Media Studies 10 Final

Niche Advertising

Focus on niche audiences desired by advertisers

• Spend less $$$ to reach more receptive audiences

• GOAL FOR MEDIA: produce/curate content for a niche, then sell access to that niche to ads

• Logic = divide the audience into categories useful to marketers

Segment types

• Geographic (less useful in age of national brands)

• Demographic (categories like gender, age, education)

• Social class (psychology of upbringing)

• Geographic (neighborhood)

• Psychographic (personality characteristics)

Programmic interactive microtargeting

Algorithm uses a database to buy ad space targeting you at a cost based on the data in your profile

AD METRICS: 

• Impressions (Exposed to ad)

• Click-through (Clicked on ad)

• Conversion (Purchased product)

SOCIAL MEDIA: Additional feedback including reactions, comments, follows, “hide ad”

Turn “paid media” into “earned media” 

Data collection

PROFILE = a collection of “data points” on an individual consumer

DATABASES = constantly-updated collections user profiles sortable by relevant information desired at a particular time

• First-party data = data collected by the site/platform

• Third- party data = data purchased from data brokers

Interactive microtargetting benefits & concerns

benefits:

• Increases amount of relevant info; decreases amount of irrelevant info

• Automated (no human surveillance) 

concerns:

• Compiled without (or with little) user access

• No way to guarantee accuracy

• Limits potential future choices

• No limit to duration (one’s history is never forgotten)

• Doesn’t distinguish between public & private

• Vulnerable to hacking & data breaches

Two understandings of the child audience

Media industry

WHO: producers, distributors, advertisers, etc.

• Desirable & lucrative demographic

• High media consumption

• Consumerist

• Foster brand loyalty early on

Protectionists

WHO: parents, watchdogs, educators, regulators

• Blank slates

• Innocence, fragility

• Lack taste distinction & ability to choose

• Consumption is a passive activity

Children & TV — why + how

Assumption: Consumption is passive

BUT: WHY do kids really engage with the TV they watch?

• To see (depictions of) the world

• For learning math, words, behaviors, etc.

• SO: kids TV focuses educational curricula &/or social-emotional curricula 

ASSUMPTION: They consume media as adults do but without critical skills

BUT: HOW do kids really engage with the TV they watch?

• Direct participation = answering questions, repeatable songs, etc.

• Problem solving = narratives require multiple views to grasp

• Repetition = learn to understand storytelling conventions

Young ppl’s “digital media world" (Horst & gaspard)

Platforms: Smartphone (& tablets) not young peoples most used form of media

• (Mobile) accès to the internet

• Multifunctional tech convergence

• Social engagement re: relationships, shared interests, identities

Participation: new ways to consume, create, collaborate

• Gain experience & expertise

• Share knowledge

• BUT: requires “digital literacy skills” re: sociality, learning from adults, understanding commercial motivations

Place: disparities between quality of tech & access

Productive practices of consumption

• Interpretation

• Speculation 

• Projection

• Discussion

Utopian understanding of fandom

• High engagement

• Close scrutiny

• Social practice

• Public display of passion

AND: They’re heightened examples of typical behaviors and pleasures

Fandom online

The internet makes it easier to engage in “fannish” behavior

• Information seeking

• Consumption

• “Backstage access” (ex: social media behind the scenes lives)

• Social media

• “Media appropriation”

“media appropriation” (Dalelio)

“Grassroots creativity” in fandoms

• Fans can analyze/build upon/transform texts

• Can express critique & address underserved audiences

• Networks of mentorship, collaboration, audiences

• RESULT: cultural convergence = blurring "folk culture” of “media appropriation” & “mass culture” where people “reclaim” cultural ownership (Jenkins)

Cultural appropriation vs. intellectual property (Jones)

• Cultural production can be unauthorized, violate IP laws

• BUT: IP holders tolerate “media appropriation” to help fandoms flourish

• Fandom = niche market cultivated by the industry regardless of IP violations

• GOAL: a large audience PLUS an active one

Industrial utility of fandom (Jones)

Fandom is an industrial construct & not a community

• The industry’s “adoring offspring” not its nemesis

• Based on consumption, not critique

1. Transmedia extension

2. Increased consumption 

3. Brand advocates // free promo

Media mergers

RESPONSE: rather than compete, media companies merge through buyouts

MEDIA CONGLOMERATE: Company that owns several media divisions under a single corporation umbrella

Example: Disney owns Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar studios, etc.

Vertical integration v.s. Horizontal integration

Vertical Integration

Production + national distribution + local exhibition within a single media division

What are the goals here?

