked footage of Vince Cable declaring media warfare on Murdoch over a bid for Sky. The public realise that Cable's comment is justified. If Murdoch wins a bid for Sky, his excessive media ownership becomes yet more powerful, yet Cable has received endless amounts of bad press over his comments. Why? Unsurprisingly, each paper containing the bad coverage of Cable is owned by Murdoch.
Williamson & Semiology
Semiology, puts simply, is the study of signs. It offers 'a very full box of analytical tools for taking an image apart and tracing how it works in relation to broader systems of meaning'. With regard to advertising, Williamson (1978) claims that, '...advertisments are ubiquitous and thus appear autonomous'. This view is shared by Goldman, 'Ads saturate our lives'. Both use semiology as a method that can help them penetrate the aparent autonomy and reality of adverts. Judging by these opinions, it's clear that some people believe advertising holds a very prominent and influential position in the media. Williamson also argues that advertising restructures society. '...in the false categories invoked by advertising, to obscure the real structure of society by replacing class with the distinctions made by the consumption of goods. Thus, instead of being identified by what they produce, people are made to identify themselves by what they consume'.
Marxism & Althusser
Althusser identified the 'Ideological State Apparatus' as, "the method by which organizations propagate ideology". In short, it is how institutions in society reinforce power structures. Manipulation without using force. In contrast to a 'Repressive State Apparatus', the ISA allows willing as opposed to forced compliance from the subjects.
From what I could gather from the lecture, Marx proposes that society structure is split into two levels: the base and the superstructure. The base relates to the productive element of society e.g. the tools/skills required to be productive and the relations that allow production to occur such as employer/employee. The superstructure being the institutions that control and enforce production. These institutions can include the army, the police, the NHS and any other institutions that force compliance. Some countries enforce National Service. If you break a law, you will be punished in the hope that you will behave as the 'superstructure' wants you to. Similarly if you need an injection to stop you dying, the NHS will perform it, regardless of if you'd prefer them not to. You are forced to comply.
The Press, News Corporation & Advertising
Comparitively to the opinions of others in the class, I initially disagreed in that advertising does not fall under either bracket. I understand that people don't willingly comply with advertising. I understand that the 5000 pieces of advertising that city-dwellers are exposed to each day doesn't make them dip into their pockets 5000 times. But surely, the purpose of advertising is to 'sell' your product, service or event and in turn, manipulate someone's behaviour. If someone decides to buy Cornflakes because they think it is a better start to morning than Weetabix, then they have willingly complied with Cornflakes' proposition and call to action. So in this sense, I do think that advertising can be seen as part of the ISA. It is only when I look at the views of individuals such as Herbert Marcuse that I differ in opinion. He states that, 'products indoctrinate and manipulate; they promote a false consciousness which is immune against its falsehood ... It becomes a way of life.'
Rupert Murdoch of News Corp is prime example of a position which holds a significant amount of influence over much of the media we receive. In the run up to the last general election, Murdoch's position allowed him to exert a massive editorial swing towards a conservative government in each of his papers. The worrying capabilities of his power over the general public triggered a response by Trevor Beattie and those at BMB, who created a viral campaign for the Independent to spread awareness of just how much of an influence Murdoch could have. With regard to the ISA, Beattie used his position in the advertising industry to warn the wider public, which I suppose demonstrates how advertising can be viewed as part of the ISA. More recently, leaked footage of Vince Cable declaring media warfare on Murdoch over a bid for Sky. The public realise that Cable's comment is justified. If Murdoch wins a bid for Sky, his excessive media ownership becomes yet more powerful, yet Cable has received endless amounts of bad press over his comments. Why? Unsurprisingly, each paper containing the bad coverage of Cable is owned by Murdoch.
Williamson & Semiology
Semiology, puts simply, is the study of signs. It offers 'a very full box of analytical tools for taking an image apart and tracing how it works in relation to broader systems of meaning'. With regard to advertising, Williamson (1978) claims that, '...advertisments are ubiquitous and thus appear autonomous'. This view is shared by Goldman, 'Ads saturate our lives'. Both use semiology as a method that can help them penetrate the aparent autonomy and reality of adverts. Judging by these opinions, it's clear that some people believe advertising holds a very prominent and influential position in the media. Williamson also argues that advertising restructures society. '...in the false categories invoked by advertising, to obscure the real structure of society by replacing class with the distinctions made by the consumption of goods. Thus, instead of being identified by what they produce, people are made to identify themselves by what they consume'.
