Advertisers, Ignore at Your Peril – Five Ways Your Profession Is/Has Changed

Buy some space or time, write some copy, bust up an ad on InDesign (or in Final Cut), and away you go. Steve Jobs built Apple in a garage, so why can’t you?

So rake it in and repeat? Nope. And for sure not halfway through the second decade of the 21st century.

Advertising, marketing and PR (and all other platforms) are changing. Maybe they’ve been changing all along, but now, as the pundits wisely note, they’re REALLY changing.

And technology underlies just about everything. From measurement to engagement. Got impressions? Really? Does anybody care?

Mashable’s T.J. Stanley cogently summed it up. She documents five major ways advertising et al has changed and changed dramatically in the past 10 years, which in Internet time, amounts to a galactic epoch.

Here they are:

1) Brand now has a broader definition. “Master of the Obvious,” one may sniff. But about 10 years ago I used to tout how a brand wasn’t a logo, it was something that lived between the ears of a target market. I remember when the eyes rolled back then.

So what does Stanley mean by “broader definition” of brand? She writes: “Marketing executives no longer talk about ‘reach’ or ‘impressions’ as measurements of success. Instead, they aim for ‘conversations’ and ‘engagement’ with their fans.” What does that mean? Simply put, it reflects that  brand now has a degree of consumer “ownership.” Your customers own your brand and they define it just like they want to. So you want credibility? Try earning it – several times a day.

2) Advertisers must now “adjust to perpetual motion” Again, Stanley, opines: “Because consumers are always on the go, agencies have had to learn how to cater to a smartphone and tablet-wielding populace.” Note to self: this is only going to get worse as “wearables” tech become more popular. If you’re not thinking mobile, then that’s okay, as long as you’re marketing to people who never use the Internet (which leaves you out, because you’re reading this on the Internet).

3) Video – did we say video?  For people like me who love the printed word, this is killer. Probably countless Millennials have on more than one occasion said behind my back, “Uh, there goes a REAL Boomer.” But I too am open to change. As Stanley points out: “The trend now is for companies to produce high-definition, high-resolution rich media videos that people want to watch and share with friends.” So if it can’t be shared, well… With animated interactive video, brands come to life. People gladly take ownership of them and become your brand advocates with a degree of credibility that you could only dream about in copy class. Stanley rightly states that this kind of video is the very embodiment of “disruptive.” Does your video make people drop everything and watch it?

4) “Hit the Bullseye,” or better said, pass the research. Big data analytics means you can know beaucoup about your potential or current customers. Further, it you shove out advertising that is off-target, then not only will your potential customers ignore you, they may be offended. Ad legend David Ogilvy touted the critical need for research long before many. They laughed at him then, and they laugh now, (or else they weakly say, there’s not enough money in the budget). Stanley speaks up with: “Easily accessible, cheaper data means better targeting, which brings more relevant ads for consumers.”

5) All this change is impacting everyone, and it’s not all good. Everyone yearns for what the industry calls “shooting stars.” Stanley defines these as “Those ‘little bright moments’ that, like a one-off video that goes viral, lodge themselves into the pop culture for a brief moment in time.” That’s not going to happen every time, even if one is the Babe Ruth of digital advertising.

There’s more, particularly on the impact of change, but I feel a Part Two coming on.

Have your own thoughts on how advertising and marketing is/has changed? Send an e-mail or some comments.

Until then, Fortuna favet fortibus!

Michael Snyder, Managing Principal

The MEK Group