Consumer-Generated Content and its Impact on Advertising

Daniel Tse

Introduction

Consumer Generated Content…Consumer Generated Media…these terms have become common through their use in the media, yet what do they really mean? Simply put, it describes the content that is created by consumers for consumers, and is distributed in the online world. Popular examples include blogs, social networking sites, podcasts and videos.

In a world where email is a necessity and browsing the web are common daily activities, the internet has evolved to provide everyday consumers the capability and freedom to create content for it. Not to mention, consumer generated content has also penetrated and impacted the advertising world. The goal of this website is to provide an overview on the much-discussed topic of consumer generated content (CGC). This website will cover the following topics:

What is Consumer Generated Content ( CGC)? The Origins of Consumer Generated Content The Role of the Consumer in CGC The Current Impact of CGC on Advertising The Future of CGC and Advertising

To begin with the first topic on "What is Consumer Generated Content?", please click Next.

What is Consumer Generated Content?

Consumer Generated Content is a term that stems from and generally applies to the online world. Its meaning is exactly what the three words suggest—content that is generated by consumers. But more specifically, this term describes media content that is authored by, published by, produced by, developed by, recorded by, edited by, designed by, or directed by the average everyday consumer. From a marketing perspective, this is a huge contrast from conventional marketing practices; where consumers are the passive recipients of advertising messages. Instead, consumers play an active role in creating, designing, influencing, developing, and shaping advertising content. Hence the inclusion of the word “consumer” in the term, as opposed to the generally accepted practice of having traditional corporations, agencies, and experienced industry professionals creating content. In other words, the stark irony lies in the fact that the consumer, who is normally being spoken to, now does the speaking (Johnson 2006).   

Technology is a critical factor to driving the growth of consumer generated content. It is the advent of the digital camera, microphone, webcam, audio/visual/design/editing software, and internet publishing tools that empowers consumers to create content. Moreover, the Web 2.0 movement has established a new mentality regarding the internet, which is to share, to contribute, and to collaborate. The web platforms and frameworks of this era that are built on these principles, essentially encapsulate the idea of consumers generating content. Thus, websites and web services were born that gave creative freedom to consumers from the outset; and encouraged them to use the tools and features at their behest to develop content (Grossman 2006). If it wasn’t for the: webcam, digital camera equipped with video functions, Windows MovieMaker, Apple’s iMovie, or the publishing and distribution capabilities of YouTube; consumers would be unable to create, post, and share personal videos on the internet. This is only one out of many stories of how technological innovation fueled the arrival of consumer generated content. But with the plethora of tools available for the everyday consumer, all one really needs is creativity (Jaffe 2005).

In any other case, it may not be appropriate to include a layman’s definition to a concept. But considering how consumers are now in charge of creating content, it is fitting to see how they themselves define this phenomenon. Wikipedia—an online encyclopedia built and made up of consumer generated facts—defines “consumer generated content” (also known as consumer generated media) as follows:

Consumer-generated media (CGM) describes word-of-mouth behavior that exists on the Internet. Typically, consumer-generated media 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 and blogs. CGM can include text, images, photos, videos, podcasts and other forms of media. (Bobedwards1 2006).

This definition looks at consumer generated content from a marketing angle. In this case, consumers are not just creating content for the sake of creative self-expression and entertainment (although it is often a primary motive), but they are doing so as a form of expression towards a brand, product, or company. Lovers of a certain brand may want to portray the reasons why they adore a brand—and for no incentive at all, besides self-fulfillment. Their content results in free, positive advertising for the brand. Similarly, those who dislike a specific product may create content to depict or even parody the reasons why they hate it—in order to complain and make their voice heard (Jaffe 2005). This type of content is also free, but instead advertises the product in a negative manner. The true intentions of consumers may not always be easily identifiable, but such publicity and buzz surrounding consumer generated content for a brand may have widespread marketing implications. As content is shared and word-of-mouth is spread, consumer generated media can ultimately shape consumer perceptions in the marketplace.  

