Digital Media News

It doesn't matter if you're an avid tweeter, a Tumblraddict,or a Facebook junkie; there's one thing you can't avoid on the Web: memes. Memes are everywhere and just about anything or anyone can become one. Grumpy Cat, Alex from Target, Overly Attached Girlfriend, Success Kid — all of them started out as normal, everyday people (or animals), but were somehow catapulted into the online spotlight, overnight.

The actual term “meme” comes from the 1976 book ‘The Selfish Gene’ by Richard Dawkins, who defined it as a ‘unit of cultural information passed between people’, but today, memes are most commonly known as those funny pictures with puns and jokes overlaid on top in bold, white lettering.

What is a meme?

A meme is quite simply a concept, behavior, or idea that spreads virally, usually via the Internet. Memes most commonly appear as pictures or videos, but they can also take the form of a link, hashtag, a simple word, phrase, or even an entire website. Memes can also take the form of viral videos, with one of the most famous examples being the "Harlem Shake" memes that took over the Internet in early 2013. (The original video has now received more than 75,000,000 views)

In a world saturated with marketing messages, people hear a radio commercial and change the station. They see a commercial on TV and fast-forward their DVR. Some people even see an ad on Facebook and subconsciously ignore it (even though we all know that is a silly thing to do). So how do you get consumers to pay attention to your ad? The key is to not make it seem like an ad.

This is where native advertising comes in. As the name implies, it is advertising that feels natural. Almost appearing to be a part of the content, native ads do not scream for the user’s attention. They are part of a website’s organic environment, and provide a great opportunity for brands to curate consumer-centric messages.

The relevancy of native advertising carries across diverse channels, largely owing to the fact that there is nothing flashy about the ads – there are no large fonts, special animations, or innate flourishes. By creating advertisements in this way, marketers hope to provide a much less disruptive advertising experience. Below is a great example of native advertising.

The human voice can convey much more meaning through tone and inflection than the printed word will ever be able to. It’s why millions of people across the World sat, fixated, during the Golden Age of Radio – listening to everything from adventure and drama, to classical music concerts and news.

As broadcast radio gave way to television, and television to the Internet, it comes as no surprise that, spurred on by technological advancements, broadcast radio has come full circle with podcasting.

What is podcasting?

Podcasting involves the creation of one or more audio or video files that are released episodically,over the Internet. Listeners download the files, and either play them on a computer or listening device, such as an I-Pod, at a time and place which suits them.

To sell to any audience, you have to understand them. You need to discover how they think, act and what motivates their purchase decisions – and this is especially true of the Millennial Generation, also known as “Generation Y”, who represent the consumer market of the future.

This generation, (born between 1980 and the early 2000’s), has grown up in a technological world. Unlike previous generations, they have lived their whole lives knowing what television, computers, and telephones are. They have witnessed the rise of the Internet and are used to having an immediate, ever-present source of information at their fingertips. They are also founders of the revolutionary social media movement.

This tech-savvy, media-connected generation is unique. They engage with brands far more extensively, personally, and emotionally than any generation before, and marketers require a unique approach to reach them.

Major sporting events such as the World Cup, Wimbledon and the Commonwealth Games always dominate the media, and each throws up a wealth of sponsorship opportunities for brands across the world. Coca-Cola, Adidas, McDonalds and Sony are just a few of the companies that have benefited from the global exposure that the partnerships have bought.

With all the excitement over, we thought we’d take a look at how some of the key sponsors used experiential marketing activations toelevate their brands.

1. Virgin Media: Commonwealth Games

Virgin Media used its partnership with Usain Bolt to launch its interactive ‘RaceBolt’ activation at the Commonwealth Games. Participantswere given the opportunity to race against the world’s fastest man over 30 meters, on a professional athletics track. Usain was on hand in virtual form, on a 40m x 3m interactive LED screen.