Category: Uncategorised

By Sofia Urbina

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After perusing through endless articles displaying Christmas gift options for young women through native advertisements, I decided to take a mental break by scrolling through Instagram of all places. After viewing one or two posts, I came across a sponsored ad from Primark. Per my Google search history, the content features families at Christmastime wearing seasonal garb and exchanging gifts, all under retro filters and mussed-up hair for a nostalgic 1980s Christmas. The words “Whenever Christmas is for You” and “It’s Here” flash at the end. Indeed it is here, the month of Olympic-level branded content. 

After social media apps became heavy players in the digital economy, coming across ads every minute or so while we are using these platforms is pretty common. We might come across native advertisements on YouTube right before the intended video begins or a brand’s own content on a screen in Picadilly Circus. The dissemination of these ads on social platforms allows for a wider audience to interact with their brand and hopefully support whatever is being advertised. Primark’s newest Christmas ad is an example of integrated content wherein the content is produced and distributed by the same company through their channels. Jonathan Hardy explains that branded content that is integrated without separation is the driving tool for modern-day marketing as web 2.0, soon to be 3.0, exists as a form of economy that millions of people interact with. To remain a competitive brand, companies must turn to social media platforms to disseminate new products and keep up to date with the ever-changing digital trends. For example, using keywords that are trending on Twitter or Tiktok “sounds” that are currently making the rounds on the app. It is in this way that brands cement themselves as social processes, not only expressing to consumers that they are with the times but also coming across as personable to their audiences. Forging a relationship with their consumers to seem attainable is vital for brands like Primark to keep in business.

In the Primark ad, the producers lean into nostalgia to elicit feelings of joy. It was a brilliant move as Gen Z has a tendency to borrow from fashion trends of decades past, the 80s being one of them. The caption of the post describes moments in the holiday season when we feel fully immersed in the Christmas spirit. Inadvertently to its consumers, Primark is using its Christmas jumpers as a marker for the holiday spirit. If the ad can communicate that we are finally in holiday mode then maybe the viewer will feel inspired to buy the jumpers or anything else Christmas related from the store. If this was even five years ago I would have felt disturbed that almost out of the blue I was presented with a clothing ad after searching on the internet for Christmas gifts. Nowadays though, I, along with others, are accustomed to being bombarded with user-generated content. The disaggregation of media and advertising makes the lives of marketing companies easy as all they need to do is follow consumer data instead of creating an audience to cater their ads to. This becomes a problem of privacy as digital users are constantly screened by third parties. The content of these ads can be problematic, especially on platforms like TikTok where regular people are often used to promote products to minors that are easily influenced by whatever is currently trending on the app. This, alongside brands like Primark, reinforces overconsumption that is hard to be released from when we are constantly fed unwanted advertisements. 

Branded content as a tool for marketing has proven the most effective way to reach audiences far and wide without actually needing to be on their radar beforehand. As these ads continue to blur the lines between advertisement and normal content, it will become much harder to disseminate unbiased news and information going into Web 3.0. So, happy holidays!

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By Sofia Urbina

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It’s been eleven years since the fateful day that I wrote down my cousin’s email address to set up my Instagram behind my parent’s backs. Looking back on how I interacted with social media back then is not too different from how it is now; similar discussions, the same front-facing camera selfies, the compulsory brunch pictures, some things never changed. Well, all except for one thing: the digital economy. 

From last night to this morning I documented my media consumption. This was not just exclusive to social media but also the television series I would put on between writing this blog and frivolously scrolling through my apps. Has social media completely altered my attention span? That’s a topic for another day. As usual, most of the content on Instagram was pretty standard for my following list. Companies posted branded content ranging from extended Black Friday deals to new holiday drops. In terms of influencers, I like to see them as brands too. They have an image to keep up as well, not just aesthetically but personally. As I click on their Instagram stories I can be guaranteed to find a hyperlink in a pretty font for a product. Companies with brand ambassadors will use influencers as a form of native advertising, in the sense that the influencer’s following works the same way as a big company like YouTube or the Daily News would. Although I am against the idea of micro trends because of their propensity to over-consumption, I do find myself influenced more often than not. I may not directly network through social media, but I practice hope labor when I interact with their articles or like one of their posts because that is the future I want for myself. 

