Emersing Issues in User Generated Content Era

Each time technology advances, the world’s behavior changes accordingly. Just as the printing press and copy machine revolutionized the publishing world, the online interactive technology and World Wide Web in a very short time had dramatically altered how people communicate as well as the way products and services are advertised and sold to consumers. The marketers are rushing to get a piece of the global marketplace by establishing itself on the web-based media environment. Ultimately, advertisers have an interactive medium for reaching a prosperous, technologically educated, and savvy target market.

When stopping to look back at the leading trends in internet usage over the past year, it becomes obvious that 2006 was the year that consumers took control of the internet. The explosive growth of User-Generated Content (also known as UGC) prompted “Time magazine” to name "you" (i.e. the consumer) as its "Person of the Year." Ad Age also chose "the consumer" as its agency of the year. And according to BIGresearch's latest Simultaneous Media Usage Study, marketers in 2007 are faced with the new reality of a consumer controlled communication model.

But how did UGC begin? How did the advertising industry embrace this new and challenging medium? Is Consumer-Generated Ad (CGA) just a gimmick or is it the way of the future? And what’s the implication for advertisers? This paper begins with a brief history and development of the Internet, the World Wide Web, and online advertising. Next it will discuss the definition, origin, format of UGC/CGA in an effort to project the future of User Generated Content within the advertising industry, and more specifically, Consumer Generated Ad. The paper also provides a look at the practical implications for advertisers and marketers in the world of UGC.

The Internet was originally a military project used only for defense purpose. It then became a link for academic institutions sharing research results, and then involved into a medium for mixed academic, commercial, and personal uses (Hoffman, 1996).

The creation of the Internet extended back to the 1960s. The U.S. military had wanted to develop a network that could survive even if one or many of the computers shut down. Around 1970, the U.S. Advanced Research Project Agency, part of the Department of Defense (ARPANET), set up the first part of what would become the Internet. Originally, ARPANET was created to advance computer interconnections to help the nation could survive and function in the event of nuclear attack. The ARPANET soon caught attention of other U.S. agencies that saw the promise of an electronic network as a means of sharing information among research facilities and educational institutions (Kaye & Medoff, 2001). The first Internet message was transmitted from UCLA to Stanford University. This system represented the true beginning of a network, and allowed the host computers to communicate with one another. By 1971 there were 15 different node systems in place, and by 1973 the first international connection was made to the University College of London. The ARPANET continued to develop, and eventually grew into what we now know as the Internet (Leiner, 2003).

In the late 1970s, the ARPANET was so large that the original standards can not sustain the rate of growth of the networks. Thus ARPANET formed the TCP/IP communication system, which allowed distinct computer networks to interconnect and exchange information with one another. The biggest advantage of TCP/IP was it allowed for almost unlimited growth in the size of the network. By the mid-1980s, the ARPANET with TCP/IP standard was used for electronic mail (e-mail) and was widely used in government and educational institutions.

In the later stage of the development of Internet was the introduction of the World Wide Web, an information-sharing model of interlinked, hypertext documents is built on top of the Internet. This technology made possibile a breakthrough which exceeded the original restriction. Before, the Web could only contain text. This improvement made the use of the Web become more widespread. The following are some important milestones of the development of the World Wide Web.

The origins of the World Wide Web (WWW or Web) occurred at the European Laboratory of Particle Physics (CERN). Tim Berners-Lee conceived the web as a system of sharing paper and information presentation at CERN. He envisioned the web as a networked environment, which used hypertext links to connect disparate information sources. For example, the web at CERN allowed access to the telephone book, conference information, a remote library system, and help files through a uniform addressing system (Berners-Lee, 1999; Quittner & Slatalla, 1998).

By Christmas 1990, Berners-Lee had built all the tools necessary for a working Web: the first Web browser, WorldWideWeb, (which was also a Web editor), the first Web server (info.cern.ch), and the first Web pages that described the project itself. The browser could access Usenet newsgroups and FTP files as well. However, it could run only on the NeXT; Nicola Pellow therefore created a simple text browser that could run on almost any computer (wikipedia.org, 2007). To increase the web’s popularity, the web browser and server code were freely available to the public. Berners-Lee announced this on Internet newsgroups such as alt.hypertext on August 6, 1991(Berners-Lee, 1999). This date marked the debut of the World Wide Web as a publicly available service on the Internet as well.