The biggest appeal of consumer generated content is its viral nature. Jim Meskauskas and Joseph Carrabis separately highlight some of the key factors that help popularize consumer generated content in making it a viral success:

• Entertainment value
• Utility to others
• An apparent reward
• Uniqueness
• Ability to build critical mass
• Establishing trust
• Providing a fair exchange

It is not possible to predict if a piece of consumer generated content will fly or flop in the marketplace. However, possessing some or all of the above characteristics can increase the possibility of success (Carr 2007).

Through this definition and description of consumer generated content, one can see how this phenomenon has impacted both the online and marketing worlds.  

The Origins of Consumer Generated Content

Where did CGC come from?

What are the origins of Consumer Generated Content? One can argue that the rise and growth of the internet was a collaborative effort that was fueled by the contribution of consumers. But to fully understand the roots of consumer generated online content, it would be beneficial to examine the history and progression of the internet.

The Origins of Consumer Generated Content

The Birth of the Internet

The early beginnings of the internet have been thought to be started by J.C.R. Licklider—the head of computer research at DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) in 1962. He envisioned an interconnected worldwide computer network which later became the ARPANET project of the US Department of Defense. Also in 1962, Leonard Kleinrock—a doctoral MIT student—wrote a thesis on queue networks that lead to the eventual creation of packet-switching technology, a crucial component of internet communication. In 1965, Lawrence G. Roberts connected a computer in Massachusetts with a computer in California using the telephone line to transmit and retrieve data, effectively creating the world’s first network. Due to the slow transmission rates, he saw the need to convert to packet-switching technology, which took place in 1969 when the first nodes were established at UCLA, Stanford, and at DARPA. After successfully sending host-to-host messages from node to node, additional computers were added to the network from other cities to form ARPANET (Leiner et al. 2003).

Soon, Transmission Control Protocol—Internet Protocol (TCP / IP) was created to standardize computer network communication. In 1972, Ray Tomlinson developed the first software for reading and writing electronic mail, which included using the “@” sign as a convention to identify network destinations. Subsequently, more networks began to emerge as more researchers started to experiment with this new communication technology (Leiner et al. 2003). In 1984, Paul Mockapetris introduces the concept of web addresses by creating the Domain Name System (DNS). In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee (the creator of the World Wide Web) developed the first web browser while contracting for CERN; which enabled the first client-server communication to occur on the internet (Berners-Lee 2004). This seminal project not only incorporated the use of Hypertext to create links to different files, but also utilized a Graphical User Interface (GUI). In the same year, ARPANET was decommissioned by the U.S. Government, but by then, the internet had started to gain increased public and commercial interest (Leiner et al. 2003).

Timeline of the beginnings of the Internet.

The Origins of Consumer Generated Content

The Commercialization of the Internet

In 1993, CERN agreed to freely license the use of web protocols and code, thus inviting widespread participation to the construction of the web. In March of that year, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) released Mosaic X, an early web browser for the Windows operating system (Berners-Lee 2004).

1994 marked the beginning of the commercialization of the internet. The first international World Wide Web conference was organized, and later on, the World Wide Web Consortium—headed by Tim Berners-Lee—was created to establish standards for the web. At the same time, the creator of Mosaic X—Mark Andreessen—left the NCSA to form Mosaic Communications Corporation. Soon, the company renamed itself and its browser to Netscape and ultimately Netscape Navigator, to provide the first web browser for commercial use. Microsoft also followed by developing their own web browser—Internet Explorer—which later superseded the popularity of Netscape. Companies such as CompuServe, America Online (AOL), and Prodigy also entered the market to provide dial-up internet access to the public (Berners-Lee 2004).

The popularity of the internet began to grow in the mid 1990s, as the general public learned how to publish web pages and communicate (newsgroups, e-mail, chat-rooms etc.) with one another. Entrepreneurs saw the opportunity to reach the masses using this relatively inexpensive medium and began to conduct business (e-commerce) within it. The concept of banner advertising was carried over from the print industry and ads that linked web pages began to appear throughout the internet. Similarly, electronic storefronts emerged onto the web to provide purchasing options for internet users (Marlow, 2000).

