Revised Rough Draft

Think about all the time you spend either watching TV, surfing the web, listening to the radio, reading magazines/newspapers …etc. Now think about how many advertisements you brain is bombarded with every time. The goal of digital corporate media is to get you (the consumer) to buy what they want you to buy. This is all the advertisements they throw at you. One of the fastest ways that will allow them to do so is in digital form. Since our society has become so digitally obsessed it seems like the perfect way for corporate companies to get you to buy their products. By doing so our society is not only becoming “corporate puppets” but we are all turning into what the media tells us to become. We are becoming so fixated and focused on all the materialistic things they tell us we need and should buy. Digital corporate media is brainwashing people while turning them into conformist consumers.

Advertising is a way for retailers to get all those who use various forms of digital media to buy and make aware of their goods. They place their ads in various styles on the web pages and media screens we watch and visit in banner, pop-ups, commercials, etc. “Media had an impact on 80% of the awareness phase of the funnel (a continuum that tracks a consumer from when he first becomes aware of a product through his actual purchase) and declined to 53% at the transaction phase. Two consistently strong contributors in most categories and purchase funnel phases are television and the Internet”(http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/04/study_shows_tvs_impact_on_cons.php) Ad’s that appear on the television screen every time you watch TV about the movies you should go see to the home and kitchen appliances you need to make lives easier to the ad links that appear on the sides the websites you visit everyday influences the purchases as a consumer you make every day. Whether we choose to acknowledge it or not technology is powerful. If it can have the ability to influence consumer purchasing then imagine what else it can do.

We as people all have wants and needs. Digital corporate media just tells us what those wants and needs should be through their multiple advertisements. “Advertisers are insisting that not only is their ad served, but the user is engaged on that page and are going to see their ad. This is moving the business from buying space to actually buying time.”(http://www.digitalmediabuzz.com/2009/07/online-advertising-tv-model/) Part of the plan to reach out to consumers in order to sell their products is through multiple forms of digital media. Since we are surrounded by digital media on a daily basis, promoting their products this way will keep us surrounded by them as well. Advertising affects how and what we as consumers choose to buy. The more ads we see, the more money corporate companies make because eventually we will want to buy whatever it is they are trying to sell us.

One way for companies to attract buyers is getting them to purchase items online, thanks to their ads. Also know as online shopping. By getting consumers (us) to visit their store virtually, whether that is through the pop-up ads or the ones that show up on the
websites to visit their online store to start purchasing . “The current technology also allows sellers to track customers€™ product preferences, with their permission, and alert these customers of new products they may be waiting for or could be interested in.”(http://wiki.mediaculture.org.au/index.php/Online_Shopping_-_Benefits_for_Sellers) By placing their Ads online allow retailers to get a better picture of their consumers so that they know what to sell to them in order for them to buy their goods based on the consumers preferences for when you are actually ready to make a purchase. Using the internet as a tool allows companies to target consumers to get them to buy their products. Having consumers shop online benefit the companies because it allows their customers to shop online 24/7, no matter where they are.

The more time we spend using digital technology the more we are told what to buy, what to look like, what music to listen to and so much more. The movie Josie and the Pussycats is just about that. The movie is set in a time where the record industries and the US government have been working together to drive the national economy by deciding to insert subliminal messages into music so that they can brainwash the people who listen to it, so that they do nothing but buy whatever they want them to. One of the hidden subliminal messages in a song is “Conform! Free thinking is overrated! There is no Area 51!”. By planting these messages in the songs they are selling and getting the teenagers around the country to listen to, opens the door for the government and the record labels to entice them to purchase and believe whatever the song is telling them to. With everyone listening to the same music makes the people conform because everyone is losing their ability to think for themselves since they are becoming brainwashed. They are losing their individuality due to the corporate media making them into their little puppets. Soon everyone starts to look like each other and everyone begins to chase a new trend every week as directed by the messages in the songs. Therefore the nation’s purchasing habits will be controlled by the government which as a result will make them a lot of money.

In the book Feed even though is set in the future is an allegory about today’s society. All the characters have feeds (digital technology) implanted in their brains and have companies bombarding their heads with the latest in everything on the market. They have absolutely no control over the contents of the feed. Making it easier for the corporate companies to advertise stuff to them and “feed off” them which forces them to buy , buy, buy.“ According to the feed, they were on sale for like $699 at the Zone, and could be shipped to the hotel for an additional $78.95, and that was just one great thing that people were wearing.” The teens in the book buy things according to what their feeds tell them is the latest trend. What everyone else is wearing is what everyone buys. The latest trends matter to them because it’s important to them to be cool. The companies advertise things on their feeds for that exact reason. They know that the teens will want to buy whatever they are trying to sell if everyone wants it and buys it. Their wants are a result of all the advertisements the feed is throwing at them.

Some might argue that media advertising is good for the economy because ads influence consumer purchase decisions. “Advertising in a down economy is even more important than advertising during the good times,”.(http://www.signindustry.com/management/articles/2002-10-31-JL-AdvertInDownEconomy.php3) that advertising is important for the success of the company and the economy because ads generate interest and then lead consumers to purchase the goods which betters the economy. The economy feeds off of consumers. This can be bad because advertising raises a products cost. Corporations just want to increase their profits which make products in return more expensive.

Others also would argue that advertising is good because it brings attention to products that could potentially better a consumer's life by satisfying a need. But advertising also promotes materialism. It causes excessive consumerism because consumers unnecessarily spend money on products they might not need. But because of the ads they are brainwashed with it becomes hard for them to decide what to buy and what not to buy.

This connects with the boom of technology and its constant development .Making it easier for corporate companies to market their stuff. This way they will be able to advertise their goods and services a number of different ways reaching out to the masses. Digital corporate media has changed advertising due to the consumer information they receive over the internet. Therefore enabling them to customize their ads toward a specific audience through the web and other forms of digital technology. The constant advancement and changes in technology will lead companies to continue to spread their messages and market their goods from anywhere an ad can be placed.

Digital corporate media shows how people get manipulated and brainwashed by media advertising and turn their audience into conformist consumers due the influence their ads have on their brains. . The corporate companies get you to purchase their products. The manipulation digital media advertising has over the masses results in corporate gain.










Work Cited
Anderson, M.T. Feed. 1st. 1. Candlewick, 2002. 240. Print.

Bram, Thursday. "Online Advertising Moving to TV Model." Digitalmediabuzz (2009): 1. Web. 5 Nov 2009. .

Lafayette, Jon. "Study Shows TV’s Impact on Consumer Purchasing Behavior." TVweek 1. Web. 5 Nov 2009.< http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/04/study_shows_tvs_impact_on_cons.php)>.

LeClaire, Jennifer. "Benefits of Advertising in Any Economy." Signindustry 1. Web. 5 Nov 2009. .