Theroughguidetomarketingsuccessusedtobethatyougotwhatyoupaidfor.Nolonger.Whiletraditional“paid”media—suchastelevisioncommercialsandprintadvertisements—stillplayamajorrole,companiestodaycanexploitmanyalternativeformsofmedia.Consumerspassionateaboutaproductmaycreate“earned”mediabywillinglypromotingittofriends,andacompanymayleverage“owned”mediabysendinge-mailalertsaboutproductsandsalestocustomersregisteredwithitsWebsite.Thewayconsumersnowapproachtheprocessofmakingpurchasedecisionsmeansthatmarketing’simpactstemsfromabroadrangeoffactorsbeyondconventionalpaidmedia.
Paidandownedmediaarecontrolledbymarketerspromotingtheirownproducts.Forearnedmedia,suchmarketersactastheinitiatorforusers’responses.Butinsomecases,onemarketer’sownedmediabecomeanothermarketer’spaidmedia—forinstance,whenane-commerceretailersellsadspaceonitsWebsite.Wedefinesuchsoldmediaasownedmediawhosetrafficissostrongthatotherorganizationsplacetheircontentore-commerceengineswithinthatenvironment.Thistrend,whichwebelieveisstillinitsinfancy,effectivelybeganwithretailersandtravelproviderssuchasairlinesandhotelsandwillnodoubtgofurther.Johnson&Johnson,forexample,hascreatedBabyCenter,astand-alonemediapropertythatpromotescomplementaryandevencompetitiveproducts.Besidesgeneratingincome,thepresenceofothermarketersmakesthesiteseemobjective,givescompaniesopportunitiestolearnvaluableinformationabouttheappealofothercompanies’marketing,andmayhelpexpandusertrafficforallcompaniesconcerned.
Thesamedramatictechnologicalchangesthathaveprovidedmarketerswithmore(andmorediverse)communicationschoiceshavealsoincreasedtheriskthatpassionateconsumerswillvoicetheiropinionsinquicker,morevisible,andmuchmoredamagingways.Suchhijackedmediaaretheoppositeofearnedmedia:anassetorcampaignbecomeshostagetoconsumers,otherstakeholders,oractivistswhomakenegativeallegationsaboutabrandorproduct.Membersofsocialnetworks,forinstance,arelearningthattheycanhijackmediatoapplypressureonthebusinessesthatoriginallycreatedthem.
Ifthathappens,passionateconsumerswouldtrytopersuadeotherstoboycottproducts,puttingthereputationofthetargetcompanyatrisk.Insuchacase,thecompany’sresponsemaynotbesufficientlyquickorthoughtful,andthelearningcurvehasbeensteep.ToyotaMotor,forexample,alleviatedsomeofthedamagefromitsrecallcrisisearlierthisyearwitharelativelyquickandwell-orchestratedsocial-mediaresponsecampaign,whichincludedeffortstoengagewithconsumersdirectlyonsitessuchasTwitterandthesocial-newssiteDigg.
31.Consumersmaycreate“earned”mediawhentheyare______.
[A]obsessedwithonlineshoppingatcertainWebsite
[B]inspiredbyproduct-promotinge-mailssenttothem
[C]eagertohelptheirfriendspromotequalityproducts
[D]enthusiasticaboutrecommendingtheirfavoriteproducts
32.AccordingtoParagraph2,soldmediafeature______.
[A]asafebusinessenvironment
[B]randomcompetition
[C]strongusertraffic
[D]flexibilityinorganization
33.TheauthorindicatesinParagraph3thatearnedmedia______.
[A]inviteconstantconflictswithpassionateconsumers
[B]canbeusedtoproducenegativeeffectsinmarketing
[C]mayberesponsibleforfiercercompetition
[D]deserveallthenegativecommentsaboutthem
34.ToyotaMotor’sexperienceiscitedasanexampleof______.