3Cinteractive Blog

Over the past week I’ve been moving the 3Cinteractive newsletter service to a new vendor. Building and managing these lists through the new vendor’s software, and going through opt-in process has made me think a lot about traditional media. I don’t find e-mail newsletters to be traditional media, but it is definitely a step back from text messaging. Getting adjusted to the software and managing our content, I realized there are still lessons to be learned from traditional media.

Seeing as I’m a bit more of the “new media” guy, I invited David Ross, our Board Chairman to post his thoughts. He has 35 years of experience in all facets of media, advertising, event and concert promotion, management, ownership, and consulting to hundreds of radio stations worldwide, including the legendary Miami top 40 radio station, Y100. Please share your thoughts in the comments.

- Ainsworth

“The prime difference between “new media” and traditional media is in fact the way it is consumed. Today consumers are not listeners, readers, or viewers…instead they are “users”. Users consume media rather than merely observe it. They consume what they are interested in, when they are interested, and on a device of their choosing. The paradigm shift in terms of content “control” has created significant changes in consumption patterns, time, and in communication paths.

Communication is no longer one way. Traditional media was broadcast or displayed. We could respond to print with a letter to the editor, to a broadcast with a fax, or telephone a complaint. But for the average media consumer, there was no real chance of being heard before New Media. Today new forms of media invite real time participation and interaction.

Time compression is phenomenal. Newspaper editors get feedback then post, day by day. Imagine reading a post then waiting 24 hours to get a response - that’s an eternity! Magazine editors take weeks to edit, then print, and then deliver. Even traditional TV and Radio broadcasts or shows involve the broadcast, and then some feedback in terms of call-ins, faxes etc. Today, you post, you get hit. You watch TV…text in! It’s that fast. Sweet.

People are even consuming media presented in online worlds. Companies can buy space in these interactive worlds and post advertisements. In Second Life, you can go to virtual stores and make purchases online!

So what is the relationship between today’s new media and traditional? It’s the message. With all this immediacy, all of this two way communication, it’s still about the message. Great creativity will still win out. Creating great messages, and hitting a “nerve” is still king. In fact in today’s world, we are bombarded with more advertising messages, more forms of media and more images than ever before. So, with competition so fierce, the message and breaking through the clutter means more than it ever did. Traditional media programmers, writers, artists, and creators understood that great content is still great content, and that great advertising messages were ones that “connected” and resonated in the minds of consumers. The take-away is that new media creators and users need to connect, interact, and take advantage of the time and two-way capabilities with great creative focus. Technology itself is not the answer…it’s still in the messaging that great media stands out.”

- David Ross