The subject is digital advertising and marketing.
Focus the essay on influencers (so something like ‘how has social media, algorithms and the rise/use of influencers enhanced marketing and advertising’) Any of the following topics can also be touched upon:
Big data analytics
Behavioural advertising
Behavioural branding
Programmatic infrastructures
Native advertising
Authenticity
Targeting
Personalisation
•the essay must discuss advantages and disadvantages, benefits and problems
•Might be a good idea to focus on particular stakeholders
•NOT descriptive
• a good introduction – outline the main argument
•A logical, well-structured argument supported by examples (evidence), scholarly sources and analysis
•Demonstrate understanding & critical thinking
•Engage with sources in a deep, analytical way
•Avoid making unsubstantiated claims and generalisations
Case studies must be used and they MUST be from academic sources.
Overall about 15-20 sources should be fine.
At least 4 academic sources must be used, at least 1 of which must be from the following list:
These two are particularly important:
Hearn, A. and Shoenhoff, S. (2015) From Celebrity to Influencer: Tracing the Diffusion of Celebrity Value across the Data Stream’, in A Companion to Celebrity, Wiley
IAB (2019) ‘Views from the Industry: Influencer Marketing’, available at https://www.iabuk.com/research/views-industry-influencer-marketing
Additional sources:
Ahmed, S. (2004). The Cultural Politics of Emotion. Routledge, New York.
Banet-Weiser, S. (2012). Authentic TM : the politics and ambivalence in a brand culture. New York University Press.Carlson, M. (2015). When news sites go native: Redefining the advertising–editorial divide in response to native advertising. Journalism, 16(7), 849–865.
Couldry, N., & Turow, J. (2014). Advertising, big data and the clearance of the public realm: marketers’ new approaches to the content subsidy. International Journal of Communication, 8, 1710–1726.
Mitchell, A. (2014) State of the News Media 2014, Pew. http://www.journalism.org/2014/03/26/state-of-the-news-media-2014-overview/
Damasio, A. (2000) ‘Stepping into the Light’, in The Feeling of What Happens: Body, Emotion and the Making of Consciousness. Vintage Books, London: pp.1-32.
Jenkins, H., Ford, S., & Green, J. (2013). Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture. NYU Press.
Paasonen, S. (2016). ‘Fickle Focus: Distraction, Affect and the Production of Value in Social Media’, First Monday, 21 (10), https://firstmonday.org/article/view/6949/5629
Schauster, E. E., Ferrucci, P., & Neill, M. S. (2016). Native Advertising Is the New Journalism: How Deception Affects Social Responsibility. American Behavioral Scientist, 60(12), 1408–1424.
Terranova, T. (2012). ‘Attention Economy and the Brain,’ Culture Machine, 13, pp. 1-19.
If you don’t have access to any of these I can send them.
