Give Them Ads You Want Them To See

Many, if not most marketers believe getting people to notice and respond positively to "good" ads is just a matter of numbers.  The numbers may be a devious seductress, though, for if they show a positive return, they discourage investing capital in other forms of communication that may in fact be more efficient. This is one of the great reasons, I think, so many companies have been slow to invest in and adopt new ways to reach their audience.

Companies advertise because they want to sell something. If they can attribute enough revenue to the advertising (however obnoxious it may be), then by a very critical standard, the advertising is working.

Although alternative media still can't knock television off the hill, the new Nielsen rating system and projections of increased DVR use suggest that traditional television commercials are past their peak efficiency.

Trying to adapt to this revelation, many companies have tried to apply the same philosophy that was successful in radio and television for so long to other media, such as the Internet: Get in front of as many people as possible and hit them with as many ads as they'll tolerate.

If they are listening, however, they find that people do not appreciate being interrupted in the same manner that commercials interrupt television programming. In many respects, owing to the task-oriented nature of most of the Internet, they hate it more.

Does it work?

It depends on the price they're paying for the ads and what kind of results they're seeing. This is determined by other factors, not the least of which is the context in which the ad appears. Investors have spent a lot of money trying to figure out the exact right context to display the exact right ad.

What they fail to realize is that the Internet isn't just a new medium, it's an entirely different game with its own rules, and since people have become accustomed to it, they will no longer accept being talked at in the same way advertisers have always talked at them.

Imagine trying to play a game of American football when everyone else is playing rugby.

You'd be lost, and you'd lose.

The same thing applies to the new rules of marketing. And those who adapt more quickly to the changing environment will have a significant advantage over those who do not. - Cam Beck

Comments

[Luc Debaisieux - mindblob]

Cam,
Right on! After the question : "what's the objective of this campaign?", it is common to hear: "...client wants 300.000 visits on his site, mostly women between 15 and 50. Many immediately getting excited by term like "buzz".

Buzz? Isn't it the noise made by a bug while... passing by or flying away? ; )