Berners-Lee and his collaborators laid the groundwork for the open standards of the Web. Their efforts included the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) linking Web documents, the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) for formatting Web documents, and the Universal Resource Locator (URL) system for addressing Web documents (Alesso & Smith, 2006). Today, Berners-Lee is the head of the World Wide Web Consortium, which is dedicated to developing open standards to unlock the full potential of the web.

Growth of the WWW

In April 1992, the world's first Web browser with a graphical user interface for non-NeXT computers released, which included advanced features such as embedded graphics, scripting, and animation.

But the public rarely used the Web until 1993, when Marc Andreesen and a group of student programmers at the University of Illinois developed a graphical browser for the World Wide Web called Mosaic, which he later reinvented commercially as Netscape Navigator. Mosaic provided users a way to access and share Web-based information without having to master complicated commands or interfaces. It has been regarded as a turning point for stimulate the internet boom of the 1990s.

Commercialization of World Wide Web

The expansion of Internet advertising since its 1994 birth has been truly phenomenal. Over the last decade, the industry involved and extended creativity, introducing new types of Web advertising, and companies devoted more budgets in business plans to online exposure. This part will discuss the history, format, pros and cons, and present status of online advertising. It also attempts to give some insight into the future trend of online advertising.

Two major breakthroughs on internet development were NSC's formal announcement of commercializing the Internet and the introduction of World Wide Web technology in 1993. Moreover, President Clinton implemented the National Information Infrastructure (NII) project in the same year, which actively encouraged e-commerce online. All these practices and technology development have a huge impact on the tenor of commercialization of Web.

The Internet has now become almost a "commodity" service, and much of the latest attention has been on the use of this global information infrastructure for support of other commercial services (Leiner et. al., 2003). For example, a public Web presence became necessary for most publicly traded companies. According to the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce’s survey, the total e-commerce sales for 2006 were estimated at $108.7 billion, an increase of 23.5 percent (±3.3%) from 2005 (The U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). Also, the IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau) announced that Internet advertising revenues for the first six months of 2006 increased nearly 37 percent from the same period in 2005. These estimated figures reveal that online advertising industry has continued to explode and everyone is upbeat.

WWW Becomes Ubiqutious

The Web continued to gain popularity even though it experienced the dot-com bubble in 2001. During this time, a pile of companies developing successful business models on the Web. These include Google's search engine and its system of "relevant advertising", Apple Computer's iTunes web music store and Expedia's web-based travel service. Other companies, while offering traditional services, managed to find a solid Web-based niche and survive the bust; these include Amazon.com and eBay (wikipedia.org, 2007).

On the other hand, due to the prevalence of wideband, wireless, and other advanced Internet technologies, the Web provides general users with access whenever and wherever they find themselves, with applications that dynamically adapt to the user’s needs, device capabilities and environmental conditions. Application mobility will allow users to seamlessly switch between devices whilst continuing to access the same applications. Clearly, the number of people with Internet access will continue to grow in the future.

The emergence of User-Generated Content (UGC) including social networking websites such as MySpace, Bebo, Xanga, Friendster, Facebook and orkut, is another rising phenomena in this era. This increasingly powerful trend has given consumers a publishing forum where they can share their opinions and personal experiences on a wide range of issues. It also enlightens some marketing practices for the advertisers. This issue will be addressed later.

