In recent times there has been a trend by some agencies and their advertiser clients to shift the focus of their marketing campaigns away from the more traditional media formats to the fast evolving emerging new media and digital media platforms.

This trend has occurred in part because of the evolution of technologies that allow emerging new media and various digital media to directly reach a target market. What's more, this trend will only increase in time.

By 2010, it is estimated that internet advertising in Australia (including paid search and online advertising), will represent the 3 rd largest advertising spend after TV and press.

Whilst it is inappropriate to attempt to define “new media” exhaustively, we consider such media to include: “emerging media”; “environmental media”; “outdoor”; “out of home”; “alternative”; “innovative media”; “ambient media”; “digital media” or any form of medium that would enable any form of communication designed to promote goods or services or to influence consumer behaviour or attitudes.

Our experience with new media has demonstrated that many new media platforms are not legally regulated and exist to a large degree in a legal twilight zone. Accordingly, a collaborative approach between agency and client is required to identify the risks and rewards that may result from a given campaign.

There have been numerous instances where deployment of new media has resulted in adverse brand publicity and surprise legal proceedings from for example local government departments.

Our emerging new media and digital media advisory service aims to assist agencies who have a desire to encourage their clients to move beyond traditional media in to the sometimes unknown and risky realm of new media by providing a campaign specific legal and commercial risk assessment that:

• tests the legality of the marketing communication through our Advertising Clearance services;
• identifies “unexpected” areas of legal regulation or risk;
• considers who may complain following execution of the campaign;
• assesses the prevailing environment - e.g. community attitudes & political agendas – that may impact upon the campaign; and
• analyses the consequences of the campaign to enable agency and client to measure reward against the identified legal and commercial risks.

For further information on our emerging new media and digital media advisory service, contact our office on (02) 8221 0933 or email us on info@vmsolicitors.com.au