10. Managing Brands in a Converging Media Environment

Today’s media environment is characterized by the convergence of different media. In such a media environment, consumers perceive advertisements and interact with brands by making use of multiple online and offline channels. Enabled by technological inventions such as smartphones and tablets, brand building and managing is increasingly converging into the online domain and is characterized by multichannel campaigns. Nowadays, consumers can influence brand images by providing content about brands and products on social media sites. These consumers contradict the traditional notion of brand-to-consumer communications. Against the background of these developments, one might have the impression that the rules of brand building have radically changed. However, the target groups and their psychology remain the same. Thus, to successfully manage brands in a convergent media environment, brand managers must still follow the same psychological principles and strategies. Nevertheless, one has to take the specifics of the online domain into consideration.