The Age of Communitainment

For several years I have talked about the new role of communicating with family and friends as a form of entertainment. This concept has been dubbed ‘communitainment.’

I recently heard a story on NPR about the U.S. military’s video game that simulates fighting a battle. The video game has single-handedly resulted in more military recruits than all the military’s other recruiting efforts. They called the game ‘militainment,’ a combination of military and entertainment.

I guess we’re in the Age of Making Up New Words (i.e., PR 3.0).

But these two concepts — communitainment and militainment — in my mind, underscore a fundamental shift that has taken place.

We’re not talking about passive consumers. We’re dealing with empowered consumers.

They’re used to choosing what media they consume, and when they consume it. They’re accustomed to searching online for news and information, and finding just what they’re looking for in a short amount of time when they need it. They’re bombarded with thousands of messages daily.

So how do you stand out?

You create fun, engaging, memorable experiences.

You interact with them in ways in which they want to participate.

You channel your most creative self and develop something completely different.

Of course, like Cinderella’s glass slipper, there are plenty of eager princess wannabes and only one perfect fit. It’ll take time, effort and lots of listening to your target audience to hit a home run.

But with so many tools available, the opportunities today certainly exceed that of any other time.

Let’s hear it for creatatainment! (I’ll bet I’m the first one to use that new word.)