Visionary and opportunistic entrepreneurs developed new business models to profit from internet technology. Taking advantage of low interest rates and receiving funding from venture capitalists; e-commerce websites and online businesses (dot-coms) began to flood the internet by the late 1990s. These start-up companies founded their businesses on the premise of capitalizing on the inexpensive communication and distribution channels of the web and in hopes of becoming publicly traded (Jones 2001). Established companies and brands also made a splash in the market by joining the internet economy. With increased competition, lackluster operations, small customer bases, liberal spending and the inability to generate profits; many of the entrepreneurial dot-com companies went bankrupt. The dot-com bubble which ballooned on the stock market had burst at the turn of the millennium in 2000 (Barr 2002).

As shown here, the NASDAQ peaked and fell in 2000 when the dot-com bubble had burst

After the dot-com bubble burst, many lost faith in the potential of the WWW. Investors discovered that too much money was being poured into unproven e-commerce potential that didn’t deserve the hype (Soto 2002). However, all was not lost in the dot-com bust. In the wake of 2002, online businesses and web-based business models (such as eBay and Amazon) that survived the dot-com crash slowly rose from the ashes to lead an online reemergence. There was something different about how these survivors ran their business, and as the web user community continued to grow, these new businesses started to flourish again (Pender 2001). They saw the internet from a different perspective, and they set the trends for a new strategy of existence in the online world. With the internet’s comeback in full-force, those within the online community identified this evolutionary movement as Web 2.0 (Quittner 2006).

The Origins of Consumer Generated Content

The Resurgence of the Internet—Web 2.0

Tim O’Reilly—a renowned technology expert—is considered to be the first to coin the phrase “Web 2.0” in 2004 during a conference brainstorming session with Medialive International. After establishing the Web 2.0 Conference, the phrase began to spread like wildfire. However, the birth of the phrase was not the catalyst of the movement; instead the Web 2.0 concept was born out of detailed observation and identification of the trends of new web services that sprang up (O’Reilly 2005).  

Much confusion has arisen surrounding Web 2.0 since the phrase was popularized. Is it a new way of using internet technology? Is it a new business model? Or is it a new philosophical approach? The man who invented the phrase would describe Web 2.0 as all of the above. In short, Web 2.0 describes the rise of a second generation of entrepreneurial web services that differ from the first generation in their utilization and reliance on participation and collaboration (O’Reilly 2006). Web 2.0 to an extent, borrows from the open-source philosophy that distinguished LINUX and Netscape—giving freedom to non-profiting end-users to contribute to software development and improvement for the betterment of the community. In fact, Web 2.0 is a loosely applied concept that can be identified by the following principles that O’Reilly outlines:

- The web as a platform for cost-effective and scalable services, not rigid software
- Employing the collective intelligence and contribution of users
- Controlling the unique data sources that get richer with increased user participation
- “Perpetual Betas”—the constant, non-cyclical release of improved versions
- Simplified and lightweight user interfaces, development models, and business models
- Compatibility across devices, that is unrestricted to servers or browsers
- Reaching out to the entire web by providing freedom and customer self-service

These are the characteristics that Tim O’Reilly identified as being commonly found amongst Web 2.0 companies and services (O’Reilly 2005). But apart from the less apparent business and architectural aspects of these companies, Web 2.0 can also be readily identified by the presence of some of these features:

1. Use of tags (folksonomic instead of a taxonomic directory structure)
2. Use of wikis (freedom to add and edit unrestricted content)
3. Publishing capabilities (users can create, publish, and distribute content)
4. Social networking features (sharing and communicating within a community)
5. Integrated structure and re-use or remix (also known as mash-up) functionality
6. RSS feeds and dynamic updates

