Digital Advertisements in the Media - Research Proposal Example

? RESEARCH PROPOSAL Why aren’t there Digital Advertisements in the Tube New Media Experiences, Profit, and Interactivity I. Research Question The overriding research question considers whether digital (rather than static) advertisements on the tube increase patron interactivity and engagement. II. Aims and Objectives These methodological considerations are important on a number of grounds. One recognizes that the extent that it’s determined the passengers engage with the digital advertisement over the static advertisement corresponds directly with the financial potential of the digital advertisements. In these regards, a strong degree of passenger involvement is financial reason enough to motivate both the rail system and the makers of the advertisements to develop the necessary infrastructure to support the process. While digital advertisements may be firmly entrenched in new media technology they must be more situated towards subjective viewer experience if they are to gain maximum interactivity. The research seeks to accomplish these objectives through an approach that combines investigation into past statistical research, direct action research that investigates the extent that participants engage with the advertisements compared to advertisements in a control group, and finally post-experiment interviews with the participants. III. Specific Research Questions Do digital (rather than static) advertisements on the tube increase patron interactivity and engagement? Were the digital advertisements at all disruptive to the transportation service? How did the added sound affect their experience in the tube? How could these digital advertisements be better structured to encourage optimum interaction? How did the digital advertisements made the participants emotionally feel? Did they feel more or less connected to the other passengers when the digital advertisements were in the tube? IV. Project Summary In establishing the methodological approach to this consideration one recognizes that there are first a number of overarching concerns that must be addressed. Perhaps the most pressing concern is the simple question of why such new media approaches to advertising have yet to occur. Such infrastructure considerations no doubt exist on a series of lines. From a purely infrastructure standpoint one recognizes that modern railway system emerged from earlier trains and much of the qualitative approach to infrastructure, in this instance print advertising appears to have been carried over from an earlier era and not enough consideration given to the increasing technological mediation of the modern world. In this regards the study design is aimed not only at determining the general effectiveness and best possible course of action of digital advertising displays, but also that it would financially benefit the rail system to implement these digital displays. V. Research Concepts One of the predominant considerations of the methodological approach is the extent that it responds to the notion of a third paradigm of human computer interaction research. Harrison & Sengers (2007) argue that human computer interaction research has previously focused on two paradigmatic models. The first model considered the development of technological interaction in terms of man-machine coupling. The second wave paradigm built on this coupling, further considering the way that technological interaction constitutes a form of information communication. The third paradigm, they contend, considers technological interaction as phenomenological experience. Considered within the context of the previously established research methodology it’s clear there are many areas where the research fails to address the third paradigm of human computer interaction research. In some areas the methodology considers the third wave paradigm experience of digital advertising in the tube. One recognizes that the phenomenological means of interaction the current research refers to places great emphasis on the experience the user has with the technology. One such prevailing notion is that of embodiment. The research methodology specifically worked to consider the centrality of context. In these regards, a part of the study design was aimed at determining the extent that viewers interacted with the specific digital advertisements instead of the static advertisements within the context of the tube. Additionally, Harrison & Sengers (2007) note that there are specific methodological approaches that are characteristic of the third paradigm. In these regards, the action research, as well as interviews proposed by the research methodology, both fall directly in line with investigations into the phenomenological nature of technological interaction. While to a degree the proposed methodology functions within the third paradigm, it is recognized that there are significant ways it could be expanded to more directly address these concerns. While the third paradigm is referenced by Harrison & Sengers (2007), other theorists also article the nature of this phenomenological experience with technology. McCarthy and Wright (2004, p. 2) note, “We don’t just use or admire technology; we live with it. Whether we are charmed by it or indifferent, technology is deeply embedded in our ordinary everyday experience.” This perspective has also been echoed by Schuman (cited in McCarthy and Wright, 2004, p. 8) who considers that in terms of design processes “…the detail of