The premise that my research is based on is that advertising communications are needed in our current capitalist system. I am not arguing about the value of advertising, I don’t believe that advertising will ever disappear. This thesis is to try to get the best out of advertising for the consumer.
The question that I am asking is; how would the individual like to be communicated to about brands and products on their mobile in the future, while adding value to their lives?
Is the problem worth asking? In the current environment where so many products are of equal value the need to build a strong brand identity through communications becomes of great relevance. The mobile medium allows the possibility of another point of contact, where advertisers can build up a more personal relationship with the customer. The mobile medium will allow the advertiser to develop positive attitudes in consumers by creating content of higher value.
Who is my research for? My research would be of interest to those in advertising or those involved in any communications where the effective use of the medium becomes of greater importance. Or those who want to approach the mobile medium as a medium in itself not just a smaller version of a traditional media. Through my research I really want to look at mobiles as a networked medium and think critically about the technologies ability to add an extra dimension of value to content.
Is my research viable and relevant? As consumers become more suspicious and ambivalent to advertising, there is a greater need to change perceptions. As mobiles are a very personal technology, to use the medium effectively communications have to be personal and of value. The model that has been applied to traditional media, no longer is applicable to the mobile medium. The relevance of a new system is of great importance, the need for personal advertising of a truer connection is vital in sustaining any brand.
It is difficult to discuss a singular solution as there is a multitude of marketing communications based around an array of small to large businesses on varying budgets. Most businesses cannot affordably sustain a personal relation with their clients, but to those organisations out there that sees more than just the bottom line and realise that an investment in sustained and value communications can in some cases future prove themselves against rapid changes in the current environment.
