Can social media save the advertising industry?
June 22nd, 2009Category: Birmingham, Home, Random Rants, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Strategy.
I don’t want to appear unsympathetic to the current decline of the advertising industry, but I have no sympathy so maybe that’s how I come across!
The mistrust built up by ad men trying to brainwash us into thinking that naff products will change our lives has tarnished even the advertisements of those that actually can.
“Advertising is dead, long live social media” seems to be my current mantra and it’s not making me many new friends (well not in advertising at least).
Don’t blame me, I’m just the messenger. Consumers migrating from traditional broadcast media to online is the root cause of the problem, but perhaps I could deliver the message with less schadenfreude.
Of course advertising is migrating online too. The problem is that for every ten pounds lost in offline ad sales only one is gained in online banner sales.
Great news for brands wanting their ad spend to go further, if indeed straight advertising works online. Bad news for traditional media owners, even if they have managed to migrate their publication to the web.
The bulk of online advertising spend currently goes into Google’s pockets, paid-search being the ultimate in highly targeted no-waste advertising, but offering little for those wanting to build brands, the traditional role of advertising.
Man’s new best friend, the iPhone, could present salvation for advertising. Its impending new software release, with its ad friendly features, could breathe new life into online advertising, given the trend to surf while on the move.
Strangely enough it is social media that presents the best opportunity for the future of advertising, despite consumers using social networking to gang up on errant corporations and ridicule their marketing messages.
For the right brands, the highly targeted world of Facebook is one of the better places to advertise, but only in support of more subtle social media marketing activity.
The message on Facebook banners needs to change from “click here to buy this” to “become our friend” and by implication benefit from a two-way relationship.
In this social media world of openness and sharing, the less we look like we are trying to sell stuff the better!
We need a new breed of ad men, who are acutely aware that advertising in the social media space can start conversations about their brands but not control consumers conclusions.
Ironically, if the web has scuppered the adverting industry, by morphing into a social media platform, it might actually get advertising afloat again.
June 22, 2009 @ 4:16 am
Thanks Karl
Sound’s like Cogent was a good move for you – there will undoubtably be some ad agencies that will adapt and prosper.
But consumers, in the words of The Who, “wont be fooled again”.
I’ll keep an eye over my shoulder for that stick!
Cheers
Chris
June 22, 2009 @ 3:43 am
It’s interesting you should be writing about this, as I think we are seeing clear evidence of a dichotomy between the big ‘ad agencies’ and their survival, especially in this area.
There is clearly still a massive amount of ‘clutching’ onto the vagaries of traditional advertising, which has seen some incredible problems across the country as clients look at their ROI and customer relationship, with redundancies, agency closures and a wholesale arm swinging when it comes to ‘letting the agency get away with murder’.
There are however a number of agencies who have looked ahead and decided to invest in new and emergent technologies, the use of social media as a backbone to content delivery and user engagement and providing more value than simply a fluffy message for products the consumer may not necessarily need.
Before launching into a career in digital advertising (alas, since our working together I have been sucked into the dark world of the ad man) I spent a long time investigating which agencies were on the roster with which clients, as the last thing I wanted to do was sell stuff, especially stuff nobody really wants. I wanted to be able to develop user-generated content platforms, use social media as a key mechanism for getting people to communicate (this is after all the communications industry!), to build things I would enjoy using myself.
What I’ve noticed since making my decision of where to go and settling in to the world of the ad man, is that it’s not quite as you think. The ad agency of Mad Men is long since gone and instead (at least in this specific case) what you have is a great deal of strategic thinking, partnerships with other agencies who specialise in delivery specifics and connecting users, but none of the hard sell. It’s more about fostering relationships with customers. We’re quite lucky that we have clients who are very open minded about connecting with the consumer and their users, who will allow us to take risky decisions with creativity and messaging. It’s very refreshing and has certainly challenged my perception of the ad agency, especially in this climate.
We’ve seen a massive clearing out of the methods that will no longer work, and a massive investment in the intelligence that will allow us to connect in the way you have written about. The agencies who choose not to adapt will most definitely and are failing.
I think the media experts out there need to spend less time talking down the ad man however, and more time in partnering with them to ensure enough brands can be evolved to properly engage their customers and kick-start a recovery. While you’re spending time talking about where we’ve come from, we’re creeping up behind you with a big stick…
June 22, 2009 @ 5:24 am
I’m really hoping that the consumer does indeed refuse to be fooled again.
We need more intelligence and foot stamping from them, so we can do away with all of this indulgent, prehistoric and frankly patronising content floating around.
Good to see you blogging again…