Infotainment

Under Infotainment ( portmanteau word of the English information and entertainment) refers to the part of a media range, in which the recipient should be both informed and entertained targeted. The term refers especially to media products in which characteristics of information and entertainment formats are combined. Often it comes to communicate complex issues from science, business and politics in an entertaining way.

Means

Typical means of infotainment are personalization, dramatization, visualization and accelerated change of content.

Neil Postman

The term was popularized by the infotainment media critics like Neil Postman, who questioned the television critical. In his book Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985 ) is drawn up by Postman the claim that television is the rational public discourse in the form of transforms that each topic - politics, culture, upbringing, education, etc. - as emotionally charged, superficial entertainment appears. The political campaign was not a serious discourse more about the content, but similar to a large-scale variety event. By this process, destroyed one of the most important achievements of the Enlightenment by Postman: the ability to rational judgment ( judgment ); a development which, according to Postman, the foundations of democracy and decomposes into a new immaturity.

Criticism

The debate about infotainment refers primarily to television, and especially on relevant policy formats such as news programs, magazines, etc. Infotainment is a means of trying to bring close populations with little political interest in political issues. One criticism is that the media their political functions can no longer fulfill thereby wane and thus the credibility of the reporting. In this context, it is tabloidisation, de- professionalization, trivialization and de-politicization of the question.

Infotainment in advertising

Infotainment presented and staged also information about products or services. Infotainment has been successfully used in both the B2C and especially in B2B marketing. Thus, the advertising messages or " hidden", not at first sight apparent characteristics of products or the benefits of services, but also presents competitive comparisons entertaining. Infotainment is more than involve active and entertained, because the " employees " still does not guarantee a staging of advertising messages and information to be provided; that is, the implementation of an infotainment solution or events, is preceded by an analysis and sophisticated concept according to the communicating messages.

Infotainment is particularly in the area of live communication, for example, event, exhibition, promotion at the POS or in shopping malls (Mall ), roadshow projects or sponsors presentation used. So the message and brand are staged interactive and entertaining.

Implementation options are for example:

• Promotional games such as puzzles, quizzes, memory, logo games, etc. - These so-called promotion and event games involve the participants and provide motivation to deal with the issue. Exhibition games are the classic instrument for contact promotion and presentation.
• A quiz show is the most intensive form of the production of themes or messages, as with a quiz show exactly the information that needs to be communicated, can be taught interactively and therefore sustainable. The example of the quiz shows on television, the success based on the number of spectators can be seen, the same effect is also observed for live communication projects.
• Multimedia show effects such as company-specific laser shows make a wow effect.
• Artistic representations such as a mime presentation or a business theater, in which the advertising messages can be presented.