Tuesday 23 November 2010
Kim Papworth & Tony Davidson - case study of a creative team
Kim Papworth & Tony Davidson are joint creative directors of Wieden + Kennedy London.
As of last year, they were making partners of W+K Worldwide making them the first partners in a global ad agency network in 13 years. Quite a high accolade when measured against Dan Wieden words:
"If you want to be a partner at W&K you've got to be some kind of saint and some kind of crazy. No one exemplifies that more profoundly than Tony and Kim. They have raised the bar, broken rules, lifted hearts and shocked the world," (Guardian Online. 2009. [Accessed 24/11/2010]).
Kim started out as a mushroom farmer before leaving his fungi-ridden days for art college which led to a junior copywriting position at BMP. As for Tony, although his past is not quite as intriguing, he excelled at art and went on to study Design and Communication Media at Manchester Polytechnic before meeting Kim at BMP circa-1985. They are now both famed for their string of mould-breaking work for Honda including 'The Cog' and 'Hate something/Change something'. They also take credit for a body of Nike's work including the 'Run London' campaign, the iconic 'St Wayne' poster and over-seeing the recent 'Write The Future' campaign. Additional clients under the belt are VW, Adidas and Levi Jeans.
...On creative flow
According to Davidson, "it's a weird thing, a Yin/Yang balance. Kim is the quiet more observant one. A people watcher. Whereas I'm the bull in the china shop." He adds, "Kim's dyslexic and can't really write, and I'm not a great art director. But somehow it works." Davidson later comments that him and Papworth share the same values and same way of thinking. "When Kim and I were younger, we were award-driven and probably thought less about the product than we do now. But revolutionizing a brand is way bigger than any award." As their work for Honda proves, it's possible to have both. (Boards Magazine. 2004. [Accessed on 24/11/2010])
I couldn't find a quote from Papworth about their creative relationship so I guess he really is the quiet one. But in terms of creating ads he claims, "The client gives us the stuff we really need to know: for example, he'll come and relate to us exactly what an engineer at Honda has said about a particular car." (Harrison, S. 2009. pg. 49).
Their same way of thinking is clear, as Davidson's view on the importance of the client is that, "The DNA of the company is in its founders. Stick that culture on the walls around you and try to become that company emotionally. It stops you writing ads," (Times Online. 2008. [Accessed on 24/11/2010]).
For creativity as a whole, Davidson sticks to his three rules:
...On being creative directors
Having worked together in a variety of agencies with W+K proving to be their longest and most rewarding stint, what knowledge and experience have the team taken forward into their role as Creative Directors of the London offices and worldwide partners?
Davidson has the view that, “The temptation for creative directors is to take all the best briefs, but if you do that you are not allowing others to learn. The trick is to hire people who are better than you," (Times Online. 2008. [Accessed on 24/11/2010]).
Papworth's philisophy still holds creativity at it's heart: "Forget the theory that an agency has to have its pile of pooh. Why can't you be 100% creative?" (Boards Magazine. 2004. [Accessed on 24/11/2010]). He says the big kick is discovering the power of the brand's voice. If no one believes him, they need to go and take a look at how distinctive and well positioned Honda's voice is in relation to the rest of the car industry.
Sources:
As of last year, they were making partners of W+K Worldwide making them the first partners in a global ad agency network in 13 years. Quite a high accolade when measured against Dan Wieden words:
"If you want to be a partner at W&K you've got to be some kind of saint and some kind of crazy. No one exemplifies that more profoundly than Tony and Kim. They have raised the bar, broken rules, lifted hearts and shocked the world," (Guardian Online. 2009. [Accessed 24/11/2010]).
