Belgrade – June 25, 2007 – Dejan Trpkovic, founder of Prodirekt, wrote an article on the subject of the new trends in marketing, which was published in business magazine Ekonomist. The author talks about the ongoing trend in the Western economies of quickly embracing latest developments in digital media and online marketing, while local companies are sticking to the “old way of doing business” and wasting virtually all marketing dollars on the expensive creative and TV advertising, which is, in most cases, not even monitored to determine its effectiveness.
The history of the so-called Web 2.0 is explained through the examples of the marketing campaigns of Chrysler, Audi, Samsung and General Motors which relied on Web 2.0 as a new way of creating, collaborating, editing and sharing user-generated content online. The author points that the automotive industry, as one of the biggest spenders on online marketing, has been among the first adopters of interactive marketing. The content of the marketing campaign for Jeep Patriot is analyzed in greater detail.
This is followed by the author’s view of how the change in the media landscape would progress, with traditional media being pushed aside by the new media, such as social networks, mobile communication devices and digital interactive billboards. The advantages of online marketing and communication through social networks are explained, and the importance of market segmentation and a need for a direct communication with a customer is covered in more detail.
While discussing the opportunities offered by Web 2.0, the author sheds more light on the media democratization and appearance of “citizen journalism.” The concept of members of the public playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information is presented.
At the end of the article, the author provides the sharp criticism of the Serbian market, while urging local companies to adopt new media and giving his recommendations of how to communicate more effectively with the target market.
Read the full article in the Serbian language: Marketing in the Era of Citizen Journalism, by Dejan Trpkovic, Ekonomist, June 25, 2007