1. Rich Media advertising--advertisements that incorporate animation, sound, and/or interactivity in any format. Rich Media categories include:

Banners: Are rectangular graphics located at the top or bottom of web sites. Example--Rectangle, Leaderboard, Skyscraper
Buttons: Are small graphic advertisements that can be placed anywhere on a web page and are linked to the sponsor.
Interstitials: Advertisements that pop onto the screen. The idea is to interrupt the content and draw attention.
Floating ad: An ad which moves across the user's screen or floats above the content.
Expanding ad: An ad which changes size and which may alter the contents of the webpage.
Polite ad: A method by which a large ad will be downloaded in smaller pieces to minimize the disruption of the content being viewed.
Wallpaper ad: An ad which changes the background of the page being viewed.
Trick banner: A banner ad that looks like a dialog box with buttons. It simulates an error message or an alert.
Pop-up: A new window which opens in front of the current one, displaying an advertisement, web page, or entire website.
Pop-under: Similar to a Pop-Up except that the window is loaded or sent behind the current window so that the user does not see it until they close one or more active windows.
Video ad: similar to a banner ad, except that instead of a static or animated image, actual moving video clips are displayed.
Map ad: text or graphics linked from, and appearing in or over, a location on an electronic map such as on Google Maps.
Mobile ad: an SMS text or multi-media message sent to a cell phone.

2. E-mail --banner ads, links or advertiser sponsorships that appear in e-mail newsletters, e-mail marketing campaigns and other commercial e-mail communications.

Ad-Supported E-mail: Companies offering free e-mail access to users in return for using their e-mail reader, which displays paid advertising. e.g.www.netzero.com
Listserv’s or E-mail Newsletters: A company can sponsor newsletters that are transmitted via e-mail to subscribers.
Direct E-mail: Persuasive messages transmitted directly from the sponsor to consumer via e-mail......direct mail. e.g. www.netcreations.com

3. Classified Advertising-- Numerous web sites have started offering classified advertising on their sites designed to sell products, provide services, distribute information, and solicit employment. (e.g., online job boards and employment listings, real estate listings, automotivelistings, auction-based listings, yellow pages).

4. Sponsorship-- represents custom content and/or experiences created for an advertiser which may or may not include ad unties (i.e., display advertising, brand logos, advertorial and pre-roll video). Sponsorships fall into several categories:

Spotlights are custom built pages incorporating an advertiser’s brand and housing a collection of content usually around a theme;
Advergaming can range from an advertiser buying all the ad unitsaround a game or a “sponsored by”link to creating a custom branded game experience;
Content & Section Sponsorship is when an advertiser exclusively sponsors a particular section of the site or email (usually existing content) reskinned with the advertiser’s branding;
Sweepstakes & Contests can range from branded sweepstakes on thesite to a full-fledge branded contest with submissions and judging.

5. Slotting fees–feescharged to advertisers by Internet companies to secure premium positioning of an advertisement on their site, category exclusivity or similar preference positioning (similar to slotting allowances charged by retailers).

6. Referrals / Lead Generation–fees advertisers pay to Internet advertising companies that refer qualified purchase inquiries (e.g., auto dealers which pay a fee in exchange for receiving a qualified purchase inquiry online) or provide consumer information (demographic, contact, behavioral) where the consumer opts into being contacted by a marketer (email, postal, telephone, fax). These processes are priced on aperformance basis (e.g., cost-per-action, -lead or - inquiry), and can include user applications (e.g., for a credit card), surveys, contests (e.g., sweepstakes) or registrations.

7. Search–fees advertisers pay Internet companies to list and/or link their company site domain name to a specific search word or phrase (includes paid search revenues).
Search categories include:

Paid listings–text links appear at the top or side of search results for specific keywords. The more a marketer pays, the higher the position it gets. Marketers only pay when a user clicks on the text link.
Contextual search–text links appear in an article based on the context of the content, instead of a user-submitted keyword. Payment only occurs when the link is clicked.
Paid inclusion–guarantees that a marketer’s URL is indexed by a search engine. The listing is determined by the engine's search algorithms.
Site optimization–modifies a site to make it easier for search engines to automatically index the site and hopefully result in better placement in results.

8. Broadband Video Commercials–TV-like advertisements that may appear as in-page video commercials or before, during, and/or after a variety of content in a player environment including but not limited to, streaming video, animation, gaming, and music video content. This definition includes broadband video commercials that appear in live, archived, and downloadable streaming content.