Some examples of Web 2.0 include: Flickr, del.icio.us, Myspace, Craig’s List, Wikipedia, and YouTube—all of which possess at lease one of the aforementioned principles and features. In other words, Web 2.0 is a revolution against corporate control that empowers users to contribute, create, edit, and participate (O’Reilly 2006). In fact, it has been remarked that, “the internet is no longer about corporations telling you what to do, think or buy; it's about things people create. The stuff they create falls into two very broad types (the types aren't distinct; they blur and overlap and mash-up, as is the new way of it)” (Lanchester 2006). During a video interview with several founders of the above mentioned Web 2.0 companies, they describe Web 2.0 as a “return to the original vision and concept of the internet”—where sharing, community, collaboration, modification, reading and writing are emphasized (Katz and Burkeman 2006). Clearly, many aspects of the Web 2.0 phenomenon include the idea of users generating and sharing content. In essence, it is from this Web 2.0 movement that the concept of consumer generated content was conceived.

The Role of the Consumer in CGC

Motivation to Generate Content

When does a consumer decide to generate content? Is it an issue of motivation, opportunity, or both? There are three general scenarios when a consumer decides to create content.

Consumer Initiates
The consumer is motivated internally or externally to create some sort of online content in reference to a brand or product. The consumer is active in initiating this creation by taking the first step.

Example: School teacher George Masters creates a vibrant iPod commercial reflecting his love for the product.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30gJvuveGl4&feature=related

Marketers Provide the Means

In this scenario, it is the marketer or corporate entity which establishes a means for consumers to generate content. Often, this occurs with an agenda in mind that ultimately benefits the company behind it. Whether it is setting up an online content creation contest or developing a platform for consumers to create, the marketer has a hand in providing consumers with the opportunity to generate content. This is sometimes referred to as “consumer-solicited media”, since marketers solicit consumers to take part in creating media content, such as a contest (Blackshaw 2007). In some marketing circles, this strategy is considered to by a type of “co-creation” or “participatory advertising”.

Example: Converse introduces a new website dedicated to the retro Converse All-Star shoes which allows users to customize, design and purchase their very own pair of the shoes. In addition users are encouraged to submit short-films, and commercials to express their love for the shoe which have a potential to be aired on MTV and other cable networks.

Consumer Responds

Rather than initiate, consumers in this scenario are reactive. They are not motivated to generate content until there is something to respond to (an ad campaign, a new product launch, a new promotion). After contact or exposure, or some sort of personal experience, the consumer sees an opportunity to respond. Hence, the consumer develops content as a response to their experience.  

Example: After witnessing the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment by scientist Steve Spangler, consumers respond by filming and posting videos of their own versions of the now popular backyard experiment.    (Search youTube Diet Coke mentsos)

Although these three scenarios are not fully predictive, they provide a good indication and understanding of consumer behavior and how consumers perceive the opportunity to create content (Jaffe 2005).

The Role of the Consumer in CGC

The Consumers Behind it

Although the previous section identified when consumers decide to generate content, it does not explain who they are. Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba classify 4 types of consumers who actively contribute to content creation on the web. On the whole, they are described as “citizen marketers”—passionate consumers who feel a sense of obligation to society to evangelize or relay brand marketing information towards the larger web community. These citizen marketers can be categorized into 4 types of personalities that differ in the way that they behave online:

Filters
They are the gatherers and accumulators of information—be it news, trends, launches, events, or rumors. But as much as they are a well of information, they distill what they find and present the most relevant or interesting to those in their circle of influence. Those classified as Filters are essentially an online variation of what Malcolm Gladwell calls a Maven, in his book, “The Tipping Point”. They are the people who seem to know a lot about everything (Gladwell 2002). Filters typically use websites or blogs to display the information that they’ve found. They may quote news articles, display the latest headlines, comment on breaking news, show a video, play a podcast, or describe a rumor. Filters have a tendency to generate a loyal following who use them as a source for information. And because they collect, filter, and pass on information so often, they maintain a certain degree of objectivity.  

