According to Mike in his blog at Techdirt,
It’s amazing how slowly it takes folks like advertising execs to catch on sometimes. For the past five years, plenty of people have realized that there was so much content out there that people were learning to only deal with content they wanted. What that means is that dumb ads that no one cares about don’t work at all. Advertising needs to be content that people want to see or interact with. It’s not about forcing people to see your ads any more, but about making people want to see your ads. Of course, if you don’t realize this, then the rise of the internet, video games, and DVRs seems scary, because it takes away from the way things have been done in the past. However, the folks who do realize this, know that this isn’t scary at all, but a huge opportunity to create better content that has a higher likelihood of actually having an impact on the target audience.
Mike is offering powerful insight here. However, I must correct him slightly. “Dumb ads that no one cares about” have NEVER worked. Audiences have never been “captive.” Mankind has always used the commercial breaks to attend to other business.
NEWSFLASH: Even if it were possible able to hold an audience captive, to physically strap them into chairs with their eyes taped open so they were forced to watch up to eight :30 commercials back to back, a dumb ad that no ones cares about still won’t work.
ADVERTISING HAS NEVER FORCED ANYONE TO BUY ANYTHING!
Audiences have never been captive and smart advertisers have known this all along. It’s why beer commercials have featured beautiful young women in their ads since the beginning. It’s why advertisers in the past and present pay incredible sums of money to actors and actresses to appear, either in person or by voice, in their advertisements. The reason for celebrity endorsements? To try to keep audiences glued to the screen or the station. Audiences have never been captive, so why the fuss?
Honestly, the fuss is with those who buy and those who sell the advertising. See, advertising in any media has always been sold by the size of the audience. More viewers = more $$$. Now, with the rise of DVR, advertisers are trying to negotiate on the rates. “But the audience isn’t captive anymore! You can’t guarantee me a captive audience so I won’t pay as much.”
Reality check. The audience was never guaranteed. The burden has always fallen on the advertiser to keep the viewer engaged. When you think about it, the television or radio show has already done its part. The show has DONE its job of attracting a huge viewing/listening audience. Mr. Advertiser or Ms. Agency, it is now YOUR job to keep them engaged.
The audience was never captive and everyone knew it. The media (television, radio, newspaper, billboards) knew it and knew there was no way to guarantee “captivity.” The advertisers should have known it, and if they didn’t they were just fooling themselves. Most importantly, the viewing/listening audience knew it.
If you’re creating ads that have nothing to do with the audience’s GDP, then expect to those ads to fail.
Mike has hit the nail on the head. There has always been “a huge opportunity to create better content that has a higher likelihood of actually having an impact on the target audience.” Creating content with your target market’s GDP (Goals, Desires and Problems) in mind and you’re well on your way to creating an impact.
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