APCommunication Report

A New Model for
Communication:
Studying the Deep Structure of Advertising
and News Consumption
A Research Report from The Associated Press,

Context-Based Research Group and
Carton Donofrio Partners
March 2010
The environment for news and advertising is in need

of a clean-up. Using the tools of cultural anthropology,
The AP and its research partners uncover a new path to
audience engagement that taps into the phenomenon of
social media and responds to consumers’ desire for more
honest and collaborative communication.
Contents
Prologue 03
Behavioral Field Study and Findings
Section 1: Overview
and Study Objectives 06
Section 2: Ethnography
Participants 15
Section 3: Conclusions
and Recommendations 47
AP’s Engagement Model
A Case Study 59
StopTheAdness.org
A Case Study from
Carton Donofrio Partners 66
Acknowledgments 72
© 2010 The Associated Press

All rights reserved.
May be downloaded for personal use only.
A New Model for Communication
Prologue
In 2007, The Associated Press began what would become a continuing partnership
with Context-Based Research Group of Baltimore. We started off with a simple goal of
exploring some real-life examples of changing news consumption among young adults,
and three years later, we have made what both organizations feel are some major break-
throughs in understanding how information flows through the digital culture.
Our first project resulted in a report entitled A New

Facts Model for News, released in 2008 following fieldwork in
six cities around the world the previous year. That project
Updates led us to the creation of what we call an “atomic” model
for news, which visualizes a core issue for news providers,
whose content has been fragmented into headlines and
snippets by the forces of search, aggregation and sharing
Back story on the Internet.
Future stories/ Essentially, the model illustrates how the news has
Spin-offs TM been ripped out of the package – people encounter it in
bits and pieces in scrolling headlines, aggregated search
results and shared text messages that wash over them in relentless torrents every day.
While the technology of the Internet has given consumers more control over their own
consumption, it has provided little guidance for how to put the atomic pieces of the news
back together into a coherent report.
The research conducted with Context has helped AP get on the road to some real
solutions. One of the keys to understanding how to address the situation has been the
extraordinary insight enabled by the Context methodology. Context does ethnographic
research, meaning it studies small groups of people up close to get at the root of their
behavior. That “Deep Structure,” as Context calls it, opens up a view of how companies
can respond to cultural changes that aren’t so obvious on the surface.
3
A research report from The Associated Press, Context-Based Research Group and Carton Donofrio Partners
For instance, going into our original news study, we assumed that people probably
wanted more short blasts of news because that’s what all the Internet tools were built
to deliver. But, to the contrary, the study group participants said they were actually fed
up with that and wanted more breadth and depth. That was certainly music to the ears
of journalists, who felt the days for in-depth reporting were numbered on the Internet.
With the success of the news study, we moved on to an even bigger problem, one we had
less experience dealing with as a news agency. We wanted to understand whether the
same issues were affecting advertising, the lifeblood of the news business.
To explore that new territory, we turned again to Context to perform another field
study in the summer of 2009. The analysis of that data is the subject of the following
report.
The story, without giving it all away, is that consumers felt even more besieged by ads
than by news. The level of fatigue among consumers was at least as bad as in the news
study and, in many cases, had left people downright angry.
The “atomic” model applied again. We could see how

ads were being delivered and consumed haphazardly in
blasts of unwelcome Web pop-ups, plastered subway walls
and pre-roll video. But it wasn’t all about the format. The
second study led us to a much more interesting place and a
much more profound understanding of the problem.
It is not just that people feel overloaded. As consumers,

they long for a better way to communicate with informa-
4
tion providers – news companies and advertisers alike. They want that communication
to be two-way, transparent and honest. They seek a new relationship that is built on
trust, not simply on the value of the content or advertising itself.
Seeing the rise of social networking online during the course of this study, we weren’t
surprised that people spoke so openly about their eagerness to share content with their
friends or tap into online communities to vet commercial offers. Those comments contrast-
ed sharply with their characterizations of ads as generally annoying and interruptive.
It all led us to the conclusion that communication couldn’t improve unless the environ-
ment changed first. Context brought an interesting bit of cultural theory called “Commu-
nitas” to bear on the findings, which you can read more about in the following pages.
With Communitas, there is no such thing as one-way communication. There are only
two-way conversations that inspire loyalty and trust, and those are key ingredients
with the power to cut through the clutter of the Internet.
We hope these findings inspire discussion, debate and a variety of creative responses
in both the news and advertising realms. It’s time for both industries to transition from
“bombardment” back to “communication.”
As you’ll see in this report, a sister advertising company to Context, Baltimore’s

Carton Donofrio Partners, has already taken our conclusions to heart and launched its
own initiative called, appropriately, “Stop the Adness.” Special thanks to them for the
insight they provided to this project and, as always, to our partners in this research, the
Context-Based Research Group.
Jim Kennedy
Vice President and Director of Strategic Planning
The Associated Press
March 2010
5
Section 1: Overview and Study Objectives
Getting to the Roots of guished by its anthropo- that the legacy distribu-
logical approach to the tion models for news had
the News and Advertising
question. A New Model for been rendered almost
‘Fatigue’ Factor News sought to document obsolete by the way news
In 2008, The Associ- the impact of the digital was being delivered and
ated Press and Context- shift in news consump- consumed in digital chan-
Based Research Group tion from a behavioral nels. The “packages” that
developed a view of how perspective. The study historically defined the
news consumption was started from the premise news – the front page, the
being dramatically al- that much of the audience scheduled TV broadcast
tered in the digital age. had moved online, and and even the bookmarked
The news agency and its it sought to understand Web site – were giving
ethnographic research what was happening to the way to a chaotic torrent of
partner issued a report, news and news consump- “atomized” snippets and
entitled A New Model for tion as a result. headlines that were de-
News (http://www.ap.org/ signed to take advantage
newmodel.pdf), which The report was deliv- of the 24/7 nature of the
detailed the changes in ered to the World Editors digital space, but were
behavior that Context Forum and shared with having an unintended ef-
observed from a group of journalists and media fect on the audience.
young adults in six cities companies worldwide.
around the world. As a stand-alone study, The subjects observed
it served to validate the in that initial study told
That report was distin- widely held assumption Context that they were
6
tired of the repetitive the New Model report. As strategies for en-
onslaught and they were In summary, the agency riching the news report
eager to find something moved to an approach that were being pursued at
more fulfilling. The news distinguished headlines, AP, questions lingered
they found online was snippets and deeper cover- about the business model
broken up and difficult to age in a new framework for supporting digital
reassemble in meaningful for its journalists called, news delivery. Specifi-
and satisfying ways. They simply, “1-2-3.” That cally, since news providers
said they were getting too framework set the stage were relying on online
many facts and updates for AP to deliver the news and mobile advertising as
and not enough back- in a variety of new ways primary revenue streams,
ground or future perspective. that were better tuned AP wanted to understand
to consumption patterns. whether advertising is
Though it constituted Newspaper-length stories subject to the same con-
an indictment of the news that had been repurposed sumption issues as news.
delivery schemes widely online were replaced by
used around the world, a new digital routine of Core Issue: When Is a Good
the report delivered a re- headline first, followed
Time to Talk?
freshing message to news by present-tense devel-
providers: The audience opments, followed when The AP decided to en-
was hungry for something needed by longer treat- gage Context once again,
deeper, wider and better. ments. A digital tagging this time to study ad-
system of metadata also vertising consumption
Those conclusions led to was created to enable the patterns. The results of
substantial changes in the related components of any that investigation are the
way The Associated Press story to be electronically subject of this report.
approached its own news linked.
report, as documented in As a first step early in
7
2009, Context and AP set social networking, and work experience, in sharp
out to understand the ex- the tremendous growth contrast to the “fatigue”
isting body of knowledge of that phenomenon was of news and advertising
about the effectiveness setting the stage for elec- consumption.
of digital advertising. Of tronic word of mouth and
particular interest was personal relationships to That clear conflict – be-
advertising that accompa- influence the full spec- tween increasingly dis-
nied news content. trum of communication, satisfying content con-
well beyond the informal sumption and increasingly
That secondary research exchanges of friends and satisfying social engage-
confirmed the assump- family. ment – led AP and Context
tion that advertising was to suspect that standard
indeed suffering from the The new social mindset forms of delivering news
same audience “fatigue” taking hold in the culture and advertising were
as news. In fact, the situa- provided a fresh context out of sync with current
tion, if anything, appeared for studying the informa- cultural expectations. Not
worse. Reports from a tion overload problem. only did consumers not
variety of sources gener- Context theorized that to want to be interrupted by
ally all agreed that adver- get the consumer’s at- news and ads; they clearly
tising had become more tention amid the chaos, preferred to engage in a
interruptive, and less information providers totally different way.
engaging, in the digital and advertisers needed to
age. consider, and perhaps even That suspicion framed
ask the audience, whether the central question for
But something else was now was a “good time to a second ethnography
also going on. The digi- talk.” Clearing the “time around advertising con-
tal culture was making to talk” seemed an inte- sumption: If current
a massive turn toward gral part of the social net- practices were working
8
against deep engagement, Why Ethnography: Getting anthropological analysis

what would it take to of the behavior observed.
to the Deep Structure
change the picture? In an In the AP’s first study,
environment dominated Ethnography was chosen A New Model for News,
by repetitive headlines again as the research tool Context’s anthropologists
and interruptive advertis- because of its grounding were able to translate
ing, there is no “good time in cultural anthropology. observed behavior into a
to talk” with consumers. Anthropologists under- model for how to improve
So what would have to stand that to uncover the the structure of the AP
change for information deeper structures that news report. The findings
providers and advertis- guide a culture it is neces- from that study (suggest-
ers to strike up a two-way sary to “live among the ing subjects were being
conversation with their natives.” By living among bombarded by repetitive
audience? the natives, you come news reports) produced
to learn 1) what people a stunning visual model
To find some answers, do, versus what they say of news broken down into
AP and Context launched they do, and 2) the why, its component “atoms” of
new ethnographic field- or underlying motivation, facts, updates, background
work to learn more about behind people’s actual be- and future spin-off angles.
how people react to adver- havior. Ethnographic field- With that model in clear
tising and how the inter- work involves going into view, AP made system-
ruption of commercial people’s natural settings, wide adjustments in its
messaging might be trans- versus studying people in a news production process to
formed into deeper audi- controlled environment. target the right format to
ence engagement. the right situation.
The secret to the suc-
cess of an ethnographic Similarly, the advertis-
research project lies in ing project was aimed at
9
getting to the root of the

problem, or what Context Roots of ethnography
Anthropologists compare people’s behavior to parts of a tree –
calls the Deep Structure – some are obvious, some are hidden.
the place beneath the
Material Culture
surface of easily observed What products
and services
behaviors where cultural do people use?
values and individual
motivations are produced
and supported. Uncovering
those roots can lead to the
development of new solu-
tions that reach people Behaviors
What do
on a truly deeper plane of people do?
unmet needs. Deep Structure