 Fanatics

Fanatics are considered to be the loyalists and evangelists. When they are in love with something, they fall head over heels for it, and try to tell every single soul that they know. But when they are displeased with something, their tempers may flare, and they will also try to tell everyone around them about their displeasure. Thus, fanatics have a broad spectrum of emotions, and they aren’t afraid to express it. In spite of this, Fanatics are not fickle; instead it is their love and commitment to a brand or product that drives them to be critical when something doesn’t meet their expectations. Fanatics have a tendency to express themselves in their blogs, websites, podcasts, or videos. They provide expert information to those around them, and see it as their responsibility to educate those who are less in the know. Due to their fanaticism, they constantly provide updates and the latest news surrounding the brands and products that they love-to-love, or love-to-hate.

Facilitators
Facilitators are never really in the spotlight and have a tendency to fade into the background. They are the gatherers, connectors, and people-herders. They organize groups and communities around a specific focus. They are the first to form blogrings, Facebook groups, and create bulletin boards; and to subsequently recruit members to join. They do this because they enjoy gathering people to form communities, and to provide a way for people to have or share something in common. Another motivation for their behavior is to rally support behind a cause, a brand, or a product. They spend their time creating such groups and communities, meeting the needs of community members, and observing rather than actively speaking.

The Current Impact of CGC on Advertising

Current Trends

The rising popularity of consumer generated content in the past 2 years has vast marketing and advertising implications. Not only is it changing peoples’ media consumption habits (by providing online entertainment that detracts users from television) and online interaction behavior, but also how brands and products are now marketing themselves.

The Current Impact of CGC on Advertising

Blogs

In the world of blogs (also known as the blogosphere), marketers are purchasing banner ads to gain impressions on the most read blogs. Others are creating and / or sponsoring blogs to increase the loyal following for well-loved products and brands. And still, other marketers are paying (through the facilitation of companies like PayPerPost) the writers of popular blogs to make mention or provide commentary on specific brands or products—much like product placement in the film industry (Friedman 2007). Advertisers are paying bloggers (or blog writers) like Jeff Cutler to be a copywriter, by compensating him for making mention of specific credit cards, car insurance, or 1-800-Flowers on his personal blog (BowlofCheese.com). Similarly, Linnea Sheldon has been rewarded with over $200 in complimentary tickets to events for mentioning them in her blog about her personal dating life (LinneaDates.com). Marketers have found this to be a cost-effective tactic to promote their products and brands subtly through the blogosphere (Abelson 2005).

Jeff Cutler is paid to mention brands and products in his blog: "Bowl of Cheese"

Linnea Sheldon is rewarded for writing about restaurants, plays, and special events in her dating blog.

Seeing that certain blogs provide information and entertainment to certain types of readers, marketers have discovered that blog advertising can be a good method for targeting certain market segments and demographics. In fact, a 2005 survey by Forrester Research, reports that 64% of advertisers are interested in advertising on blogs (for more details on the study, click here). Mario Lavandeira is the author of Perez Hilton, a celebrity gossip blog that is hugely popular amongst teenage girls and adult women. And since it boasts a massive daily readership amongst the aforementioned demographics, marketers have sought to place ads on this blog—resulting in roughly 2.2 million ad impressions a day (according to this source). SheFinds is a blog run by columnist, Michelle Madhok, who writes about fashion trends and shopping deals for professional women who are too busy to window shop (SheFinds.com). Based on the large readership and specific audience, this blog has also been the subject of much banner advertising.

Advertisers target fans of celebrity gossip by placing ads on Perez Hilton's celebrity gossip blog.

Banner ads are placed on SheFinds.com to target female working professionals

As seen in the above examples, advertisers are relying on the sanctity of the blogger -reader relationship. Blog readers have a tendency to trust the words and information presented on a blog more often than they do what they see or hear in traditional media. The primary reason is that bloggers are consumers themselves, and they provide the voice from another relatable and personable human who’s interested in the consumer experience; as opposed to a corporation who’s concerned about revenues. Marketers are hence, able to leverage this relationship to promote brand awareness, hint at product launches, promote relevant products, or even monitor consumer conversations about their brand. In fact, a study was conducted on automotive purchases, and the results indicate that 70% of those surveyed claimed that consumer generated media (e.g. consumer review sites) and blogs were critical to their purchase intentions and decisions. Additionally, 71% remarked that the information they received was both credible and trust-worthy. This study shows that consumers are more trusting of what they read in a blog, and that blog advertising can be an effective means to reach and persuade consumers (Kaye 2006).