I tend to participate in ‘second screening’ a lot, I noticed how much I picked my phone up while watching an episode of Gilmore Girls. Not only was I consuming Netflix’s content where more of my data was being stored in their database, but I was also consuming disaggregated ads on Twitter for gym memberships and credit card companies. If you don’t know, Twitter, or X if you’re a contrarian, has two tabs on the “timeline” page. One is for the people you follow while the other is for both your followers and accounts that the algorithm believes you share similarities with. The key word here is “believes” as many users have complained about tweets showing up on their timelines with content they never interacted with and ideologies they do not possess. No, I don’t go to the gym nor do I need more credit cards. The same cannot be said about TikTok, yes it has its moments, but most of the time my For You Page is terrifyingly accurate. The New York Times found that the TikTok algorithm takes into account every move one makes on the app on top of using third-party databases to track users. Even with how alarming the idea of being watched is, I continue to go on the app and support the accounts I enjoy which then props up their profiles to a point where they can now make money off of TikTok. I don’t believe that I am adequately rewarded for my digital labour, but at the same time, I am also aware that I am not making the most out of it. Networking or ‘relational labour’ online can be just as prudent as in real life. If I got over my anxieties and used social media like Linkedin, then all of this might have been worth it.

Audience power is the driving force for most of the digital economy. Without us, brands and influencers would not have the capability to reach the audience levels that they need to be successful. Nowadays, striving to be an influencer is considered by some a legitimate career goal. There are no signs of the digital economy slowing down any time soon.

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By Sofia Urbina

@danimarielettering

Thirsty after you catch on fire? @Stanley 1913 is like no problem i gotchu #fyp #carfire #accident #stanleycup

♬ original sound – Danielle

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With the rise of TikTok in the past couple of years, coming across a video of someone singing praise about a product they love is a normal day on the app. A styling product they got for their birthday that gives them Rita Hayworth hair, a perfume that has strangers on the street stopping in their tracks to ask what they’re wearing, or eyeliner that was able to last through a horrific car accident. Inadvertently promoting products or user-generated content is vital in the digital economy. Brands have learned to take advantage of viral moments about their products and use them to their full advantage.

Last month TikTok user Danielle posted a video of her burned car with the caption “Thirsty after you catch on fire? @Stanley1913 is like no problem I gotchu”, in the middle of the debris from the fire, a Stanley Cup in perfect condition. The video garnered 8.5 million views, 50k comments, and almost 9 million likes. Every time a product goes viral like this, the company tends to reach out to the creator and offer them free products, so it was just a matter of waiting for Stanley Cup to answer. And boy did they.

Two days later, the president of Stanley Cup Terence Reiley responded to Danielle with his own video on TikTok where he told her that not only were they going to send her more tumblers, but that they would be gifting her a new car too. The people in the comment section went wild over this news, comments ranged from praising the company’s upstanding morals to proclaiming they would be purchasing a cup. 

Stanley Cup has been around for a hundred years, the company values sustainability and adventure above all. With competitors like Yeti and Owala, Stanley Cup seems to have found its most efficient marketing tool on social media. The hashtag #StanleyCup alone has thousands of videos both sponsored and user-generated. TikTok user Danielle bolstered their products to new audiences that were not aware of the brand before the algorithm took them to the video. Now they get to bask in a high-quality tumbler that can be used for all liquids and even survive a car fire of its own. But who benefits the most? 

At the end of the day, the company will. The neoliberal framework of platform democracy and entrepreneurship inspires normal people to have their turn at viral moments. Although Danielle went the most viral for the car fire, she is not the only person on TikTok to go viral for promoting Stanley Cup and there will be more of these viral videos in the future as well that will open the door to more and more new audiences. The digital economy is the biggest marketing tool for companies, user-generated content is just a small number in a bigger equation. 

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By Sofia Urbina

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGhe13nY2sg

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For this year’s International Women’s Day, Mercedes Benz released an ad titled “One of Many.” The commercial displays women in high positions who garnered notoriety for being exceptional or the first in their field. There are scenes of girls in different environments surrounded by mostly boys. As the ad progresses, the narrator (a young girl) poses multiple questions. What if women didn’t have to be exceptional or the best to occupy these male-dominated spaces? Why be the first instead of one of many? 

Mercedes-Benz’s commercial strategy consists of targeting demographics between the ages of 25-40 using social media, TV commercials, typical advertisements, and of course: brand perception. International Women’s Day is not just a day to celebrate those who identify as such, but for big companies to showcase just how feminist and inclusive they are.  Popular feminism, the act of commodifying and consuming feminist ideology, has been a part of Western culture for the past decade, if not longer. Multimedia companies implement feminist ideologies into their marketing, whether they are sincere about women’s rights or just trying to sell their brand is up for debate. 