Why do people do
what they do?
Material culture in an
ethnographic study is the Above the surface, anthropologists observe people’s behavior. Below the surface,
insights are drawn on underlying motivations.
“stuff” people use. In con-
sumer anthropology, most patterns are the manifes- graphic research start to
of the stuff equals product tation of the Deep Struc- take shape and suggest a
and services at people’s ture at the root of the certain structure, social
disposal. question. theory then guides the
explanatory models.
As the anthropologists The ethnographic ap-
observe more and more proach and anthropologi-
behavior and examples of cal process is deductive
material culture, patterns and iterative. As the
begin to emerge. Those patterns from the ethno-
10
Methodology participant had to have Observation Tools and

access to the Internet and
To get at the Deep Struc-
Techniques
had to report interacting
ture behind advertising with advertising and ac- “What is Advertising”
attitudes and behaviors, Send-Ahead Behavioral
cessing news through both Journaling Exercise
specifically alongside traditional and non-tradi-
news consumption, this tional means. In addition, To gather a foundation
project was designed to participants had to report of information about the
explore a diverse group checking the news at least participants’ lives, par-
of participants, using a once a day. ticularly their behavior,
range of methodologies values, news sources and
including self-reported The participants were advertising consumption
real-time behavior, direct selected from a mix of ur- habits, all the partici-
observation and, to com- ban and suburban neigh- pants in the study received
plete the process, in-depth borhoods in four cities in a Send-Ahead Behavioral
anthropological analysis. the United States: Atlan- Journaling Exercise en-
ta, Kansas City, New York titled, “What is Adver-
Sample and Location and San Francisco. The tising?” To complete the
locations were chosen to journal, participants used
To gather as broad a their digital cameras and
provide a broad geographi-
group of participants as followed a set of instruc-
cal sweep and to capture a
possible, 24 participants tions for taking pictures of
full range of traditional
were recruited from ages their daily lives over the
and non-traditional adver-
18 to 55 (with an empha- course of approximately
tising and news consump-
sis on the 18 to 34 age one week.
tion.
group), representing a mix
of ethnicity, gender and Participants completed
household income. Each the journal by address-
11
ing a series of questions preferred situation and Advertising

in text and visual forms. means for accessing adver- Consumption Diary
The journal began by ask- tising and what purpose To capture activity both
ing them how they would advertising serves for them. in and out of the home,
represent themselves and Context had participants
their family, focusing on As part of the advertis- complete an advertising
what was important to ing analysis, participants consumption diary. For
them, their likes/dislikes, were asked to single out this structured assign-
values and philosophies and comment on two ment, participants were
and favorite things to pieces of advertising that asked to capture moments,
do. They also were asked they experienced during in real time, when they
about their social net- the week, one engaging searched for or consumed
works and what kinds of and one interruptive. advertising over two full
information and advertis- Finally, participants were days – one weekday and
ing they chose to share or asked to explain how they one weekend day, from
not share with their net- interpreted the relation- start to finish.
works. ship between advertising
and news, if they saw a Context anthropologists
Moving more directly relationship at all. directed all participants
into the advertising to document at least eight
realm, participants were The exercise, which was moments of advertising
asked to represent what followed by a home visit consumption on each day.
they considered to be from a Context anthro- Participants recorded the
advertising, how they pologist, yielded rich data what, where and when of
defined advertising, when about the participants and each consumption event,
they noticed advertising, the role of advertising in along with other details.
including the influence their worlds. Participants also were
of media platforms, their
12
asked to answer the ques- sions were conducted to tainment activities, inter-
tion derived from the obtain first-hand infor- actions with family and/or
secondary research: “Is mation about advertis- friends and more.
now a good time to talk?” ing consumption as it
The question was framed actually happened and Spending much of a
as if the advertisement to put into perspective day with the participants
were a person trying to the information gathered meant the anthropologists
have a conversation with in the participants’ self- could obtain very detailed
the consumer. Would this reported journals and and accurate informa-
be the appropriate time diaries. In these sessions, tion, including observable
for you to talk? Would you anthropologists spent part details (how much time
be free and interested in of a day shadowing and was spent on a Web site,
engaging at this moment, observing participants what was noticed on the
or are you already engaged through their activities. commute to work), as well
with something else? Par- Context anthropologists as hidden details (how
ticipants also elaborated scheduled the observa- interaction with differ-
on why it was or was not a tion periods during times ent advertising affected
good time to talk. that participants said consumption behavior). A
they viewed advertising major strength of the full-
The Context anthropolo- most frequently. To gain day observations was that
gists discussed this exer- a deeper understanding researchers uncovered dis-
cise with the participants of participants’ lives and crepancies between what
during the in-home, in- how they interfaced with participants said they do
depth interviews. advertising and news, the and what they actually did.
immersion encompassed
Day-in-the-Life Immersion a broad sampling of daily In-Home, In-Depth
and Observation Interview
activities, including work,
Day-in-the-life immer- school, leisure or enter- In addition to the obser-
13
vations, the anthropologists self-directed descriptions of behavior and their journal

conducted in-depth inter- life experiences. and diary entries.
views with the participants
in their homes. Reviewing The interviews also gave Brief summaries follow
the participants’ journals the participants a chance of the information gath-
and diaries provided a to explain in greater ered from all participants
launching pad for conversa- depth the behavior ob- in the study. The names
tional interviews designed served by the anthropolo- used are pseudonyms.
to uncover further details. gists during the immer-
The interviews featured sion periods and to discuss
open-ended questions de- the relationship between
signed to elicit vivid and the participants’ observed
14
Section 2: Ethnography Participants
Clark is a ones that you remember … ly remembers video ads on

Atlanta
student of I couldn’t remember the TV and graphic-rich pop-
Clark , 21 architecture ones that I was neutral ups on Web sites.
Architecture at Georgia about but I remembered
Student
Tech Uni- the ones I really, really Clark does not read
versity in Atlanta. Dur- hated.” traditional sources of
ing the school year, Clark news but consumes news
lives in his fraternity Clark describes effective and information online.
house with 50 of his broth- advertising as “captur[ing] He enjoys sharing infor-
ers. During the summer, your attention in a posi- mation with his friends,
he lives at home with his tive or negative sense,” especially his fraternity
parents. Being Christian and says it “further engag- brothers. Clark explains,
is an important part of his es you in a specific product “I like to be the first per-
life. or event.” Advertising son to know about stuff so
succeeds with Clark when people are surprised … it’s
Clark believes there are it generates excitement cool to know about news
three different categories about a specific product, first, breaking news, you
of advertising: “ads you even if it isn’t pertinent to know, a high-speed chase
like that engage you, ads him. For example, Clark or $2 pitchers at La Pa-
you dislike that still en- loved a recent AirTran rilla tonight.”
gage you and ads you don’t ad that he described as
pay attention to. The first “hilarious” even though Clark and his friends
two, the ones that you like he doesn’t need to buy any love the Atlanta institu-
and you don’t like, are the plane tickets. Clark most- tion, Chick-fil-A, for its
15
food as well as the com- on an acre of land with ers stay connected. Her
pany’s strong Christian their prized Pomeranian. friends call her “Miss
values. A few months Donna studied account- Information.” Because she
before the interview, a ing at Georgia State Uni- wants to remain “in the
friend told Clark about a versity and started an know,” Donna always pays
promotion where the first air quality business with close attention to advertis-
100 people into the store Steve based out of their at- ing. She likes to bargain
would win 52 free meals tic. In addition to working shop and stays up to date
over the course of a year. together, Steve and Donna on sales or promotional
He and this friend camped spend almost all of their events. She shares this
outside a Chick-fil-A for free time together, and information with those in
more than 50 hours, along they frequently socialize her social network. Con-
with many others. Clark with members of Steve’s stant communication with
and his friend won the family. Staying connected her social network helps
meals. He had a positive to her family, friends and her feel connected and
experience waiting with the world around her are “fills her up.”
people similar to him important to Donna.
while enjoying free food On weekends Donna
and music in the parking As vice president of her goes through all the print
lot. company, Donna strives advertising she receives
to stay organized and well throughout the week and
informed. She structures divides it into three piles:
Donna has both her personal and To Be Recycled, For Steve,
Atlanta
been mar- professional advertising and Dayplanner. All are
Donna, 44 ried to Steve consumption around these relevant at a specific time
Business for 20 years. principles. Donna likes for a specific person.
Owner
The couple to think that her store
live in a beautiful home of knowledge helps oth- Donna defines advertis-
16
ing as the way companies Donna receives adver- vertising an expected and
create awareness about tising through multiple inescapable part of news
particular products, for- entry points and devices. consumption.
mulate an association She is attracted mainly
with the products, and to print and direct e-mail
stimulate people to act advertising. Online, she Jane and her
Atlanta
by purchasing them. She is rarely tempted to open husband have
recognizes positive and pop-up ads and ignores Jane, 50 two sons, 6
Substitute
negative sides to advertis- most advertising. Teacher and 14. Her
ing. On the positive side, husband sells
advertising allows her to Donna is compulsive lighting for commercial
create connections and about her consumption of buildings and performs in
stay informed, but it can the news. She watches the comedy, magic shows and
be interruptive (such as TV news in the mornings cabaret acts on the side.
spam e-mails or phone so- and evenings, listens to Jane has never done any
licitations) and dishonest. talk shows on the radio work that directly relates
when in her car, receives to her degree in speech
Donna has developed The Atlanta Journal-Con- communication, but con-
what she calls the “net- stitution daily and reads siders her knowledge
work of mys,” meaning her the news online, includ- “diversified.” She current-
favorite places, products ing entertainment news. ly works as a substitute
and service providers. She Donna does not believe teacher, mainly in elemen-
refuses to go outside of that reading or watching tary schools. Family is the
her “network” unless she negative news impacts her most important element
receives word-of-mouth opinion about the accom- in her life. Jane also val-
recommendations from at panying advertising. She ues honesty and safety.
least two trusted sources. has become “numb to bad
news” and considers ad- With the personality of
17
a planner, Jane is often important subjects. She likely to notice advertis-

responsible for deciding on is particularly attuned to ing when she is alone.
activities for her family advertising that provides
and friends and is always information relevant to Jane uses advertising
cognizant of advertising. her community. to stay informed, to make
She considers herself to be smart purchasing deci-
“in the know” and prides She prefers advertising sions and to sate her curi-
herself on the relevance of that is visually engag- osity.
her information. Tips Jane ing and finds advertis-
exchanges with family, ing interruptive when it Jane has definite ideas
friends and acquaintances “yells at her” and when it about which kinds of ad-
may include advertising. is played at inappropriate vertising are appropriate
times. Jane is surprised at and when, especially with
Jane describes advertis- how open advertising has regard to news consump-
ing as a “pitcher throw- become to “sexual/sensual tion. She does not approve
ing information at you, innuendo” and is often of the use of humorous
right in your face.” It is shocked at some of the advertising in conjunction
a company’s attempt to products being discussed. with serious content.
influence consumers by
broadcasting its message. Jane is most engaged Jane doesn’t consume
Jane stays attuned to the with advertising when news at specific times on a
advertising around her she can focus on what she regular basis regardless of
because she is interested is watching, listening to the format.
in how businesses market or reading without in-
themselves to the con- terruption. Her level of
sumer. She appreciates concentration is related to
advertising that provides the presence or absence of
clear information about her children – she is most
18
Laura lives public aware of differ- priate times on television.

Atlanta
with her ent kinds of information.
Laura, 28 husband and She believes she wouldn’t Laura looks to advertis-
Mortgage two daugh- know “half of what I do” ing for information and
Loan
Processor ters, 6 and 6 about new products or ser- entertainment and to sat-
months, in a vices without advertising. isfy her curiosity. Those
middle-class neighborhood She generally thinks ad- needs are fulfilled by ad-
in a southern suburb of vertising makes a positive vertisements about prod-
Atlanta. She is currently contribution to society, ucts and services in which
working as a mortgage but dislikes aspects, such she is interested. Laura
loan processor, a job that as the misleading quality may be curious about cer-
she dislikes. She received of the “fine print.” tain ads that don’t seem
a degree as a medical as- relevant to her, but she
sistant but started work- Laura is engaged by ad- rarely acts on them.
ing as a receptionist at a vertising that directly re-
mortgage company and lates to her life, especially Laura watches the news
moved up to become a loan sales and promotions. The on TV before leaving for
processor. She hopes to best time to talk for Laura work and before bed and
open her own event-plan- is when she is relaxed and reads the news online. She
ning business some day. can focus on the product or checks breaking news and
Her large, extended family service being advertised. traffic stories throughout
likes to share informa- the day by following the
tion and shop with one She describes interrup- headlines on her home
another. tive advertising as a “gim- page.
mick” or something that is
Advertising for Laura not applicable to everyone. Laura ignores most
is a way of making the Examples include pop-ups Internet advertising
and ads aired at inappro- but will click and follow
19
advertising links if she is work because he is always so that the consumer is

