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PoliciesThe future is ad-free
Are we sick of being sold to? Why ditching traditional sales methods is the way forward with customers.
Ads here, there and everywhere! This week we explore how advertising has hijacked our lives and infiltrated our homes.
Peter Bidenko
Creative
Strategy
5 minute read
I’m going to be honest with you, no man has ever walked on the moon, Charles is not really Harry’s dad, Billie Jean is not my lover.
And here’s one more little ‘truth’. No one likes advertising.
Once we were entertained by it, now it just annoys us. The more we try to target it, strategise it, understand our customers, the more we alienate people. Talk to people out there (the real ones, outside the industry) and you’ll see they resent the intrusion in their lives, they resent that it’s everywhere, they resent being interrupted.
And here’s one more little ‘truth’. No one likes advertising.
Once we were entertained by it, now it just annoys us. The more we try to target it, strategise it, understand our customers, the more we alienate people. Talk to people out there (the real ones, outside the industry) and you’ll see they resent the intrusion in their lives, they resent that it’s everywhere, they resent being interrupted.
In short
- Marketing that promises to be relevant often disguises intrusive content that doesn’t really understand a customer’s needs.
- Ask yourself: is this ad useful? Does it teach or entertain? Does it respect the customer’s intelligence?
- This, done well, means your customer is more likely to pay attention and appreciate the usefulness of your communication.
Along came digital and social media
Ads have totally hijacked what started out as quite a pleasant experience. And don’t get me started on catch-up TV. The best entertainment delivery system on the planet, and it’s totally ruined by you know what. Who ever thought repeating an ad 50 times per show was a good media buy?
Of course, we hear ad infinitum the promise of data and digital. It’s supposed to deliver better targeted ads with more relevant messages. But how’s that working for you in your life, your real life, not the one theorised about at marketing conferences?
No matter how we justify it, ads are intrusive and don’t really understand you. No matter how much data we work with and how smart we are at analysing it, we still don’t understand the person really. Even though we say we do. Humans are too complex and too inconsistent to predict behaviour properly.
Of course, we hear ad infinitum the promise of data and digital. It’s supposed to deliver better targeted ads with more relevant messages. But how’s that working for you in your life, your real life, not the one theorised about at marketing conferences?
No matter how we justify it, ads are intrusive and don’t really understand you. No matter how much data we work with and how smart we are at analysing it, we still don’t understand the person really. Even though we say we do. Humans are too complex and too inconsistent to predict behaviour properly.
I almost got to the facts and figures
I went looking for some facts and figures to support what I’m saying. I mean that’s what you do in an ‘analysis’ like this, right? But I found the anecdotal – the replies to an article – far more compelling. And far more… ummmm… real.
‘All ads are cancer, regardless. What a waste of an article.’1
‘Ads are a vile lie, made to make you do something that doesn't matter and never did, nor would it have if you didn't have to endure watching it.’1
‘Targeted ads are the bane of the user experience.’1
‘Advertising is the problem. If you don’t see that you are also the problem.’1
The reactions go on. Pretty damning really. Ask friends, family, neighbours what they like about advertising and most will roll their eyes and say they hate it. So what can we do if we work in an industry that’s universally abhorred? Sometimes the obvious is the hardest thing to see, but it’s a bit of a no brainer:
‘All ads are cancer, regardless. What a waste of an article.’1
‘Ads are a vile lie, made to make you do something that doesn't matter and never did, nor would it have if you didn't have to endure watching it.’1
‘Targeted ads are the bane of the user experience.’1
‘Advertising is the problem. If you don’t see that you are also the problem.’1
The reactions go on. Pretty damning really. Ask friends, family, neighbours what they like about advertising and most will roll their eyes and say they hate it. So what can we do if we work in an industry that’s universally abhorred? Sometimes the obvious is the hardest thing to see, but it’s a bit of a no brainer:
Stop doing advertising. It’s that simple. It’s not required anymore. Pack up all the clever lines and beautiful imagery and killer ideas and put them in the history books.
But there’s no need to pack up your desk
Right. And here’s the thing. We can throw our hands up in the air, furrow our brows, and fall on our swords, or we could just be useful. Through our work, show people how to do things right, respect their intelligence, teach them something, help them with their situation, maybe put a little more money in their pockets rather than trying to extract it, and help them sort out their problems, rather than creating more for them.
In short, be of use to them.
We need to change from being an advertising agency/marketing department to being an ‘of use agency/marketing department’. The role of advertising has changed from entertaining people into liking a product or service, to being useful in their lives.
In short, be of use to them.
We need to change from being an advertising agency/marketing department to being an ‘of use agency/marketing department’. The role of advertising has changed from entertaining people into liking a product or service, to being useful in their lives.
A glimpse at the (ideal) future
I guess the best possible outcome would be communications in which your audience doesn’t even know they’re being advertised to, they’re just appreciative of the usefulness you’re bringing to their lives.
Even though most of us are powerless to change the quality or integrity of the products we sell, maybe we could revisit the intention, the timing, and the language we use to sell them. Stripping this back to the functional and ‘true’. Using the power of data to make broader, more objective assessments about how our products could benefit them as people living in the world. And most of all, not bombard them in their most private, digital refuges.
Even though most of us are powerless to change the quality or integrity of the products we sell, maybe we could revisit the intention, the timing, and the language we use to sell them. Stripping this back to the functional and ‘true’. Using the power of data to make broader, more objective assessments about how our products could benefit them as people living in the world. And most of all, not bombard them in their most private, digital refuges.
Closer to home
Everyone’s in lockdown… again. So how can brands reach us?
Needless to say, brands must always evolve. Especially when a whole consumer base is confined indoors with no warning. We all know what it’s like – how do you keep up a strong presence while OOH languishes unseen, ‘Skip ad’ becomes the favourite TV button, and many browsers have ad blockers?
Well! Some clever companies are already equipped for times like these. With a bit of tech, they’ve transformed their products into ‘billboards’ in the home. Best of all, their innovations add genuine value to the customer experience, are cost-effective, cutting-edge but easy to use, and fit into the branding seamlessly.
Here’s what they did.
Well! Some clever companies are already equipped for times like these. With a bit of tech, they’ve transformed their products into ‘billboards’ in the home. Best of all, their innovations add genuine value to the customer experience, are cost-effective, cutting-edge but easy to use, and fit into the branding seamlessly.
Here’s what they did.
on user-generated content
Ads built on user-generated content are made for lockdown, especially as brands operate without their usual means of production and on a budget. But this short-term vision doesn’t scratch the surface of its potential; nearly 80% of consumers agree that UGC influences their decisions2, suggesting its role in advertising is just beginning.
References
- Jenny Coppola, The Psychology Behind Why People Dislike Ads (And How To Make Better Ones (24 January 2020), Wistia.
- Bernard May, 5 Ways User-Generated Content Is An E-Commerce Goldmine (1 June 2021), Forbes Agency Council.
- K. Holt, Nike releases its first NFC-enabled soccer kit for Chelsea FC (5 September 2018), engadget.
- Zara Stone, 19 Crimes Wine Is An Amazing Example Of Adult Targeted Augmented Reality (12 December 2017), Forbes.
- NFC News, Johnnie Walker Blue Label bottles to Use NFC Technology Giving a More Premium Experience (date unknown), rfidworld.
- Stuart Miles, Lego Hidden Side sets add augmented reality to create a whole new, spooky world (14 February 2019) Pocket-lint.