 Common attribute among the 4 personas is their sincere motivation for expression without necessarily an agenda for financial gain. In addition, they are considered to be amateurs—meaning that they are not industry experts, but rather they are the common folk, average consumer, or typical end-user (McConnell 2007). From these descriptions, we can see the various roles that consumers can play in impacting the web and in contributing to CGC. Furthermore, we also see the marketing and branding implications that the behavior of these citizen marketers can have. The content that they create might cause a splash on the internet, but it could also create a ripple effect across society, the business world, the economy, popular culture, and/or history.

The Current Impact of CGC on Advertising

When social networking sites like MySpace, Friendster, and Facebook first arrived onto the online scene, internet users saw it as another way of making online friends and keeping in contact with old ones. Superficially, these sites didn’t seem much different from the chat-rooms and instant messaging that took hold of the internet in the late 1990s. These sites are predicated on the idea of 6 degrees of separation, where anyone can link to or somehow befriend everyone, effectively creating interconnected online communities. Armed with editing, design, and publishing functions; these social networking sites allow users to personalize their own page to whatever suited their tastes. As word-of-mouth spread about the social activities that can come out of being on these sites, more and more people joined to see what the rave was about.

The first to use social networking sites for marketing purposes was not major corporations, but rather, individuals seeking to generate fame in the online world. Aspiring musicians, comedians, models, actresses and the like were using sites like MySpace to build a fan base and interact with them. Seeing the potential to befriend anyone within the community, and to forge influential relationships with them, people started to utilize the networks for promotional purposes.

Ask anyone on MySpace, and you will find that they have befriended, if not at least heard of, Tila Tequila. A former model and aspiring actress / singer, she was among the first to join MySpace when it started. She made it her goal to personally connect with her fan base through online means and decided to befriend as many people as she could within the community. 1.5 million MySpace friends later, she now has a loyal fan base and following. She personally replies to all messages sent to her in order to maintain the credibility of her connections. She releases her latest singles for them to hear on her MySpace page, and updates them on her progress with recording her debut album. Leveraging the mass of MySpace, Tila Tequila has efficiently created a successful and low-cost advertising and public relations campaign for herself using a popular new media vehicle (Grossman 2006).

As advertisers took notice of the growth and marketing potential of social network sites, they quickly decided to utilize it as a more intimate method to connect with consumers in their advertising campaigns. It is now common to find profile pages and social network groups being set up by advertisers to connect with the social networking community. By doing so, advertisers are able to establish a two-way communication between consumers and brands; where consumers can provide feedback to a company, and a company can provide preview information and incentives to consumers.

In early 2006, Warner Brother Studios promoted the political thriller, “V for Vendetta” by utilizing the MySpace as a platform for generating buzz about the film’s release and characters. WB created a profile page for the film’s mysterious protagonist “V”, introducing users to the character, showing movie trailers, and offering users the opportunity to interact with him. In addition, WB purchased the banner ad placements surrounding the profile page so as to maximize the opportunity to market the film. Though this was only a small portion of the film’s advertising efforts, “V” did manage to establish over 32,000 friends, and the film was able to gross $70.5 million (imdb.com).  

The MySpace profile page that Warner Bros. created to promote "V for Vendetta".

 

Tila Tequila's MySpace profile page.  

 

Apart from utilizing existing social networking sites to establish connections with consumers, marketers have also created new social networks exclusive to their own brands. Nike created an online soccer fan community (Joga.com) in preparation for World Cup 2006, while simultaneously touting their products and the Joga website in its advertising. Barack Obama created a social network for the supporters of his presidential campaign (My.BarackObama.com). This strategy encourages the formation of a true online brand community, where the brand faithful are given an environment and opportunity to interact with each other and the brands they love. This allows brands to reinforce brand perceptions amongst loyalists, to share information, and to listen to the opinions of their biggest fans (Stone 2007).

