Discuss technology (U24: P2, M1)

Learning outcome 1 (U24): Understand the products that are produced within and across media industries.

P2 (U24): Explain the use of converging technologies within an identified sector 

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M1 (U24): Discuss how the industry has utilised developments in technologies 

Production technologies

The production process for any media product is time extensive and complicated however, new technologies have aided the production process to make it easier for the team to create content. For instance, digital cameras and SD cards can be used to take and store photos, in the past images would have to be printed and developed in a dark room. Interestingly, this process no longer needs to occur, saving large periods of time, as digital cameras are now able to save hundreds of images to be stored and transferred to a laptop using an SD card. Furthermore, this use of technological convergence has allowed the process of taking images a lot easier and is often used within the advertising industry. One example might be an advert for perfume, the image might need to be of a waterfall to convey the scent and -through the use of an SD card to store the images and move them onto the cloud- the photographer wont need to return to retake the images if they were to be lost thus saving time and money overall.

Marketing

Marketing techniques have advanced with technology, and new technology has presented the marketing industry with more opportunities to increase the awareness of products within audiences. For instance, the creation and utilisation of QR codes allow a traditional method of advertising such as billboards to incorporate a digital feature and therefore increase the interactions of the audience with the advertisement, overall expanding the adverts reach. Technological convergence has brought together communication and information technologies, exposing audiences to more messages and improving the receptiveness of these messages by using new technologies. Furthermore, QR codes, as well as hashtags, can be used to link adverts to social media pages as well as direct links to the website where audiences can access products. For example, a billboard could display an advert that includes a QR code, when an individual scans this code using their phone the link will direct them to the website where they would easily access all the products on offer and therefore be more likely to purchase something. In addition, social media can be used in conjunction with other marketing techniques to widen the reach of a media campaign, social media is a useful tool that is free and easily helps gain awareness for a new product/ brand. Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram allow a company to post about upcoming events and new deals, this helps to gain new customers and due to new features of social media- you are able to receive feedback about a post so you understand what can be improved. Ultimately, since the advancement in technology, media audiences have become more receptive to messages and this has increased the awareness and success rate of marketing campaigns.

Distribution

New technologies have advanced and created new opportunities for the way in which ads are distributed to audiences. For instance, social media platforms have allowed companies to widen the reach of their advertisements for a highly reduced cost. Interestingly, convergence has enabled these platforms to become interactive and therefore lets the users of the app to like, share and comment their opinions on the promotional post- making the company more aware of how their adverts are being received by their audiences. In addition, while social media is an advancement, the way we use it is an additional development as we are now able to interact more with the media we see- for instance, a media organisation can post a promotional video with a link or hashtag in attempt to involve the audience and ultimately increase awareness. Furthermore, making it easier for media companies to get their message across and help it reach the correct audience. Additionally, the expansion of technologies and the devices in which we are able to receive the media messages on has also improved over time due to convergence, we can access more on fewer devices which increases convenience. Remarkably, these devices are referred to as 'Black boxes' these have completely altered the way in which audiences consume media and have opened up new avenues for production companies to distribute their products on. For example, mobile phones allow audiences to consume film and television and therefore offers media organisations to distribute their content this way- this alternative method is cheaper and might be a more popular way of viewing within your target audience. Overall, technological convergence has widely helped the media industry and provided organisations with limitless opportunities for how they distribute content.