Week 8: Multimedia

Multimedia has perversely invaded our everyday life. Unless you live in a cave with no contact to the outside world, I am almost certain that you couldn't walk a kilometer without chancing upon an advertisement created by multimedia.

Multimedia includes using several types of content form together to create a new product. Such types of content include images, videos, animation and audio. These days, the end products are highly interactive as well as the audience can participate in them fully or have enhanced viewing sensations.

An example of advanced multimedia transforming a traditional viewing experience- a cinema in Paris showing Life of Pi in 4D.

The best movies to watch in 4D would be Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Or Magic Mike.

Advertisements, too, are stepping up their game. In the past, marketing communication looked pretty much like this: 

Jeez that face is creepy

Advertisements just said what they needed to say. The first TV commercial in 1941 was simply 10 seconds long, with a simple image on the screen and a voice in the background saying, "America runs on Bulova Time."

Now, America runs on Dunkin' Donuts.

Now, we have advertisements that are made in 3D, viral advertising campaigns, social media marketing... The list goes on. We've come a long way since a 10-second long sole image of a watch company's slogan with a voiceover. That Bulova advertisement cost the company all of $9- $4 for airtime and $5 for charges made by the TV station. Today, a 30-second ad spot on TV would cost over $120,000, and this number is still rising. The highest fees belong to the notorious SuperBowl ads, which cost up to $4 million this year.

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I have seen many types of campaigns, advertisements and marketing done with multimedia over the years, and each company has its own way of utilizing different methods to get their product known to their audience. South Korea's LG Electronics, which develops products such as smartphones, television sets and tablets, has also produced some pretty impressive multimedia marketing tactics.

1) LG Mobile Phones and James Cameron's AVATAR

To promote their mobile phones, LG partnered with 20th Century Fox and Lightstorm Entertainment to create a multimedia marketing campaign that was tied with James Cameron's AVATAR. 

Besides this advertisement, there was also a joint-sponsored Facebook page by LG, MTV and FOX. The page also had an application that allowed fans to pre-submit questions to the director and cast members, which they would then answer during a live talkback. 

In addition, LG had a website that featured exclusive content from AVATAR and video demonstrations of the LG eXpo's Mobile Projector.

I thought that LG did a great job with the tie-in with AVATAR. As AVATAR is renowned for its cutting-edge new technology, it looked good for LG to be associated with the movie. They used a wide variety of multimedia as well- from videos to Facebook to applications. 

2) LG's 3D TV and Girls' Generation

To market and also demonstrate LG's Cinema 3D Smart TV, LG collaborated with South Korean girl group Girls' Generation to specially create a 3D commercial to showcase the color richness and capabilities of their new TV.

I've personally seen these commercials when walking past electronic shops in shopping malls. And also staring men with looks more glazed than Krispy Kreme original donuts.

3) LG and meteors (and one very pissed off person)

To demonstrate the quality and definition of the LG Ultra HD TV, LG pulled pranks on unsuspecting job interviewees and taped everything down for a viral video campaign.

I thought this was a particularly engaging and hilarious campaign. It also put across its message very effectively- that the screens of their HD TVs were as real as the outside world.

4) LG and its 3D light show

LG brought a 3D light show to Berlin as part of its Optimus Series marketing campaign. They made the campaign extra interactive by allowing audience members to take pictures with the provided LG phones, and putting those pictures on the 3D facade.

5) LG and One Direction fans

LG also knows how to use its social media well. The LG social media marketing team held a competition on Twitter with One Direction concert tickets as prizes. To play, fans would simply have to  tweet the hashtag #LGtickethunter. As more hashtags are collected, a map would zoom in with the clue on where the first pair of concert tickets were located.

LG's multimedia marketing campaigns impressed me the most as they were the most diversified in which media they utilized- social media, 3D demonstrations, viral marketing and more.