The Mercedes-Benz website claims: ”The advancement of women is a focus topic in diversity management. Mercedes-Benz has set itself aspirational goals to fill more senior management positions with qualified women and aims to achieve a share of 30 percent in 2030 as a next step. At Mercedes-Benz, the proportion of women in senior management positions worldwide is at almost 25% by December 31, 2022.” Race plays a big part in all of this as intersectional feminism is imperative in today’s fight for equality. Only 13% of Black or African Americans and 36% of women work at Mercedes-Benz. This wide gap between their White and male counterparts proves that MB still has a long way to go to reach an equal company. It is interesting then, that the “One of Many” ad would criticize the vocabulary often used to celebrate women in male-dominated spaces but still fails to hire more women.

“The inclusion of women becomes the solution for all gender problems, not just those of exclusion or absence. It is, of course, important to have bodies at the table, but their mere presence doesn’t necessarily challenge the structure that supports, and builds, the table in the first place.”

Sarah Benet-Weiser

The fact of the matter is that companies like Mercedes-Benz and ‘popular feminism’ thrive on the neoliberal market they exist in. Individualism, the free market, and most importantly, democracy, are fundamental pillars needed to ensure mainstream relevancy. Sarah Benet-Wesier speaks on the notion of falling for the idea that buying consumer goods attached to feminist branding makes us good feminists. How are we dismantling the patriarchal structure that oppresses women outside of participating in consumerism? It is simply not enough to buy these products and feel good about our activism. Are these brands hiring not just white women but women of color as well? Are they actively seeking ways to make their workspace a safe environment?  I believe that there is now more pushback than ever against the shallow ways that popular feminism works. We cannot call ourselves feminists if we are not intersectional about our fights. 

In the “One of Many” ad, it is vocalized how absurd it is that even after all this time women are still only considered exceptional or extraordinary when they are the minority in the fields that they choose. I found this ad interesting because of its underlying critique of where we are in terms of women’s rights.

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By Sofia Urbina

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Gone are the days of packing the family in the car to head to your local video store on a Friday night. The endless arrays of film and video game options organized by aisles, the various snacks displayed by the checkout queue, or racing to return your copy from last week to avoid any late fees. All of that changed after Netflix released its on-demand streaming feature in 2007, the way we consume films and TV shows would never be the same again. How did Netflix become so successful? The streaming platform took a socially liberal approach to how Netflix would be marketed to ensure maximum success. Originally Netflix provided mail-in DVD services, so they already had a consumer base that could potentially follow them into their new era of online streaming. To keep their loyal customers, the streaming platform would have to cater to their wants and needs. No more late fees, zero commercials, the luxury of browsing for a film in the comfort of their own homes, and original content, all they needed to do was pay a monthly fee. Neoclassical economists argue that human interest and the power of individual choice drive the economy. And in the time of a recession, a monthly subscription to access hundreds of titles instead of spending the same amount for a couple of films seemed the more plausible choice. Thus, a streaming giant was born.

Nowadays, Netflix is regarded as one of the biggest streaming platforms in the United States. I am currently under my family’s plan, so I don’t pay, I just reap the rewards of an automatic payment plan. As I was browsing through the different profiles on our Netflix account, I noticed the film and series titles currently suggested to each of us, depending on our viewing history. For example, my account recommends romcoms from the 2000s I’ve watched a million times, while my little sister’s account is filled with horror movies that should probably have never seen the light of day. The algorithm embedded in Netflix’s digital machinery uses consumer data to deter any “churning” and keep subscribers happy while trying to find ways to gain new subscribers constantly. Original series and films seem to be Netflix’s greatest asset in keeping subscribers at bay. Shows like House of Cards (Netflix’s first original series) and Stranger Things illicit widespread discussions on social media that garner millions if not billions of views. I’ve noticed that social media has the unique power to make people want to be a part of pop culture moments that they weren’t privy to until they opened up TikTok or Twitter (as it was formerly known). I know I have been easily influenced to watch a TV show because I wanted to understand what the mass hysteria was all about.

On top of this, the digital globalization of Netflix has fostered content from countries like Mexico where viewers based in the US can also expand their watchlists. Roma and Mexico’s spin-off of Narcos are huge examples of this. As Netflix’s market expanded, the want for content produced by creators outside of the US did too. Not only that but Netflix was also aiming for an increase in Mexican subscriptions. Roma, directed by Alfonso Cuaron, paved the way for how international content is distributed and marketed by Netflix. Before its release on Netflix, the film was distributed to hundreds of theatres in the United States and became a contender for the Academy Awards. We now expect Netflix originals to make the rounds during award season. Further cementing itself as the reigning king of American streaming platforms.

Streaming services changed the game of film and TV consumption. As new groundbreaking shows surface and subscription fees rise, it will be interesting to see where the future of streaming goes. 

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