The role of advertising has been diverted by new experts

to media buying, sales promotion, computer speak, direct marketing but in essence they are mere

variations of the same basic three-card trick! With the advent of the PC all

sorts of marketing emerges, again devised by those same experts who did not

know what they were doing from the beginning. Moreover, the illusion becomes

self-reinforcing. Those involved in the process sitting behind their computer

screens, no longer control the beast they have created.

Advertising breeds more advertising and the only people who win, in fact the

only people who have ever won, are the media owners which is precisely why the

media owners desperately do not want the system to change! But the system

relies entirely, as do all Ponzi schemes, on two assumptions, 1) That

advertising works, and 2) the assumption of continued growth, hence its inherent

instability. Once that growth is threatened the whole edifice collapses.

Marketing...a very simple and devastatingly effective swindle, but largely

invisible because it has become so deeply embedded in our culture. The

consequences of that swindle, the desperate need for economic growth together

with the environmental and cultural despoliation it engenders require some

radical thinking that one encounters nowhere in any of our Business Schools...or

elsewhere for that matter!

OK, so some people have question my assumption (?) that advertising doesn't

work, fortunately there is enough evidence supporting my claims and I will

commence to detail that evidence in future articles.For example:June 2005

issue of Harvard Business Review reporting on the effectiveness of 500 various

consumer and B2B marketing programs: 84% resulted in less market share, not

more Most customer acquisition efforts did not break even Fewer than 10% of

new products succeeded Most sales promotions were unprofitable Advertising

ROI was below 4% Doubling advertising expenditures for established products

increased sales just 1% - 2%

　

Wake Up Marketing - Face the 21st Century


　

　

　

Your innovation-averse culture must go!

Marketing and advertising are on the slide. When will these once great

businesses confront reality and fight back? Because at the moment both

Advertising and Marketing have become innovation-averse cultures! Both

professions are risk-averse, innovation-averse and antipathetic to new

ideas.

Worse than that they are totally lacking in accountability because those

given responsibility do not have the requisite authority and knowledge to

discharge it.

So what's behind the decline and fall? Most certainly a sclerotic marketing

system that doesn't have the power to re-examine the need for massive

re-evaluation of the process of advertising and marketing. It's antiquated,

early 19th Century concepts do not work, (if they ever did!) they still do not

have any true accountability.

It may be that the future scholar identifies Advertising's sclerotic, twisted

concepts of communication as the biggest business weakness of all.Simply put.

An early 19th century concept cobbled together by a small number of

opportunistic men cannot properly function for the Western world at the

beginning of the 21st century. The current system of Advertising &

Marketing is an anachronism.

Among business people cynicism about advertising ability to deliver grow, now

with the advent of the Internet, this can only increase this cynicism.

The twin challenges to advertisings' 60-year old hegemony are enormous. The

first is a total misunderstanding of the word "communication" and a misplaced

belief that "creativity" is the sole criteria for the success or otherwise of

advertisings ability to sell products and services. Secondly there is a broad

global trend towards the internet together with the frightening inability of

advertising to be totally accountable, in the case of the latter just how long

can this stupidity last? Just when does Marketing dare to balance the

budget?

It could well be that the future business scholar will identify marketings

sclerotic, twisted business decision-making system as the biggest weakness of

all. Put simply an early 19th century business concept cobbled together by a

small number of business men cannot properly function for the West as the

number one business method for the 21st century. To-day it can be said that

Advertising and Marketing are an anachronism which is why so many articles

abound as to the way advertising is going. Nowadays some senior executives call

trust the scarcest resource of all and marketing enhances such an attitude!

It has been said that Marketers are stuck in a world between the old rules

and the new rules. To deal with the new rules of changing media, technology and

consumer behaviour, many marketers delegate emerging marketing solutions to a

handful of external partners or internal 'experts'. In doing so, they have

enabled the rest of the organisation to behave much like it did ten years ago,

clinging to the old rules!

Your customers are sick to death of being treated as mere abstract numbers

.

