Page 53 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report 2014

AC/E digital culture ANNUAL REPORT 2014Prize, Thomas Friedman, discusses the idea of “flatteners” in his magnificent book, The World is Flat.With this term he describes the various sociological and technological events which have made physical borders almost disappear (the collapse of the Berlin wall, Netscape going public on the stock exchange, outsourcing, free access to information and so forth) and that globalisation makes itself felt through the most everyday actions.In this article I propose to provide a similar exercise in identifying some of the “flattening” challenges that can help us to understand how the cultural industries are evolving.A selection has been made, by no means a complete one, of the most important opportunities for making cultural content and experiences evolve at the same pace, something that they are already doing in the current context and, above all, the public to which they are addressed.In the question that concerns us here none of the actors who form part of the cultural industry—an industry that is so necessary not only for personal growth but also for the intellectual wealth of the country—are immune from the threats that loom over it.Mike Shatzkin (a publishing expert and digital change analyst) has said, “Everything that can be digital will cease to be physical”. In many ways and in many different sectors we are already seeing that this is the case (music, films, shopping, etc.). But this evolution should not be seen as a threat but as a set of opportunities with the clear aim of strengthening and enriching cultural content and experiences.There is no unique and decisive magic wand for going ahead successfully, what there is is an important recommendation: look around and define a strategy.AC/ETELL ME WHICH BLOGS YOU READ AND I’LL TELL YOU WHO YOU AREThe only true aim in creating cultural content and experiences, be they the publication of the simplest story; a play performed on the tiniest of stages; installations and shows such as those of the Cirque du Soleil or art exhibitions that have people queuing round the gallery and down the street to get in; is that the public, the readers, the visitors should enjoy themselves and escape from reality for a while, and that everything they see, hear and feel should make them question themselves about what they know and believe. That they should imagine themselves to be in a different time and place and forget who they are and where they are and let themselves be carried away by the moment. That they enjoy the experience andWHERE WE ARE HEADING: DIGITAL TRENDS IN THE WORLD OF CULTURETHEME 5: CULTURAL SECTOR MARKETING AND CONSUMPTION THROUGH DIGITAL TECHNOLOGYenjoy themselves. In large measure Stendhal’s syndrome is an accurate diagnosis of these sensations.The changes are not threats, but opportunities for enriching the cultural experience by observing the environment and defining strategiesWanting to know every detail about consumers seems to be something that has flourished only recently, but it is not as new as people think. In 1967 the advertising executive Lester Wunderman, he of the well‐known advertising agency of the same name, was already working on a methodology which today we know as direct marketing. It was founded on the idea of having very detailed knowledge about people’s purchasing habits in order to adapt supply to their real needs.Formerly, sociological studies concerning an objective public that would be impacted by an advertising or commercial message, or in other words, purchasers of a product, were carried out under sociodemographic criteria which gave as a result the most heterogeneous groups such as men CURRENT PAGE...53