Monday 8 December 2014

"Cross media convergence and synergy are vital processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences." To what extent do you agree with this statement in relation to your media area?

"Cross media convergence and synergy are vital processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences." To what extent do you agree with this statement in relation to your media area? 

I would definitely agree that convergence and synergy are vital to the marketing of a media product, in this case film. Due to modern technological advances the role of different technologies in the marketing of a film is only increasing in importance, with things like social networks and the internet being of increasing importance, and the internet provides a way for media companies to reach a very broad audience.

Convergence is when a technology accidentally works in unison with a media company/product to promote it, for example most films have trailers on YouTube (which wasn't the sites intended purpose), most of which have a very large audience reach. Furthermore, when most people want to view a trailer for a film they just look it up on YouTube, meaning that it is a good way for them to reach their target audience cheaply and effectively. After all it is free to post videos on YouTube. It also plays a key part in companies with a smaller budget/influence, as they don't have the wealth to pay for a large campaign. Fans of the film can also inadvertently promote it by posting fan made trailers or by re-posting the trailer themselves.

Social networks like Twitter and Facebook also play a key part in media convergence as they allow fans to talk to each other about the film, and the media company themselves to directly address lots of its target audience. For example if Marvel post news about The Avengers to their Facebook page, all the people who "like" them on Facebook will see it, therefore advertising the movie.

Synergy is the opposite of this, it is when a media product is helped by another company/technology deliberately, in an advantageous manner for their film. This includes most advertising, such as TV adverts, web adverts etc. It also includes less obvious things like advertising on food or drinks. This could be seen as a more effective way of reaching their target audience, as it is deliberately planned to be most effective.