(Source: Internet Advertising Bureau,2006; wikipedia.org, 2007)

Advantages of Internet Advertising

Interactivity:
Owning to the nature of the Internet, Internet Advertising allows consumers to interact with a website, search for additional information, and even make a purchase.
Targeting Audience:
Advertisers have the ability to reach a specific group of consumers online based on demographic and psychographic profiles, IP address, type of Web browser, and other criteria.
Tracking:
Advertisers can easily track whether consumers are clicking on Internet ads and which sites they are visiting the most.
Flexibility:
Ads could not only be displayed 24 hours 365 days a year but are also easily modified or canceled in a short time.

Disadvantages of Internet Advertising

Highly Fragmented/Clutter:
The Web is a highly fragmented medium and advertisers face the challenge of placing their message on a site that just to be noticed.
There are millions of websites for virtually any topic creating a challenge just to be noticed.
Limited Penetration:
It is difficult to reach older adults or those with lower income and education through the Internet due to their limit of obtaining access.
Connection Speed Dependence:
Although penetration of high speed access is growing, some of users still access the Internet using 56k modems. This hinders creative flexibility for delivering rich multimedia content.

Current State of Internet Advertising

According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report, the Internet advertising revenues for 2006 are estimated at $16.8 billion, a 34 percent increase over the previous revenue record of $12.5 billion in 2005. The 2006 Q4 revenues totaled just under $4.8 billion, making it the highest quarter reported. Fourth-quarter revenues for 2006 represent a 32 percent increase over the same period in 2005, and a 15 percent increase over Q3 of 2006, estimated at slightly under $4.2 billion (IAB, 2007).

“Results for 2006 confirm a very healthy environment for online advertising,” said David Silverman, partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers. “All signs point to a steady increase in the level of spends by traditional advertisers that are using online advertising as an important part of their media mix.” Obviously, the shift of advertising budget towards online continues at an unprecedented pace. Compared to traditional medium, the targeting and tracking available for online ad campaigns will continue to drive advertisers to the Web. As Peter Petrusky, at PricewaterhouseCoopers stated, “The maturation of the Internet as an effective advertising medium is directly tied to its ability to deliver qualified audiences to marketers.” Additionally, more and more marketers and advertisers have begun built brands through interactive advertising campaign. In a brief, the ever-increasing online advertising is clearly based on marketers' recognition that Interactive advertising can engage consumers, build brands and sell products and services most effectively.

Another phenomenon deserved to pay attention is online advertisers continue to test how to use the Internet with other media to leverage a combination of consumer touch points across different media. While search advertising, display advertising, and classified advertising remain the largest format in terms of revenues, some new formats such as lead generation, behavioral targeting, video ads, and consumer generated content continue to emerge. Analysts predict the online advertising will continue growing afforded by the growing installed base of broadband users."
The following highlights key revenue data breakouts; dollar figures are rounded ($ millions):

Ad Spending by Media
Internet display advertising registered a 17.3 percent increase to $9.76 billion. This is one of the highest growths of rate medium in the total advertising expenditure pie.

Advertising Spending by Media:

