Mass Media (7/10)
Our discussion on mass media started out how television and radio had a major impact on people’s lives; we saw this blown-up in one of the most famous scenes in movie history in the film Network. Today we realize that radio and television don’t have the same power that they used to. This is also true with magazines, newspapers, and any some may even argue the internet. There is no doubt that there are challenges today in order to target a general audience when everything has become so fragmented in terms of ways to reach audiences. One way that advertisers, marketers, and public relations personnel are reaching audiences is by using guerilla tactics to reach audiences. I saw some amazing guerilla marketing done by the American Red Cross in an old issue of Communication Arts. This is a link to a blog that posts some interesting guerilla marketing and advertising to entice potential consumers to famous name-brand items.
http://www.funnymos.com/guerilla-ads.html
Guerilla and viral marketing and advertising are areas that I see myself in the future. I’m intrigued by how creative people can get in hope for you to recognize and be aware of their product. Some see this approach as just more “noise” or a desperate approach, but in their defense, this approach has to exist today since we’ve become so numb to conventional methods of communication that radio and television once utilized in the past.
