Why advertising continues to fail is becoming clearer to me every day, and after every conversation I have with a client.
It isn't that people are watching less TV (because viewership is up), or that we are reading less content (please, with the amount of social content, blogs, text messages, etc. - we are reading more than ever), and it is not even that consumers led by the Millennials are jaded and immune to ad messages. To me, it is simple - advertising is failing because it focuses too much on the "big idea" and not enough on the "big connection" (You could call also it "engagement" or "emotional connection").
Big ideas in this context are the big "ad" ideas, not the big idea that makes a moment. In fact, if advertising were to focus on "big ideas that made an impact," then it would be doing a much better job than it is today. But it would still be failing. What consumers crave - and brands must deliver - is the idea that makes the connection to the way we live (and want to live) our everyday lives.
I'm not talking merely about making sure that there is channel consistency in messaging, or even in experience. Both are essential as I've discussed before. And I'm certainly not talking about making sure you are mobile and, if you are really smart, ensuring you have some social gaming elements in your arsenal. Again, those are important, essential for consumer consumption and desire. What I really mean is this.
Make my life better or I don't care about you!
Seems pretty simple to me and, to that end, advertising needs to understand that its role is fading and won't come back. Marketing, the entire discipline, is now tasked to take the lead. I'm talking about the four P's and the four C's too!
Our clients, friends in the business, the CEOs that we spend our days with don't want ad campaigns or advertising ideas. They want business driven marketing support. They ask for it differently; "Our customer service experience in-store doesn't align with our brand promise in our advertising" or "Our product teams aren't listening fast enough to our consumers to make a meaningful impact this year" or "Why do I need an iPad strategy? I've barely finished executing our social strategy? Do I need an international activation team too?"
What I'm hearing is don't bring me advertising ideas, bring me business driven marketing ideas. I think they are right. Anyone else feeling like their clients are asking for the same thing these days?
It isn't that people are watching less TV (because viewership is up), or that we are reading less content (please, with the amount of social content, blogs, text messages, etc. - we are reading more than ever), and it is not even that consumers led by the Millennials are jaded and immune to ad messages. To me, it is simple - advertising is failing because it focuses too much on the "big idea" and not enough on the "big connection" (You could call also it "engagement" or "emotional connection").
Big ideas in this context are the big "ad" ideas, not the big idea that makes a moment. In fact, if advertising were to focus on "big ideas that made an impact," then it would be doing a much better job than it is today. But it would still be failing. What consumers crave - and brands must deliver - is the idea that makes the connection to the way we live (and want to live) our everyday lives.
I'm not talking merely about making sure that there is channel consistency in messaging, or even in experience. Both are essential as I've discussed before. And I'm certainly not talking about making sure you are mobile and, if you are really smart, ensuring you have some social gaming elements in your arsenal. Again, those are important, essential for consumer consumption and desire. What I really mean is this.
Make my life better or I don't care about you!
Seems pretty simple to me and, to that end, advertising needs to understand that its role is fading and won't come back. Marketing, the entire discipline, is now tasked to take the lead. I'm talking about the four P's and the four C's too!
Our clients, friends in the business, the CEOs that we spend our days with don't want ad campaigns or advertising ideas. They want business driven marketing support. They ask for it differently; "Our customer service experience in-store doesn't align with our brand promise in our advertising" or "Our product teams aren't listening fast enough to our consumers to make a meaningful impact this year" or "Why do I need an iPad strategy? I've barely finished executing our social strategy? Do I need an international activation team too?"
What I'm hearing is don't bring me advertising ideas, bring me business driven marketing ideas. I think they are right. Anyone else feeling like their clients are asking for the same thing these days?
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