Media promotion, marketing strategy, cross-promotion, mass-media industries, the Internet, the effectiveness of synergy as a strategy, communications technologies
The tendency towards synergy in media promotion, started in earnest in the 1980s, has only grown since then. With the wide variety of possible media in existence, news and entertainment alike are struggling to use all of these different tools to their advantage. Film, television, print, music, the Internet, and cell phones are all seen as different outlets for content and different opportunities for marketing, and media companies believe they have to hit each of these media - in all their various forms and subgroups - in order to be successful. However, not everybody agrees with this strategy, or even with the idea that these new media outlets must revolutionize media culture.
[...] "Synergy in 1980s Film and Music: Formula for Success or Industry Mythology?" Film History 4 (1990): 257- 276. Graham, Margaret. "The Threshold of the Information Age: Radio, Television, and Motion Pictures Mobilize the Nation." A Nation Transformed by Information, A. Chandler Jr. and J. Cortada, eds. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press Stewart, David W. and Qin Zhao. [...]
[...] Furthermore, while the Internet can certainly provide huge amounts of information an idea very attractive to believers in synergy as a strategy too much information has hurt the internet's usefulness as a source of information; too many sites means too much for any one person to possibly research through, a problem that has only gotten worse in the decade since this article was written (289). Meanwhile, the free access to information is one that companies have more and more reason to restrict; even 9 years after this article was written, it is still true that it's hard to tell what consumers will demand for free and what they will be willing to pay or give up for more information or access (293). While Stewart and Qin admit the extent to which "consumers . [...]
[...] Furthermore, she notes that the government limiting the reality of media depictions of war dates back to World War II (676). However, she does find something new as a result of "the synergy between Hollywood and the military" in that the modern age has taught us all "that the camera can lie" (677). Thus we are far more prone to doubt the realness of any images of war we see we are desensitized not by specific exposure to images, but to the deeper psychological desensitization to the reality of images in general. [...]
[...] However, as innovative as the internet seems, not everyone believes that its effects are so new. In an article about the effect of new media on perceptions of war, Susan L. Carruthers wrote in 2001 about whether or not the "distancing" effect of new technology and new media has changed war by desensitizing both the public and the soldiers to the actual violence involved. Carruthers acknowledges mostly that she is worried about "overstating . the newness of 'new media'" (673). [...]
[...] Whether new media do, through their cultural importance, develop to the objective prowess of television and radio is still unclear. For the time being, I believe it is best to separate these two levels of analysis, focusing either on the objective economic/political effects which are small but growing or on the subjective cultural effects which are already huge. This will allow us to examine how effective the strategy of synergy is without confusing ourselves too much. Works Cited Carruthers, Susan L. "Review: New Media, New War." International Affairs 77 (July 2001): 673-681. Denisoff, R. Serge and George Plasketes. [...]
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