It’s a different world and advertising is no longer about shouting at consumers with bold text and direct copy, but about seamlessly engaging, entertaining, informing… Twenty years ago, the first banner ad went live on ‘hotwired.com’ and for over four months 44% of those who saw it clicked on it. Today, research shows that banner ads are clicked by less than 0.1% of viewers, while video ads are 8-25 times more likely to generate a response… In the 1990s the banner ad worked for the following reasons: 1) it drove curiosity online… 2) very act of a ‘click-through’ was a new experience… 3) it was well-intentioned as a consumer experience… According to Róisín Kirby; today the novelty has worn off– you are either annoyed by a banner ad that takes-up your screen, or you totally disregard the ads that sit on the page– you are ‘banner blind’… According to Google’s DoubleClick research; click-through rates on banner ads are at less than 0.1%…
Research group GoldSpot Media; found up to 40% of clicks on mobile banner ads are accidental! According to Robert Lyle; changing technologies and consumer behavior are reshaping the world of advertising… It’s the digital age of constantly changing media contact ‘touch-points’. Some call it media fragmentation but others just see it as extended ‘choice’… These contact touch-points are available and expanding, include; outdoor advertising in all its standard formats, TV now joined by smart TV, newspapers, magazines, radio and podcasts, cinema, direct mail, online, social media, apps, banners, search, gaming, branded content, mobile, sponsorship, experiential, events… and the list goes on, it’s exhausting…
Technological change in media is accelerating rapidly and especially– mobile: Mobile broadband is growing very fast with smart phone ownership, and it brings with it the possibility of engaging consumers– at anyplace, at anytime… but also it brings with it a paradox; it has allowed consumers to become increasingly spontaneous– they can make plans, or change them with the press of a button… You should remember that consumers engage with ideas, not media… and not only is it important for placements in the right place, at the right time… but it’s important to fill the placements with persuasive content. Advertising must continue to change in its delivery both by media, and through the ‘creatives’ it employs. It must adapt to technology change and consumer behavior change. Great advertising must be able to demonstrate both economic and social value in real tangible monetary terms…
In the article Changing Face of Advertising by Mohammad Al Farei writes: Traditional forms of advertising and marketing have transitioned from a top-down messaging model, whereby messages move in a largely one-way direction, to a networked world where everyday people take on an active role in brand discussions and are becoming increasingly involved in the formulation of new products, services… and who have a larger voice in the future direction and strategy of an organization… In this connected reality of– tablets, smartphones, and immersive media… consumers are bombarded with brand messages at an unprecedented rate…
‘Brands’ in an ever-changing world are seen differently, with the meaning of ‘brand’ moving far beyond the mere functionality and perceived value of a product, service… Brands have become friends or sometimes enemies, they are trusted companions, or a badge of honor, or sometimes even a source of inspiration… People identify more personally with brands than ever before and require from them a social commitment that goes beyond the point of sale. Social media has accelerated this trend as it pervades many aspects of everyday life and creates a new bond between brands and people.
