Third International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

The transmission of video content or event over the internet known as live streaming is almost accessible and available to communication specialists from all types of organizations. Strategic communication practitioners have been using this emergent form of media to promote and advocate their social causes successfully since this function became available. Some commonly praised live streaming campaigns included Starbucks’ 2016 Facebook live for National Voter Registration Day, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal (ASPCA)’s Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, Stephen Amell & Arrow’s F**k Cancer Campaign, Kohls’ Get Active with Kohls, etc. This paper aims to analyze the social, political, and cultural implications of live streaming by organizations that use this form of emergent media to achieve their strategic purposes. It will analyse the rhetorical construction and interactions of the communicators and their audiences during the live events online through rhetorical analysis. By investigating previous successful social communication campaigns that employed live streaming as one of their main media tactics, the paper will answer three primary research questions: 1) How did communicator(s) and organizations construct their rhetorical situation during their live streaming?; 2) How were audience’s responses negotiated and managed?; and 3) What are the social, political, and cultural implications of live streaming in social communication campaigns? Ultimately, it is hoped that this research will illustrate the dynamics of this emerging media platform and provide recommendations for strategic communication specialists to employ live streaming as their media tactic with a strong sense of ethics and responsibility.