Full Year 2006 vs. Full Year 2005

MEDIA	FULL YEAR 2006 (Millions)	FULL YEAR 2005 (Millions)	% CHANGE
TELEVISION MEDIA	$65,373.3	$62,103.1	5.3%
· NETWORK TV 2	$22,879.2	$22,313.1	2.5%
· SPOT TV 3	$17,233.7	$15,614.8	10.4%
· CABLE TV	$16,746.0	$16,196.6	3.4%
· SPANISH LANGUAGE TV	$4,279.3	$3,756.1	13.9%
· SYNDICATION - NATIONAL	$4,235.1	$4,222.5	0.3%
NEWSPAPER MEDIA	$27,972.1	$28,645.8	-2.4%
· NEWSPAPERS (LOCAL)	$24,057.5	$24,872.2	-3.3%
· NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS	$3,539.2	$3,427.5	3.3%
· SPANISH LANGUAGE NEWSP	$375.4	$346.1	8.5%
MAGAZINE MEDIA	$29,833.4	$28,738.5	3.8%
· CONSUMER MAGAZINES	$23,190.5	$22,169.1	4.6%
· B-TO-B MAGAZINES	$4,144.9	$4,260.2	-2.7%
· SUNDAY MAGAZINES	$1,881.0	$1,739.4	8.1%
· LOCAL MAGAZINES	$461.6	$428.2	7.8%
· SPANISH LANGUAGE MAG	$155.4	$141.7	9.7%
RADIO MEDIA	$11,054.8	$11,017.70	0.3%
· LOCAL RADIO 4	$7,355.3	$7,403.6	-0.7%
· NATIONAL SPOT RADIO	$2,695.0	$2,604.1	3.5%
· NETWORK RADIO	$1,004.5	$1,009.9	-0.5%
ALL OTHER MEDIA TYPES	$15,415.7	$13,303.4	15.9%
· INTERNET 5	$9,756.1	$8,318.0	17.3%
· OUTDOOR	$3,831.2	$3,528.8	8.6%
· FSI's 6	$1,828.4	$1,456.5	25.5%
TOTAL 7	$149,649.3	$143,808.4	4.1%

Source: TNS Media Intelligence (2006, February)

Share of Spending by Media
Among most of medium advertising during the depression, Internet display advertising continues to increase its share, accounting for 6.5 percent of total ad spending, up from 5.8 percent a year ago.

Share of Advertising Spending by Media:
Full Year 2006 vs. Full Year 2005

MEDIA TYPE	FULL YEAR 2006	FULL YEAR 2005
TELEVISION	43.7%	43.2%
MAGAZINES	19.9%	20.0%
NEWSPAPERS	18.7%	19.9%
RADIO	7.4%	7.6%
INTERNET	6.5%	5.8%
ALL OTHER	3.8%	3.5%
TOTAL	100.0%	100.0%

Source: TNS Media Intelligence(2006, February)

Ad Formats
Search advertising, display advertising, and classified advertising dominate the largest format in terms of revenue.

Internet advertising revenues broken down by ad formats are ($ millions):

Formats	FH 2006	FH 2005
Search	40% ($3,164)	40% ($2,315)
Classifieds	20% ($1,582)	18% ($1,014)
Referrals/Lead Generation	7%($592)	6% ($347)
E-mail	2% ($158)	2% ($116)
Display Related	31% ($2,413)	34% ($1.996)
Rich Media	6% ($475)	8% ($463)
Ad Banners / Display Ads	21% ($1,622)	20% ($1,157)
Sponsorships	4% ($316)	5% ($317)
Slotting Fees	<1% (<1$)	1% ($58)

Source: IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) (2006, February)

According to a new research from comScore Networks, an estimated 747 million people aged 15 or older used the Internet worldwide in January 2007, a 10 percent increase from the same month a year ago. JupiterResearch revealed that the Internet is becoming the most important medium for a large segment of the American public. As JupiterResearch Analyst Barry Parr stated, “The average online consumer spends 14 hours a week online, which is the same amount of time they watch TV.” In addition, net usage has risen dramatically over the past few years, with surfers now spending an average of 23 hours a week online (YouGov, 2006).

Top 15 Countries by Internet Penetration
Unique Visitors Age 15+*
January 2007 vs. January 2006 Total Worldwide – All Locations

	Jan-06 (000)	Jan-07 (000)	Percentage Change
*Worldwide*	676,878	746,934	10%
United States	150,897	153,447	2%
China	72,408	86,757	20%
Japan	51,450	53,670	4%
Germany	31,209	32,192	3%
United Kingdom	29,773	30,072	1%
South Korea	24,297	26,350	8%
France	23,712	24,560	4%
India	15,867	21,107	33%
Canada	18,332	20,392	11%
Italy	15,987	18,106	13%
Brazil	12,845	14,964	16%
Spain	12,206	12,710	4%
Russian Federation	10,471	12,707	21%
Netherlands	10,772	11,077	3%
Mexico	8,624	10,149	18%

Source: comScore World Metrix *Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

What's the Next Wave ?