Advertising has dehumanised and depersonalised the whole

process of communication, there just never was a mass market! They are

also sick to death at the rampant corporate dishonesty all around them, again

more evidence of Management being totally unaware of the real world and the

communication process. Evidence of their ability to dehumanise and depersonalise

the process of marketing. It would appear that customers cannot trust

anything or anybody these days. There was a time, for example, when we trusted

our banks to look after our best interests and play fair with their charges. If

so these days are long gone. The bond of trust has been broken, not only in

banking, and people are rightly suspicious. However Interactive Marketing Communication could be

 a positive start to resolving all theproblems facing advertising and marketing.

Interaction can be defined simply as straightforward communication between two

parties. Presently we are in danger of losing the real meaning of

interaction, as we tend to focus discussions on the emerging technologies and

neglect the communication process itself. With an understanding of the real

meaning of Interactive Communication, existing media can be made interactive,

and subsequently far more cost effective. Interactive Marketing

Communication turns passive advertising into active advertising and actually

alters behaviour during the communication and learning process.And all the advertising in the world

cannot help you solvethat problem!

 

Interaction and The Outdated Idea of Mass Marketing

Advertising together with Broadcast Media, finally bite the dust!

Because no longer is the Marketing message, "We want your money". To day the Marketing message has to be "We want your opinions".

Because the moment you put that into real practice you can have everything you've always wanted, sales, customer relationships and also Brand loyalty.

However replacing research with interaction changes all the opportunities to successful marketing. "Yes", you can say," "Interactive Events will create my new products"

However at the moment Big Business is not making the correct decisions regarding interaction. Maybe some people within these organisations know and understand what's happening out there in consumer land. But the dreadful fact is that giving their voice to such statements would, more probably, seriously damage their career growth!

These days I search everywhere for the headline "Interactive Communication is a winning combination for all…The Client…The Media…and last but by no means least…your customer"!

It never appears.

Interactive Communication finally allows the revolution to commence. The revolution against one-size fits all advertising; the bland all-knowing corporate voice, the lack lustre politicians busily furnishing their own nests…from our money.

The fact of the matter is your customers, you, me and everybody else, do not trust business. We find it highly insulting to be treated this way and we mistrust you in numbers far greater than you or your advertising/marketing people allow for.

Dialogue, two-way conversations, would start to change these hostile attitudes. You really do need to commence interactive events - right now. And you can do so in existing media.

Before I go on, I must emphasise that on no account let your Advertising Agency tempt you into spending big bucks on the Web. Already the Advertising-as-Usual crowd is pouring billions into the Web, however be warned, as they said in the "Cluetrain Manifesto", "So you advertise on the Internet…so what"? If you think you are wasting money on Advertising-as-Usual be very careful. The Internet, possibly is a bigger waste of money than Advertising-as-Usual, and, as we all know, right now that is one Mother of a huge waste of money!

"Why?" you may ask "has it all changed from the safe secure way of marketing in the past".

Simply put, Advertising-as-Usual, together with its handmaiden Broadcasting-as-Usual have treated us with too much contempt. According to a recent article in the Times, TV executives commonly think of viewers' phone revenue as "moron tax". And this attitude of utter contempt pervades the executives of advertising and Broadcast-as-Usual, and expresses itself in all the offerings of a rip-off culture, from government to TV companies.

And bear in mind that Advertising-as-Usual and Broadcast-as-Usual hold Clients in great contempt as well. They rejoice in removing large chunks of your Marketing Budgets, to then waste them in rip-off ventures that only worsen the publics' contempt for you…so in effect they are spending your money to get you into a ever worsening situation.

　

The current advertising market is in meltdown...



　

The advertising boom of yesteryear will forever be associated with the credit boom. Just as the values of that economic system are now discredited, so to will be the values of the marketing and advertising boom that went with it.

