We read the Marketing, Media & Advertising publications regularly in vain hope that the troublesome issue of commercial clutter will start to become a major concern within the industry.
We read the Marketing, Media & Advertising publications regularly in vain hope that the troublesome issue of commercial clutter will start to become a major concern within the industry.
Yes, we read that there is plenty of news regarding the imminent arrival of yet more clutter! For example "Agencies welcome news of Virgin 1 free-to-air channel"
"Balloon ads really take off for Ford".
Tess Alps saying, "TV's influence on campaigns should be self-evident", which happens to be about as sensible a statement as "Pigs might fly"!
May we ask "What about the poor old customer"? Because they are not, obviously taking delivery of all these intrusive commercial messages.
The irony is that attempts to beat clutter end up yielding more of it! We must all bear in mind that, "…at the end of the day, the ability of the average consumer to even remember advertising twenty-four hours later is at the lowest level in the history of advertising", according to the US Advertising Research Foundation.
From here it would appear that the UK Advertising Industry is perfectly happy to just vaguely recognise the existence of clutter without doing anything about it!
Most certainly creativity is not the answer, creativity has never been the sole criterion for the success or otherwise of an advertising campaign.
The advertising industry is trying to solve the problem by doing more of the same. That is, by creating more advertisements. What that absurdly cliched statement "cutting through the clutter" has really yielded is an industry that shotgun blasts commercial messages into sexy new places as quickly as it can identify them.
Yes, clutter is leading to more saturation, clutter and intrusiveness and the Web 2.0 will only worsen marketing resistance.
To put it simply, the advertising business is crushing itself under the weight of its own messaging, squeezing the effectiveness out of its product as consumers become more and more unaffected to the commercialisation of their surroundings.
And now they are becoming excited with mobile marketing, where perhaps the greatest risk lies for a new avalanche of commercial content. It is seen as one of the advertising businesses' great growth areas. It has not taken off yet because the jury is still out on just how receptive consumers are to commercial messaging on their telephones. If companies start swamping people with messages, people will be turned off!
Research indicates that a magazine reader looks at glossy advertising pages rather favourably, as part of the editorial content, while a TV viewer is more likely to see 30-second spots as interruptions. Between these two lies Internet viewers who are simultaneously bombarded with heaps of generic, untargeted advertisements with more finely tuned advertising taking into consideration behaviour.
However this new media have the potential to deliver even more saturation, clutter and intrusiveness than traditional media, in which case the new media will only worsen marketing resistance.
We have to refocus not on the media but on the customer, who currently is being suffocated by commercial messages as he moves from medium to medium,
In the face of growing clutter of advertising messages and the increasing ability of consumers to screen out unwanted commercials and ads., there is also a growing problem for advertisers in breaking through the surrounding noise.
By presenting advertisements in the form of an Interactive "Event" it alters the consumer’s perception to the content making the communication process far more effective, by providing an enjoyable mechanism for consumers to become involved with the brand and its advertising message.
This meets the desire, evident among consumers, to open up a dialogue with at least some of the manufacturers or service companies whose products they buy; and also feeds consumers evident wish to be better informed about what it is they are being asked to buy.
By getting consumers to make a commitment to finding out more about an advertiser’s offer, the interactive technique can create the conditions for positive attitudes towards the advertiser and positive learning about the product advertised.
In addition to providing this encouragement for consumers to focus on the brand – and to develop for themselves the steps of the argument that should lead to a purchase – the technique can provide the advertiser with valuable feedback about both the product and its advertising. This is a dialogue that can benefit both sides, and be seen to be doing so.
Social Media – An epic tulipomania in the making!
The Internet is not an advertising medium, people log onto the Internet to go somewhere, not see advertisements!
Have you heard the one about Super-bowl Ads?
How much longer can Clients go on paying $3 million for a 30-second spot that doesn't wotk?
Rethinking Marketing Strategies: A Call to Chinese Entrepreneurs
In an era where the Chinese economy is making remarkable strides, it's crucial for Chinese entrepreneurs to critically evaluate the effectiveness of traditional advertising methods. The Western world's advertising industry, often perceived as superior, is increasingly being challenged by evidence suggesting that advertising may not be as effective as once believed. This article delves into the pitfalls of conventional advertising and explores the need for innovative communication strategies in the 21st century.