In this environment, brands are under intense scrutiny and are required to demonstrate ethical behavior and ideals like– honesty, integrity, social responsibility… ideals which are very important to the future success of any organization… Companies now face a clear choice; either, isolate yourself or reveal your human side, and welcome transparency and forge new relationships with customers…. Four important shifts in this different social engagement model are: From ‘trying to sell’ to ‘making meaningful connections’: From ‘large campaigns’ to ‘small acts’: From ‘hard to reach’, to ‘available everywhere’: From ‘image controlling’, to ‘being honest’…
In the article Future of Advertising is Polite Interruptions by Marc Guldimann writes: ‘Interruptive’ advertising has been the foundation of the media business since it’s inception. Historically; TV, print, radio… have all been monetized by ‘interruptive’ ads and today using, e.g.; in-feed, in-read and other in-line formats are capturing the lion’s share of new ad dollars… The trick with digital advertising is to drive an interruptive experience in a way that respects the reader, hence this is called– ‘polite’ interruptive advertising… Politely interruptive ads have three characteristics: they are interruptive, persist for an amount of time controlled by the reader, using behavioral native engagement…
Most ‘politely’ interruptive ads are behavioral ‘native’; this means that the ad is shown using the same behavior as content consumption, e.g.; you page through magazine articles and ads, you tap and hold to watch a snapchat message and a snapchat ad… Think of media as a conversation between publisher and audience: If the advertiser is going to capture attention, even with the blessing of the publisher, it’s important that they do so in a ‘polite’ way. The ideal scenario is probably something like walking up to someone as the publisher steps aside, apologizing for the interruption, offering them your message and moving away, if they would rather not hear more about it. This is a ‘polite’ interruption and is what advertising should strive for…
Every medium has its version of ‘native’ advertising– from the advertorial in Reader’s Digest, to the soap opera, to the infomercial on TV… The idea with ‘native’ advertising is that an audience will start consuming an ad because they cannot discern it from regular content, and the hope is that they won’t feel offended or tricked… In the long run it becomes harder to fool people who when combined with the publisher’s brand equity being lost, is why ‘native’ advertising tapers in every medium… The best opportunity to capture attention in an authentic and positive fashion is to create great content… but it’s very difficult to plan and produce at scale and replicate, whereas; adjacent advertising, such as, 300x250s or billboards have massive reach and scale, but not very efficient at capturing attention…
More important, for the most part, adjacent ads are not very ‘polite’. They rely on distracting readers from content or surroundings to capture attention. It’s been shown that more obnoxious adjacent advertising causes people to spend less time with content… Hence interruptions involves placing an advertiser message in the stream of content that an audience is consuming, such as; social feed ads, 30 second spots on TV, full-page print advertising… in most cases these interruptive ads are ineffective and counter-productive… Although interruption is the best way to capture attention at scale, but it must be adapted for the digital era and it must be ‘polite’ interruption…
In the article Future of Advertising: What 2025 Will Look Like? by Amy Kean writes: The consumer is hard to impress and advertising in this different world must rely completely on customers buying into the largely tech-driven, utopian vision of making every single advertising message relevant to them… Without doubt, you are going to witness a shift from obsessing over what advertising looks like, to what advertising feels like. And in 2025 we’re going to have the technology to make people genuinely happy…. Customer service operatives will be; a) holograms and b) created based on what each individual finds attractive… Content and advertising will become so interlinked you won’t know which is which. People will step into brand experiences and ads, and advertisers will know how much you like their ads because ‘pulses’ via your smart-watch will tell them…
And because of this close relationship with brands, every ad you see will be based on who you are… Screens and posters will display different images based on the information on your mobile, e.g.; your purchase history, brands you like, who your friends are, as well as; your gender, age… Already 75% of consumers expect and want retail experiences to be personalized, and over the next 10 years most marketing will become more like the ‘Amazon Recommends’ feature on steroids… Expect the unexpected; and the key for advertisers is to– thoroughly know and understand the consumer, e.g.; who they are, where they live, how they buy, what they buy, when they buy… their likes and dislikes…
Advertisers need to understand the nuances of different cultural… But also they need to recognize that there is a fusion between the predominate or mainstream lifestyle/culture in a society, and a particular target audience’s group culture within that society… it’s a strategy of looking for similarities rather than differences between a target audience and the mainstream culture within a society– it’s about finding common ground but also a personalized, relevant, engaging message… The advertising industry is entering a new era: Never before have brands, advertisers and marketers had the opportunity to both reach-out and better understand their target consumers– through data based-services, location, mobile advertising… brands must find ways to personalize messaging to individual customers, offering them access to– real-time offers, local services, personal recommendations…
Advances in technology allow for more innovative approaches to out-of-home advertising, with location technology used to offer more– immersive, interactive experiences for consumers… Sometimes consumers don’t want what’s right– they want what feels right, and sometimes advertisers must be brave enough to burst consumers’ bubbles… sometimes the best routes to success is not just about the shiniest… sometimes you must step outside your own frame of reference and see things from the perspective of others… McKinsey summed it up well when they said; at the end of the day, customers no longer separate advertising from the product, service… it is the product, service… They don’t separate advertising from the in-store or online experience… it is the experience… In the era of ‘engagement’, advertising is the company…
Credits: This Article Shaping Advertising for a Different World– Burst Bubbles, Push Edges: Step Outside of Old Frame of References, See Things Different… Originated From WebSite BizShifts-Trends.