Buying into American Idol: How We Are Being Sold on Reality Television

Enter the world of affective economics; where entertainment and advertising go hand in hand.

WATCH

CHAPTERS

DISCLAIMER

Brand loyals or fans

Emotional capital

How did American Idol transform itself into a “lovemark”?

Which term is used to describe the increase of a brands’ worth through the emotional investment of consumers?

Which type of consumer is most valuable to a brand?

What is a “lovemark”?

Find which companies are the largest sponsors of product placement in American Idol.

READ

Facts & Figures

Test your knowledge by answering these questions about Chapter 2.

   Chapter 2

GLOSSARY

By getting its audience involved in active consumption through participation, thus encouraging an emotional investment in the franchise

Which new way of marketing has a strong focus on the emotional commitment of consumers?

Practice

Advertising Age (2011) Product Placement Hits High Gear on 'American Idol,' Broadcast's Top Series for Brand Mentions. Consulted on 25.10.2009. Retrieved from: http://adage.com/article/media/product-placement-hits-high-gear-american-idol/227041/

Jenkins, H. (2008) Convergence Culture. Where Old and New Media Collide. U.S.A. New York: New York University Press.

Roberts, K. (2004). Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands. New York: Power House Books.

As we have seen so far, collective intelligence is a powerful bargaining tool media consumers can use to challenge media corporations. Although, as it is practiced in cyberspace, information about consumers’ wants and needs, tastes and preferences and even their demographic details are readily accessible and are used by producers and advertisers for their own ends. In fact, the sheer emotional investment of fans in their favorite brands is now harnessed to help improve marketing practices. New marketing models, such as affective economics, seek to understand the emotional basis for consumers’ viewing and purchasing choices, and utilize the information to build committed brand communities and shape the nature of audience participation. Reality-TV shows such as FOX’s American Idol (2002) illustrate the application of this top-down motivated corporate convergence strategy, and demonstrate the potential that lies at the intersection of new and traditional media.

​

American Idol is a reality-TV show in which talented singers compete with each other to win a record contract and promotion deal. Each week, audiences watch the heavily sponsored live show on television and vote for their favorite contestants by calling or sending a text message. In addition, audiences are offered a range of media touch points throughout the week, through which they are encouraged to follow the story from one screen to the next, share the content with their friends and as a result form tighter bonds with the brand. By offering an experience across multiple media platforms, producers blur the lines between entertainment and advertising. American Idol’s successful strategy makes it what media professional Kevin Roberts coined a lovemark; a brand that becomes more than just a brand due to the emotional commitment of its loyal consumers.   

Of course not all consumers are invested in the show on the same level. Media corporations make a distinction between zappers; who move randomly between channels and often only watch small segments, casuals; who watch the show sporadically and can easily wander off in mid-episode, and loyals or fans; the most valuable consumers, as they watch the series faithfully, make a long-term commitment to the franchise, pay more attention to the commercials and therefore more likely to buy the franchise’s or sponsors’ products.

As networks and sponsors increasingly join forces to shape audience participation, in the hopes of turning it to emotional capital, consumers do not always willingly accept the terms of participation they are offered. They rather scrutinize and criticize media corporations, holding them accountable for their actions on behalf of their franchises, and their level of responsiveness to consumer demand. Indeed, there is a long way to go before media corporations understand the complexity of audiences’ emotional investment in brands, and also before audiences take full advantage of their collective power for criticism of corporate conduct.

In chapter 3, we will return to the consumers’ perspective, and see how knowledge communities cooperate to decipher elaborate transmedia stories.

CREATIVE TEAM

THE AUTHOR & THE BOOK

Affective economics

A brand, which has become more than just a brand due to its consumers’ emotional commitment

LITERATURE