... with audiences disappearing, TV rates plummeting and clients cutting already slender budgets. Perhaps we should be rejoicing that the days of hype and excess are finally over.
The advertising boom of yesteryear will forever be associated with the credit boom. Just as the values of that economic system are now discredited, so to will be the values of the marketing and advertising boom that went with it.
In the future we will no longer have high regard of advertising/marketing that is mass-produced. We will be amazed that Clients, like Guinness, will have paid 15 million pounds for the production of a TV commercial.
Marketing is everything a company does to acquire customers and maintain a relationship with them. Even the small tasks like writing thank-you letters, playing golf with a prospective client, returning calls promptly and meeting with a past client for coffee can be thought of as marketing.
The all-embracing concept of marketing has been lost on a lot of companies, resulting in a poisoning of the well, a deeply ingrained lack of trust that, now has become an enormous obstacle to overcome:
Marketers have spammed, lied, deceived, cluttered and ripped us off for so long, we’re sick of it.
Which means that even if you have a really good reason, no, you can’t call me on the phone. Which means that even if it’s really important, no, I’m not going to read the instructions. Which means that god forbid you try to email me something I didn’t ask for… you’re trashed. It’s so fashionable to be sceptical now that no one believes you if you attempt to do something for the right reasons.
Like all those packaged-up bundles of bad debt, contemporary advertising had no fundamental value. It was misplaced faith in future economic growth that drove up the values of 30-second TV commercials!
The Clients spent so much money on advertising because they believed that they were living in the best of times and that it was all just a one way street - upwards! We all now know all this wasn't true.
In the years to come this advertising will be seen as the ultimate symbol of the economic fairyland we have been living through in the past five years, an era in which the world lost touch with its sense of value. These were not masterpieces of advertising

, they were the icons of idiocy.

Customers said they would feel closer to your brand...

...if you listened to their opinions and responded to questions or comments.

Yours brands should throw out ideas or topics amongst customers in which

they can start their own discussions, which don't necessarily have to be about

your brand, and could involve negative comments.

Negative comments need to be answered, not ignored, and

comments kept up, not removed, as an exercise in transparency. Your

conversation with consumers has to be of interest to them, such as giving them

something to engage with, rather than directly asking for feedback on a project.

Your brand, by listening to friends or fans points of view and concerns,

and accepting criticism while giving users honest information, allows a deeper

relationship to be formed, thus increasing brand loyalty, and especially

increasing sales Further findings reveal that social network users become

largely irritated and tend to ignore promotions from brands and a

majority of users would not remain a fan, or friend of a brand, that regularly

sent them promotions.

Showing the results of just one exposure to an interactive "Event" against the reach and frequency model of traditional advertiing.



Client: Reckitt & Colman.

Brand: Setamol 500

Category: Analgesic.

Research: AGB

"Findings from this Post Event Survey shows impressive increases in scores for those who saw the Event in comparison for those who did not. Results are consistently superior in all three key market measures: Prompted-Brand-Awareness +92.6%, Past-Four-Week-Purchase +47% and Definitely-Will-Buy +47%.

　

　

Client: Warner Lambert.

Brand: Listerine.

Product Category: Mouthwash

Research: Market Intelligence Corporation.

　

"Gains in all key measurements were recorded among consumers exposed to the newspaper interactive event, versus those not exposed. These gains were: Unaided Awareness 39%, Aided 11%, Past-Four-Week-Purchase 55% and Next-Purchase 97%. This translates in total market gain of 8% for Unaided-Awareness; 2% gain in Aided-Awareness; 11% increase in Past-Four-Weeks-Purchase and 19% in Brand-Next-Purchase."

　

　

Client: Warner Lambert.

Brand: Listerine.

In-Store Sampling Programme.

Research: Market Intelligence Corporation.

Research Protocol: Interactive Sampling was conducted in 6 stores with other 6 matched stores used as a control group where sampling was conducted without the interactive elements. Additionally, other stores that had no sampling programme at all were monitored. Purchase behaviour was monitored for three months. Actual inventory and cases sold were monitored.