Internet display advertising is expected to continue growing at double-digit rates in 2007 exceeding the overall market average. 2007 is the ongoing shift in advertising dollars from traditional media into nontraditional media, most notably the Internet. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers announced lately that the growth of online ad spending has occurred at a tremendous rate and is expected to increase 20% or more over the next four years reaching $18.5 billion by 2008. Also, Forrester Research Inc. projected that by 2010, the Web ad market will reach $26 billion, or 8 percent of total ad expenditures.

2007 Projections by Medium
(Ranked by Growth Rate)% SHARE OF AD SPEND

	% Change vs. 2006	2007 (forecast)	2006 (estimate)
Internet1	13.4%	7.2%	6.5%
Syndication TV	6.6%	2.9%	2.8%
Outdoor	5.7%	2.6%	2.5%
Consumer & Sunday Magazines	5.5%	17.9%	17.5%
Spanish Language Media	5.4%	3.3%	3.2%
Cable Network TV	4.7%	11.9%	11.7%
Business-To-Business Magazines	2.1%	3.0%	3.0%
Radio	1.7%	7.3%	7.4%
Network Television	0.6%	15.2%	15.0%
Newspapers2	-0.9%	17.7%	18.4%
Spot TV	-2.8%	10.9%	11.6%

Source: TNS Media Intelligence (2006, Feburary)

Audio Ads&Podcasting

Meanwhile, research firm eMarketer expects that advertisers will spend more than $400 million on podcasting by 2011, up from $80 million last year, according to a report schedule of Google. Fueling the anticipated growth is the expected Google entrance of Google (GOOG) into the podcasting arena as well as new podcasting services. For example, the Mountain View [Calif.] company will develop the ability to insert audio ads, based on keywords, into audio podcasts within the next five years. Moreover, the video ads have promising opportunity to grow as advertisers to seek to leverage the opportunities afforded by the growing installed base of broadband users.

Social Networking& User Generate Content

Microsoft’s Bill Gates has contented that User-Generated Content (UGC) will become an important theme in the world of online advertising in a speech at the Engage 2005 conference, which was organized by the International Advertising Bureau. He said the content of Internet advertising will be personalized and interactive permitting consumers to view what they want, when they want and how they want it, providing a wealth of opportunities for marketers and advertisers.

Social networks have become an indisputable part of the fabric of the Internet during the 2006. Led by MySpace, which is now one of the most visited sites in the US, social networking is a cultural phenomenon that is still developing a stable revenue model. Social network ad spending is growing fast as advertisers become more comfortable with viral marketing and UGC. Search, e-commerce, video and international expansion will be key areas to watch in 2007 (IAB, 2007).
For many marketers, advertising on social networks has now become a top priority. For example, Google's $900 million deal with MySpace and a generally increased advertiser interest in other social network sites are among the key factors driving growth. eMarketer estimated that marketers spent $350 million on social network advertising in 2006. Spending is expected to rise 147% this year, to $865 million, and to $2.15 billion in 2010.

Source: eMarketer (2007, Feburary)

Definitions

User-Generated Content (UGC) refers to various kinds of media content that is created, initiated, circulated and used by consumers through digital technology. Opposed to traditional media producers, licensed broadcasters, and production companies, UGC encompasses opinions, experiences, advice and commentary about products, brands, companies and services—usually informed by personal experience—that exist in consumer-created postings on Internet discussion boards, forums, Usenet newsgroups, blogs, mobile phone photography and wikis. UGC can contain text, images, photos, videos, podcasts and other forms of media. Major examples of websites rooted in user-generated content include Friends Reunited, YouTube, MySpace and Facebook.

What is UGC all about ?