Barack Obama created a social network on his website for his presidential campaign.

Nike created Joga.com, an online network for soccer fans to socialize during the World Cup.

Another example of corporate marketing presence in an online social networking community is in Second Life. This revolutionary program provides users the chance to create personalized characters and interact with one another (in a manner similar to real-life) in a virtual world. Users can open bank accounts, vacation at a resort, purchase property, and even get married within this world. Seeing that users within Second Life want to mimic reality as much as possible, advertisers have brought their brands into this world. In fact, within Second Life; American Apparel has opened a retail store, Adidas sold shoes, Jay-z had a concert, and Nissan built an online dealership. And because users expend real money for virtual items, brands are not only enjoying the added brand exposure, but monetary gain as well (Stein 2006).    

Nissan opened a dealership (Left) and American Apparel opened a retail store (Right) in Second Life.

The Current Impact of CGC on Advertising

Videos

Videos are arguably the most popular and entertaining form of consumer generated content. The arrival of Flash Video formats and video sharing sites like YouTube, MetaCafe, Break.com, and Google Video have spurred a worldwide obsession with consumer created videos. Sensing the potential of this trend, the advertising industry has not only taken notice of it, but has also started to capitalize on it as a marketing opportunity.

Many individuals have used YouTube as a chance to gain online fame and popularity. Creative individuals are producing videos to entertain, wow, humor, and inform the online community. And based on the ideas of grassroots marketing and word-of-mouth, they are using online distribution sites like YouTube to spread the word. One such example is Jessica Rose, a 20 year old aspiring actress and New York Film Academy alum. She and 2 filmmaker friends created the online persona, Lonelygirl15—a video blog featuring a teenage, home-schooled girl named Bree who broadcasts her innermost thoughts online to hide from her strict religious parents. The series of video blogs received enormous popularity from YouTube viewers, and generated a fan base in the millions. Considered to be one of the biggest internet hoaxes up to date, it was revealed to the world after months of fame, that Lonelygirl15 was a fictional, screen-written character. As the news broke, fans were disappointed while the media celebrated her success. Many fans felt cheated and lied to, but others praised Jessica Rose for her marketing genius—using YouTube to advertise her skill set and to propel her acting career (Heffernan and Zeller Jr. 2006).

http://youtube.com/watch?v=dZN-Wye4rDE

 
This is an example of one of Jessica Rose's popular LonelyGirl15 videos.

Marketers have also used consumer created videos in their advertising campaigns. Popular online videos like the Christmas lights display by electrician Carson Williams, and the N64 kids (2 overexcited siblings receiving an N64 console as a Christmas gift) have been used in Miller Lite and BMW commercials respectively. Because of the popularity and entertaining value of these videos, Miller Lite and BMW have featured the consumer created videos in their television spots to attract viewer attention and increase brand recall (Axelrod 2005).  

 
The N64 BMW commercial
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isWoLyG5dpY

 Miller Lite Christmas Lights Commercia  (search youTube Miller716)     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6v4wqtFdX0

Similar to the mix-tape in the 1980s and 1990s, the video mashup is the new craze of the millennial generation. Consumers take existing video and audio clips to create unique, integrated video remixes (or mashups). The sharing and publishing abilities that YouTube provides, allows consumers to be their own directors, producers, editors, and distributors of their own videos. Popularized by sites like YouTube, marketers have employed the mashup concept to their advertising efforts—giving freedom to consumers to mashup their commercials and branded videos. Chevrolet provided users video footage of the new Chevrolet Tahoe SUV and gave them the freedom to write copy for it. Initially thought to provide increased brand interaction and exposure, Chevrolet assumed that giving this freedom to consumers would help promote the new Tahoe. However, many environmentalists used the opportunity to parody and criticize the vehicle in the mashups, leading to negative publicity for Chevrolet. Nike on the other hand, learned from Chevrolet’s mistake and retained more control in their own mashup promotional experiment. Instead of using YouTube, they created a website (NikeMashup.com) to promote their new line of basketball shoes—and gave users the chance to mashup select video and audio clips without the use of copy. Through this site, Nike is able to provide users a platform to mashup video content and learn about new products, without disparaging the brand (Morrissey 2007).    