"For the month of November (time of sampling and commencement of survey) an increase of 129% in actual purchase was obtained in those stores where the interactive sampling programme took place versus those (control) stores where the interactive sampling did not take place.

The average for the three month programme, November, December, January was a gain of 36% in purchase, versus those stores where the interactive programme was not held."

　

Client: Nestle.

Brand: Nescafe Excella Coffee.

Product: Instant Coffee.

Research: Market Intelligence Corporation.

"Substantial gains in all key measurements were recorded among those readers who were exposed to the interactive event versus those who were not. Unaided Awareness of the brand increased 19%; Aided-Awareness increased 10%; Past-Four-Week-Purchase increased 33% and Brand-Next-Likely increased 31%. In the total market these increases translated to a 4% increase in Unaided-Awareness; 2% increase in Aided-Awareness; 8% increase in Past-Four-Week Purchase and 8% increase in Future Purchase-Intent.

Follow-up programme in same publications seven months after above programme.

As a result of the feedback from the above programme, the creative was strengthened to focus on a secondary feature of the above. OpinionGram responses from this programme event suggested this repositioning.

"Increases in all key measurements were recorded: Unaided-Awareness + 60%; Aided-Awareness +8%; Past-Four-Week-Purchase +70% and Next-Brand-Purchase +54%.

The effect on the total market among those exposed versus not exposed was in the magnitude of: Unaided-Awareness +12%; Aided-Awareness +2%; Past-Four-Week-Purchase +15% and Brand-Will-Buy-Next =11%."

The business of advertising is particularly rife with delusions

We think we know how advertising works. We think we know what will motivate people and what

will not. And yet, every day we unconsciously filter out compelling evidence

that what we think we know is terribly flawed. After months of "research"

and "testing" we create TV spots that have no effect. After hundreds of thousand

of dollars in development we launch websites and online campaigns that no one

ever sees. And yet we continue. We go into new business presentations and

make bold, cocksure statements about our own particular brand of delusional

advertising philosophy. And we never have the guts or self-assurance to tell the

truth -- that all our posturing is just an estimate of likelihoods and a

speculation on probabilities. Part of it is our fault. We are not

willfully deceitful. We just find it very hard to admit that we are devoting so

much of our energy and our soul to something about which we really understand so

little. Part of it is the environment. Our clients want results. They

don't want to hear that they are spending millions of dollars on likelihoods and

probabilities. Advertising is chock full of contingencies and unintended

effects. There are a multitude of critical steps in the development of strategy,

creative concepts, media plans, and spending alternatives. None of which assures

success. Every one of which can foreshadow failure. Something as routine

as the casting of a photo shoot or TV spot can have an enormous effect on the

success or failure of a campaign. And that is just one of a thousand equally

weighty variables. We cannot possibly assess all the variables in a methodical

way. So we fall back on our prejudices and our mathematical models of how

advertising works. In other words, we call forth our delusions. The

workings of the real world are impossibly complex and messy. And in advertising,

as in every other human endeavor, we "prefer to turn a blind eye to reality's

messiness."

What has emerged from the data available,

was clear evidence of the lack of credibility or engagement that most brands

can expect from their forays into social media.

A spokesman for TNS said "Many brands have recognised the vast potential

audiences available to them on social networks; however, they are failing to

understand that these spaces belong to the consumer and brand presence needs

to be proportionate and justified."

However when you use Interactive Marketing Communication you get total engagement and total credibility. Seeking more information on Interactive

MarketingCommunication?...contact Paul Ashby on (UK) 01934 620047 or

paulashby40@yahoo.com

Failure Of Web Advertising...

We're about 15 years into the internet revolution as a mainstream phenomenon

and by any measure internet advertising has to be deemed a major failure.

While the web itself has been a massive success (influencing virtually every

aspect of our lives) advertising on the web is mostly a bad joke.

