Paradigm Shifts in Mass Media Communications

Print to Radio to Television to Digital

Have you ever looked up the meaning of paradigm?

It is used to describe a way of thinking or a body of evidence...and we use the words paradigm shift to describe a significant change of thought or strategy or a new reality.

Paradigm Shift

• When things are not certain, some may think it is premature to consider tackling “uncharted” territories.

• This thought may resonate with the attitude, “why try something new, I can do the same methods that have always worked in the past – these methods I understand.” This conviction may be comfortable for some period of time but, many people wait until they are forced to try something new and in many cases, it is too late.

Something Has Changed

Before the Internet, this is how it used to be…

• As is each case with the advent of each mass communication medium including Print, Radio and Television….. Some still wonder if there is reason to believe if the Internet is powerful enough to dictate a major paradigm shift in Communications.

• In the dawn of each form of mass media communication, there was resistance by many to each of these media outlets.

to

to

Print

Radio

T.V.

Print Begins The Information Age• Thanks to Johann Gutenberg, the printing press was born in 1440.

As more and more people had access to more and more information, the common man could begin to think more broadly.

– The common man is no longer an unthinking, unquestioning, piece of fodder for the religious, and political elites.

– Rationality began to spring to life among the common man and woman.

– Questions developed from the thinking masses. – That thinking arose out of the reality that they were exposed to

varied sources of information. – It created a humanistic and humane revolution of thought.

Historically, not everyone thought that these were good points…

Radio Leads to GrowthEventually

• You don’t have to be a genius to know how technology will get your message to an audience. Albert Einstein, when asked to describe Radio, replied:

"You see, Wire Telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And Radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat."

• In 1937, The Radio Project was a social research project funded by the Rockefeller Foundation to look into the effects of mass media on society.

• Growth over time: radio manufacture industry, radio broadcasting stations, major broadcasting networks, radio programming, advertising and satellite radio.

Source: Wikipedia

Television Ratings Continue Growth

• When television was invented, experimental telecasts took place in 1920s and 1930s, the Radio Corporation of America (later RCA Corporation), installed television receivers in 150 homes in the New York City area in 1936.

• Since 1940, TV commercials have been effective, persuasive, and a popular method of selling products of many sorts, especially consumer goods. U.S. advertising rates are determined primarily by Nielsen Ratings. The time of the day and popularity of the channel determine how much a television commercial can cost.

• Growth over time: television manufacture industry, commercial and public television stations and broadcast networks, television programming, advertising and reality television.

Past - Present - Future

• The Past – Traditional mass advertising in mass media (e.g.

magazines/newspaper/radio/TV)

• Present– A degree of media fragmentation

• The Future – Increased targeted approaches– Increased understanding of core consumers - taking

the message to them more frequently– Digital: the perfect medium, targeted to who you want

to reach

History of Traditional Mass Media in “Modern” Time

• In his book, “The New Influencers“, Paul Gillin states: “About 150 years ago, influencers began to become concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer entities, mainly media companies. Over time what became important was the publication, the broadcast, not the writer or broadcaster. The soapbox of media became owned by someone else , someone who could silence them if they went astray.”

Understanding New Media• 1964: Understanding Media:

– The Extensions of Man – McLuhan

– “the medium is the message”

• 2008: New Media - Web 2.0– User-generated

– “the conversation is the message”

• What is Web 2.0?– Wikipedia Definition – “second generation

of internet based services that let people collaborate and share information online.”

– “a paradigm shift in communications.”

How did this happen?

• User-friendly, open source, no/low cost technology

• Search engines’ love relationship with fresh content

• RSS/Email – accessible viral distribution channels to build an audience

What this means for your organization

• The End of the Controlled Message

• A few (or many) members of your target audiences influencing their peers, traditional influencers (media) and… the world

The Changing ClimateOld New

Smartfinds Can Help

• We are experts in these new media channels– We help you learn as much you can about this new

“media” landscape

• We continuously monitor new media channels– Continuous Data Analysis, Measurement and Reporting

• We get you into the conversation– You become an authority on the internet for your

area(s) of expertise

• We prepare you so you’ll be able to react adequately

Snapshot of New Media Landscape

• Blogs• Forums• Podcasts• Facebook• MySpace• Linkedin• Wikipedia• Delicious• RSS

• YouTube• Flickr• SecondLife• Many more…• User Generated

Content, Web browser, Comments/Open Conversation, Sharing, Tagging

Gives businesses the tools to steer customers or desired audience toward their website. e.g. Guerilla digital

Multi-Directional Digital Marketing: Builds Relationships

• All or part of any bricks and mortar business can be created online• The web allows the creation of the global village at a single point, in an instant• Internet has come of age• No longer an experimental medium that only targets “techies” and students • Increasingly broad reach with diverse groups of consumers• B2B• B2C

Digital = Mature Business Model

• Located in Bloomfield Hills, Smartfinds is a local resource with national reach

• Established in 1987, we are pioneers in working with Fortune 1000 companies in the digital arena

• We have a seasoned staff with the ability to execute both digital marketing and advertising

About Smartfinds