Newswise — PepsiCo’s decision to launch an online campaign rather than advertise during the Super Bowl has generated tremendous interest. The campaign, which includes a pledge to donate millions to social causes chosen and voted on by Pepsi “fans,” cost significantly less than a 30-second Super Bowl spot. According to a recent Center for Marketing Research study, 91percent of the fastest-growing American companies surveyed reported using at least one social media tool.
“The television as a commercial medium for advertising is a dinosaur,” says Wake Forest University communication professor Ananda Mitra, an expert in social media. “Individuals can be easily mapped using information through social media sites, such as Facebook. It no longer makes sense to develop homogenous messages for a broad audience when the person most likely to purchase your product can be pinpointed with accuracy.”
The viral nature of social media unlocks the potential for advertisers to reach hundreds of thousands of individuals and keep them connected and interested in a product. Individuals, on Facebook for example, connect to the company or product by becoming a “fan.” Fan members receive messages and updates from the company, just as they receive updates from a friend or family member. A campaign that includes interactive elements such as submitting an idea or casting a vote is an ideal way for the company to dialogue with the customer and build relationships between consumers based on common interests.
Information on a person’s likes or dislikes is relatively easy to uncover. Mitra refers to the personal details users reveal on social media as narrative bits of information, or “narbs”. The city you live in, the books you read, your age, sex and interests are readily available. “The narbs we put out about ourselves are not difficult to mine. The collection process is invisible to the user but is also provided by the user.”
Information provided by your friends can be helpful to advertisers as well. When you’re “tagged” by a Facebook friend, that photo can reveal additional information about you without your active participation. “If the photo was taken at a restaurant and you’re eating wings and drinking beer, this gives advertisers information about how you spend your money.”
Targeted marketing is not new. In the 80s, companies developed messages they believed would work for specific demographics. In the 90s companies attempted more targeted marketing. “But putting personalized sticky notes in magazines was expensive, says Mitra. ”With the rise in digital media, it’s now possible to advertise to individuals, and it’s less expensive than using traditional generic methods.
“The up side is that people receive information about products they might really be interested in purchasing," Mitra adds. “The down side is that the system creates tunnel vision—your options are limited for you and by you—without you being aware of it.”
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