Fifteen years into its mainstream life, television had created scores of

powerful consumer-facing brands.The only truly powerful brands I can

think of that web advertising has created are native web brands like Google,

Yahoo, Amazon and Facebook. It's as if the only brands television was good at

creating were CBS, NBC and ABC.After 15 years, can anyone name even

ten serious non-native consumer-facing brands that have been created

primarily by web advertising? Is there a brand of coffee, butter, beer, bread,

chicken, gasoline, soda, peanut butter, dog food, milk, tires, potato chips,

life insurance, lawn mowers...don't make me go on, you get the point...that has

been built primarily by web advertising? Display advertising is a joke.

Remember just a few years ago when they were selling us banner ads on the

promise that "interactivity" would make these ads so much more efficient than

traditional ads? Then they started measuring them and found that fewer than 2

people in a thousand were clicking. Oops.Now they're making the same

lame "branding" argument for online display ads they made against

traditional print ads. However armed with the proper understanding of the meaning of interaction,

properly executed, the web can be made to achieve everthing you have ever wanted

The internet has changed the way the world does business.

 Let’s face it. The Yellow Pages are nearly dead. Newspaper readership is at the lowest level ever. Radio is being edged out by MP3’s and satellite radio services. Television is fragmented, making it nearly impossible to reach your target market effectively and affordable. More people spend time using the internet, especially social media vehicles than all of the other media vehicles…combined!

 More than 30 Million businesses in the US alone that are using social media to market and grow their business. In 2011, more than $2.5 BILLION will be spent in social media advertising alone.

If you’re like most small and mid-sized businesses, you are at a disadvantage because:

1. You don’t understand how social media marketing works.

2. You don’t know how to make social media work for your business.

3. You don’t have the time or the staff to manage your social media marketing

The Effective Accountable Communication Company has the experience and the diverse range of service offerings to successfully serve local companies of all sizes via social media marketing, online content development and public relations. This combination of valuable services is helping companies to generate more attention and new business through social media. As social media managers, we help people promote themselves and their business through social media vehicles like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. The results are immediate and always measurable.  most small and mid-sized businesses cannot afford to add a new employee to manage social media marketing.  Outsource your social media marketing to Effective Accountable Communication Company for a fraction of the cost of a traditional employee. We’ll create and manage your social media marketing, which will increase your web site traffic, generating recognition and potential new business. Social Media Management packages are available from £100 to £2,500 per month. http://shoppers-voice.co.uk or call Paul Ashby on (0044)01934620047.  
Visit http://interactivetelevisionorinteractivetv.blogspot.com

Banner ads fail

Part of the challenge is that a thoughtful brand insertion into a highly personalized conversation on a social network runs into a scaling problem. Banner ads, by contrast, scale very easily, but they are proving to be thoroughly ineffective, Research figures estimate the clickthrough rate on banner ads placed on social networks at about 0.04 percent.

The new, two-way medium that the social networks have become demands a new approach to advertising.
You can't just put up a big banner that says Click me. Banner ads fail because social network users are accustomed to seeing them, and ignoring them has become a reflex.
Use Shopper's Voice and solve all your Social Media problems.
Contact: paulashby40@yahoo.com or http://shoppers-voice.co.uk

The Internet is just a means of communication,

The Internet is just a means of communication, like television, radio or newspapers.
The key feature of web.2.0 that is currently driving change is its intense focus on the individual.
But the 21st century is in danger of being the first era in history to value mass, mediocrity and water-cooler chitchat over individual geniuses, expertise, courage and leadership.

Contact: paulashby40@yahoo.com or http://shoppers-voice.co.uk

Interactive Communication exists to communicate clearly

an advertising message, using existing media, to an open, focused and receptive mind based upon the principle that it is not what you say, but how your consumer interacts with what you say that primarily determines how successfully the message gets across.

The changes in consumer perception and purchase behaviour produced by this form of communication are traditionally associated only with extensive advertising campaigns involving high levels of frequency and the inherent inefficiencies that result from such efforts.



Also, please visit:http://interactivetelevisionorinteractivetv.blogspot.com or contact Paul Ashby on paul.ashby@yahoo.com