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By Jeff Kear
When 60 percent of consumers have a much more negative opinion of marketing and advertising than they did just a few years ago and are willing to lower their standard of living to exist in a society without marketing or advertising (as a recent study reveals), something is fundamentally wrong.
In fact, it's so wrong that even an advertising and design junkie like me is about to commit hari-kari if I get one more spam e-mail touting "cheap Viagra" or have to endure one more "Big Blowout Sale" TV spot from the local buy-a-reck dealership.
So let's examine the root causes of why, seemingly all of a sudden, there is so much irritating marketing and advertising out there and why people are starting to tune it all out. (Later we will cover ways you can bypass all the noise and still find consumers who are willing to listen and respond to your message.)
Issue #1 - Why the recent inundation of marketing and advertising?
This may be simplifying it a bit, but based on personal experience, the recession and sluggish economic recovery have sent companies on a rampage for revenues, and hence customers. Desperation isn't quite the right word, but after sitting through a few years of flat revenue growth, many companies are becoming anxious that if they don't do something soon, their competitors will. This has prompted companies to get up off the mat and become much more aggressive in pursuing new customers.
This aggressiveness has translated to much more direct messaging ("BUY NOW!!!" instead of "Sit back and admire our brand and its benefits"), a willingness to forge into uncharted - and often unwelcome - territory (more advanced forms of Internet and e-mail advertising, advergaming, product placement in TV programming/movies/video games) and a desire to hit customers numerous times in many mediums.
The problem here is that, the more messages consumers receive, the more customers resist them, which means the marketer/advertiser has to reach them with even more ads, mailers, e-mails and so on to achieve an effective saturation level (translation: hit them as many times as it takes to get the message through). It's a vicious cycle and one that probably won't cease anytime soon.
Which brings us to our next issue...
Issue #2 - Why are consumers actively avoiding marketing and advertising?
You're probably saying, "Duh. You just told me why." However, to answer this question properly, we need to probe a bit deeper, so bear with me a minute.
If every piece of marketing and every ad carried a message appropriate for each consumer, and if those pieces and ads were delivered to the right person, in the right way, at the right time, then we might not be so sick of being marketed to, right?
Herein lie the two main problems of many current campaigns:
* Poor audience targeting
* Bad creative content (including imagery and messaging)
These certainly aren't new problems, but they definitely become more acute as many companies continue to place emphasis on quantity over quality and precision.
As a case in point, let's go back to those Viagra e-mails that arrive in my in-box every morning. (I know this is an extreme example, but this trend also seems to be one of extremes.)
First of all, if these companies were even remotely interested in effectively reaching qualified prospects, they wouldn't be sending this e-mail to me, a 36-year old male who is 20 years younger than their ideal demographic.
And, even if they were trying to market Viagra to me (which I've heard is the secret plan of some pharmaceutical companies - to eventually market these drugs as "lifestyle" drugs to all ages) and if I were in need of such a drug, I would certainly be put off by their use of:
* Brazen messaging, which ranges from insulting ("Feel like less of a man because of erectile dysfunction?") to medically questionable ("You can mix Cialis with alcohol without any harm")
* Shoddy creative, which often comes in the form of ridiculous pictures of scantily clad men and women rolling on a beach (what dolt actually thinks this garbage still works, if it ever did?)
These companies are willing to accept imprecision in their campaign - imprecise targeting and imprecise, sloppy creative - and rely on sheer numbers alone to drive sales. This may work for them in the short run, but down the road this approach will make consumers less likely to respond to their or any other campaigns, which makes it worse for all of us, and especially those of us trying to do things the right way.
So where can you find an audience that, despite all this racket, is still receptive to your marketing? Click here for an article on attracting the ideal audience ... your own customers.About the Author
Jeff Kear is a principal at Kear|Stevens, an integrated marketing communications firm in Denver, CO. During his career in marketing and advertising, Jeff has created revenue-generating marketing communications for nationally recognized brands such as Budget, MetLife, Moosehead Beer, Qwest and Toyota. Before his work at Kear|Stevens, Jeff served as a senior-level creative at a few well-respected Denver ad agencies as well as a marketing and communications specialist for a Fortune 500 company.
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