intent and action must be contingent on the circumstantial and interactional particulars of actual situations.” Considering these specific concerns one recognizes that the methodology could have been structured in a way that more directly attempted to gain not just the participants perspectives on the implementation of digital advertising in the tube, but how the very context of the digital advertising in the tube affected their lived experience. While the financial implications of this research is the overarching strength and driving force, one also recognizes that the methodology is significant as a means of investigating the very nature of new media cultural productions. In these regards, the research takes place at the very juncture between old world and new world media advertisements. One recognizes the strong link between art and advertising, with such seminal contributions as Andy Warhol’s ‘Campbell’s Soup Cans’ and artists who argue that the greatest art of the 20th century is advertising. These recognitions combine with the understanding of new media as being largely concerned with forms of interactivity. Indeed, Schorr, Schenk, & Campbell (2003) note that new media has been seminally envisioned as technologies that enable or facilitate user-to-user interactivity and interactivity between user and information. While static advertisements convey information, it seems that the implementation of digital technology is significant in that it bridges this divide between pass viewership and true ‘interactivity’. Indeed, a strength of the methodology, particularly the interview portion, is that it allows the participants to convey the extent and means by which they interact with the advertisement. In addition to contributing to sharper advertisements, these findings will contribute to our understanding of how the digital world influences one-to-one or many-to-many interactivity in the context of mass transit. VI. Methodology The methodology implements individuals in direct action research. This research specifically implements an independent and dependent variable. Within the context of this specific research the independent variable will be digital advertisements on the tube. The dependent variable will be the participants’ engagement or interactivity with these advertisements. The participants will first ride a specific tube car that has been temporarily outfitted with digital advertisements. A test recorder will ride with the participants and make ethnographic observations concerning their behavior. This direct action research functions to determine the extent that the viewer remains engaged with the specific digital advertisement. Additionally, in the interview section of the research the participants will be asked about the advertisements, providing further insight into the process of engagement. These findings can then be compared with findings that individuals in a control situation with static advertisements encountered. The prevailing understanding being that the more the riders on the tube become engaged and mentally interact with the advertisements being shown, the more effective the advertisement can be considered to be. It’s recognized that the direct action approach will not determine the extent that digital advertisements are more effective than the print advertisements in motivating the participants to actually purchase the product being advertised. As a means of attempting to gain insight into this, however, the methodology advanced is also firmly rooted in a logistical series of methods. This approach is akin to a mixed methods approach in that it involves both quantitative and qualitative assessment mechanisms. In terms of quantitative assessment mechanisms the study will implement statistical research that has been previously been implemented on the economic impact of print advertising against the economic impact of new media advertising. In addition to this research, participant interviews will be conducted. The interviews will be conducted with the specific passengers that participated in the test-run of the digital advertisements. Among the interview questions will be those that target the individuals’ specific impressions on the experience of watching digital advertisements in the tube. The intention of the questions is to discern if the specific context of mass transit can co-exist with the dynamic form of digital advertising. Other questions will attempt to determine if the viewer’s believe that they will be more willing to purchase products that are advertised in digital form rather than those advertised statically. Finally, the interviews will function as a means of discerning how much the participants truly interacted with the advertisement, as their recollection of the specific advertisements, compared to the print advertisements will be investigated through specifically tailored questions. References Harrison, Tatar and Sengers, (2007) “The Three Paradigms of HCI,” Proceedings of CHI, San Jose, CA,. Archived at: http://people.cs.vt.edu/~srh/Downloads/TheThreeParadigmsofHCI.pdf Manovich Lev, ‘New Media from Borges to HTML’, Wardrip-Fruin, Noah and Nick Montfort, ed (2003). The New Media Reader. pp.16-23. The MIT Press. McCarthy and Wright (2004) Technology as Experience, MIT Press http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/chapters/0262134470chap1.pdf Schorr,A & Schenk,M & Campbell,W (2003),Communication Research and Media Science in Europe, Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin Read More