Because I've been such a thrifty (i.e. cheap) person my entire life, I've never been particularly susceptible to advertising. No matter how cool I thought an ad was, I've never been the type to see a commercial and then immediately need to buy the product. When I do spend money, it's usually on one time extravagances like a nice dinner or a trip to the movies. In other words, advertising doesn't incite me to act.
But I'm in the minority, right? I mean, everyday I see people walking around with stuff that they probably don't need. They must have been influenced by advertising, right? But maybe not. Think about the last time you were compelled to buy something based on an ad. What was the product? Why was the ad effective? It's probably more difficult to recall than you thought it would be, right? That's because, according to some experts, advertising is quickly losing its effectiveness in the face of a tidal wave of new technologies and modes of communication.
In a post for the FASTforward blog, Paula Thornton explains that "The only reason advertising continues to survive is that it is ‘familiar’ and it is monetized." In other words, advertising continues to work because we haven't fully fleshed out the intricacies of new media. Once a more reliable system is established and embraced by the business world, it is almost a guarantee that traditional advertising will die out.
Needless to say, this is probably a bit scary for today's average advertising executive. Faced with rapid and unexpected changes to the traditional media model on a near daily basis, many long time pros are probably finding themselves up the proverbial creek without a paddle.
Well guess what!
We can be that paddle! We are the next generation of marketing professionals and it is our responsibility to understand how to navigate this new media landscape. We are the first generation in history to have come of age when computers were widely available and we can use that in our careers. We should not wait for the current marketers of the world to ask us for help, we should be offering it. Buzz marketing, guerilla marketing, social networking, viral videos; these things are part of our turf. It's time that we let the business world know that.
Is Advertising Inefficient?
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Advertising Inefficient,
FASTforward,
new media
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2 comments:
Changing the academic model -- I graduated with a marketing concentration years ago. Even while obtaining my degree I took issue with the principles I was being taught -- and I continue to find ways to refute the princples to this day. The purpose was my pursuit...the methods have been seriously flawed, but have served a great purpose and have made money (who am I to argue with that success?).
As Don Tapscott suggested in his keynote at FASTforward '08 last evening, there are all sorts of dimensions that have been missing to facilitate things that thought leaders have been insisting upon for three decades!
Those of us who have been fighting that fight are glad to see new ranks forming, and glad to have relief. We can use some bench time and need some fresh tactical plays.
Thanks for the comments Paula. I really appreciate your candor and obvious passion for change. It's important that my generation of marketing students understand the way in which the industry is changing. Thankfully we have access to such progressive minded business professionals such as yourself and all the attendees of the FASTforward conference.
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