online tv viewing / the tipping point.

Interesting Trend: Online TV Viewing

Online TV viewing has significantly grown in popularity, particularly in the past year. This trend is best exemplified by websites such as Hulu, Fancast, and the numerous broadcast sites, (ABC, NBC, etc.) The convenience and ease of online TV viewing is both attractive to consumers and advertisers. Online TV viewing allows advertisers the opportunity to insert brief, (or sometimes not-so-brief,) advertisements at periodic intervals throughout the program. I personally watch several TV shows online on a fairly regular basis and have noticed a definite increase in the frequency of advertisements shown during my "viewing experiences." Furthermore, there is a lot of repetition associated with online TV advertisements, (which although extremely annoying can effectively spread awareness of the advertised brand/product/service.)

The Tipping Point

In his book, The Tipping Point, Malcom Gladwell explores the concept of change and why/how it happens. Gladwell places emphasis on three primary laws regarding the tipping point, all of which are applicable to social media.

1. The Law of the Few: change or movements that result in reaching the tipping point are caused by a small group of influential individuals. This concept reminds me of "the talkers" of a company or brand. It only takes a few influencers or effective brand ambassadors to create awareness of a company, brand or emerging trend.

2. The Stickiness Factor: when something, (a brand, company, product, service,) is communicated or introduced in a unique manner, it is much more memorable. The result is greater influence and a higher likelihood of something gaining popularity and becoming the new phenomenon or trend. This notion is clearly illustrated by viral videos, such as the Blendtec "Will it Blend?" guy or the Old Spice man.

3. The Power of Context: the environment a trend is introduced into has a huge impact on the success of said trend. The Broken Windows Theory Gladwell mentions certainly applies to social media—it is important to maintain a hospitable and welcome online environment, (whether it be a website, Facebook, or Twitter.) It is in a company's best interest to keep its online forums current and up-to-date and control spam or other unwanted distractions.

What I Learned During Class: Number One

When I first signed up for this class, several weeks ago, I assumed the course contents would be applicable to my current internship position with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. {I assumed correctly and am looking forward to utilizing anything and everything I learn this quarter to help out M-A-W!} After yesterday evening's session, I am now confident that what I gain from this class will also be highly relevant to my future career in marketing/advertising.

First Impressions

I enjoyed the format of yesterday's introductory class. The mix of video and PowerPoint was engaging and really held my interest. The brief introduction given on Andy Sernovitz's book gave me a nice preview of some of the concepts we will be covering this quarter. I definitely left the classroom intrigued by the general concept of word of mouth marketing. I've heard of social media marketing and viral marketing, amongst others, but have never formally been introduced to word of mouth marketing.

What I Learned

The most important thing I learned during this first class is conceptually quite simple, but has the potential to completely alter the current marketing environment. "Think as an internet user rather than as a marketer." i.e. Be your own customer! As was pointed out during class, many companies rely on one-way means of communication, often overwhelming consumers with unsolicited, ineffective advertisements. It is to everyone's benefit for a company to connect and converse with its consumers. An example of a company that does an outstanding job of communicating with its consumers is Old Spice. Last year's "Old Spice Man" YouTube videos almost instantly became a viral sensation. But Old Spice didn't just bask in the success of its online campaign; it creatively responded to its consumers comments with humorous, personalized internet responses. view here

...Looking forward to an enjoyable quarter!