First of all, this piece of work will introduce and define between three different forms of communication: one-to-one, one-to-many and many-to-many. It will be discussed their evolution over the past years regarding brand marketing communications, analysing which ones are the most suitable forms in today’s rapidly pacing world, through the help of concrete examples to further justify information. The continuously increasing importance of social media and the concepts of digital natives and digital immigrants will form key points of this evaluation, to develop better understanding why specific forms of brand communications prevailed over others.
Introduction and overview
This essay will at first give definitions of the three different forms of communication analysed. In one-to-one communication only one individual communicates with another and the message could be tailored. One-to-many communication refers to a communicative act in which only one person is entitled to be the sender and is allowed to publish information to recipients. Sometimes it is difficult to know whether the targets actually receive the messages. In many-to-many communication each participating person can post messages and each person can receive messages. This form has evolved recently with the increased use of social media networks, that enable users to have conversations with large audiences.
After we have briefly defined these three forms, we analyse the evolution of brand communications during the past years. We come out of a time where mass media communication channels, such as TV, radio, print media etc, were considered vital to any brand that intended its external communications seriously. This came as a result of those brands needing to convey their brand messages and promises to as much of the market as possible, in an attempt to connect with as many of their target audience as possible. As time passed and branded mass marketing continued to rise, consumers began to experience what has now become known as “commercial clutter”, the overwhelming sensation of being bombarded with mass marketing campaign messages from all corners of the marketplace. The way in which those brands communicated had to be re-evaluated in order to ensure maximum bang for their buck.
Over the past few years, brands have had to rethink their communications campaign strategies and the channels of communication they utilise to engage with their consumers. This leaded to new forms of communications whom brands can break through the “commercial clutter”, ensuring that target audiences not only understand brand messages and promises, but also creates an engagement with brands in an attempt to create stronger and meaningful relationships with consumers. Fast-paced technological advancement created what nowadays is being referred to as “digital disruption”, where consumers have become incredibly selective about the information they choose to pay attention to and brands have to improve their market segmentation strategy.
These advances in technology have led us to become more connected than we have ever been: since we are beginning to lose the amount of real interaction we have with each other, brands opt to connect with customers digitally through social media. We are moving towards an era where digital media is essentially the primary form of interaction between a brand and its consumers. Brands who truly want to stay relevant look for ways to target each individual consumer on a personal level. This type of B2C (brand-to-consumer) communications tactic means that brands have more opportunities to tailor their communications to each individual consumer’s needs and wants.
In conclusion, brand communications have come a long way from what it used to be. While in the past it may have been all about selling product and increasing market share, these days brands are required to act responsibly as citizens of our community with whom we can build sustainable relationships that add value to all parties involved.
One-to-One, One-to-Many and Many-to-Many communications
Before going specific into the analysis of the evolution of brand marketing communications, it is important to differentiate between the three main forms of communication analysed. Here follow the definitions given by Heidi Cohen in her “Actionable Marketing Guide” (2018):
1. One-to-One: this form of communications is very targeted and can even be customer initiated. As a result, it is more relevant to the customer and has more likelihood of being read and acted upon by the recipient.
2. One-to-Many: this is the traditional advertising model where marketers blast out a promotional message. The message goes in one direction. In most cases, it is difficult to determine whether the audience actually receives the message. Further, many consumers do not trust this type of messaging.
3. Many-to-Many: this is a new form of communication that has evolved recently with the increased use of social media networks that enable users to have conversations with large audiences, some of whom may only listen and some of whom may react. This form of communications can be difficult for marketers since participants expect that everyone has the right to communicate and that no one should dominate the conversation. Further, it is poor form to use this vehicle to just feed your promotional message. By participating, marketers can effectively engage with customers and build their brand while gathering input about their product offering.
Figure 1 shows a chart to further explain how these different communications forms interact within a concrete marketing plan.
Figure 1
The evolution of brand communications
Taking into consideration these three definitions, the evolution of brand marketing communications led us to an environment that has changed enormously from what it was fifty, thirty or perhaps even as few as ten years ago. Technology and the Internet are fundamentally changing the way the world interacts and communicates. Traditional advertising media such as TV, radio, magazines and newspapers merely lost their grip on consumers. These dramatic changes have eroded the effectiveness of mass media communications (O’Leary, 2003; Bianco, 2004; Pendleton, 2004).
In 1960, Procter & Gamble (P&G) could reach 80% of US women with one 30-second Tide commercial aired simultaneously on only three TV networks: NBC, ABC and CBS. Today, the same ad would have to run on 100 channels to achieve this marketing feat. So, although 90% of P&G’s global ad spending was on TV in 1994, one of its most successful brand launches in history, for Prilosec OTC in 2003, allocated only about one-quarter of its spending to TV.
A number of forces have contributed to the decline of TV advertising (Briggs and Stuart, 2006; Klaassen, 2006; Story, 2007b). One is the fragmentation of US audiences with the advent of digital technology and the Internet. There is a proliferation of media and entertainment options, from hundreds of cable and satellite TV and radio stations and thousands of magazines and webzines to uncountable websites, blogs, video games and cell phone screens. Digital video recorders (DVRs) or personal video recorders (PVRs) allow consumers to eliminate commercials with the push of a fast forward button and were estimated to be in 40% to 50% of US households by 2010. For all these reasons and others, McKinsey projected that by 2010, traditional TV advertising would have been one-third as effective as it was in 1990.