Kim started out as a mushroom farmer before leaving his fungi-ridden days for art college which led to a junior copywriting position at BMP. As for Tony, although his past is not quite as intriguing, he excelled at art and went on to study Design and Communication Media at Manchester Polytechnic before meeting Kim at BMP circa-1985. They are now both famed for their string of mould-breaking work for Honda including 'The Cog' and 'Hate something/Change something'. They also take credit for a body of Nike's work including the 'Run London' campaign, the iconic 'St Wayne' poster and over-seeing the recent 'Write The Future' campaign. Additional clients under the belt are VW, Adidas and Levi Jeans.
...On creative flow
According to Davidson, "it's a weird thing, a Yin/Yang balance. Kim is the quiet more observant one. A people watcher. Whereas I'm the bull in the china shop." He adds, "Kim's dyslexic and can't really write, and I'm not a great art director. But somehow it works." Davidson later comments that him and Papworth share the same values and same way of thinking. "When Kim and I were younger, we were award-driven and probably thought less about the product than we do now. But revolutionizing a brand is way bigger than any award." As their work for Honda proves, it's possible to have both. (Boards Magazine. 2004. [Accessed on 24/11/2010])
I couldn't find a quote from Papworth about their creative relationship so I guess he really is the quiet one. But in terms of creating ads he claims, "The client gives us the stuff we really need to know: for example, he'll come and relate to us exactly what an engineer at Honda has said about a particular car." (Harrison, S. 2009. pg. 49).
Their same way of thinking is clear, as Davidson's view on the importance of the client is that, "The DNA of the company is in its founders. Stick that culture on the walls around you and try to become that company emotionally. It stops you writing ads," (Times Online. 2008. [Accessed on 24/11/2010]).
For creativity as a whole, Davidson sticks to his three rules:
- Collect everything (hence his passion for scrapbooks and flea-markets)
- Surround yourself with inspiring things and inspiring people
- Get out of the office.
...On being creative directors
Having worked together in a variety of agencies with W+K proving to be their longest and most rewarding stint, what knowledge and experience have the team taken forward into their role as Creative Directors of the London offices and worldwide partners?
Davidson has the view that, “The temptation for creative directors is to take all the best briefs, but if you do that you are not allowing others to learn. The trick is to hire people who are better than you," (Times Online. 2008. [Accessed on 24/11/2010]).
Papworth's philisophy still holds creativity at it's heart: "Forget the theory that an agency has to have its pile of pooh. Why can't you be 100% creative?" (Boards Magazine. 2004. [Accessed on 24/11/2010]). He says the big kick is discovering the power of the brand's voice. If no one believes him, they need to go and take a look at how distinctive and well positioned Honda's voice is in relation to the rest of the car industry.
'Mutual pushing is the way they work. They're hands-on with their creatives but from the start at W+K, resolved not to write ads themselves. "We aren't the best writers or art directors," says Davidson. "But we've done both so we know the way to make people grow and develop is to push, let them express themselves." Their job is to make sure it's right for the brand.'
(Boards Magazine. 2004. [Accessed on 24/11/2010])
Sources:
- Boards Magazine. Cut The Shit. 2004. [Accessed on 24/11/2010] http://www.boardsmag.com/articles/magazine/20040901/papworthdavidson.html
- Guardian Media Online. Wieden + Kennedy name new partners. 2009. [Accessed on 24/11/2010] http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/mar/16/wieden-kennedy-names-partners
- Times Online. Advertising creative Tony Davidson's search for inspiration. 2008. [Accessed on 24/11/2010] http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/article4944062.ece
- Harrison, S. How to do better creative work. 2009. Pearson Education LTD. Gosport, GB
A life of Heinz
After watching Crash with the class a week ago, I left the theater with a funny feeling.
The monologues towards the end of the play encompassed both capitalist and communist views of the economic meltdown. As far from being on the banker's side that I am, he did speak some sense. I remember a bit where he said of society, something like...
...nothing stopped you buying up the world did it. You were more than happy to go out trying on new dresses, sitting in new cars and wearing new jewelery, not giving a fuck about anyone else. And then as soon as the good times stop, when someone's got to face the music, you all want someone to blame. And you turn to us, and expect an apology, as though we're the crash. You my friends are the crash. We're all the crash.
