Being direct... AdVantage Mar 2006
What will the second half of the first decade of this millennium bring ... ?
Can that which we now call advertising be adapted to a new Digital world?
I guess that to some who read this column, I may occasionally come across as some kind of advertising industry-basher, because I have been known to point out from time to time that the industry often seems in denial. Many in it do not want to accept that the old way may have passed its sell-by date, and that the time has come to give up perceived control of a process of simplistic one-way creation and distribution of messages about products - the 'habit' of advertising! It may be time to look for alternative methods to encourage a deeper interaction between brands and customers, but where the interactive experience itself, provides benefit to an associated brand.
As a long-time consumer of media myself (and therefore of much of the commercial content packaged with those media) I have become extremely concerned by how negative (and often resentful) I have begun to feel towards the commercials that seem to shout ever-louder in their attempt to interrupt my information or entertainment resources. Why would anyone, steeped in this industry to the extent that I have (40 years this year), be feeling this way…could I be the only one affected like this - or are these feelings indicative of a much bigger issue?
Way back in what now seems to me like the dark ages (early 70's), I spent a couple of years studying the likes of Philip Kotler, Theodore Levitt and Dr Peter Drucker so that I might obtain an important (for me, at that time anyway) qualification in Marketing Management.
When manufacturers and customers were (in effect) separated (or seriously at a distance) from each other, the four 'P's' of marketing: Product, Price, Place and Promotion made wonderful sense, as it provided a disciplined and workable process to match products/services to their marketplace potential.
The business model upon which all of this was predicated acknowledged that the net effect of high volume mass production is 'inventory', and that somehow the marketing process had to understand 'who' was buying and 'why' - usually through some form of market research; so that it could then target others whose demographics were similar. The product's features and benefits were communicated to these targets through the available mass media, and in the absence of alternatives for obtaining information about products - the consumers themselves also relied fairly heavily on these mass media as their primary source of information.
As a system, this all worked reasonably well because the mechanism rewarded the manufacturer/advertiser, as well as those whose needs were served through the products produced by those manufacturers - although it did have two basic flaws: everyone's focus was often too heavily on 'the product' rather than on the people for whom it was intended, and in view of the 'gap' or 'chasm' inherent in one-way mass media (a lack of real-time interactive feedback) manufacturers tended to produce and deliver what they 'thought' customers wanted.
All was fun and fine until about 1995, when the 'commercial' Internet started to grow and to connect people digitally. For the first time, businesses and their customers had the means to become directly 'connected' - but more importantly, to expand from one-way 'look-at-me' forms of communication, to all kinds of dialogue. This heralded the rapid growth of customer communication projects, the building of databases and loyalty programmes et al; the far-reaching benefits of which are only now beginning to be realised.
'Being connected' has impacted marketing and marketing communications enormously these past ten years, and recently, one Joseph Jaffe published a book in the US called 'Life After the 30-Second Spot'. In it he goes so far as to say: 'the 30-second spot - at least as it exists today - is either dead, dying, or has outlived its usefulness. Take your pick.'
Jaffe talks about the 'old' model of programme viewing (where broadcaster and viewer met each other 'by appointment') - being replaced by something called 'time-shifting'. The effect of these potential changes on the 'interruption opportunity' for advertising is obvious. The local launch of DSTv's PVR system is an example of this as it enables viewers in different rooms to watch more than one channel (by appointment), but at the same time to record (on a digital rather than tape drive) other programme content for later viewing.
The critical change point though, has and will come in the form of individual broadband access to programme content, where the viewer will choose to obtain and 'consume' this content at a time convenient to that individual viewer. Digital connectivity via computer and mobile phone will soon make this new channel veritably explode! Now, how will advertising's traditional content interruption mindset fit into this scenario? I believe that new communication approaches and alternative business models will come about where the viewer may download advertising-free programming at one price, or perhaps at something of a lower price, get content where the content is 'subsidised' by different forms of experience-oriented brand sponsorship.
As I write this, an International Consumer Electronics show has been held in Las Vegas just last weekend, and according to press releases from the major players, the internet will definitely be used as a distribution channel for new forms of entertainment-on-demand content, and so the concept of IPTV may finally be upon us. Many existing players are apparently trying desperately to ring-fence their own interests (to remain 'in control') - which may slow things down a bit, but there is no doubt that the technology will unleash even more massive change in the media landscape.
While some say that the 30-second spot may still be around for a good while, (and they may indeed be right), the time is undoubtedly upon us to use some of the creativity for which our industry is famous…to break the mould and invent both the experiences and 'commercial' opportunities that inevitably have to replace the 30-sec spot - in this fast approaching personal-content digital world.