The first form of UGC seems to be Web TV, which emerged around 1996 when Internet access was broadened at an exponential rate. Since that period, UGC has developed gradually as the popularity of the World Wide Web. But the earliest mention of the term "Consumer-Generated Content" appeared in press-releases of the consumer review site MouthShut.com issued by the digital media agents called ShareYourWorld, Inc on 27th March 2000. Since then, the trend of chat groups, message boards and electronic forums blogging has spread like wildfire. In late 2002, Pete Blackshaw, the CMO for CGM analytics firm Nielsen BuzzMetrics coined the phrase "Consumer-Generated Media."

But lately, Superbowl XLI announced the arrival of the Consumer Generated Ad (CGA). GCA is a construction of a consumer that created an ad for a specific brand or product. For example, MasterCard invited consumers to fill in the blanks as part of their newest "priceless" campaign, results to be used in national spots. iPod lover and teacher George Masters created his own online advertising for Apple iPod, using his passion for the brand and imagination. This consumer-to-consumer ad form has recently found its way into everyday conversation and has broadened the scope of the UGC concept. Also, CGM is rapidly adopting the same rich-media formats we see in online advertising. In short, the term User-Generated Content (UGC) consists of the following concepts: Consumer-Generated Media (CGM), Consumer Generated Ad (CGA), and Consumer-Generated Multimedia (CGM2).

"MasterCard Priceless camapign"

Formats of Consumer-Generated Media(CGM)

1. Weblogs (Blogs)
A Weblog or blog is a web application that contains periodic posts on a specific website and is accessible to any Internet users.

Consumer/Personal Blogs: These are blogs created by individuals often as personal diaries. However, many provide personal reviews and opinions of products, companies and issues. Many allow users to leave comments, and most provide links to other blogs or websites that provide additional information relating to a particular subject. (e.g. http://roundhillway.blogspot.com/)
Corporate Blogs : These are blogs that are created and sponsored by corporate entities. These blogs provide postings from employees of the organization delivering information and insight relating to the company, their products, and issues that impact the company. Most will allow users to post comments as this provides valuable feedback and a means for open discussion between the company and its consumers. (e.g. http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/)
Journalist & Media Blogs: These are blog sites published by professional journalists. These sites may be independent or they may be associated with the media outlet that the journalist is employed by. They provide a higher level of writing and provide true journalistic research and insight in the postings they provide. These blogs may focus on particular subjects, issues, or industries and often provide valuable analysis of issues.
(e.g. http://weblog.herald.com/column/davebarry/)

2. Internet Forums (Message Boards/Discussion Forums)
A message board or forum exists as part or all of a website and allows users to start topics and discuss issues with other users. Internet forums may be moderated by an administrator that establishes the topics of the discussion. Users are able to post messages and carry on an active dialogue with other users of the site. One forum site may have multiple topics that are covered, all relating to one central subject.

Consumer/Personal Forums: These are forum sites established by users around a specific topic or issue. These sites are not created or sponsored by a corporate entity, but represent a group of users with a common interest. Users openly discuss issues, provide reviews, and disseminate their opinions relating to a variety of subjects. (e.g. http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/)
Media Forums: These are forums that are provided as a portion of an existing media site or publication. This portion of the site allows readers of the publication to meet and discuss relevant topics and issues.
(e.g. Ehttp://caranddriver.com/idealbb/)
Industry Forums: These are forums that focus discussion on a particular industry, such as the telecom industry. These forums may be established by industry organizations or companies related to those industries. They provide very focused discussion from employees and experts within the industry.
(e.g. http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/forum/)

3. Usergroups (Usenet)
Usergroups or newsgroups represent repositories of messages posted by many different users. Usergroups are broken into a large number of categories in a hierarchical structure that allow users to easily identify topics of interest. Users can carry on discussions through this medium, posting opinions, reviews, and questions relating to the selected usergroup.

