I'm very excited about a book that my Sister-in-Law purchased for me called Convergence Culture by Henry Jenkins. This was also the book that helped Faris formulate his early ideas around Propagation Planning. If this type of thinking was a religion, this book would be the bible and Henry Jenkins would be the prophet.
Over the next few weeks I hope to share some passages that I learn from this book and my own interpretation of these theories for the advertising industry. One of the first things I would like to share is the Ideal Consumer for Propagation Planning.
Early Adopters today are mostly white, male, middle class and college educated. This will change with access to broadband technologies and producer equipment, but right now this represents the 3% of the market that are considered Prosumers (Source: This comes from YouTube usage data that indicates 3% of people produce content, 7% actually comment on it and the other 90% just watch it).
Henry Jenkins writes this passage about this ideal consumer in his book:
According to the logic of affective economics, the ideal consumer is active, emotionally engaged, and socially networked. Watching the advert or consuming the product is no longer enough; the company invites the audience inside the brand community. Yet, if such affiliations encourage more active consumption, these same communities can also become protectors of brand integrity and thus critics of the companies that seek to court their allegiance.
We cannot court these consumers like we court the press with a passive press release. We have to spend months gaining their trust by participating with their content and craft, being transparent about who we are and build trust that their efforts will be appreciated and welcomed.
Comments