is director of communications at , a leading digital ad company. He has spent his career as an innovator at the nexus of media and technology, having worked in communications leadership roles and as a journalist around the world.
For marketers and consumers disruptions seem to be everywhere. There's Dish TV saying that its new “hopper” DVR will allow consumers to skip ads. And Microsoft is proposing to launch Internet Explorer 10, which lets users “opt out” of cookies by default. The industry’s resulting panic could lead people to believe all of advertising is finally doomed.
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The reality is that these moves highlight the deeper fears of marketers: That it could be very easy -- should tech and consumers collude -- for the switch to be “flipped” and people to opt out, block, or otherwise avoid most advertising. It also exposes the fact that advertising can often be lousy, so forcing viewers to engage becomes the only option available.
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Of course, it’s not really the end for advertising and engagement. Global ad spending keeps growing, with predicting it will go from nearly $500 billion last year to more than $600 billion by 2015. And, disruptions in technology, media, and the way people consume it are nothing new. After all, radio disrupted print, and the Internet disrupted, well, everything. “The danger is having a business model that has ignored these changes for the past ten, twenty, or thirty years,” says industry analyst of the Altimeter Group.
So, what should a smart brand or marketing exec to do?
Look where the world is going, not where it’s been. And rethink your budgets and plans. Today, it's easy for marketers to assume more advertising is the answer. As , industry expert and CEO of C Squared, recently said, “Ads are everywhere. There are more and more of them, but unfortunately they are less and less useful.”
The key is to create marketing opportunities that anticipate and respond to people’s time, location, wants, and needs. In short, we need to deliver advertising in the interest of the consumer. Here are three key methods for making your brand and its advertising something that can't be skipped or disrupted.
- Get in the Content Business: Marketing budgets -- up to 25% of spending, as industry guru estimates -- are shifting to social media and content production. Smart brands are presenting and providing content that is compelling and consumers actually want to watch, read, or listen to. Brands and agencies are realigning and staffing up to become “publishers” or “broadcasters.” According to Lieb, companies such as , Coca-Cola, and Macy’s have embraced content marketing. “Red Bull’s stated ambition is to become a media company. It has a magazine and a studio and they license their content to TV.” In her own experience, Lieb has found advertising to be less effective without the complement of earned and owned content.
- Make it Fun: Create useful, fun, relevant, and engaging ads. If it’s a banner ad, make it unconventional, one from Ikea that featured 2,800 products in an innovative placement. If you want to be on mobile, consider an app that’s helpful, fun, or just plain . How about interactive on/offline experiences that can make people’s lives easier, such as in Korea? Give consumers advertising that’s useful and contextual, such as that appear alongside relevant news stories with current weather and road information. “A lot of advertising is bad and consumers hate it. But content is good and ads can be welcomed if they are done well,” says Horan.
- Respect the Consumer: Avoid solutions that can be tuned out easily amid all the noise, and go where the eyeballs are on the page or device -- the content well. Advertising that is integrated with and relevant to content gets seen and noticed. Don’t rely on behavioral advertising and cookie-based solutions to do the work that your technology and creative should be doing. Respect consumers and their interests right now, in the right place (not what they were interested in last week). Put them in the driver’s seat with new technologies that let them choose when and if to engage with your ad, versus forcing them to view pre-roll video. has shown that giving consumers choice, control, and relevance in their online ad experience can pay dividends for brands. And don’t forget the power of social media marketing. It leverages the high personal relevance and power of networks.
These bulletproof strategies should help brands become more “un-hoppable.” Engage in marketing with the consumer, not at the consumer, and you’ll survive whatever disruptions are sure to be right around the corner.
This story originally published on Mashable .
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