online at home. the first to find and share bombarded by the brand
information. He loves message.
sharing news stories, espe-
Richard is cially those dealing with Richard likes advertis-
Atlanta
the presi- the entertainment indus- ing with humor, advertis-
Richard, 29 dent and try, as well as funny video ing that keeps him aware
Company co-founder clips and sales or promo- of new products and ad-
President and
Co-Founder of an enter- tions. He spends much of vertising that he relates
tainment his time researching and to personally. Richard
group. His typical work developing business plans describes engaging adver-
days run late into the for his company. He looks tising as “proactive,” such
evening, making it diffi- across media for interest- as a Chick-fil-A billboard
cult for him to spend time ing stories and creative on the highway downtown.
with his 34-year-old wife ideas. Engaging advertising of-
and her 14-year-old son. fers “calls to action.”
Richard appreciates his Richard entitled his
job for its opportunities to ethnography journal, He dislikes advertising
travel, as well as his rela- “Giving Yourself a Good that is forced upon him,
tionships with artists, but Name,” because for him, like pop-ups online and
he is dissatisfied with his advertising is brand mar- free offers with a catch.
work-life balance. Above keting. It is the way that a Interruptive advertis-
all, Richard is very proud company or product makes ing bothers him when he
of his entrepreneurial ac- itself known to the public. is doing research on the
complishments. Richard believes that to computer or trying to view
be successful, companies a particular video clip.
Richard believes he is a need to advertise using all Advertising that he finds
leader in his social net- different types of media intentionally interrup-
20
tive makes him less likely spends a good deal of time Eric, a
Kansas City
to respond. Advertising checking breaking news marriage
on the Internet is more headlines. He particularly
Eric, 28 and family
interruptive for Richard likes world news, economic Marriage and counselor,
Family Life
than on the radio, TV or in updates and local news. Counselor helps vio-
print. Richard follows links to lent offend-
videos when surfing online, ers “get back into society.”
Richard is more at- especially for news video. He is married with three
tracted to advertising that However, he doesn’t click daughters who are 8, 6
relates to his line of work on the advertising ban- and 8 months. Religion is
while he is at work. On ners on news sites or fol- central to his life and he
the weekends, he is more low the sponsored links on plays an active role in his
likely to respond to adver- Google during searches. church.
tising that relates to his
family and their needs. Richard believes that Eric is exposed to adver-
The best time to talk for the kind of news he reads tising through television,
Richard is during his does impact the types of radio and Internet. His
down time; the worst time advertising he notices and engagement with these
when he is working. that news itself can be in- sources is compartmen-
terruptive when it creates talized: He is exposed to
Richard’s career re- panic or anxiety. Internet advertising at
quires him to stay up to work; he listens to the
date on entertainment radio in the car; and he
industry news. He sub- watches television in the
scribes to entertainment evenings at home. Eric is
magazines, uses several most likely to be drawn
devices to be “in the know,” into advertisements while
buys the newspaper and watching television but
21
otherwise finds ads inter- of the experience of enjoy- and his stepsons, 21 and
ruptive. ing his favorite shows but 23. Sports bring the fam-
finds them interruptive ily together as the kids
Eric’s news consumption when he views the daily play, watch events avidly
follows a similar pattern. morning news. and regularly attend pro
He reads the newspaper sports games. Brent even
online and listens to news Eric is most drawn to works the concessions at
updates on the radio. visual storytelling in Royals stadium to get good
At these times, he is not advertising, both on tele- sight lines to the field.
interested in being ex- vision and print. However,
posed to ads. Advertising he is annoyed by ads that As a barber, Brent is
that comes on while he pop up, that are densely aware that aesthetics can
is watching the televised packed with information, shape a person’s opinions.
news in the morning or or that are unrelated to “I can shape a person’s
evenings is somewhat his purchasing needs. He attitude by changing the
more welcome, but less so is displeased that these way they look.” He sees
than when he is relaxing types of ads usually force this shaping ability in
in front of the television him to take an action to advertising: “Advertising
at night. He prefers hear- get rid of them. shapes the way I consume
ing about “good” news. and how I incorporate
products into my life and
Eric accepts the need Brent is a spending.”
Kansas City
for companies to adver- soft-spoken
tise their products and Brent, 35 barbershop The most engaging ads
services. He appreciates Barbershop owner. He for Brent are humorous
Owner
advertising that enter- spends much and relate to his interests.
tains him. He considers of his free time with his He finds some ads annoy-
television ads to be a part wife, their 14-year-old son, ing but he feels he can
22
ignore them. At work, he smartphone was strategic. Jennifer claims she is not
tries to minimize poten- Because of his job, he has afraid of working hard but
tially offensive adver- little time to keep up with also expects to be able to
tising by subscribing to the news during the day. buy the things she is ac-
satellite television. He relies on his phone to customed to having.
keep him up to date and
If Brent were to get all thus finds advertising on Jennifer’s active life
his ads sent to one device, his phone especially inter- does not expose her to
he would choose his tele- ruptive. much advertising. Jen-
vision because he expects nifer is most likely to be
them to be there. In con- open to advertising when
trast, he dislikes ads when Jennifer is she is at home relaxing
Kansas City
he surfs the Internet a market- in front of the television.
(especially on his smart- Jennifer, 20 ing and She listens to the radio to
phone). They interrupt College Student psychology hear her favorite music,
what he is trying to ac- student preferably uninterrupted,
complish. Moreover, Brent at Central Missouri State and her behavior on the
distrusts advertisements University. In general, computer is goal-oriented.
on the Internet because Jennifer views advertis- She finds billboard adver-
they entice him to make ing in a positive light. tising to be desperate, like
an immediate purchase “Advertising doesn’t hurt a “cheesy salesman,” and
rather than give him time you; it’s there for you to comparatively not effec-
to think. Brent also ques- respond to or not.” tive.
tions the veracity of ads
online more than on other Jennifer recently moved Overall, advertising is a
platforms. back into her mother’s convenience for Jennifer.
home. Her decision was It informs her of new prod-
Brent’s purchase of his financially motivated. ucts and often entertains
23
her. Jennifer believes you and her eldest daughter, second home in Colorado.
can turn away from adver- who is 25, lives nearby Roberta says that her fam-
tising if you don’t want to with her fiancé in an ily lives comfortably, but
be interrupted by it. apartment owned by Ro- she is quick to stress that
berta and her husband. they spend within their
Jennifer believes that means.
she follows the news more Roberta describes her
than her friends and 5,000-square-foot house as Roberta has a very
family do. She watches a “people-moving house.” broad understanding of
the local six o’clock news It is important to Roberta advertising. As a stand
almost daily. She is most and her husband that against advertising that
concerned about news that their children and their she finds morally distaste-
affects her directly or is children’s friends see and ful, she will not let her
close to her family. Jenni- use the house as a hub for son wear t-shirts with cer-
fer has become trusting of their various activities tain brand names embla-
the stories she hears and and get-togethers. She zoned across the front. The
usually views the accom- enjoys entertaining chil- most engaging advertising
panying advertising in a dren in their home in part for her innovatively inte-
positive light. because its alcohol- and grates text and graphics,
drug-free environment is while the least appealing
safer for them and reas- advertising screams “free.”
Roberta suring to other parents.
Kansas City lives with For Roberta, pop-up ads
Roberta, 49 her hus- The large house sup- and telemarketing are the
Substitute band and ports the love of antiques most annoying forms of
Teacher
17-year-old Roberta shares with her advertising. “It’s not what
daughter. husband. The family also I paid for, it’s tacky. Don’t
Her son, 21, is at college, enjoys skiing and owns a leave your advertising
24
on my stuff. That makes and services for herself to comedy clubs. Vama
me say I’m not going to and her family. She is not enjoys watching television
purchase your product.” an avid television watcher, and has recently started
Her most recent experi- and she uses the com- watching her favorite
ence with pop-up ads was puter mainly to check the television shows on the In-
in print. She received her weather and keep track ternet. She loves to travel,
daily Kansas City Star of her church’s missions and usually takes six trips
with a sticker ad for a overseas. Roberta antici- a year.
local clothing company pates that her interaction
obscuring part of the front with advertising will shift To Vama, advertise-
page. She was furious and further online following ments are meant to inform
felt that her morning ritu- her recent purchase of a and persuade consumers.
al of reading the paper, smartphone. She believes ads should
which she had paid for, match the program that is
had been severely inter- being shown and feels that
rupted. She vowed to never Vama is a lia- advertising is disruptive
Kansas City
shop at the store sponsor- bility claims when “it’s too obvious that
ing the advertising. Vama, 30 adjustor at a they want to encourage
Claims motorcycle you to buy their product.”
Adjuster
Roberta doesn’t seek to insurance
be entertained by adver- company. She hopes to Vama is most drawn in
tisements, but she expects move up to a management by ads that entertain her.
ads to be well designed position so that she can Television ads in particu-
and attractive to the eye. retire at age 50. lar appeal to her desire
Her primary access to for visually engaging
advertising is through the Vama’s interests include graphics and limited text.
newspaper, and she uses playing video games, lis- On the Internet, she has
ads to research products tening to music and going grown accustomed to the
25
positioning of ads and as out their stories. In this Belinda is

New York City
a result doesn’t find them setting, she is clear on the a married
completely disruptive. She need for news and ad- Belinda, 49 mother of
has recently been using vertising to complement Freelance a 17-year-
Consultant
her Apple iTouch more, each other. She also likes old boy
which limits the amount to follow the news online and 13-year-old girl. A
of advertising she has to and feels that the Internet third teenager, a family
ignore while perusing the gives her greater freedom friend, lives in Belinda’s
Web. to move within a story home and has become an
and dig for context. She integral part of the fam-
Although she really appreciates hyperlinks ily. Belinda cares about
enjoys television, Vama is embedded in news stories her family and puts her
not hooked on video in all that provide more back- family first. She wants her
contexts. She particularly ground; “[the hyperlinks] kids to be honest and re-
dislikes online video ads, let you go back to the spect other people. “I am a
which she believes are not beginning. On the Inter- person who always tries to
worth her time. She does net you can archive it like do my best. My motto is to
appreciate that watching that, whereas with TV, if have fun and laugh a lot.”
them is a small compro- it’s not current, you’re not
mise in exchange for free going to see it.” She and her family rare-
online programming. ly watch live TV. Instead,
they rent Netflix movies
To catch up on news, and watch shows saved to a
Vama likes to watch the digital video recorder. Be-
10 o’clock televised news linda has lived in Manhat-
because she thinks the tan for over nine years and
reporters have had more loves it. Since she has been
time to update and round in the same neighborhood
26
for so long, she has built much” advertising, and advertising isn’t terribly
a large social network of spends much of her time interruptive, but Belinda
friends, colleagues and trying to ignore it. considers it brainwashing.
fellow parents. Belinda She hates online ads that
leverages her community Belinda categorizes pop up or move across the
to share and receive infor- advertising into two screen, and feels invaded
mation, most often about straightforward catego- because she has no control
shopping, travel, restau- ries: either good or bad. over what she sees. She
rants or good deals, as Good advertising is visu- calls it “eye pollution.”
well as items of interest, ally appealing and beauti-
including articles, videos ful, not “in my face,” and Belinda checks the news
and Web sites. gives her something in all throughout the day, in
return for her attention. between periods of work.
Belinda sees ads all over Bad advertising includes She mostly reads The New
the place in her life. In pop-up ads on the comput- York Times online, but
her opinion, their purpose er, flyers on the street and also watches the news on
is either to alert her to boring ads. CNN and CNBC. She often
new products or to remind has one of these networks
her of existing products. Belinda doesn’t feel on during the day in the
Belinda seems to react she “needs” advertising. background while she
negatively to advertising She believes that she gets works from home on the
in all contexts. Subway ads nothing out of advertis- computer. She also has a
and radio ads are slightly ing except, occasionally, morning ritual of drink-
less annoying because she entertainment. She likes ing coffee and watching
is usually a captive audi- intelligent ads that are the Today show with her
ence in these scenarios. not too blatant, and she is son. During this time, they
However, she strongly also more engaged with might see a commercial
feels that there is “too ads that change. Banner on TV and comment on it,
27
but typically they are not get a job. Currently, she walking and/or on pub-
paying close attention. On- works in an accounting de- lic transportation offer
line, besides The New York partment of a real estate her pleasant thoughtful
Times, Belinda sometimes company, which she finds moments, and funny com-
clicks on AOL news head- interesting but not thrill- mercials on TV make her
lines from her homepage. ing. Donia cites family and laugh. Donia likes clever
She also reads articles e- friends as most important ads but wants ads to be
mailed to her from friends in her life. clear about the products
from various newspaper being pitched. She is espe-
Web sites. Belinda says Donia regularly ex- cially attracted to ads that
that ads in the news have changes articles, videos, use the product or brand
“no effect” on her, since information and even as the punch line.
she typically doesn’t even advertisements with her
notice them. friends online. She only Online, Donia finds ads
shares things if they are too interruptive if they
digital, through her Face- keep her from what she’s
Donia is book wall, over Google trying to get done. She
New York City
a single chat or e-mail. cites pop-ups and video
Donia, 25 woman who in that regard. She also
Accounting lives with Donia thinks about finds targeted advertis-
Department
Clerk a family advertising as the inter- ing “creepy” and “like Big
friend from section between entertain- Brother.” She dislikes
Ridgewood, N.J. Donia ment for consumers and when companies try to
went to college at George communication from com- communicate too much,
Washington University panies. As such, the only or overdo product place-
in Washington, D.C., then need advertising fills for ments.
moved to New York City Donia is entertainment.
to be nearer to family and Clever ads while she’s Donia reads newspapers
28
online and rarely in print, city and is a proud mem- Ethan is most likely to
except for free papers ber of an exclusive mid- engage with ads when he’s
handed out on the street. town social club. He goes not doing anything else or
Donia reads The New to the club three to four when he has “more time,”
York Times online every times a week to relax and such as on weekends. For
day, all the time. She has read newspapers. His so- television shows, Ethan
become used to the format cial contacts are of utmost has a DVR and avoids
and is easily able to ignore importance to him. most TV commercials.
any ads on the page, unless
an ad pops up. Ethan welcomes nearly Ethan enjoys finding
all kinds of advertising out about new products
She does not see a con- and finds it entertain- through advertising. He
nection between advertising. The only ads he finds benefits from ads that
ing and news. The two re- intrusive are the “creepy- teach him something, for
main completely separate crawly” moving pop-up ads example, a Smart Balance
in her brain, with ads as online, which he tries to ad that taught him about
something she has had to close as quickly as pos- a plant-based cholesterol
learn to tolerate in order sible. His favorite place to reducer. As a networker,
to get to the news. look at ads is on the sub- Ethan receives informa-
way and on buses, because tion on products from his
they are non-interruptive. friends and others in his
Ethan as- He feels similarly about social circle.
New York City
pires to be ads on billboards and in
Ethan, 37 a wealthy newspapers and maga- He loves keeping up
Property and power- zines. Ethan prefers ads to with the news and calls
Manager
ful busi- be engaging, simple and himself a “voracious con-
nessman. He lives on the beautiful. sumer of print media.” He
Upper West Side of the prefers to read the news-
29
paper in print, which he Ethan doesn’t often no- of friends, he is the “go-to
does on the train, subway, tice ads online while con- guy” for fixing anything
at the club and at home on suming news, but he will electronic.
the weekends. While he is notice them in the printed
at work, however, he reads newspaper. Newspaper Overall, Jason takes
news mostly on nytimes. ads are more engaging to a pragmatic approach
com, cnn.com, and newy- him because he finds them toward advertising. He
orkmag.com. He doesn’t bigger, more artsy, more relies on ads to keep in-
watch news on TV because beautiful and clever. formed about new prod-
he prefers to choose which ucts and services, and this
stories to consume. plays an important role in
Jason lives his life. Jason enjoys tele-
New York City
One of his favorite in the vision ads most because he
things to do is to read the Jason, 45 suburb of likes to see and hear about
Sunday New York Times at Property Lynbrook, products. He is not keen
Manager
home, and he “can spend N.Y., about on online ads, which are
hours reading it.” He was an hour outside of Man- often forced on him when
bothered by the fact that hattan, with his wife and he wants access to content.
his two favorite publica- two children, ages 13 and While he does not go out
tions, The New York Times 8. The family enjoys sports, of his way to share adver-
and Esquire, have recently taking family trips, going tising, Jason does share
featured ads on their front out to the movies and din- information about special
pages. He called it “a sign ing out. He is an avid con- deals he finds on aggrega-
of the times,” but as a man sumer of technology and tor sites that he visits on a
who honors and respects enjoys working on home- daily basis.
tradition, he was unhappy improvement projects and
with the new development. playing golf. In his fam- Jason is most interested
ily and among his circle and engaged with ads that
30
relate to his interests. He inserts or circulars in the a moderate level of atten-

