To Infinity and Beyond! ...(or the next 5-10 years)

With each advertising course I take at Marquette, I realize that many of the things I learn can become outdated almost instantaneously.  That's the reality of the advertising world.
With the expansion and innovations in technology advertising is constantly changing.  Because of this, I have come up with some predictions of what to expect in the next 5-10 years.
With social media, marketing and advertising has become more personalized.  This will continue in the next 5-10 years as content and technology becomes more interactive.  This will cause messages to be even more personalized than ever before (Hart, 2012).
Expanding upon this, in the future mobile devices will drive advertising.  Since mobile devices are becoming more and more popular, advertisers will look to capitalize on this even more in the future. This will result in more advertisers being involved directly with the content creation.  Also, many advertisers will move to more of a branded content model (Prince and Rogers, 2012).
In addition to this, social media will have a bigger role in advertising in the future.  It is estimated that 50 percent of web sales will be driven by social media in 2015 (Murphy, 2012).  This means that social media will be even more important moving forward and advertisers will focus more of their attention on social channels.
All that being said, people often wonder whether print and television advertising will be dead in the near future.  There's no real way to tell, but they will likely exist in some capacity, advertisers may just have to change their approach to these two mediums.
In the end, advertising will experience many changes in the future, but some things will remain constant.  As Hart points out in his article, knowing the audience will always be key, and so will creativity.  Essentially, the mediums may change but the basic principles of advertising will remain constant.

                                                                 Works Cited
Hart, Viewpoint Andy. "Going Digital: The Future of Advertising." BBC News. BBC, 19 Apr. 2012. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17764117>.

Murphy, Samantha. "50% of Web Sales to Occur Via Social Media by 2015 [INFOGRAPHIC]." Mashable. N.p., 1 Nov. 2012. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. <http://mashable.com/2012/11/01/facebook-sales/>.

Prince, Russ A., and Bruce Rogers. "The Future of Advertising on Mobile Devices."Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 31 Aug. 2012. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/russprince/2012/08/31/the-future-of-advertising-on-mobile-devices/>.

The Buzz on Branded Entertainment

To the average person, advertising is nothing more than disseminating ads to viewers.  Whether it be print or television ads, people often view the advertising process as people passively receiving commercial messages.  Though many advertisers would be delighted if this were the case; it's not that simple.  Time-saving devices and other distractions make it harder for advertisers to get viewers' attention and break through the clutter.

As a result of this, branded entertainment has entered the marketplace.  The main idea of branded entertainment is that the advertisement is also the entrainment.  Essentially, viewers can no longer fast forward or tune out commercials, because they are embedded in the program.  However, the key is to make the entertainment actually entertaining.  Easier said than done.

Orbit gum is one brand who has delved into branded entertainment.  Orbit has created "Dirty Shorts," which are short comedic videos that serve to entertain viewers and advertise Orbit gum.  There are two videos, both feature actor Jason Bateman.  The videos both involve the premise of characters involved in dirty situations, and then making those situations better (or "cleaner") after chewing Orbit gum.

There is no doubt the videos are corny.  The premises are not exactly well thought out, and the humor is often over-the-top.  Also, Orbit gum is almost too central in the videos, making the videos play like long commercials.

That being said the videos do have the benefit of having Bateman in them.  He gives Orbit star power, and as a result people are more likely to watch the videos.  Also, the videos stay consistent with Orbit's brand image.  Orbit's ads are often cheeky and zany, and these videos stay true to form.

Again, I think these videos do a good job of entertaining the viewers, my main concern is that the videos almost too prominently hit viewers over the head with Orbit gum.  Though I am aware that branded entertainment is not supposed to be subliminal advertising, companies still don't have to make it blatantly clear that they are promoting a product in such a central way.  In the end, I think the videos would be improved if the product took a back-seat to the plot and comedy.

Advertising at Marquette

During my time at Marquette I have learned a tremendous amount about advertising.  That being said, I think the advertising program could be improved upon.  Though the Marquette curriculum is strong, I think students need to be given more detailed information about the different roles and jobs at agencies right away.  Though the intro classes do touch on this, in my experience they didn't go into enough detail right away.  If students were given more detailed information about the different roles in the advertising field they could make more informed decisions earlier on in their college career about which electives would be most beneficial to them.
In addition to this, I really think that the program could be improved upon if more classes were offered. For instance, a class that I would find very helpful would be a Google Analytics course.  With the proliferation of social media, many students are trying to get jobs that entail the use of social media, and for most social media jobs a background in Google Anayltics is a major plus, if not a requirement.
Also, I feel that it should be a requirement for advertising students to take a design class freshman year.  I know that design courses are currently offered but many students choose not to take them.  As you get farther along in the advertising program it is extremely beneficial to have at least a working knowledge of some of the Adobe programs, therefore I think it would be beneficial to make it mandatory for freshmen to take a design course.
Overall, Marquette's advertising program is good, and I think if the changes I suggested were made the program would be even better and students would be more prepared to work in an agency setting.

Passion

Very few people find true passions.  Throughout my life I have had many fads I thought were my passions, only to realize that after a few months they were out of my mind and in my closet collecting dust (sorry Pokemon cards).

However, one passion has always remained:  writing.  Ever since I first learned to write, I've loved it.  Though I like all types of writing, I really have a passion for creative writing.  When I was younger I tried to satisfy this passion by writing short stories.  Lately however I have been writing screenplays for fun.  I also like trying to come up with copy and ideas for print ads.

Though I love to write, there are times where it is infuriating.  And times where I avoid it like it's my theology homework.  I rack my brain for ideas and still can't come up with anything.  Or even worse, I feel like I have a great idea, but I can't get it to come out like I want.  Yet through all this I still come back to it, and still find myself getting lost in words and stories. I don't know if I'll end up writing as a career , but I do know that I will always remain passionate about it and will always write.  No matter what other fads come and go.