Produsage and Advertising
Produsage is a concept penned by media and communications expert Axel Bruns. Produsage is a decentralised system where a large collection of users can, participate, collaborate and create content, which can be accessed and changed by any other user with in the community (Bruns 2008, 2). Produsage differs from traditional industrial production models in the sense that it closes the gap between producer and consumer, meaning that the consumer (according to this concept) can take part in the creation of a product (information, knowledge and creative work), where as in traditional models there is a strict hierarchical process (producer –> distributor –> consumer) (Bruns 2008, 9). Good examples of produsage environments would include anything that has used led generated content as a basis of information, knowledge and creative work, websites such as Wikipedia, YouTube, and blogs are ideal examples of produsage in action.
The main purpose of this post is to look at Produsage from an Advertising perspective and identify if this concept has allowed for any new opportunities for advertisers to further enhance their ability to connect with the everyday consumer. According to Axel Bruns’ blog, it is unclear how user-led generated content will affect the advertising industry in the future, so any suggestion here will only be hearsay and conjecture. What is clear regarding the impact of this behaviour is that sales have been boosted in consumer electronics and ICT goods and that there is evidence of a significant shift towards used-led generated content.
Looking at examples of user-generated content may give us some idea of how this concept of produsage will affect the advertising industry. In 2007 the advertising industry attempted to experiment with user created commercials that were shown during the Super Bowl, this was the first time that amateur ads were broadcasted during a globally televised event. Employing same concept Doritos held a competition for consumers to create an ad for the chance of it being shown during the Super Bowl and a $1 million prize. By allowing the consumer the capacity to tailor a product or put his or her own twist on it permits for a greater and more in-depth experience with the brand (a real connection is made).
Sites such as YouTube, Facebook, Myspace and Wikipedia are the leaders in the field of user generated content as well as being in the top ten most visited sites on the Internet. They attracted a huge number of visitors and this is what the everyday advertiser seeks, a large easily accessible audience that they can communicate a message toward. User generated content is starting to become big business as advertisers are cluing on to the benefits of this particular behaviour.
If employed effectively an advertiser can use the concept of produsage to aid their ability to strike a note with a consumer. By allowing the consumer the ability to confer their views on how a product should be produced not only permits for a superior brand experience, it also delivers a myriad of valuable consumer information regarding preferences, tastes and perceptions.
These links offer very insightful information regarding Produsage and User led content creation.
Reconfiguring television for a networked, produsage context.
Produsage: Towards a broader framework for user-led content creation.
User-led innovation: A new framework for co-creating business and social
i like your thoughts on this topic!!!
You made some really interesting points. In particular, your point on allowing the consumer to confer their opinion on how a product should be produced (whilst also delivering a myriad of valuable consumer information regarding preferences, tastes and perceptions) was extremely relevant to produsage and advertising. I praise your view on this as I had not thought about how produsage would create an easier way for advertisers to reach and target the correct audience, message and medium.
Have you thought about how produsage and user generated content has and will continue to change advertising practices? In particular, ‘interactivity’ and how it is plays such a critical role within advertising. As you pointed out, by making the Dorito campaign interactive and allowing for user generated content to be aired, the company gained a lot of fame, recognition and information. Similarly, interactivity in relation to convergence and produsage creates a more powerful sense of user engagement according to Flew. Perhaps if you talk about interactivity more specifically it might backup and tie together your point about the benefits of produsage within the advertising industry more clearly.
I thoroughly enjoyed your discussion on Produsage. Your introduction provided a well-rounded definition, followed by a brief but informative talk on how the gap between producer and consumer has narrowed, and finally some examples. Similarly, all of these aspects to Produsage were mentioned within my blog.
But what really interested me about your discussion was the example of Produsage you provided. That being the Dorito’s competition which involved everyday people creating their own Dorito’s ad and sending it in. This example is a great way to help illustrate the narrowing between producer and consumer. Consumers of Dorito’s were given the power to be advertisers/producers. Obviously today this gap is much narrower with everyday citizens being heavily engaged in, for example, citizen journalism.
But back on the topic of advertising; like with everyday citizens being hunted down to work as professional journalists simply because they may have started an online blog that became popular, is this kind of thing happening in the field of advertising? Do amateur advertisers try and get themselves recognised on the internet, bypass study, and end up working for big firms? If so, are there websites that help provide this exposure?
I was really interested in the explanation and arguments you gave in relation to the topic of Produsage and its relevance to Advertising. Some of the points you made were very though provoking and inspire a few questions – particularly that of allowing the consumer to express their opinions on how a product should be produced. I too used this point in my own blog, and think that the line between consumer and producer is one which is very fine, and I was very interested to read your discussion on the link between produsage and advertising. Your application of this link was very interesting as this thought had not crossed my mind to the extent that you discussed. I remember seeing the competition Doritos held for an advertisement and at the time I thought it was a way to cut back in the recession however now I understand the link to its consumers that it was creating.
This connection between consumers and producers continues to raise questions in the area of user generated content; do you think that the Doritos initiative will pave the way for future advertisements of this manner? Like citizen journalism, will advertising soon become citizen run too?
Thanks for you comment.
The Doritos campaign wasn’t the first instance of an organisation using user generated content to connect with the everyday consumer but it is an example of how more and more companies are employing this method to achieve certain advertising goals. Although this method has been proven to be very effective, there is still a myriad of options that advertisers possess in their artillery that are just as effective to connect with a certain target audience. It just depends on what media a specific target audience consumes and this has to be taken into account when developing an effective campaign.
With regards to your second question, I can answer this by taking the same position as my citizen journalism post. I don’t believe that advertising will ever be citizen run as regular citizens lack the training and expertise that is required to craft a superior advertising campaign and that there will always be a position for advertising professionals. There may be a shift towards a more user based approach to advertising but I think that this is only an extension of one arm of the advertising sphere.
[...] this concept to advertising I want to draw knowledge from my post on Produsage. Doritos utilised the help of pro/am advertisers to create a commercial for the SuperBowl. The two [...]
The Pro/Am. We’re not amatuers anymore. « Rhysvenning’s Blog said this on May 27, 2009 at 11:01 am |