is also engaged with ad- Sunday newspapers as tiveness to advertising.
vertising that communi- well as TV ads. Jason is primarily inter-
cates some kind of special ested in local news, sports
offer or promotion. He ap- Jason’s news consump- news, technology news and
preciates a well-crafted ad tion occurs throughout the financial news, and keeps
and spoke favorably about day. On the train, he gets informed on national and
ads for the Apple iPhone. news from reading his lo- international news stories
cal newspaper and maga- as well. When he is more
For Jason, interruptive zines. Once at work, he relaxed and passively re-
ads include those that ap- has news radio on in the ceiving news, he feels he is
pear before online videos background and will usu- more receptive and aware
or ads that seem randomly ally check his My Yahoo of advertising.
placed. He acknowledges page at least once to scan
that online video ads are headlines from AP and
necessary and sees value in Reuters news feeds. On the New York CityCarly works
them but has little pa- days he stays home, he gets as an office
tience for them nonetheless. news through watching
Carly, 28 assistant at
Office
his local news and CNN, Assistant an indepen-
Jason’s engagement in addition to reading the dent record
with advertising varies. newspaper and checking label in Manhattan. Origi-
When he is busy or rush- his My Yahoo page. In the nally from Detroit, she
ing, he does not pay atten- evenings after work, he has lived on and off in the
tion, but when he is more occasionally watches net- New York area over the
relaxed (such as when he work news on television. past four years. She shares
is home watching televi- a two-bedroom apartment
sion), he is more receptive. When he is consuming with her cat and a friend
On weekends, he looks at news, Jason feels he has in Brooklyn. She enjoys
31
her neighborhood, which of her way to share adver- entertained, get informa-
reminds her of Detroit. tising or Web links. She tion or relieve her bore-
Carly describes herself takes a passive role and dom. She has a low regard
as a sociable person who relies on others to share for online advertising, but
is very into music and links and information she concedes that some on-
the arts. In her free time, with her. line advertising can meet
she DJs at local bars and her needs.
performs in a band. Since Carly is most engaged
music is a big passion in with print ads and tries Carly is more receptive
her life, she hopes to get to avoid online and televi- to advertising when she
a more substantial job in sion ads. Over the years, is communicating online
the music industry in the one of the significant with friends via e-mail or
near future. changes she has noticed Facebook. She finds video
with advertising is the advertising less engag-
With a background increased use of what she ing compared with print
in photography, Carly is calls “absurdism.” She has ads, given her interests in
focused on design. She mixed feelings about this design, but recognizes that
tends to appreciate an ad’s advertising approach and video does have the power to
artistic qualities, rather feels it is overused. create an emotional connec-
than the specific product tion to a product or service.
or service being adver- In the evenings after
tised. She also appreciates work or on weekends, Carly’s news consump-
the entertainment value Carly is more relaxed, has tion occurs primarily
of ads, particularly the more free time and is more online and on television
use of humor. Carly may engaged with advertising. in the evenings and week-
comment on ads that she ends. In the morning, she
finds entertaining to her For Carly, advertising often scans gothamist.com.
friends, but does not go out fulfills her desires to be On weekends, she usually
32
reads The New York Times not something she discuss- friends and her colleagues
online, focusing on the es with friends. Carly does “are all intertwined.” She
arts and book review sec- not actively seek out news keeps up with her network
tions. She does not consid- stories but rather takes a via Facebook, MySpace
er herself a news junkie, browse and scan approach. and Photoblog, and with
but wants to keep in- her inner circle by phone,
formed so that she is “not texting, e-mail and Face-
walking into the world not Leslie is an book.
New York City
knowing that something event man-
huge happened.” When Leslie, 30 ager with a Leslie feels that adver-
consuming news online, Freelance side job as tising is everywhere. She
Event Manager
Carly tends not to notice an opera- sees it most of all on the
advertising, because she tions manager for Victo- subway and on billboards.
knows where to expect it ria’s Secret promotions But in many cases, Leslie
in the context of the sites and display. She lives says, “I just don’t notice
she visits. Similarly, when with her partner of nine it.” She blanks out TV
watching television news, months and considers her commercials. (“It’s just
she tends not to focus on immediate family to be noise.”) Most of the time
the advertising and is “me, my partner and our she watches shows that she
generally put off by com- three pets.” Leslie’s family and her partner record, so
mercials. means everything to her; they fast-forward through
most of her extended fam- the commercials.
Carly gravitates toward ily is in Hawaii. She calls
entertainment news and herself the mediator of the To Leslie, advertising
local news rather than family. Leslie has a large is “always about getting
hard news or world news. network of friends in Cali- more money.” She feels
For her, news consumption fornia, Hawaii and New that advertisements re-
is a solitary pursuit and York, and loves that her semble “hands grabbing
33
out at you,” trying to pull the point. When ads go and in the world. She is
the consumer in different further, such as trying to familiar with the formats
directions. Getting used convince her of something, of the news sites she fre-
to a constant barrage of she gets turned off. quents and avoids the ads.
advertising has pushed
Leslie to gauge her wants Leslie hates online
versus her real needs. advertising and tries to Sam recent-
New York City
ignore it. She despises ads ly gradu-
Leslie uses friends to that move across the page Sam, 22 ated from
help sort her priorities. and hates when online Hotel Desk New York
Clerk
She regularly shares ads appear in places they University
information about travel, weren’t before. She under- with a bachelor’s degree
shopping, events, restau- stands that much of what in metropolitan stud-
rants, jobs and more with she does online is free and ies and urban design. He
her friends and colleagues. funded by ads, yet she is grew up in a New Jersey
She likes products to irritated by the ads. suburb about 40 minutes
be vetted by real people outside of New York City.
before she purchases them Leslie is most likely He describes himself as
and visits yelp.com or to read the news online an analytical, inquisitive
other consumer reviews on the sites of CNN, The and sociable person with a
sites. New York Times and The diverse set of interests in-
Los Angeles Times. She cluding music, snowboard-
Leslie notices ads most occasionally gets a paper ing, skateboarding and
often in the subway and version of The New York cycling. For the past year,
in magazines. Advertising Times on Sunday to read he has lived at his parents’
encourages her “to look leisurely. She likes keep- home to save money. He
into that.” She appreciates ing up to date on “what’s recently started working
ads that are clever and to happening” around her as a front-desk clerk at a
34
hotel close to his home in that appeal to his sense of advertising more.
New Jersey. He sees this humor, particularly com-
job as a stepping-stone to mercials on television. He Sam feels that adver-
property management, enjoys creative print ads tising addresses his need
though he would like to and online ads that use to be entertained and
continue pursuing his Flash technology. Sam informed. The need to be
interests in urban design feels that online ads that entertained is largely met
and planning. require him to interact by by ads that Sam views on
clicking are interruptive television. Online ad-
Sam regards advertising and annoying, particular- vertising does fulfill his
as “everywhere” in his en- ly if he is focused on get- need to be informed, but
vironment. He recognizes ting to particular content. Sam has less patience for
the power of advertising the format of online ads,
to inform and influence The time of day impacts particularly if he is fo-
people but feels that the Sam’s tolerance for adver- cused on getting to desired
constant bombardment of tising. When he is online content. He also feels that
advertising can have nega- and doing a focused activ- the quality of advertising
tive effects. Sam tends to ity, being forced to inter- online is inconsistent and
share information and act with advertising in often gimmicky.
advertising that he finds the form of pop-up ads or
entertaining or humorous. “floating ads that require Sam primarily con-
Sharing content allows X-ing out of” causes him to sumes news online in the
him to feel connected with become annoyed and frus- evenings. Occasionally, he
his network of friends. trated. If he is more casu- will watch the evening
ally browsing the Internet news on television with
The types of advertising or watching television, his family. On average, he
Sam finds most interest- usually in the evenings estimates spending be-
ing and engaging are ads or weekends, he tolerates tween 10 and 30 minutes a
35
day looking at news Web Angela advertising has become

San Francisco
sites, such as CNN and works for overwhelming, creeping
MSNBC. When checking Angela, 24 a plastic into personal lives, but
these sites, his approach is Operating surgeon that some forms of adver-
Room
to quickly scan headlines Technician and lives tising can be entertaining
and then read articles or with her and eye-opening to new
view video news stories. boyfriend in San Francis- products or events. Most
co. She exudes confidence advertising annoys Ange-
While he generally and an enthusiasm for la because it feels invasive
ignores advertising on life. She enjoys going to and does not seem to serve
news sites, he understands new restaurants and see- a purpose beyond “yelling
the necessity of having ads ing live music. Although something at me.”
with the news, particular- Angela dislikes the term
ly when watching videos. “foodie,” she spends a lot She explains, “Sometimes
Sam’s level of engagement of time searching yelp.com you feel like you’re just be-
with the news impacts the and opentable.com and ing bombarded by things.
likelihood of his noticing values user reviews for Other times you think that
the accompanying adver- their “unbiased nature,” is really cool, let me check
tising. When focused on in contrast to paid reviews that out. Other times it’s
getting to news content, or advertisements. Angela just, get that away from
particularly serious news, feels there is a distinction me; I don’t want to see it.
he does not want to be between “honest” informa- I’m going to change the
distracted by advertising. tion and “biased” informa- channel; I’m going to turn
Generally, since he feels he tion. this off. I’m going to close
has limited time, he does the Internet browser.”
not want advertising to im- Angela has a love/hate
pede his access to the news. relationship with adver- Angela just got a
tising. She believes that Blackberry that she uses
36
to check her e-mail, read Angela reads The San Dalton is