The most prominent ideal dissected by the production seemed to be the question: What does money mean? For example, at one point there is a discussion between the banker and his artist friend about value. The banker makes a statement that there is no true way to distinguish the value of someones work.
We can never say if someone deserves what they earn, they simply earn what they can get.
Inevitably the question of 'what it money worth?' looms closer. How is it that a homeless person, merely grateful for his health, can be happier than someone with a personal fortune of millions?
After watching the play, I got 'the urge'. You know the the urge that I'm sure everyone occurs at some point during their life: The urge to just burn all of my material possessions, start wearing skatty tye-dye t-shirts, start eating grass and feeding off love and dance.
It made me question the whole industry that I aspire to go into. If possessions are in fact meaningless, then what am I doing dedicating my life to generating ideas in order to sell everyday products that no one really needs anyway?
I started to picture a horrible existence... In years to come, I'd win a pitch for the Heinz account. I'd go out with the agency and celebrate with champagne and the leggy account girls.
But take a step back, and what kind of existence is that - the privilege of selling beans and sauce to people who quite frankly, could easily cope in a world without?
And so what if it's the best beans and sauce. The pinnacle of my career would have come down to securing the privilege of giving a voice to one of the many tins of beans in a supermarket aisle. And I wanted to be someone significant??
At this point I got the shudders, quickly realised I was getting too deep and then tried to remind myself that giving a voice to beans would actually be quite fun. Still...
The monologues towards the end of the play encompassed both capitalist and communist views of the economic meltdown. As far from being on the banker's side that I am, he did speak some sense. I remember a bit where he said of society, something like...
...nothing stopped you buying up the world did it. You were more than happy to go out trying on new dresses, sitting in new cars and wearing new jewelery, not giving a fuck about anyone else. And then as soon as the good times stop, when someone's got to face the music, you all want someone to blame. And you turn to us, and expect an apology, as though we're the crash. You my friends are the crash. We're all the crash.
The most prominent ideal dissected by the production seemed to be the question: What does money mean? For example, at one point there is a discussion between the banker and his artist friend about value. The banker makes a statement that there is no true way to distinguish the value of someones work.
We can never say if someone deserves what they earn, they simply earn what they can get.
Inevitably the question of 'what it money worth?' looms closer. How is it that a homeless person, merely grateful for his health, can be happier than someone with a personal fortune of millions?
After watching the play, I got 'the urge'. You know the the urge that I'm sure everyone occurs at some point during their life: The urge to just burn all of my material possessions, start wearing skatty tye-dye t-shirts, start eating grass and feeding off love and dance.
It made me question the whole industry that I aspire to go into. If possessions are in fact meaningless, then what am I doing dedicating my life to generating ideas in order to sell everyday products that no one really needs anyway?
I started to picture a horrible existence... In years to come, I'd win a pitch for the Heinz account. I'd go out with the agency and celebrate with champagne and the leggy account girls.
But take a step back, and what kind of existence is that - the privilege of selling beans and sauce to people who quite frankly, could easily cope in a world without?
And so what if it's the best beans and sauce. The pinnacle of my career would have come down to securing the privilege of giving a voice to one of the many tins of beans in a supermarket aisle. And I wanted to be someone significant??
At this point I got the shudders, quickly realised I was getting too deep and then tried to remind myself that giving a voice to beans would actually be quite fun. Still...
How social is social media?
Seth Godin might be a name that rings a bell.
I recognised the name upon reading it, but didn't know where from or why.
Turns out he was the author of Permission Marketing (1999), which proved to be "an all out attack on what he called 'interruption marketing', or all that traditional offline creative work" (Harrison, S. 2009. pg. 11). His argument being that society's gradual departure from the real world into Cybersphere, means that a spawning of technologically empowered consumers will sought only to let the messages into their life that they wish to receive. To put it bluntly, any form of offline marketing was a dying art.
But before getting carried away with thinking that every message we want to broadcast needs to have a Facebook group and around-the-clock Twitter feed, let look at some of the facts:
Social networking
Research conducted by Forrester Techno-graphics found that only 25 per cent of the total number of UK internet users use social networking sites once a month or more. The remaining 75 per cent use them either once a month or not at all. The majority of those using social networking sites on a daily basis are aged 16-24 and predominantly students, therefore, in the interests of media planners, pretty tight for cash.