• Keeps profits in-house // decreased costs

Horizontal integration

Owns many different media divisions

• Spreads risk (so you don’t put all of your eggs in one basket)

Synergy

Coordination across media divisions so that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts (''1+1=3'') 

• Each corporation division works together to advance a multimedia brand

• Logic = Corporation would make more $$$ from content convergence that the divisions working separately to create their own brands

• BUT: synergistic “mismatches” lead to a loss of efficiency & drain on profits

Conglomerate power critics

Economic harms = oligopolies that favor their own interests/partnerships & make it difficult for outsiders to compete

Political harms = antidemocratic because lobbying power and content influence

RESULT 1: Illusion of diversity (media grows but the # of speakers can shrink)

RESULT 2: “Power is knowledge” (power to control circulation of ideas)

Free market defenders

• Media industry is dynamic and changing

• Corporations must grow or lose market share in abundant marketplace

• Corporations absorb losses, can afford innovation

• Internet allows more production & sharing than ever

• Companies self-regulate content

Self-regulation

Industry policies itself to keep competitive position in the marketplace through pressure from

• Lawmakers (threat of regulation)

• Advocacy groups

• Advertisers

CRITICS: this problematically equates capitalism with democracy

Media globalization

• Instantaneous (crosses time + space)

• Interconnected (communication/relationships across cultures)

• Interdependent (global economies)

BUT: Globalization is uneven due to inequalities of power

Rise of media globalization

Political = end of Cold War & opening up of new markets

Econ = deregulation, loosening ownership regulation, & trade treaties

Tech = satellite, digital networks

Cultural = new migration patterns and movements of people

Globalization of film

Small studios = increase # of films

Major studios = create high-budget blockbusters

• Maximizing the investment capital

• Economies of scale (easier to promote/distribute)

• Free publicity as “media events”

• Allows synergy & tie-ins

“5 key relationships to manage”

1. Government = Show China in positive light; all ages; invest in China

2. General audience = Visual spectacle + animation; including “Chinese Elements”; special premieres, promos, and versions

3. Fans = Hire international stars (including unrelated ones) use them for promo

4. Partner relations = Collaborate with Chinese media in productions/distribution, promo, product placement with Chinese business

5. Media = Special access; Chinese friendly interviews

Importation

U.S. TV producers are in a position of power because their:

• Primetime dramas are $$$ to produce & have widespread appeal

• Show’s performance in the U.S. predicts international success

• OVERALL: Advantage for buyer = cheaper less risky than local production

BUT: U.S. faces competition from international producers

• Home = non-U.S. media find more success in the U.S. as niches

• Abroad = U.S. increasing competition from other markets

Co-Production

Co-op between producers from different markets

• Advantages = shared costs (including for international sales) AND tailored to the cultural specificities of both countries

• Disadvantages = language & industrial differences create conflicts ad/program structure, scheduling, etc. needs of stronger partner usually win out

Formatting (Eeser)

Importing premise to adapt to in local contexts

• attractive to programmers because they have proven appeal

• “Cost effective & enabled speedy production” including “series bible” + consultant

• Customized to cultural specificity & market needs

• BUT ALSO: transnational in brand consistency, workshops, “format hubs”

• AND: Represents “multiplying & diversifying” content & flows

4 perspectives on global media impact

Cultural exchange = global flows are part of a “global village”

• global media unites people

• Advocates a deregulated free flow of media (& identities & info)

• “Universal” cultural/values most in demand

• Supported by international media corporations & dominant ideologies 

Culture imperialism = global flows are part of a “global pillage”

• global media = one way flow from US/West to the rest

• No real exchange of ideas // unequal position of influence

• Local media suppressed or imitates US media

• DANGER: imposes cultural values from outside 

Cultural nationalism = local cultures need to be protected through regulation 

• must be reasserted through government funding &/or restrictions/quotas

Cultural hybridity = global flows are a recombination of cultures 

• recombinant genres/styles creating diversity & difference

• Ex: 

  • content platforms (like Netflix)

  • adaptations (like TV formats)

  • original works (like k-pop

Multiple proximities (La Pastina & Straubhaar)

Cultural specificity of domestic media fosters “primary cultural proximity” with the national

• Language 

• Experiences

• Values

• Cultural forms

BUT: People can feel “secondary cultural proximities” to other nations/experiences through media imports

• appealing to additional proximities (e.g. religion, region, localism, migration history)

• From countries w/ shared similar/shared cultural specificity

Representations of technology

People (also) learn about new technologies through mediated representations

• Nonfiction (focusing on what the tech is)

• Fiction (focusing on what the tech means)

AND: These help shape discourses on technology & society

Technological determinism

• A discourse that tech is the primary driver of change in society

• “What tech is doing to us” 

• AND: can be utopian or dystopian

“The medium is the message” (McLuhan)

Personal and social consequences of any medium is a result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by any new technology. 