San Francisco
news and perform other Francisco Chronicle and a divorced
online functions. More The Oakland Tribune Dalton, 55 man who
recently, she has begun in hard copy most days, Accountant has lived
receiving text messages although she admits she in the San
that are advertisements skims through the news Francisco area all his
for things like ringtones for headlines that are of life. His son lives nearby.
and wallpaper, which she interest to her. She tries to Dalton is an accountant
feels are “completely use- force herself to read “news for local community-based
less.” Angela expects to news,” meaning politics or foundations. Six months
see advertisements while world events, but is most prior to the interview,
watching TV or spending interested in entertain- Dalton’s fiancé passed
time online and has come ment and local stories. away suddenly from com-
to accept those experienc- When reading the hard- plications due to high
es. However, she is dis- copy newspaper, Angela blood pressure. He went
turbed by the text ads on always notices the ads through a difficult pe-
her cell phone. She feels because they are “huge!” riod but found some relief
very strongly that her cell Although she is annoyed when he befriended a lo-
phone should be “off lim- these ads take up more cal rabbi who introduced
its” because it feels more visual space than the spirituality to his life.
“personal to me.” Since she news, she does skim them
carries the Blackberry because she is interested Dalton is attracted to
at all times, “it is like an in the clothing sales or advertisements as a form
invasion of my personal restaurant reviews. of information and enter-
space … It is almost like tainment when they are
someone is sticking adver- relevant to his life and
tisements in my purse.” interests. When asked
what his life would be like
37
if advertisements did not reactions and force him to ing with ads during his
exist, Dalton replied: “I watch something he may news consumption, he is
like communication to see not be interested in. more likely to notice an ad
what’s out there; other- that relates to the article,
wise I’d be lost. I might as Dalton is well-informed or if the advertising ac-
well be back in the 80’s! It about local and world companies “fluff.” “The
is part of living now, there news, and he spends a lot more serious the news
are so many things you of time reading and watch- subject, the less likely I
can take advantage of … ing the news. His morning am to notice advertising …
how would you know about ritual includes an hour I’m less receptive to some-
it, if you didn’t see or hear of preparation, including thing that is way off track
an ad or media. It’s all exercising and getting … in entertainment my
about ads.” dressed. During this time, mind is in a lighter place.”
he watches the local news
Although Dalton has a and weather. He reads The
positive attitude toward Examiner during his com- James is
San Francisco
advertising, he feels that mute, sees a bit of local a Chinese
it has become more in- and entertainment news James, 34 man who
vasive over the years. He on a mini-TV in the eleva- Real Estate lives in
Agent
loves TV commercials, tor in his work office, and a suburb
although they sometimes he checks The New York of San Francisco with
bother him, especially Times and BBC online his 2-year-old daughter,
when commercials raise during work hours. His Cassie. James works for
the volume significantly evenings end with about his family’s real estate
compared to the TV shows 30 minutes of news on TV. business and commutes
he’s watching. He is per- into San Francisco daily.
turbed that advertisers Although he does not During the past two
are trying to control his spend a lot of time engag- years, he divorced Cassie’s
38
mother, moved in with his James does most of his as advertisers across Asia
parents and took full cus- research on fatwallet.com seem to do. “They have
tody of his daughter. His and slickdeals.net. After a these videos on their buses
life revolves around Cassie few experiences with the … and they always catch
and his new identity as a sites, James became “ad- your attention.”
single father. He explains, dicted” to them and now
“Since I became a father spends time on both sites James was really taken
26 months ago, advertising every night before bed. with a video ad for a new
has become very impor- He never shops in person camera that had video ca-
tant to me. It informs me and uses the Web as his pability. He spoke highly
of new products that could main source of informa- about it and even sent
be very useful for my baby. tion. James trusts these it around to family and
But I don’t trust adver- sites because their users friends. He also continued
tisements completely ... So are people like him, who his research to find user
my world depends on user are looking for a good deal reviews and actual videos
reviews.” and “watching each others’ that users had taken.
backs.” It is very important
James is inherently sus- to James that these sites James consumes a lot of
picious of advertisements remain valid sources of news on his own time. On
because he knows they information, so they don’t the rare occasion when he
present the positive side turn into “just advertising.” does not have his daugh-
of products. Advertise- ter, James watches the
ments do not prompt him James feels that video late news. Otherwise, he
to make purchase imme- provides the deepest infor- consumes all his news
diately but rather encour- mation and highest enter- online. He gave up reading
age him to do additional tainment value. He wishes printed newspapers a few
online research, especially American advertisers years ago for convenience.
for unbiased user reviews. would use video as much His phone is able to ac-
39
cess “mobile versions” of nals so he can read them worked as a designer for
various Web sites, so he while the signal is gone. a company specializing
has a number of news sites When James gets to work in window coverings. He
bookmarked. These mobile each morning, he spends spends half of his time in
sites show a picture and a about 30 minutes reading the office creating propos-
headline, and have almost the news on his computer. als and calling clients.
no advertisements. James During this time, he is fo- The other half is spent
says he uses the sites be- cused on getting the news, driving around to com-
cause he can “get my news so he says he does not pay mercial and individual
kick faster and without attention to ads. However, residences to see clients’
distractions.” He does not most of the ads he reports windows and design proj-
usually pay attention to as getting his attention ects. Daniel’s wife works
advertisements while he occur during this time and at their 3-year-old daugh-
is reading the news on his space. ter’s pre-school and is an
phone. artist.
James accesses news Daniel is a As a family they try to

San Francisco
about local stories, busi- laid-back “keep our footprint small”
ness, real estate, travel, Daniel, 42 family man by not consuming a lot.
Asia, the financial market Designer of who values This mentality impacts
Window
and the economy. He is Treatments the free- Daniel’s awareness of
not interested in political dom his job advertising and his under-
news or entertainment provides. After his college standing of advertisers’
news. Since his phone does graduation, he worked for goals. They do not shop
not always get a signal in a few friends in the home- much unless Daniel is
the Bay Area transporta- repair field and traveled looking for “gear” related
tion system, he downloads as a carpenter. For the to outdoor activities, such
articles between the sig- past five years, he has as mountain biking or
40
skiing. He enjoys spending almost impossible not to. related to his particular
time on Web sites related Phone, computer, outside, interests. However, ads
to these activities, which turn on the radio. It’s hard engage him in limited
include forums for selling to avoid, you can’t get away spaces, mostly on Web sites
used gear. from it … Do I need the ad- specifically related to his
vertisement when I turn interests.
Daniel views advertis- around to grab a paper
ing as something that’s towel? When I open my Daniel dislikes the
“coming from all sides” cereal? I think there is a feeling of being manipu-
and believes most fami- place between nothing and lated by advertising. “I
lies allow advertising to complete saturation.” don’t like to be assaulted
dictate their purchases, or made paranoid about
especially when children Since Daniel views him- something. An alarm
are in the picture. He ex- self as someone who does company had an ad saying,
plains, “I see other people not consume much and his ‘You don’t love your family
who buy toys constantly, family typically purchases enough to buy this.’ Some-
and the kids just pick it second-hand items, Daniel thing like that … it’s a
up and are like, ‘Next.’ does not have a very posi- little heavy-handed. Stuff
We try not to be like that tive view of advertising. like that really irritates
… we’re not the ultimate He thinks of advertising me.” Daniel has become
consumers. Try to keep as manipulation, to which adept at ignoring advertis-
it simple.” He recognizes he does not want to suc- ing when it appears where
the need for advertising cumb. His attitude is not he expects it, and he is
and finds some of it enter- contingent on the form comfortable with the lack
taining but worries about of advertising, although of advertising in his life.
being inundated with he cited online ads most
commercials. “You get it often. Advertisements that Daniel’s workday is bro-
from so many angles, it’s catch his attention are ken up with many small
41
tasks, and in between each thing is if it’s a movie Jack is a cynical per-
one, Daniel typically uses trailer. He explains, “I son. He is instinctually
a Web site or his e-mail have limited time and distrustful of advertis-
to transition. As he calls watching commercials is ers and thinks he knows
a client and waits for a not the highlight.” “a lot about how they
response, he may quickly work.” Jack believes that
check his personal e-mail advertisements show the
or open up a news Web site Jack has public only the positive
San Francisco
and read quickly. When drifted side of the story. He be-
his client answers the Jack, 24 through lieves that “advertising
phone, he will close the Freelance various is largely manipulative
Writer
site. Daniel is exposed to jobs since in my estimation.” But he
advertising in these small graduating from college acknowledges the role it
moments online, but he with a degree in English plays in society and the
never notices what the literature. Currently, he media. “TV, more or less,
ad is for or spends time does freelance work for does not exist without
thinking about it. His en- a variety of contacts and advertising. Newspapers,
gagement level is extreme- companies, mostly related large media outlets on the
ly low during his at-work to music or video-game Internet – those places all
multi-tasking. writing. Although he require the presence of
enjoys the freedom of this advertisers.” Beyond that,
The family does not work, he worries about his he counts commercials as
watch much TV but when future. Jack is a loner by a source of entertainment.
it does, it happens via the choice. He explains that he He thinks commercials that
DVR, fast-forwarding is not a “social butterfly” are “funny and bizarre” are
through the commercials. and is extremely self- the most entertaining, al-
The only time Daniel will reliant. though not necessarily the
go back to watch some- most effective.
42
Although Jack does not of his “generation” are Jac-

San Francisco
purchase many items due used to multi-tasking and queline
to his financial limita- know how to pay attention Jacqueline, 55 is an
tions, he has a strong ap- only to what they consider Landlord “aging
preciation for the creativ- important. When Jack is hippie”
ity behind advertising and outside his home or online living in a large San
will sometimes make a he expects to be bombard- Francisco home with her
small purchase because he ed by messages but knows cat. She grew up in Loui-
likes an advertisement. He how to filter them out. siana and went to school
views this as a small “re- for pre-veterinarian train-
ward” for the advertiser. Jack consumes a lot of ing. After graduation she
online news throughout moved to San Francisco for
Jack acknowledges that the day, but at a very three years and then lived
advertising has become shallow level. He prefers in Hawaii for six years
more common, but also browsing headlines to selling college textbooks
that he has become more reading full articles. Jack and traveling. When her
adept at filtering out does not read about world mother became ill, she de-
what he does not want to news or politics because he cided to move back to the
see. “There is also a gro- feels they do not directly mainland and returned to
tesque element to [adver- impact him. For his mu- San Francisco, which she
tising] depending on the sic and movie news, Jack considers “the center.”
extent to which it is taken. regularly checks message
There is one particular boards and user-content Jacqueline has held a
area of town in LA where sites related to these top- number of jobs in different
you can hardly see the sky ics. industries. She currently
above all the billboards.” works as a landlord but
spends most of her time
He believes that people volunteering for local
43
community organizations, Jacqueline feels over- up with her computer cal-

such as animal foster care, whelmed by the breadth endar. Jacqueline does not
wildlife conservation, vol- of information available check her e-mail on the
unteer networks and local to her. She believes her iPhone and hasn’t encoun-
schools. age might also be a reason tered advertising on it.
why she does not see ads
Jacqueline believes online. Jacqueline feels
that advertising does not “that younger generations Victoria
San Francisco
impact her. At her stage can process so much. I just lives in
of life, she feels it’s more get overwhelmed. There
Victoria, 35 San Fran-
Web Site
valuable to “get rid of is too much information. Manager cisco with
stuff, not buy anything Help! I’m overwhelmed her hus-
more … As much as adver- by too much. You tend to band, their three cats, and
tising wants to sell stuff, freeze up and block out … two dogs. Victoria enjoys
to be sane you have to get I’m in the middle of doing her current position at
rid of stuff. You can’t keep something else and if I an online ticket agency,
accumulating.” When keep stopping to do ads, I but feels she has reached
asked about advertising, won’t ever get done.” a point of stagnation. In
Jacqueline says, “I think 2001, following 9/11, Vic-
I’m someone who ignores As a Christmas pres- toria decided to go back
it … I’m just tuning it out.” ent to herself, Jacqueline to school because she had
bought an iPhone. It may always regretted dropping
Jacqueline does not rush have been a surprising out of college. After seven
to make a purchase. She purchase for someone years of night classes, Vic-
believes that the largest who is not looking for toria obtained a degree in
impact an advertisement additional connections or communications.
might have is to trigger a information, but she loves
thought or a note to herself. the phone because it syncs Victoria married her
44
husband, whom she met Victoria’s household is issue for Victoria when it
through match.com, in covered in pet hair, and comes to advertising. She
2004. He works in archi- she is constantly on the feels she must conduct
tecture. Victoria’s life lookout for a fix. One her own research on any
motto is “you have to treat night, while relaxing in product or service she
yourself and reward your- front of the TV with her learns about from a com-
self every day.” To do so, husband, “A commercial mercial because, “everyone
she takes a daily walk, came on. It was a woman makes these claims. I feel
cooks good food and spends and she started using this like they are making the
time with her husband thing on the couch and I claims to sell products, not
and animals. was like, ‘I have to have to improve your life or add
that’ … and the next day, I value to your life. They
Victoria and her hus- went to get one and used are trying to tell you it’ll
band are fairly open to it and loved it. And, all add value to your life. You
advertising, as long as my friends who have pets, then have to ask yourself,
it appears during a time I told them about it … I what is valuable to me?”
and place when they are actually sent an e-mail to She uses consumer re-
relaxed. When they get everybody.” The pet hair ports, user reviews and her
home from work each commercial experience social network to find out
night, they cook dinner was perfect for her, be- about how products are
together and then watch cause it not only fit a per- used.
between two to three hours sonal need, it arrived at a
of TV. They do not have a time when she was relaxed Victoria appreciates the
DVR, so they watch all of at home. It also showed information that adver-
the commercials. This is how the product worked so tisements often provide,
a time when Victoria may she trusted the quality. but dislikes many of the
learn about new products forms it takes. She feels
or services. Trust is a significant that advertising now ap-
45
pears in new and more return. Victoria does yoga friends. She often e-mails
invasive spaces. Victoria by watching an on-demand friends, family or co-work-
explains, “It seems to be cable show. She does not ers about news or products.
much more prominent in mind ads before and after She explains, “If I see a
places it didn’t used to be the class, “because I know news story that I think
... it just seems to be creep- I’m getting it for free, somebody might be inter-
ing up in more and more rather than pay for doing ested in or using a product
places … I’m a little both- that program … I notice that I think somebody
ered by this.” them but I don’t really pay would be interested in, I’ll
attention to them.” share it with them.”
The one time when she
does not mind advertis- Victoria is “known as
ing “creeping up” is when the person in the know”
she receives something in among her group of
46
Section 3: Conclusions and Recommendations
These broad findings Few people pursue the

