[ 15. The HSBC Website | Marketing ]

[ The HSBC Website www.hsbc.com ]

Bluetooth is a wireless short range communications technology intended to replace the wires connecting portable and fixed devices, while still maintaining high levels of security. Because Bluetooth is a very widely accepted technology, almost every Bluetooth enabled device can instantly connect to another Bluetooth enabled device within range, anywhere in the world. These ad hoc networks can also be called piconets and use short range radio frequency signals to interact and communicate and Bluetooth communication has a very small power usage, around 2.5mW, and this allows even the smallest devices to be connected, although Bluetooth powers can vary, increasing and decreasing the range as well. Some industrial piconets can range to more than 300metres. One of the most common uses of Bluetooth technology is in mobile phones.

[ In Detail ]
HSBC has trialled a new form of marketing. The large branches at Canary Wharf and on Regent Street spam passers-by with Bluetooth adverts directly to their phones. The practice, often known as 'proximity marketing' [ proximity marketing ] uses a server to detect Bluetooth capable mobile phones in the area. HSBC uses the server to send phones with the facility activated a message asking users to accept a download. If the user accepts, a marketing message is displayed. The branch remembers the phone’s information in an effort not to target the same phone more than is necessary. This is a step forward in technology and a good example of putting the newest technology into a practical application, although if this technique of proximity advertising becomes too proliferant, then users could find themselves walking down any high street with dozens of messages literally spamming their phone with unwanted adverts. HSBC is also up against security concerns about the safety of Bluetooth, where “driveby hackers” can exploit flaws in the signal to steal personal information and make free calls. In addition, users could in the future also be hoarded by the branch and contacted even when not in range of the branch. There is, however a simple solution. Turn off the Bluetooth function on your phone. Another application of Bluetooth in advertising is the possibility of a Bluetooth Billboard, where anyone interested in the contents of the poster advert can hold their phones close to the billboard and choose to receive more information, rather than have it forced down their throats. Even the slight possibility of having competitions or newsletter sign-ups available by simply sending a message to a node in a shop or a billboard is possible for the future. Having the audience choose whether to initiate information would be better accepted than having them bombarded with unsolicited and the majority unwanted adverts.

This is a good example of a non-linear advertising opportunity, immediacy, portability, miniaturisation, proliferation, convenience, democratisation, vertical integration, reach, surveillance and convergence. It is true exploitation of new media technology.

[ 14. The Blu-ray Disk Website | Format ]

[ The Blu-ray Disk Website www.blu-raydisc.com ]

Blu-ray Disk is a next-gen optical disk format that allows for the storage of data, high-def and standard definition digital media and Playstation 3 games. The Blu-ray Disk and player exploits the shorter wavelength of the blue/violet reading laser used to read the “1’s and 0’s”, the grooves on the disk. The much shorter wavelength of Blu-ray reading lasers [ ~ 405nanometres ] allows the “bumps” to be packed more compactly and more densely on the disk itself and this enables a lot more information [ 25GB per layer ] to be stored, just over 5 times the amount stored per layer on a regular red-laser DVD. A 200GB Blu-ray Disk has been manufactured using six 33GB layers, although this disk would almost certainly not work on today’s regular BD Players, which incidentally are also backwards compatible to play DVDs too.

[ In Detail ]
Blu-ray Disk is not aimed at any particular demographic, although the older generation may not be so inclined to convert to the newer technology. To whoever does convert to Blu-ray technology, greater quality of video and audio are granted and much more data can be stored on BD, possibly where DVD had 2 or maybe 3 disk compilations or trilogies, now can all be stored on one disk, eg. the entire Matrix Trilogy could be stored on one disk with space to spare for extra features and other extras. This increases the quality of experience for the audience as it creates less hassle for them. Many institutions have shown their support for Blu-ray Disk, including big names such as Sony, Apple and Fox Entertainment, although the Blu-ray Disk Association including the 9 founders of Blu-ray technology has overall power over the development. BD is in a close format war with HD DVD [ HD DVD ], supported by Microsoft and Intel, as these two essentially identical technologies are mutually incompatible. There are currently over 250 member institutions supporting BD. This convergence of institutions is rather like the consortium including Nokia, Microsoft and Intel for Bluetooth technology begun in 1994.