Blogging
IPA-sponsored research (pub. Jan 2009) shows that of the UK's online consumers, a mere 2.8 per cent bother to blog. Only 8.8 per cent read them and only 3.7 per cent comment. So even though I feel my personal blog is caught like a rabbit in the headlights amidst the Blogging motorway, maybe I should stop thinking 'everyone has a blog so why bother...' when in reality most people don't. I should also be less concerned with whether people read what I write - especially when so few read them anyway - and just be pleased that I do have something to show the people who want to read what I write.
Forums
In the same IPA-sponsored research, a lowly 6.5 per cent of UK online consumers contribute to online chat rooms and discussion forums. Again, a tiny fraction.
This goes to show two things.
1) That there is still an incredibly large un-digital market out there for what are known as the 'massive passives'. In fact, according to a book called Groundswell (Li, C. Burnoff, J. 2008) even within the digital community 53 per cent of these are still regarded as massive passives.
2) Regardless of the medium used, the most successful pieces of work always have a strong idea at their core. Alix Pennycuick, the new creative director of Publicis Modem (Publicis' digital arm) underlines this notion in Campaign magazine's 'Digital Essays' (pub. 2009),
"It's the same challenge we have always faced: how to capture the public's imagination in the first place ... We need to forget ATL and BTL, online or offline and remember that, above anything else, it is the quality and creativity of the content that creates breakthrough experiences today."
I recognised the name upon reading it, but didn't know where from or why.
Turns out he was the author of Permission Marketing (1999), which proved to be "an all out attack on what he called 'interruption marketing', or all that traditional offline creative work" (Harrison, S. 2009. pg. 11). His argument being that society's gradual departure from the real world into Cybersphere, means that a spawning of technologically empowered consumers will sought only to let the messages into their life that they wish to receive. To put it bluntly, any form of offline marketing was a dying art.
But before getting carried away with thinking that every message we want to broadcast needs to have a Facebook group and around-the-clock Twitter feed, let look at some of the facts:
Social networking
Research conducted by Forrester Techno-graphics found that only 25 per cent of the total number of UK internet users use social networking sites once a month or more. The remaining 75 per cent use them either once a month or not at all. The majority of those using social networking sites on a daily basis are aged 16-24 and predominantly students, therefore, in the interests of media planners, pretty tight for cash.
Blogging
IPA-sponsored research (pub. Jan 2009) shows that of the UK's online consumers, a mere 2.8 per cent bother to blog. Only 8.8 per cent read them and only 3.7 per cent comment. So even though I feel my personal blog is caught like a rabbit in the headlights amidst the Blogging motorway, maybe I should stop thinking 'everyone has a blog so why bother...' when in reality most people don't. I should also be less concerned with whether people read what I write - especially when so few read them anyway - and just be pleased that I do have something to show the people who want to read what I write.
Forums
In the same IPA-sponsored research, a lowly 6.5 per cent of UK online consumers contribute to online chat rooms and discussion forums. Again, a tiny fraction.
This goes to show two things.
1) That there is still an incredibly large un-digital market out there for what are known as the 'massive passives'. In fact, according to a book called Groundswell (Li, C. Burnoff, J. 2008) even within the digital community 53 per cent of these are still regarded as massive passives.
2) Regardless of the medium used, the most successful pieces of work always have a strong idea at their core. Alix Pennycuick, the new creative director of Publicis Modem (Publicis' digital arm) underlines this notion in Campaign magazine's 'Digital Essays' (pub. 2009),
"It's the same challenge we have always faced: how to capture the public's imagination in the first place ... We need to forget ATL and BTL, online or offline and remember that, above anything else, it is the quality and creativity of the content that creates breakthrough experiences today."
Sources:
- Harrison, S. How to do better creative work. 2009. Pearson Education LTD. Gosport, GB.
- Li, C. & Burnoff, J. Groundswell. 2008. Harvard Business School Press. US.
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