The Autonomy of Digital Native Generation in Building Nation Branding

Abstract

The milestone of technological evolution has reached the level of 4.0. Persuasive messages in the media have also evolved in a disruptive direction. Social media has degraded the existence of asymmetrical mass media, where producers as elite role tend to dictate the society as target audience. The synergy between digital technology and the digital native generation, with their creative and confidence character, is driving the performance of social media and create equal roles between the producers and target audience. This phenomenon is giving equal power, where individuals owned their greater independence, both as messages sender and recipient. One example is the power possessed by the digital native generation in delivering nation branding through social media in the eyes of global citizen. This nation branding usually created by the government as an elite party. On the other hand, globalization, which was originally oriented to create universality as a form of big narrative, has in fact emerged resistance from small local narratives facilitated by social media. The gap that arises due to difference between theory-driven and practical-driven about branding concept is an important issue to be discussed. Using social semiotics, Youtube channels created by Indonesia's digital native, Alip-Bata will be analyzed to describe their autonomy process in creating creative content on social media. The 4E variable of digital marketing mix was used in order to map the gap between traditional and the newest branding concept. This mapping process creates a redefinition of nation branding concept, in which citizens are autonomously given a new concept to reduce the dominant role of the main stakeholder whom usually formulates and creates the concept. The redefinition potentially creates gaps and counterproductive in achieving nation branding awareness. In order to minimize the gap between theory and practice, the traditional and new concepts need to be synergized.