Reality television and social media : The Voice

Australian Idol, Australia's Got Talent (AGT), Big Brother, MasterChef, My Kitchen Rules, Dancing with the Stars, The Apprentice, The Block, Survivor, The X Factor"¦ Welcome to the new, dynamic frontier of reality television in Australia and across the globe. This television format has changed the face of television throughout the world. In Australia, its rise to prominence can be traced back to the late 1990s when shows such as Big Brother and Survivor introduced the concept of a competition with prize money to be won. The format has since become a key marketing strategy used by television networks to attract large advertising revenues through high ratings and viewership. For the astute marketer, reality television provides an opportunity to integrate marketing communication platforms and create long-term relationships with customers. A complementary development has been the emergence of social media phenomena. The digital revolution has created new social media platforms for a dynamic group of consumers constantly looking for new innovations to entertain them. Thus, the convergence of a variety of reality television formats and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram has fuelled the increasing appetite for new reality television programs that are closely embedded in social media. Hence, in 2012 the Australian market was initiated into the latest craze in reality television: The Voice! Its introduction also brought challenges, however, such as providing an integrated entertainment experience that utilises the different social media platforms such as Twitter to the benefit of marketers.