Cyberlife

The internet, as an ever growing form of mass media, is used by millions of people all over the world and in recent years, the methods upon which companies advertise have started to exploit this fact. It is proving positive with them as well. It is a relatively easy way of improving a business as it is cheaper and easier to produce and it is also a good way of advertising to a large number of people. The internet is not localised to specific areas, nor to a specific country so an effective marketing campaign that utilises the internet could reach a world wide audience.

Cyber marketing can take many forms as well as simple advertisements on websites. It can also be exploited through the use of email, individualised websites for the company or also via communication devices such as mobile phones. To bring in some academic theories, it is the combination of the internet and the use of direct marketing.

An advantage that is born of cyber marketing is the notion of interactivity. It means that the producer of the product, service or public service can communicate through the internet effectively and leave a lasting impression in the consumer’s mind. To be fully effective, those who employ it must make sure that their skills in such areas are fully developed. This is because it is not necessarily easy to exploit to it to its full potential. Good research is required so that websites used to advertise are not only being read by people, but people who are likely to enjoy the product at hand (for example advertising a movie on a movie website).

One good way to see how cyber marketing has been taking off is through film. The film industry has begun to exploit the internet effectively in recent years, with trailers for the latest releases appearing online as well as in theatres and along with the amount of banners and websites they produce they have also been using the internet to launch effective viral campaigns. A good example is with the hit movie The Dark Knight. This film already had the star power and critical acclaim under its belt to pull in an audience, but the advertising campaign set it apart from other films at the same time. The producers were often setting up ‘fake’ sites for the in-film newspapers which would be drawn on in graffiti by the Joker, setting up his character whilst at the same time leaving enough mystery surrounding the picture that people started searching for more. Web users themselves were forced to use clues left within hidden messages on some of the web sites to find information and curiosity continued to grow. The film went on to be one of the biggest releases of 2008.

With the internet becoming an ever larger part of modern life, expert more companies and businesses to begin exploiting it, with new updates in cyber marketing news becoming the norm.