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oNedC3j0e4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiE4FXO8nDs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogLgZ-JJFY4

Screenshot of the Nike Mashup website.

Another tactic where marketers have made use of the consumer generated content is by holding contests for users to generate ideas for a commercial. Consumers are given a few guidelines and are asked to submit commercials that they create and film. Winners of the contest receive monetary rewards as well as the privilege to have their commercial aired on national television. This strategy allows advertisers to control the content that is to be aired in avoidance of bad publicity, as well as to give users a chance to express their love for a product. Furthermore, this allows consumers to come up with a plethora of commercial ideas, and produce them at their own expense; giving marketers a cost-efficient and potentially effective way to advertise. Brands such as Doritos and the NFL have held such contests with contest winning ads being shown during the live broadcast of 2007’s Super Bowl XLI on television. Despite the publicity surrounding these contests, the winning commercials have received mix opinions from the advertising industry. Some feel that these efforts are jeopardizing traditional advertising and removing the creative department from the process, while others see it as a great way to reach out and build consumer trust. From the examples shown above and below, one can see that consumer generated videos are having a both a positive and negative impact in the world of advertising (Steinberg 2007).

Consumer created commercials for the Doritos' Live the Flavor campaign. Accident

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUFvJNQ0bnM

Checkout Girl (Right).

                                    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2eZzRUSJJg&feature=related

The contest winning pitch for the NFL Super Bowl XLI commercial.

The commercial based on the winning pitch.

                          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOc_FojGIVo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQKck-W4XfQ&feature=user

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uP-TClX9hI&feature=user

The Future of CGC and Advertising

Is Consumer Generated Content a fad?

Although some marketers have used consumers to create advertising, the future of the advertising industry will evolve to be more inclusive of consumers in the development process. Consumer ideas and input will be more significant, liberating restrictive management thinking to provide an avenue to create ads with greater relevance to consumers. Instead of consumer generated advertising, it will be known as consumer derived advertising—where creative concepts, executional elements, and campaign support are all built upon and derived from the strength of the collective consumer. Essentially, there will be a convergence between consumer and advertiser created advertising—a synergistic and seamless fusion that will provide greater interactivity and credibility to the promotion. Advertising in all media types will begin to take a more consumer-derived and interactive approach, making the most of the capabilities of the media to engage consumers. This banner ad provides a hint at this type of future—where consumer input and content will play a key role in the concept and execution of the ad to provide greater relevance to consumers and to the advertised brand.

Moreover, new web and opt-in media services will surface to deliver customized and personally relevant advertising. In addition to providing relevant, mainstream traditional ads to consumers, these services will aggregate various media to deliver consumer created content that is pertinent to them. If a user indicates an interest for a new Honda Civic, these services would deliver commentary from blogs, price quotes, expert advice, destinations in virtual worlds, consumer reviews, podcasts about the car, consumer created videos relating to the car, and even social networks that may be of interest to this topic. Similar to a search engine, these automatic services would not only gather and present sources to external information, but will actually collect and display the content. Based on a user’s preferences, past history, demographics, and psychographics, the information will be filtered according to what is most relevant to the user’s profile. The ads and information will be archived after viewing, so that the next search that takes place for the same topic will generate new results. And with the convergence of media and technological developments, these opt-in services will be cross-functional across various media, be it mobile devices, television, or internet.   

Thus, the current trends in consumer generated content are only the beginning to a new era of consumer involvement in advertising. The media landscape may change, and media consumption habits may evolve, but the influence of the consumer will become ever more important to the future of advertising.

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