The progression towards BD allows for a better experience for the audience, they make it more interactive and non-linear, allows more proliferation, miniaturisation, a personalised experience, which is more flexible, better converged and presses for vertical integration with this otherwise incompatible technology.

[ 12. The iPod Website | Apple ]

[ The iPod Website www.apple.com/itunes ]

iPod is a brand of very popular portable media players launched by Apple in 2001. iPods are primarily digital audio players but have evolved to encompass many other different and useful everyday functions. iPods have essentially replaced Sony Walkmans and other portable CD/cassette players.

[ In Detail ]
The iPods are aimed at the younger generation since that demographic is more likely to have a large digital music collection and is more active and mobile. The introduction of the iPod in 2001 had paved the way for portable digital media players and by the 9th April 2007, Apple announced that 1 million units had been sold worldwide. Apple is utilising the ever decreasing size of motherboards, hard drives, LCD screens, batteries and associated wiring that make up the insides of an iPod, and this allows them to make increasingly smaller units, letting the audience pick the size that fits their lifestyle best and as we know, smaller is better. iPods allow consumers to listen to music via the MP3, WAV, AAC, Apple Lossless and Audible 2,3 and 4 formats. H.264, MPEG-4 and MOV files are also supported for video, to watch TV shows, DVDs and home videos encoded with Quicktime Pro [ Quicktime ]. One can view photos in the formats JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, PNG and PSD. One can create calendar dates, contacts sync, carry any other type of file on their iPod like an external hard drive, play games and integrate their player to their car stereo. This massive miniaturisation and portability is a great example of convergence and vertical integration, with a huge reach, it is flexible and allows the consumer to personalise their unit.

[ 6. The 300 Site | Homepage ]

[ The 300 Website www.300themovie.com ]

The website for the film 300 is a very entertaining, interactive site, which essentially markets the film entirely, and replaces such other media texts such as posters, whilst playing host to extra information leading on from other media texts such as the television trailers and trailers hosted at other websites, such as in promotional sites like filmschoolrejects.com and ropeofsilicon.com and the Warner Bro’s site, who also have distributed the film, so technology such as streamed video is utilised to its fullest. These sites allow awareness to be raised and interest to be gained surrounding the film, which attracts audiences to the website, and ultimately to watch the film. The film is narrowcasted predominantly to males with few, but feisty female characters, blood and gore, etc., and the website reflects this, using dark colour schemes and frequent blood splatters and the theme of war and violence.
The film itself was created using almost all bluescreen technology and this adds a video-game style to the film. This extensive use of new media technology has added greatly to the film, adding both realism and fantasy, and reducing the liability for continuity errors. Adding to this exploitation of new media technologies, most of the website’s features contain NMT’s and thus increase the reach and quality of the film and its marketing.

[ In Detail ]
The website is very interesting and has many aspects and features. It is created with Adobe Flash and has interactive buttons and rollover buttons and many other new and exciting aspects. Such features within the website are film production notes and other related documents, trailers, TV trailers, wallpapers, MySpace details, merchandise, digital audio clips, concept art, free downloads and more. There are free screensavers for download and these use new media technologies both to download them fast enough, broadband, and to create them, Adobe Photoshop, and other similar products.
300: March to Glory, the game is yet another feature that is set in the website, it is designed for the PSP [ PSP ], a very good example of convergence, and it utilises the newest data-storage technology, namely UMD disks [ UMD ] and Memory Stick Pro: Duo [ Memory Stick Pro: Duo ]. This increases the accessibility of 300, and widens the franchise further than simply the film and action figures, etc. Another technology surrounding 300 that does this is the mobile game, the abundance of ringtones and wallpapers for personalisation. The mobile game and the PSP game are linked, with unlockables only available from the mobile game. This urges vertical integration between them and the film itself, and helps to sell both games and film tickets. This not only creates a portable, miniaturised non-linear experience, it also increases the quality of experience.
There is also a video production diary which allows the audience to feel closer to the production process and again exploits the easy ability to use embedded video, and also the production blog, in the same manner.
The website is covered in new media technology, from Adobe Flash technology, to blogging, to digital audio, to blue-screen and 3D modelling technology. This adds emphasis onto the movie, increases hype and anticipation and shows that this movie has a large budget and is a very important movie of the year.