Usenet is the most used and well-known set of usergroups. These groups may be open to the public and allow any Internet user to view and post messages, or the sites may require membership. Yahoo provides Yahoo Groups as a service providing the ability to create and access usergroups. Google has also developed a service, Google Groups that provides similar functionality and access to all Usenet groups.
(e.g. http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.autos.sport.nascar)

(Source: TNS Media Intelligence/ Cymfony, 2007)

Formats of UGC Source: Forrester Research, Inc. and Intelliseek (2004)

Formats of Consumer-Generated Multimedia(CGM2)

Moblogs, photo sharing, and tagging. Moblogs are mobile-enabled blogs that let users post photos from anywhere. Interestingly, many of the online photos today are efficiently tagged with labels such as "BadMcDonaldsExperience," which makes them easier to find, organize, and index through search engines. Camera phones play a huge role in moblog growth. (e.g. http://notetaker.typepad.com/photos/cgmmoments/)

Vlogs/personal videos. Vlogs are basically video-based journals, almost like reality TV for online. My favorite is Rocketboom. Thanks to iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, and other tools, it's getting easier to create sticky, viral, even incriminating online video.
Podcasting. Think of this as TiVo meets radio. Consumers create their own radio broadcasts and make them available for others. Because they're so darn easy to create, expect to see a ton of them.

Source: Blackshaw, P. ( 2005, June) The Pocket Guide to Consumer-Generated Media.
ClickZ Network.

Consumer-Generated Media now is becoming one of the most influential online marketing channels. For many marketers, advertising on social networks has now become a top priority. In addition, the hype of Super Bowl XLI commercials involved various campaigns to allow consumers to be involved in the creation of Super Bowl ads, inspired by consumer-generated content sites like YouTube (wikipedia.org, 2007). That, in turn, means that advertisers want to be on YouTube, which is why Google paid so much for it. The supporting background that leads to this phenomenon includes ever-growing media fragmentation, maturity of device proliferation, and the rise of interactive media, social networks, and democratized publishing. But why have both the consumers and advertisers become obsessed with tapping into the craze for user-generated content? What's the attraction of CGA?

The motivation drives consumers online to share their personal experiences or comments about brands resulted from the natural desire for self-expression. They are attracted to the Internet because it gives them an unfiltered, unfettered voice, a community in which they can establish and exert influence. Generally, they are talkative, active consumers who try new products first and have no qualms about sharing and spreading their “been there, done that” experiences among other consumers. For the consumers who gather information before purchase, it’s because UGC is regarded as a trusted, third-party, independent source of information that’s populated by other consumers. A recent Forrester and Intelliseek study found that over 90% of consumers trust "recommendations from consumers," while trust in various types of ad runs from about 40% to under 10%.

On the other hand, when it comes to the reasons that make consumers create CGAs, the monetary and publicity rewards are apparent incentives. However, there are still a large number of consumers are motivated by the passion for a brand. For example, a Mac-aficionado-woman wrote a song “I love my Mac” to convey how much she liked her Mac, put it on the internet, and it took off like wildfire.

During this year’s Super Bowl, Doritos promoted consumer-generated ads for its brand at www.crashthesuperbowl.com, where people could view and vote for their favorite submissions. From January 1st through January 28th, the site attracted 227,000 unique visitors, which demonstrates the broadening appeal of the consumer generated content phenomenon (Dube, 2007). Just as Mike May, an interactive media analyst and consultant with The Acorn Group said “If you get consumers talking about your brand, you don't have to spend to talk about it yourself. […] There's no point in saving money if you're not being effective. But if the consumer-generated campaign does work, it could result in more cost effective marketing."

More and more advertisers have jumped on the Consumer-Generated Ad bandwagon owing to its benefit of humor, novelty, saving the production costs, or the ability to generate buzz. "AMA’s survey revealed that compared to a company that uses only professional advertising, most adults feel that a company that uses customer-created advertising is more customer-friendly (68%), creative (56%), and innovative (55%). Bryan Wiener, the President of 360i LLC also contended that CGA engages consumers as active participants with the brand and increases the base of registered users, especially if there's a community aspect.

Most importantly, CGA can lead credibility to a brand. There's no better advocate of a brand than a consumer who communicates effectively and positively about a product or service. On the other hand, the risks of CGA include opening a brand, product, or service up to negative feedback. There's nothing worse than a consumer who can manipulate the media to communicate effectively and negatively about a product or service(Michael J. Konowicz, 2006).