KEY FINDINGS:
suggest that the root of consumption of advertis-
A Model in Transition the advertising consump- ing, or news, with the
tion problem lies in the organization and determi-
Consumers May Be Tired
current disruption of nation of Donna. They are
But They’re Still Eager predictable modes of more likely to give up in
The subjects in this study information delivery and the face of mounting mes-
shared two key attributes: the lack of proper filters sages and disengage from
They were tired, even an- for making sense of the the experience altogether.
noyed, by the current expe- chaotic new world. The For instance, some of the
rience of advertising. And experience of Donna from study subjects in New York
they lacked trust in most Atlanta was emblematic who encountered advertis-
commercial messaging. of the condition. Even a ing everywhere, including
super-organized execu- the subway, reached the
At the same time, they tive whose friends call her point of “not noticing”
also exhibited two prom- “Miss Information” found it anymore, according to
ising motivations: They it difficult to keep pace. their observers.
were eager to receive in- She religiously stacked
formation that met their published ads into piles Not noticing is a step up
needs and just as eager every week for sorting, but from the hostility some
to pass that information they served as an intimi- exhibited for unwanted
along to their personal dating reminder of her advertising, but the prob-
networks. constant struggle to stay lem was the same in any
in the know. case. The communication
47
appeared to be failing at a ment from consumers. view the behavior and re-
fundamental level. sponses of the study group
But that idea proved too as evidence of a larger
Better Content or Timing limiting in the context of communications disorder
Are Not Enough to Connect the ethnographic analysis. in the evolving culture.
Many of the subjects in Belinda from New York
An initial hypothesis, the study said they appre- summed up the situation:
formed in the first phase ciated good creative forms “I think there is too much
of this project based on of advertising but the advertising. Every avail-
existing research, was that overall environment was able space is taken up, and
people’s disaffection with so polluted it didn’t mat- I feel like I can never get
advertising could be reme- ter. The good was getting away from it.”
died with better content or lost amid all the bad.
better timing. The thrust This plainly constituted
of the question – “Is now a In effect, asking whether a cry of desperation, and
good time to talk?” – was it was a good time to talk even the most organized
that advertising might be wasn’t going to be good subject in the study group,
welcomed if it were good enough. The overall environ- Donna the stockpiler of
enough and arrived at the ment for making a welcomed print ads in Atlanta, had
right moment. connection to consumers to acknowledge the true
needed to be addressed. dimensions of the consum-
The early research sug- er’s challenge: “I kinda’
gested that more imagina-
Ad Annoyance Is a Symptom look at advertising as a
tive work from the cre-
ative teams of advertising
of a Larger Disorder positive and a negative.
On the positive side, all
agencies and better ad As the ethnography day long we have messages
placement would lead to unfolded, the Context fired at us … I welcome
a higher level of engage- anthropologists came to that in a way because it’s
48
a way of me staying con- tempts people make – pas- how would you know about
nected to what’s going on sively, actively, consciously it if you didn’t see or hear
... the negative side is that and subconsciously – to an ad or media? It’s all
because advertising is so process all the informa- about ads.”
prominent, so much so tion they encounter. In
that your eyes get tired … short, it can’t be done, Along these lines, others
sometimes it can be inva- which suggests a true dis- grudgingly admitted that
sive … I feel like their goal order, rather than a tran- interruptive ads actu-
is to get inside my mind.” sitory feeling of fatigue, ally can deliver necessary
Context concluded. and useful information.
Donna’s comments, or In fact, in response to the
symptoms, suggest that Commercial Speech is question of what they
the information and ad- Still Valued would do if advertising
vertising “fatigue” that went away, many subjects
subjects complained about The subjects of the study were unable to describe
was actually something made it clear that as much what could replace the
more serious. What some of as advertising and com- function of advertising in
these subjects were really mercial speech may be an- their lives.
saying is that they were noying, it is also necessary.
more than tired. They were Dalton from San Fran- While that may be
overwhelmed and, in some cisco, for instance, said: “I comforting to publishers
cases, shocked into inactiv- like communication to see and advertisers, it’s not
ity by the amount of infor- what’s out there; other- a rationale for continu-
mation they were receiving. wise I’d be lost. I might as ing to conduct business as
well be back in the 80’s! It usual. The situation begs
The ultimate shock to is part of living now, there the question of what the
the system comes from the are so many things you creators of commercial
constant, but futile, at- can take advantage of … content should do differ-
49
ently to get people the con- true and what did not. packagers of information,
tent they know they need. such as local newspapers,
The dominant position which connected read-
Social Vetting Opens a Path of user-generated con- ers with advertisers in a
to Restoring Trust tent on these sites also trusted environment.
provided subjects with a
With the explosion of so-
cial networking as a back-
sense that they and their The ‘Social Contract’ Is in
peers were regaining some
drop to the timing of this
Need of Repair
control over the communi-
study, it was no surprise cation process. The popularity of user-
that the subjects looked generated sites and social
to their friends, family From an anthropologi- networks is a movement
and like-minded peers for cal perspective, the reason that has meaning for
guidance on how to vet these sites cut through the many aspects of the cul-
information and ads. clutter is that they are ture. But one message it
about creating the right sends is unmistakable:
Subjects in the study environment to foster the People are looking to
found some clarity in right relationships that establish a new framework
the chaos by tapping into establish productive and for communication in the
Web tools that could clear efficient conversations. digital age.
away the clutter. Working For the subjects of this
through social-networking ethnography, these user- Old models, many of
sites like Facebook and led sites offered a struc- which were characterized
consumer sites like Fatwal- ture to filter communica- by one party delivering
let, people were able to find tions and minimize the the information and the
information and vet it with noise. In some ways, these other party passively re-
others to ascertain what sites are filling a role his- ceiving it, are not measur-
made sense and what rang torically played by trusted ing up to people’s expecta-
50
tions for what technology done in the information “But that kind of thinking
should be capable of en- space. As long as technol- presupposes that people
abling. Why put up with ogy enabled it, why not are knowingly building
the torrent of pushed mes- pop up an online ad, paper a new way of communi-
sages from information over the subway walls and cation. For now, people’s
providers and advertisers cars, and generally invade behavior suggests they
when there ought to be a every available space with are just trying to muddle
better way to sort through advertising? through. The process of
it? Providers of informa- building a fully function-
tion are doing what they Out of Disorder Comes ing new communication
do because they can, and ‘Communitas’ infrastructure will take
those on the receiving end some time.”
are getting increasingly The Context team con-
anxious about managing cluded that a new social Blinkoff and his team
the overload. contract was needed in used the anthropological
the information space and term “Communitas” to
Based on the observa- that the people themselves describe the transition the
tions from this study were starting to take mat- culture appears to be mak-
group, the anthropologists ters into their own hands. ing from one set of communi-
said they saw evidence cations standards to another.
that the “social contract” “One could say that
between providers and people are looking to cre- “From an anthropologi-
users of information had ate a new structure and cal point of view, societal
been strained, if not bro- they are not sure how to structures disappear when
ken. There seemed to be go about forging this new they no longer provide
no boundaries anymore structure,” observed Rob- the guidance they have in
between what could be bie Blinkoff, Context’s the past,” said Blinkoff.
done and what should be principal anthropologist. “When these structures
51
emergency is a demonstra-
tion of Communitas, as
like-minded people con-
verged for a common cause.
In the case of the ad-

vertising study group,
people were expressing
similar frustrations and
needs and falling back on
their social networks and
peer groups for help. That
doesn’t mean chaos will
The hippie movement was an example of Communitas. (AP Photo) reign. In fact, a robust Com-
munitas can create a solid
disappear, anthropologists cess, people re-identify who foundation for a new in-
suggest an era of Commu- they are, and society as a formation order to emerge,
nitas is taking hold.” whole can redefine what Blinkoff maintained.
social structures will exist
Despite its academic in the future. Historically,
The News Model Meets
ring, Communitas pro- the kibbutz movement
vides a straightforward in Israel or the hippie
Communitas
framework for dissecting subculture in the United The news model that
the situation. In a time of States could be considered Context and AP construct-
Communitas, people use examples of Communitas. ed in their first collabora-
egalitarian communities More recently, even the tion has direct application
to share feelings, ideas situation-specific response to this line of reasoning.
and solutions. In the pro- to the Haiti earthquake
52
In the original model, AP’s response to this news and advertising have
the news was broken down problem, after analyzing been “atomized” in the dig-
into four basic compo- the atomic model, was to ital space, leaving consum-
nents, or “atoms”: Facts focus on producing head- ers feeling as if they are
(meaning breaking news), lines, short dispatches and being bombarded. Linking
Updates (continuing longer stories as distinct and targeting content and
developments), Back Story parts of the news report. ads may bring down the
(the background or con- Along with that change, a noise level, but returning
text) and Spin-Offs (future metadata system was intro- some sense of order to the
angles). The four consti- duced to electronically tag space requires more work.
tuted the main ingredi- the content for smart link-
ents of a comprehensive ing and searching online. AP and Context re-
news report. imagined the atomic
Likewise in the adver- model to include both
The thrust of the origi- tising world, technology news and advertising as a
nal model was that those has been brought to bear first step toward connect-
ingredients are no longer to deliver ads that are ing consumption and Com-
nicely baked into satisfy- targeted either to content munitas.
ing meals. With search type or user behavior.
engines and headline aggre- However, users in this To capture the frag-
gators scraping up content study still complained mentation of the overall
from news sites across the they were encountering ads information marketplace,
Web and consumers sharing that were more interruptive the original atomic parts
content with each other, the than engaging. were relabeled to apply
ingredients are scattered more broadly to all forms
and consumed haphazardly. At a high level, the two of communication. Facts
The result is hit-and-miss AP-Context studies have became Information;
delivery and consumption. demonstrated that both Updates were renamed
53
INFORMATION COMMUNITAS
Information, including news and advertising, has been "atomized" in the digital marketplace, and ultimately ended up
and consumers struggle to get the right content at the right time. Cultural anthropologists
believe producers and consumers of information could come together in a spirit of community sharing some information
to improve communication. The term "Communitas" incorporates the necessary ingredients.
or questions with their
peers to sort things out.
STRATEGIC. These elements are
the foundation for fostering and
strengthening the ethos of the COLLABORATION
Information Communitas. ■ The experience of the
INFORMATION
subjects in the previous
SOCIAL CONTRACT
news study had followed
[FACTS]
INVESTIGATION
a similar pattern. They
[BACK STORY]
KINSHIP
complained of getting in-
undated by too many Facts
HONESTY
and Updates and felt they

