Big Content, Marketing, and the Internet

The biggest way that the emergence of the Internet has impacted media is the way that brands interact in real time with their consumers. This has given marketers a powerful tool to reach their consumers with the content that they want in the medium that they prefer. Never before have marketers had the power to gain feedback instantaneously from their target demographic. Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and other social media sites have empowered both the marketer and the consumer. TV ads used to be the most effective medium to reach consumers because demographics could be measured. The price of a Super Bowl ad reflected this value to advertisers very well. However, Oreo found a new way to take advantage of a trending topic amongst a large demographic.

During the Superbowl game this year between the Ravens and 49ers, there was a blackout on the field. Instantly, Twitter filled up with people's reactions and clever comments about the blackout. Oreo, with quick wit and precision, tweeted this:

This has to represent one of the best examples in the Digital Age of viral marketing. Fast Company recently wrote about this clever Oreo play by examining the marketing theory that has been uncovered by a move such as this. Fast Company states, 

"As we think about the critical role data plays in real-time marketing, it’s important to ignore the non-essential “noise” and focus our attention on the key signals (i.e., social momentum, engagement, and velocity) that let us know our content is genuinely resonating with audiences--then act quickly to scale that experience as broadly as possible. Remember, nothing is formulaic (or predictable) in this space and the most effective real-time content strategy embraces a philosophy that imparts both data science and creativity to best drive brand impact."

They've figured out marketing gold. This quote is important for the internet, marketing, and media because it highlights the role of the consumer and his/her experiences. During the Super Bowl, hundreds of millions of people were tuned in and experiencing the same thing at the same time. If a brand can relate to their consumers on a personal level, they've done their job. Oreo aligned their product and message at the exact right moment with something that virtually the entire country had their attention focused on. Oreo got their message out swiftly, efficiently, and effectively. 

In a separate article by Fast Company, they talked about the relationship with big data and big content. Essentially, Fast Company defined big content as any content that users or consumers can interact with. When the interaction becomes "big" is when it can be transformed or manipulated by consumers and the brand loses sole custody of the content. They stated that the number of Google indexed pages rose from one trillion in 2008, and is expected to reach 30 trillion in 2013. It's a great example of demand for digital content growing at an incredible rate. The article from Fast Company argued,

"Consumers are hungry for more relevant content experiences, and some want a deeper experience with their favorite brands, which would drive consumption of brand-related content within social channels. That consumers can now participate in those conversations has also fueled growth. To feed this demand, marketers have increased their supply of content and continue to fill out the increasing number of channels with which their consumers engage."

We're seeing brands interacting with consumers are a lot of different mediums. Brands have strategy for TV, online, and social media platforms. The article from Fast Company also states that the cost for creating online content is low, and is decreasing over time. We could be on the verge of seeing the best creative advertisements being disseminated across multiple platforms simultaneously, with the consumer being told a story through the different channels. The case study from Fast Company gave the example of Lowe's. Lowe's showed how a home office could be doubled as a dining room. They put a slideshow online and showed the transformation of the room, and at the end, they put a "how-to" guide for a user to reference. Lowe's also put this in their e-newsletter so people could interact with that content digitally. It would be really easy to imagine that Lowe's could put all of that information on TV or in many different formats. 

People are using the internet in a lot of new ways, and marketers are taking advantage of this information and new advertising platforms in new ways. The demand for new and creative content is rising, and it's up to the marketers, the supply side, to keep up with the rising demand. I could easily see a world where marketers tell interactive stories across multiple platforms as the normal way a brand's message is communicated. Consumer preferences and habits are changing. Marketers are using big data, big content, and the internet to keep up with the dynamics. 

Shawn

Sources: http://www.fastcompany.com/3008486/oreos-dunk-dark-strategy-and-future-real-time-marketing

http://www.fastcompany.com/3008494/big-data-comes-big-content

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkantrowitz/2013/02/06/that-oreo-tweet-was-cool-but-is-real-time-marketing-worth-the-hype/