The Scary and Safe World of Converging Media.

Marketing communications has seen an unprecedented shift in the way’s marketers pitch

products to consumers. This is to maintain relevance alongside the continual development of digital technologies in the modern world. This development and change in communication strategies has been labelled “convergence” to dictate how traditional media and digital media have been merged.

So, what’s new?

One of the biggest organisational shifts in the converging world of marketing is the rise of the “customer-centric” and “empowered consumer” models. The basis of these models is that in the modern world, consumers dictate the way products are made for them. Rather than the idea that producers make something, market it, and consumers buy it; it is more common to see brands producing what consumers are demanding. Consumers now have a platform through social media sites and webpages to be able to air any grievances or state their opinion of a product or brand to just about everyone with an internet access. This means that more than ever, organisations have to tentatively engage with their audience to meet satisfaction, otherwise the brand will suffer finically and haemorrhage their reputation.

Traditional Vs. Convergent

Well now we have the ground laid for converging media forms, how do we characterise them? As the name would state; traditional media refers to communication mediums that have been used for a very long time, since before the digital age. Although old, they are not obsolete though, a bit like your grandparents.

Traditional media refers to marketing forms like billboards, newspaper prints, television

broadcasts and radio ads. Traditional advertising form are generally produced by an

organisation with a larger advertising budget – as these forms are more expensive to create,

install, and upkeep. Convergent media, however, can cost a lot less and does not require various bodies to produce. Convergent media forms are based on digital platforms and are tightly wound to the innovations in technology. Examples of convergent media forms would be internet banner ads, social media posts, post notifications and EDMs.

What about the impact on traditional based business though?

Convergent media has a “use it or lose it” atmosphere surrounding its innovation. If a business cannot, or chooses not, to adopt or adapt its practices to include new digital media forms, that business is putting itself at a high risk of being forgotten in the modern world. In the simplest terms, if everyone is looking right, you’re not going to be seen standing on the left.

The Super-Computer

If you looked around your immediate surroundings, or put your hands in your pockets, 9/10

times there would be a mobile phone at arm’s length away. A whopping 61% of the world’s

population owns a mobile device, making them one of the most common items people use on a daily basis. Mobile phones have become a ubiquitous device in the modern age and have impacted heavily on convergent media forms. Due to them being used by everyone all the time, marketers are now able to sell to consumers basically 24/7. There are virtually no limits to what can be advertised to users anymore, and content can be tailored to specific segments of the consumer market.

That sounds like an invasion of privacy!

Well, it’s not. All users consent to marketing strategies when they sign up to digital media

platforms and hit “accept” on that ungodly amount of really fine print that no one really reads. But stress not savvy internet users, there is legislation that protects us from anything immoral or corrupt that extends past the T&Cs.

We have the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and the Privacy Act 1988 to stop the internet baddies. The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 is a document that outlines the rights that both businesses and consumers are entitled to when participating in the production, marketing and purchasing of a good or service. The ACCC’s 2010 act has the purpose of “enhancing the welfare of Australians through the promotion of competition and fair trading and provision for consumer protection”. The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) partners hand-in-hand with the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 as the ACCC’s document details how the ACL is applied in practice. Australian Consumer Law covers how consumers and producers/retailers are protected by law perceived through a business administration lens. This differs to the Australian Competition and Consumer Act 2010, as this document is more focussed around the individual rights that the consumer has in comparison to the producers or retailers of a product and service.

The Privacy Act 1988 details how the ACL is implemented in the field of online marketing with a heavy focus on the collection, storage and distribution of individual consumer details. As well as credit card information, tax file numbers and health information; many websites visited online will track consumer details about what they browse, the types websites they visit, the products they are searching for etc, and will use this information to create a digital ‘profile’. This information is highly valuable to marketers as it means marketing can be a streamlined process, heading straight to the desired target, knowing there is a high chance of that consumer becoming and hot lead. The Privacy Act 1988 is meant to protect consumers from ever having this information bought and sold through online traders, as the effects of having this information so readily available blurs the lines on both consumer and marketing ethics and morals.