“Commercial clutter” is rampant and it seems the more consumers tune out marketing appeals, the more marketers try to dial them up. The average city dweller is now exposed to 3000 to 5000 ad messages a day. Ads in almost every medium and form have been on the rise, but many consumers feel they are becoming increasingly invasive and actively avoid or ignore them (Petrecca, 2006; Story, 2007a), reducing their effectiveness. Although advertising is often a central element of a marketing communications program in this new communication era, it is usually not the only one or even the most important one in terms of building brand equity and driving sales. Moreover, integrating marketing communications involves mixing and matching different communication options to establish the desired awareness and image in the minds of consumers.
Brands have been using product-focused messaging for a long time. The main aims were to sell products and increase market share, securing maximum range from their actions. This not the case anymore because new brand communications trends emerged to break through the “commercial clutter”, seeking to a better engagement and more meaningful relationships with consumers through brand proof of their promises. For instance, storytelling is an extremely important trend in brand communications. Storytelling is focused on a narrative and how that narrative engages your audience. It is bigger than what a brand is or what a brand does. It goes deeper than messaging ever could. And it has a longer shelf-life, making a lasting impact that prompts action and loyalty over time. Brands have been utilizing common channels such as websites, blogs, social, and videoto tell stories for years, but some of the most interesting brand storytelling happening today is venturing into new technological territory (Anderson, 2016).
Consumer brand Patrón created an immersive VR story called “The Art of Patrón” about their tequila craft earlier in 2016. The film explores the process they use to create their product, from agave farming to bottling. The viewer participates in the story from the perspective of a bee flying around Patrón’s villa in Mexico, adding a whimsical element to the experience. Interactive web technology has been around for over two decades, but brands have only recently begun to leverage the power of interactivity to tell more immersive, personalized stories. Universal Music Group has decades worth of fascinating stories about their artists and albums. The team created interactive experiences to promote specific albums and playlists. One of their latest microsites, World on a String, tells the story of Frank Sinatra’s acts of charity as he toured throughout his career. Each location features media, a short story, and photos from Sinatra’s visit, giving the viewer a chance to see and hear what fans experienced around the world.
The role of social media and the concepts of digital natives and immigrants
In this fast-paced technological context, it is fundamental to analyse the increasing importance of social media. Digital media is becoming the primary form of interaction between a brand and its consumers, and add to the number and nature of voices that may participate in the construction of reality (Berger and Luckmann, 1966). Social media are social to the extent that they include more people as participants in important rituals of communication and as agents in the social construction of reality. Social media are a particularly rich source of data and metadata about the everyday practices in and through which people become and remain social. Like other data, metadata are transmitted; they are accumulated and they carry over to later instances of communication, as exemplified by Facebook’s EdgeRank algorithm (Bucher, 2012). Social media recognize far more voices than either mass media or interpersonal media: they extend communicative agency involving all forms of communication (one-to-one, one-to-many and many-to-many). Popularity of brand messages and the reach of target audiences depends on consumer engagement in social media. Therefore, many business companies are seeking to increase an impact on consumers using social media analysis and consumer engagement techniques. In the existing studies dealing with social media, the emphasis is also on consumer marketing and product brands.
The big consumer brands such as Coca Cola, Nike, Pringles, and Ben & Jerry’s have all gained their presence in social media and taken advantage of it for years now. End customers are best reached through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and communication in these channels should be done in an easy-to-understand way. It is important to express the brand of an organization through design, look and feel, personality, and voice. An efficient way to conduct corporate brand communication in social media is to build a sense of community around the ideology behind the products and the industry. According to sproutsocial.com index, honesty is the number one trait consumers want from brands on social, followed by friendliness and helpfulness (Figure 4). For instance, Taco Bell’s posts resonate with its audience because the company has been consistent and it feels authentic. Another example is WeWork. If you look at the WeWork Twitter account, you’ll find plenty of Tweets that speak directly to the company’s main demographic, which is entrepreneurs pursuing their passions. Their social media voice is genuine and authentic to the brand.
Figure 2
Two other important concepts in the analysis of how social media have changed brand communication are the ones of digital natives and digital immigrants. Digital natives are generally born after the 1980s and they are comfortable in the digital age, because they grew up using technology, while digital immigrants are those who are born before 1980s and they are fearful about using technology. Digital immigrants were not raised in a digital environment. The term digital immigrant mostly applies to individuals who were born before the spread of the digital technology and who were not exposed to it at an early age. Digital natives are the opposite of digital immigrants, they have been interacting with technology from childhood.
New technologies have been a defining feature in the lives of younger generations in a way that they predict a fundamental change in the way young people communicate, socialize, create and learn. The Internet has reshaped the way information are searched and the way of thinking. Digital natives, according to Prensky, process information quickly, enjoy multi-tasking and gaming, while digital immigrants process information slowly, working on one thing at a time and do not appreciate less serious approaches to learning. Prensky claims ‘the digital native is becoming the dominant global demographic, and the digital immigrant is in decline’. Digital natives first check their social platforms, not TV. They would rather be engaged than marked to something, they do not care if the content is professionally produced, but that it is authentic and on their level. Enthusiastic participants are the most of the digital natives: they use Facebook all day long and have other social media accounts, watching YouTube and movies online as much as possible. This group is easier to reach via social media rather than cell phones. They thrive on instant communication and own a smartphone for constant access to the Web.
So how can people from these two groups work together? There are a lot of opportunities where they can learn from each other. Collaboration is they key because digital immigrants are those who invented technologies and systems that digital natives today use fluently. From the natives, the immigrants can learn to be more open and willing to engage with learners of differing backgrounds. Digital immigrants can teach natives to achieve goals quickly. A native may be able to offer great ideas for layouts, image or design, while the immigrant would contribute their knowledge with proper storytelling.
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