RECIPROCITY were missing the breadth
OVERLOAD
[UPDATES] SHARING and depth of the Back
[SPIN-OFF]
RELEVANCE Story or future Spin-off
angles.
TACTICAL. These elements
speak more directly to ways
of keeping the communication What seemed to be miss-
going and ensuring that the
Information Communitas ing in both cases was a
remains intact. ■
framework for improving
Overload; Back Story was communications order. the chances for successful
tagged Investigation; and communication to occur
Spin-offs became Sharing. The subjects of the between producers and
advertising study gener- consumers. The Context
With their new labels, ally followed this kind of anthropologists theorized
the atoms could be seen consumption path: They that the characteristics
as the fundamental com- encountered ads, got over- of Communitas could be
ponents of the evolving loaded, tried to investigate harnessed as strategic and
54
tactical tools to provide that if you listen to the radio, going is an understand-
framework. In effect, Com- read the newspaper, read ing of accountability to
munitas could become the magazines, it is just everyone another, fostering an
force that binds the “atoms.” where.” inter-relatedness that
amounts to a collective
They focused on these 2. Social Contract. kinship. James of San
attributes of the Commu- Communitas is built Francisco said he loved
nitas phenomenon, viewed around a set of unwritten using the Web site fat-
in the context of the study rules, a social contract. wallet.com because it
group’s responses: Break the rules and your incorporated user reviews
ability to work within the and was constantly being
1. Collaboration. system of Communitas updated with new offers.
Collaboration may be is significantly reduced. He marveled that “every-
summed up as people Ethan from New York had one is watching out for
coming together with a a visceral reaction to the everyone,” which kept him
mutual respect for each placement of an ad on the coming back. Others cited
other’s roles. That mu- “sacred” cover of Esquire, a yelp.com or opentable.com
tual respect was starkly magazine he had read and in the same regard.
absent in the experience loved since he was a teen-
of several of the advertis- ager. Angela disliked the 4. Honesty. Honesty
ing study subjects. Angela appearance of ads on her relates to providing in-
of San Francisco said she Blackberry. She felt as if formation in an open and
felt as if she were being someone was sticking ads transparent way. Leslie
“served on a platter” to “in her purse.” from New York said, “I
all advertisers. “It doesn’t have this fear of advertis-
matter where you are. In 3. Kinship. People ing that I’m not getting
your home, on your way to come to understand that the whole story.” Daniel
work, bus, taxis, at work, what keeps Communitas from San Francisco put it
55
even more bluntly: “There unacceptable in Commu- “People you let into your
is a fine line between nitas. Dalton of San Fran- world of information and
promising the world and cisco, one of the subjects communication sharing,
lying, or telling the truth most positively disposed people you let really know
and lying. It is not a very to advertising, said he was you and whom you hold ac-
clean-cut line. Advertising most attracted to offers countable, are people with
walks that line.” that were relevant to his whom you can have a kin
life and interests. Others connection,” Blinkoff said.
5. Reciprocity. Re- in the study also gave into
ciprocal relationships advertising that had direct If the strategic ele-
are absolutely essential meaning to their lives. ments set the overall tone
in Communitas. People for a relationship, then
agree to a relationship In applying these six Honesty, Reciprocity and
of give and take. Victoria attributes to the infor- Relevance could be used as
from San Francisco ap- mation market, Context tactical tools to improve
preciated getting “free,” positioned Collaboration, the ongoing communica-
on-demand yoga program- Social Contract and Kin- tion with the audience,
ming on cable in exchange ship as strategic brand Context said.
for watching ads. Vama elements. The anthro-
from Kansas City accepted pologists concluded that Above all else, under-
the same trade-off to view by demonstrating the standing what the audi-
television episodes online. willingness to collaborate ence likes and doesn’t
with consumers, infor- like is critical to creat-
6. Relevance. Not sup- mation providers and ing a positive, engaging
plying relevant informa- advertisers could begin to environment. The study
tion – the right informa- restore the “social con- subjects were unanimous
tion at the right time in tract” and inspire a kin- in their acceptance of ads
the right format – would be ship with the audience. that were funny, well de-
56
signed and relevant. Those

RECOMMENDATIONS: Match Your Organization’s
designed to distract (the
Putting Communitas to Principles to the Attributes
much-hated online pop-up,
for instance) were clearly Work of Communitas
capable of destroying Take the Communitas test.
In the wake of both How well do you score?
Communitas.
the news and advertising
Test your company’s
studies, AP and Context
Because news was business model against
concluded that restoring a
considered “serious” by the attributes that make
level of trust to the infor-
many of the participants, up Communitas. How do
mation marketplace is es-
distractions in the news you score? How do your
sential to cutting through
environment were seen as strategies, products, ser-
the clutter and reconnect-
especially annoying. Par- vices and people fare in
ing with consumers. With
ticipants spoke of ignor- terms of collaboration,
the information market in
ing ads in the news space, adhering to the social con-
transition between one-
and yet the experience of tract, developing kinship,
way delivery and two-way
James in San Francisco reciprocity and relevance?
interaction between pro-
was telling. Most of the Not every aspect of your
ducers and consumers, the
ads he could remember business will score high in
anthropological lessons
were consumed during his every category, which will
of Communitas provided
online news consumption, highlight opportunities
keen insight.
a signal perhaps that it for change.
was indeed a “good time to
Following is a set of rec-
talk” and to create Com-
ommendations, based on
Create Environments for
munitas.
applying those lessons to the Communitas to Break Out
observations from this study. The solution is not just to
57
create more engaging con-

tent. The solution is to create
their relationship with the
audience.
Parting Thought: Give Real
better environments for Communication a Chance
engaging with content. Because the Communi- Whether you are a student
tas ethos is egalitarian of anthropology or not, the
Better creative content
and all about sharing, message from this research
is only part of the solu- is that a new path is open-
smaller organizations
tion. The bottom line is to ing for both providers and
should reap big benefits
have more two-way conver- consumers of information to
from adopting its key consider.
sations with consumers.
attributes. Major insti-
While that’s not always The evolution of the
tutional players, by con-
possible in either the news Internet seems to have
trast, might worry that
or the advertising busi- produced a stark choice
an egalitarian approach
ness, demonstrating that for information providers
carries more risks than
openness as a fundamen- between using technol-
benefits. But in a market-
tal part of your communi- ogy to flood the market or
place where companies
cations process would send cultivating community to
of all sizes are subject
an important message to improve the chances for
to the clickstream from
the audience and create real communication. This
search and sharing, every-
the opportunity for Com- study concludes decisively
one starts as a hyperlink.
munitas to take root. in favor of the latter. As
Establishing a two-way
relationship with the Daniel of San Francisco
Embrace the Challenge, audience provides a point put it, “I think there is a
No Matter the Size of Your of differentiation, as well place between nothing and
Organization as a pipeline for feedback complete saturation.”
and ideas that can drive
Information companies and
advertisers of all sizes should innovation and growth.
benefit from strengthening
58
AP’s Engagement Model

Agency Makes a ‘Two-Way’ Audience Connection
The Associated Press The symptoms were earlier in this report show,
conducted its advertis- similar across geography. the short answer to that
ing ethnography with People who were living question was a resounding
Context-Based Research their lives online felt bom- YES. Indeed, the situation
Group as part of its stra- barded by headlines and seemed even worse in the
tegic planning process. short snippets of news and advertising realm, based
One of the key goals of were looking for some- on the experience of par-
that process in 2009 was to thing more engaging. ticipants in four U.S. cities,
identify a “game changer” who were unanimous in
that could reverse the dire Both News and Ads their frustration with the
trends in the news business. Contribute to ‘Fatigue’ bombardment of interrup-
tive advertising. Many in
The second Context-AP the advertising study said
Context’s first collabo-
ethnography was launched that while they recognized
ration with AP came in
in 2009 to understand the value of advertising
2007, focusing on young-
more about the “fatigue” in their lives, they were
adult news consumption
syndrome. How else was choosing to tune it out.
in six cities around the
it affecting the business?
world. The results of that
Specifically, did it extend These results supported
study, released publicly at
to users’ experience with a view of the online world
the annual World Editors
advertising, the lifeblood that went beyond traffic
Forum in 2008, found evi-
of the media business? patterns to focus on us-
dence of a condition that
Context labeled “news ers’ needs and wants. That
As the results presented view was being expressed
fatigue.”
59
in real numbers by 2009,

as social networks began Facts
to rival portals and search
engines as Internet audi-
ence hubs. AP and other
Updates
news publishers had taken
notice of that trend and
had begun to use the social
networks to connect with
consumers in their new
Back story
comfort zones. Data also
showed that the audiences
for the social networks
Future stories/
and news sites greatly
overlapped.
Spin-offs TM
The “game-changing” emerged was a framework thrust of the report was

strategy that AP ulti- called the “engagement that the subjects who were
mately identified was to model.” studied felt overloaded
make connecting with with Facts and Updates
the fans as important as In their 2008 study, and longed to find more
managing the content. To AP and Context had de- breadth and depth in the
do that, it combined what veloped a view of online news.
it had already learned news consumption that
about news consumption separated news into four The engagement model
with what it was begin- basic “atomic” components: is based on the idea that
ning to learn about audi- Facts, Updates, Back delivering more of the
ence engagement. What Story and Spin-offs. The Back Story and Spin-offs
60
might entice users to go a behind-the-scenes blog

beyond their conditioned of a prototypical news
searching and scanning event, the Senate confir-
behavior and engage with mation hearings for then-
the news at a deeper level. Supreme Court nominee,
Sonia Sotomayor. The
This kind of approach blog format was chosen AP experimented with new formats
also drew support from the to break the “wire-story” during the Sotomayor confirmation
hearing. (AP Photo)
concept of “Communitas,” mode of delivery, and the
which became the signa- content of the blog was from outside Yahoo; and a
ture call of the second designed to deliver a back- Wiki-style site for longer,
ethnography. Those find- stage view of the proceed- user-generated commen-
ings added an environ- ings. Most important, the tary was set up on a sepa-
mental dimension to the audience was invited into rate platform provided by
model, suggesting that in the conversation by en- start-up Mixed Ink.
addition to good content, abling social media inter-
the situation also had to action. The project ran for a
be right to engage users. It week and generated an
had to be a “good time to The blog itself was incremental 20 percent
talk,” as Context put it. set up on Yahoo News to more page views than Ya-
harness a major source hoo’s typical traffic to AP
of Internet news traffic. news stories. The Twitter
Model 1.0: Blog Plus Tweets Interaction was enabled account attracted more
in three ways: Comments than 3,000 followers, and
AP’s first iteration of
could be made in the Buzz several hundred very en-
the engagement model was
area of Yahoo; a special gaged users took the time
elegantly simple. It was
Twitter account was set to register at Mixed Ink
launched in July 2009 as
up to attract followers and compose collaborative
61
essays, for and against the was joined in that project Pool,” was set up inside
nomination. by 10 other news agencies the social network Face-
from around the world, book. With the world’s
The project also ener- including Agence France leading social network as
gized the AP journalists Presse, Press Association the hub, the connection to
covering the hearings, as of the United Kingdom consumers became even
a team of writers, photog- and ANP of the Nether- more direct, as more than
raphers, video journal- lands, among others. 10,000 Facebook members
ists and graphic artists chose to become “fans” of
simultaneously produced The same formula was the blog, 70 percent of them
traditional-style coverage, used again – blog plus from outside the United
along with the new “back- Twitter feed plus Mixed States. Another 2,000 fol-
story” blog. To broaden the Ink – but this time the lowed the Twitter account.
coverage, several affiliate blog, dubbed “The Climate
newspapers of The Asso-
ciated Press contributed
content and expertise
to the blog and received
referral traffic from the
massive Yahoo audience.
The success of the Soto-

mayor experiment led to a
second project in Decem-
ber 2009 for the United
Nations climate talks in
Copenhagen. Taking the
model to the next level, AP The Wall of the Facebook page devoted to the Climate talks.
62
These projects led almost news wire. For instance, ter initiatives are the
immediately to the cre- when the Facebook page first steps toward a goal
ation of a flagship Face- was launched, it featured of enabling individuals
book page for AP (http:// a story about how the AP to “follow” certain news
www.facebook.com/ap- correspondent in Haiti stories or events, just as
news) and an overarching survived the earthquake, they do their friends and
Twitter account (http:// with a link to a video tour family in the online so-
www.twitter.com/ap), of his severely damaged cial space. The idea is not
managed by a new Social home and office. literally to transfer news
Network team in the consumption to the social
agency’s New York head- The Facebook and Twit- space, but to adapt to the
quarters. These standing ter presences also are be- meme. Ultimately, con-
presences in the social net- ing used to promote news sumers should be enabled
works are designed to keep coverage from AP and its to express their preferenc-
the two-way channel of affiliates and to point to es and establish a reliable
communication open with that coverage wherever connection with trusted
“fans” and “followers” of it is displayed around the news sources, who will not
AP. Topics being discussed Internet. only keep them informed,
cover the full gamut of but also interact with them.
AP’s news coverage, from The Goal is to Build Trust
serious to fun. To accomplish that feat
While promotion is
mechanically, the AP is
important, engagement
In the model of the continuing to build out its
between the creators and
Sotomayor and Climate electronic metadata sys-
consumers of news is the
projects, the content being tem for tagging content, so
primary objective of the
placed on Facebook and that it can be discovered
social network outreach.
Twitter provides a behind- more easily and potential-
The Facebook and Twit-
the-scenes view of the ly linked to user prefer-
63
ences. In addition, AP has strong connection between social-networking spon-