Tech guided by human stakeholder (Newman)

1. Innovation/development

2. Distribution (including business models) 

3. Government regulation

4. Domestication

Development of new techs (Newman)

• FIRST: new technologies met w/ a combo of fascination & fear

• THEN: Techs become “invisible” as they integrate into our lives

Components of mobile gaming (Steirer & Barnes)

• Gameplay accessibility (story & gaming mechanics)

• Software accessibility (avail through a variety of devices)

• Everyday ubiquity (encourages daily play)

• Variable monetization (especially “free to play” games with ads and/or in-app “microtransactions”)

AND: reduced barriers to entry for developers

Game & player space

Gameplay simultaneous exists in two spaces

• Game space = virtual world of the game

• Player space = environment where person is playing

Console games & spatial convergence

Focus on immersive play & the game space

GOAL: Fully absorb your attention

RESULT: “Avatarial introjection” of identity in game space

• Avatar as “me”, “I”, “mine”

• Status & nice things for avatar

• Feeling a personal connection to other characters

Video game realism

Realism is a means of fostering deeper immersion

• Photorealistic representation 

• Mimetic play & “force feedback” feel of game controllers

• Degree of interactivity (including freedom to explore the world)

• Unpredictable encounters (including multiplayer environments)

AND: standards of realism keep changing 

Participatory culture (Dalelio)

• Social Media: networking & connectivity

• User-generated content: platforms users make its content

• The gift economy: non-monetary exchange

• Active audiences: mainstreaming of fan behaviors

• Engaged citizens: politics & activism

Promise of participatory culture

Access to production + free storage/display + peer-to-peer sharing

• Demystifies the production process

• Less reliance on traditional media

• Democratization of authorship, info, & culture

Costs of participatory culture

Framed as fun but it’s a form of work under corporation platforms

• Users are unwaged // mandatory content licensing 

• Subject to ads & data collection

• Recommendation features steer users to promoted content

SO: users may be participatory but that doesn’t meant mean they’re powerful

Influencers

Entrepreneurial professionalized-amateur content producers

• Author consistent, pop content (in views & subs)

• Often intimacy, accessibility & relatability emphasized DIY aesthetic

• Must navigate social media tech + social + economics 

• AND: precarious labor  

Influencer authenticity (RHTA)

• Audiences form bonds with the influencer through relatability & consistent authenticity 

• Can be personal value BUT ALSO an economic necessity since it’s based on advertorial experts who “share authentic info” 

• SO: authenticity must be constantly performed 

• Including short-term loss of turning down “inauthentic” brands to maintain long-term credibility 

College influencers (RHTA)

Constructing the student influencer positioning 

• “Academically successful student” identity & brand credibility to share advice

Working w/ brands

• Brands = sometimes students, sometimes just young people

• “Authenticity over income” & what a “good student” post/endorse

Intersections of authenticity & student hood

• Academic knowledge “provided a critical lens through which to make sense of their influencer work and to evaluate the content they produce” 

• Authentic = + but "realistic” re: struggle/pressure with “affective strategies” 

• Role = transitional before non-influencer career 

Surveillance

Definition: to see without being seen // to be seen without seeing the watcher

Personal traces = the “footsteps” people…..

Privacy (Marwick)

A value, but also a legal construction of a “reasonable right to privacy”

• not an intrinsic right: claimants must prove financial &/or repetitional damage

Tech companies frame privacy as an individual responsibility 

• BUT: policies & settings can be confusing frequently change, & difficult to use

• ⁃ GOAL: “clicked through & ignored” while providing platforms legal defense

Networked privacy (Marwick)

Networked privacy = “the desire to maintain agency over info within the social & tech nets in which such info is disclosed, given meaning, & shared” 

Sensor society (Andrejevic and Burdon)

1. Techs are sensors tracking events & states

• Always on (phone)

• Passive interactivity 

2. New form of data collection & storage (for powerful institutions)

• immediate needs + info for future analysis

• Specific individuals + larger usage patterns 

AND: current privacy laws unequipped to handle such pervasive, undirected use

State surveillance

(State = government)

GOAL: monitor potential crimes (+ dissidents & critics in authoritarian governments)

Direct surveillance = screening, tapping, & tracking programs, etc.

Indirect surveillance = laws that compel private companies to save & hand over user records & communications

Peer surveillance

Surveillance is a condition to be courted (we WANT attention)

• We fight the noise of the internet for visibility 

• We determine disclosure based on the platform

Discursive frameworks of perspectives & vocabs (Marwick)

• disclosure can be vulnerable, so it’s based on trust of privacy 

• People can easily share content (misrepresented of not) to different audiences 

• Feeling of a violation of privacy with little control

SO: managing our privacy/audiences online can be fraught with + time-consuming 

What concepts did Horst & Gaspard talk about talk about?

• Young people’s “digital media world”

What concepts did Dalelio talk about?

• “media appropriation”

• Participatory culture

What concepts did Jones talk about?

• Cultural production vs. intellectual property

• Industrial utility of fandom

What concepts did Song talk about?

• “5 key relationships to manage”

What concepts did Eeser talk about talk about?

• Formatting

What concepts did La Pastina & Straubhaar talk about?

• Multiple proximities

What concepts did McLuhan talk about?

• “The medium is the message”

What concepts did Newman talk about?

• Tech guided by human stakeholder

• Development of new techs

What concepts did Steirer & Barnes talk about?

• Components of mobile gaming

What concepts did RHTA talk about?

• Influencer Authenticity

• College influencer

What concepts did Marwick talk about?

• Privacy

• Networked privacy

What concepts did Andrejevic and Burdon talk about?

• Sensor Society