“Buying into American Idol: How we are being sold on reality television” was a really interesting article about the shift from non interactive television to interactive television. By teaming up with AT&T and allowing viewers to choose the winners by calling in or texting their votes has changed the way that people watch TV. Not only is television becoming more interactive, this article discussed different marketing techniques that television stations use to create more brand and fan loyalty. By appealing to viewers who regularly watch a certain TV show, the producers and advertisers can gain loyal fans that will watch the commercials and remember them. By understanding the demographics of a shows viewer, marketing companies can understand better who they are selling to and conform to their target audience. Jenkins discusses a lot about how television shows have to create loyal fan bases to produce profits. He uses Coca-Cola as an example of how the American Idol judges drink from Coke cups and Coke sponsors events that the contestants attend. As quoted from the article, “Marketing gurus argue that building a committed “brand community’ may be the surest means of expanding consumer loyalty. Most loyal fans could become valued customers to advertisements because they relate the ad’s to the shows they watch.
I think that with the economy being in the shape that it is, advertising during highly watched shows becomes very important for businesses. More people are likely to be home and watching television as opposed to being out, which means that ad’s could be seen more and remembered. The most important part of that would be to understand the target audience and work with TV stations to better understand who to appeal to. However, this idea becomes increasingly difficult with people who have DVR and record the shows then skip over the commercials. Advertising companies maybe should come up with a way to make their commercials more interactive like the shows that the viewers are watching, to get people to pay attention.
Overall, creating a good fan base is important for television shows. Fan communities will get together on websites and blog about or remark about the show. This is a form of audience participation in which people can talk about the shows they are watching with people who are just as enthusiastic about it as they are. Also, this is a good tool to get the word out about a show, if people are only half interested but someone’s comments draw them in, they could become a loyal fan in the future. This all relates to the convergence of different technologies, such as the TV and the computer bringing people together.
Jenkins,Henry. “Buying into American Idol: Giw We are being Sold on Reality Television” In convergence Culture:Where old and New Media Colide. New York,NYU Press,2006,59-92.