extended its system for producers and consum- sorship from the global
creating the right content ers will be critical. The giant PepsiCo. No flashy
for the right kind of user Context anthropologists graphics or pop-ups were
experience with an initia- argued, with their inter- employed, only a company
tive called “0-1-2-3-4.” pretation of Communitas, logo with a single sentence
that the marketplace for expressing the company’s
That system began two information appeared to support for the “conversa-
years ago with “1-2-3,” re- be in transition between tion.” The logo linked to
quiring journalists around producer push to consum- PepsiCo’s Web site, featur-
the world to compose head- er pull. The AP’s engage- ing information on its own
lines first, then present- ment model is built to environmental initiatives.
tense dispatches, followed navigate that transition
by more in-depth stories. by taking news consumers That experience signals
The new “0” and “4” would behind the scenes, allow- potential support for these
bracket that experience ing them open access to kinds of news projects
by adding an alert on the journalists and then let- from like-minded adver-
front end, such as a Twit- ting the fans and followers tisers. Still to be tested is
ter “tweet,” and a back-end have their say. whether consumers might
promise to keep users in- also be willing to pay to
formed of breaking develop- Content providers and establish this new level of
ments. advertisers alike will engagement with trusted
want to be a part of this news sources. If so, the
As new opportunities new paradigm. It is im- foundation could be laid
emerge for experiencing portant to note that “The for a new mix of pay and
the news beyond Web sites, Climate Pool” project advertising support for
through smartphones and on Facebook, even as an the news business.
other portable devices, a experiment, attracted a
64
In the meantime, while “Communitas,” what start Context anthropologist,

those new business models as conversations could ma- observed at the end of the
are being developed, in- ture into a new structure 2009 ethnography: “You
formation providers have for communication that have to socialize the space
a promising new trail to has pay-offs for both pro- before you can monetize it.”
follow in the online so- ducers and consumers. As
cial space. In the model of Robbie Blinkoff, principal
65
StopTheAdness.org
An Ad Agency Pledges to Stop the Bombardment
What would an adver- Robbie Blinkoff a key When presented with

tising agency say about question: How can we get the findings of the AP eth-
“Communitas” and a new better information about nography, Carton Dono-
“engagement model” for our clients’ customers so frio concluded that it had
communication? that we can create better to take action in its own
advertising? realm. Other signals also
The Associated Press troubled the ad agency. A
and Context-Based Re- A decade later, that recent global survey by
search Group had a built- founding principle for the research firm GFK
in focus group for the Context and Carton Dono- found that people ranked
findings of their advertis- frio found new expression advertisers second only
ing ethnography: Carton in the inquiry undertaken to politicians as untrust-
Donofrio Partners, Inc., of for The Associated Press. worthy.
Baltimore.
The central conclusion An Industry Response:
Carton Donofrio is an of the study – that the ‘Stop The Adness’
award-winning agency social contract between
that also happens to be a advertisers, the media, In the spirit of “Commu-
sister company to Context. agencies and consumers nitas,” Carton Donofrio de-
The ethnographic re- had been broken – had veloped an initiative to re-
search group was founded enormous implications for form advertising from the
in 1999, when the CEO of the ad agency and its own inside by giving outsiders
Carton Donofrio asked industry. – consumers themselves –
cultural anthropologist a voice. The theme of the
66
initiative was creatively pledge to consumers, based doing so, they promise to
ironic for an industry syn- directly on the findings make their advertising
onymous with “mad men.” of the AP study. Carton more respectful, mean-
The campaign, launched Donofrio has asked other ingful and rewarding to
in February 2010, took the agencies and marketers to consumers.
name, “Stop The Adness.” also sign this pledge. By
A Web domain, StopT-

heAdness.org, was set up
as an online forum where
consumers, agencies, ad-
vertisers and the media
could share their thoughts
about what is needed to
make advertising better.
It was designed as an open
conduit for conversation,
where the advertising
community and consumers
could explore what they
really want from each
other and, ultimately, re-
pair their social contract.
The Pledge “The Pledge” on StopTheAdness.org
At its core, StopTheAd-

ness.org has a nine-point
67
FINDING PLEDGE STATEMENT

Strategic:
Collaboration – We must work with the Constantly collaborate with you by really lis-
marketplace — coming together with mutual tening to your wants and needs, and respond-
respect for each other’s roles — to determine ing with information that actually meets
what more effective communication looks like. them.
Social Contract – The unwritten code that Reinvent the social contract of advertising by
defines our behavior has been broken by adver- creating communications you welcome into
tisers, agencies and the media. We must show your life instead of avoid.
consumers that with their help we can rebuild it.
Kinship – We must recognize mutual respon- Always recognize my responsibility to you and
sibility and accountability within the mar- be considerate of your time, privacy and feel-
ketplace as a means toward building better ings.
communication.
Tactical:
Honesty – Marketing spin and hype will Communicate with you in honest, real and
no longer be tolerated in the new communi- authentic ways.
cations landscape, so we must be honest and
transparent.
Reciprocity – Good communication requires Always reward your attention with something
give and take; so we must listen and respond that is useful, entertaining or informative.
accordingly.
Relevance – The market will listen when Create, execute and deliver communications
our message is relevant and targeted; so we that are audience-appropriate and relevant to
must do more to better craft our messages. your life.
continued
68
FINDING (CONTINUED) PLEDGE STATEMENT (CONTINUED)

Behavioral:
Communicate with you in honest, real and
Information – We must provide solid facts
authentic ways.
on which to base our communication and
advertising.
Help you investigate more deeply if you need

Investigation – We must provide a clear
more information to make the best decision.
roadmap for people who want to dig deeper.
Never bombard you with messages anywhere

Overload – We must be careful how much
and everywhere just because I can.
and how often we communicate so as not to
overload consumers.
Sharing – When our information and ad- Enable you to share our messages with others
vertising is shared we will know we are doing who may also need them or who can help you
our job right. make the best decision.
The Lab
The second aspect of
the initiative is the Lab,
which is an online forum
where people can con-
tribute to the conversa-
tion and help redefine
the social contract. Here,
consumers can give direct
input to marketers, letting
them know what works
and what doesn’t for them.
Feedback can then be used
to make advertising more
“The Lab” on StopTheAdness.org
69
effective and meaningful.

Anthropologists will eval-
uate these conversations
and provide insight and
recommendations through
periodic reports.
Concrete Examples
Additionally, to make
the conversation tangible,
the site invites visitors
to upload examples of
people getting it right or
wrong on a pair of pages
called the “Wall of Fame” “Wall of Fame/Shame” on StopTheAdness.org
and the “Wall of Shame.”
Carton Donofrio hopes videos that bring to life
the examples will spark the worst offending “ad-
conversation about how ness.” One spotlights the
advertisers can improve annoying interruptions of
their messaging and inter- pop-up banners brought to
action with consumers. life.
How Word Is Being Spread An e-mail was sent to “What if Pop-Up Ads Were Real” Video
a list of advertisers and

The agency is spread- marketers inviting them
ing the word by launching to learn “10 ways” to make
70
ruary that featured the as ‘communication.’ ”

findings of the AP study
and the Stop The Adness The Web site for the
campaign. Carton Dono- campaign can be accessed
frio also won a spot to at http://www.stopthead-
present the campaign at ness.org.
the American Association
of Advertising Agencies
Transformation 2010 con-
ference.
While the movement is

“10 ways” E-mail in its infancy, both Carton
Donofrio and the trade
their advertising more association are optimistic
effective. To prevent the about the impact the cam-
outreach itself from be- paign could have. The webi-
ing regarded as “adness,” nar incited several rallying
the e-mail asked at the cries from the nearly 200
top, “Would you like to be professionals who partici-
removed from this e-mail pated. One verbatim com-
list in the future?” ment from a participant
captured the essence of the
The press was alerted study and the industry
to the initiative and the challenge ahead: “We need
American Association to make a transition from
of Advertising Agencies advertising as ‘bombard-
hosted a webinar in Feb- ment’ back to advertising
71
Acknowledgments
Our second plunge into cultural anthropology was as invigorating as the first. After
having studied news consumption, we ventured into the much less familiar space of
advertising.
Once again, we enjoyed the expert guidance of the Baltimore-based Context-Based Re-
search Group and Robbie Blinkoff ’s team of ethnographers. We are indebted this time
as well to the team at Carton Donofrio Partners, a Baltimore advertising agency and
sister company to Context.
With the help of both the anthropologists and the advertising executives, we were
able to dig down all the way to that “deep structure” of consumer behavior that Context
says holds the secrets for understanding how to serve audience needs.
Robbie, the managing director and principal anthropologist at Context, was joined
again in this project by his research director, Tracy Pilar Johnson, whose insights
helped to distill the academic notion of “Communitas” into an organizing framework
for this study. Stephanie Simpson, director of strategy and client services, helped frame
our mission at the start and was a guiding light throughout the project. Analysts Leah
Kabran and Shannon Gray designed the research phase and managed the anthropolo-
gists in the field. Anthropologists Jessica Libove, Craig Tower and Vincent Goldberg
conducted ethnographic field research on the project.
At Carton Donofrio, Chief Strategy Officer Jamie Rice provided the wisdom that
shaped our understanding of the advertising marketplace. George Wood, director of in-
teractive production, was a thought leader for the project as well as the main producer
of the final report and Web site, working with Becky Kanach Quade and Michael Jaffe.
David Smith, executive creative director for the agency, conceived the classic “put your
money where your mouth is” campaign for advertisers called “Stop the Adness.”
72
As the ethnographic fieldwork was being conducted in 2009, The Associated Press was
separately working on new techniques for engaging news consumers. Key players in that
process were journalists Ted Anthony and Lauren McCullough, whose keen insights on
social networking have shaped AP’s response to the same forces we have analyzed here.
AP’s strategy team of Andon Baltakov, Paola Allais and Ruthie Shek have assisted in
all aspects of the project and have helped to cement ethnography as a cornerstone of AP
strategy development. Director of Corporate Communications Ellen Hale and deputy
Laurie Morris provided the guidance that helped us turn the results of our research
into a story for a wider audience.
And, of course, the 24 subjects of this ethnography, whose names shall remain anony-
mous, provided the true stories that made this effort so valuable.
Jim Kennedy
The Associated Press
March 2010
73

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A New Model for

A Research Report from The Associated Press,

The environment for news and advertising is in need

© 2010 The Associated Press

Our first project resulted in a report entitled A New

The “atomic” model applied again. We could see how

It is not just that people feel overloaded. As consumers,

As you’ll see in this report, a sister advertising company to Context, Baltimore’s

Section 1: Overview and Study Objectives

against deep engagement, Why Ethnography: Getting anthropological analysis

getting to the root of the

unmet needs. Deep Structure

Methodology participant had to have Observation Tools and

ing a series of questions preferred situation and Advertising

vations, the anthropologists self-directed descriptions of behavior and their journal

Section 2: Ethnography Participants

Clark is a ones that you remember … ly remembers video ads on

a planner, Jane is often important subjects. She likely to notice advertis-

Laura lives public aware of differ- priate times on television.

advertising links if she is work because he is always so that the consumer is

positioning of ads and as out their stories. In this Belinda is

relate to his interests. He inserts or circulars in the a moderate level of atten-

day looking at news Web Angela advertising has become

to check her e-mail, read Angela reads The San Dalton is

James accesses news Daniel is a As a family they try to

Although Jack does not of his “generation” are Jac-

community organizations, Jacqueline feels over- up with her computer cal-

Section 3: Conclusions and Recommendations

These broad findings Few people pursue the

In the case of the ad-

and Updates and felt they

signed and relevant. Those

create more engaging con-

AP’s Engagement Model

in real numbers by 2009,

The “game-changing” emerged was a framework thrust of the report was

might entice users to go a behind-the-scenes blog

The success of the Soto-

ences. In addition, AP has strong connection between social-networking spon-

In the meantime, while “Communitas,” what start Context anthropologist,

What would an adver- Robbie Blinkoff a key When presented with

A Web domain, StopT-

The Pledge “The Pledge” on StopTheAdness.org

At its core, StopTheAd-

FINDING PLEDGE STATEMENT

FINDING (CONTINUED) PLEDGE STATEMENT (CONTINUED)

Help you investigate more deeply if you need

Never bombard you with messages anywhere

effective and meaningful.

a list of advertisers and

ruary that featured the as ‘communication.’ ”

While the movement is

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