Tag Archives: retail. shopping

More Truth in Advertising

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There is a strong belief out there that the interruption-disruption model in advertising is dying out, thanks to shifting consumer trends in behavior and technology. Because shoppers and consumers are increasingly in control of their media content they can and do simply skip those ads they don’t want to see. Social media has further altered the landscape – people are now creating their own content be it in the form of a testimonial, a simple tweet or a video homage. But it’s important to remember that the interruption-disruption model is not a product of a post-industrial world.  It dates to the earliest civilizations, with merchants calling out to passersby the quality of their goods. Something to keep in mind.

Thus the story goes that marketers and advertisers who want to maintain a meaningful level of engage will need to completely rethink what it is they do. They will need to turn advertising into content.  Not only products and brands need to be sold, so will the means by which we promote them. Advertising will need to be so compelling that people seek it out, promote it and help create it. The new ad model is about creating great content and finding ways to make it part of the larger social and cultural dialogs.

But how true is this model? Is there a fundamental shift that is so dramatic that the old way of doing things no longer has a place? Forgive me, but I’ve heard similar things before – the TV would cease to exist by the year 2000; the invention of Internet would democratize the world and open-source would change the nature of capitalism. When CP+B declared that the model had changed by saying that the “big idea is boss,” they were simply repackaging the big idea. Yes, consumers have gained more control through social media, DVRs, Hulu, etc. They will no doubt continue to change the landscape. But only to a point.

The truth be told, I don’t believe the notion that consumers are or ever will be totally in control of the ads they are exposed to any more than I believe that war will cease to exist because of Twitter. Magazines, online and off, will not stop printing ads.  TV advertisers will not do away with the 30-sceond spot for product placement exclusively.  Not every campaign will need to be guerilla marketing. Yes, the technology changes and the techniques we use to promote on brand over another, but there is no reason to assume the old model will simply vanish.

Again, the interruption-disruption model is not new and though it will change, it isn’t going to vanish.  Advertising is about capturing attention.  It is and always has been about telling a story and getting people to stop, look and listen. Add to that a simple fact that the technology wonks out there seem to overlook: people simply don’t care. They don’t want to exert much energy or time learning about the range of products available to them or the hundreds of outlets in which to buy them.  People are lazy about most things.  They have better things to do with their time than spend 4 hours on CNET.  Yes, there are those that do, but they simple do not make up the majority.

In addition to basic disinterest, people love (and respond to) advertising far more than they’ll ever admit. We are trained to say we dislike advertising, but is it true?  It’s a sociolinguistic construct, just as asking a person how they are doing (something that in truth we don’t much really care about). The fact is that the old model will be modified, but it certainly won’t die.

Culture and App Development

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The explosive growth of mobile-phone ownership in the developing world is partly the result of a vibrant recycling, the arrival of cheap phones and a general increase in per capita income. It is also growing rapidly because of the efforts of forward-thinking retailers. However, simply creating an app isn’t necessarily useful.  We still need to consider context.  People are mobile, not just the devices,  which means complications arise in aligning what we want to do or can do with the technology vs. what is actually going on when shopping.  People shop because they need products, but they also shop because it is entertaining, solidifies cultural norms, etc.  Because of that, there a host of pitfalls that can emerge when mobile shopping apps are simply thrown out there because of a perceived need on the part of retailers to have a mobile presence.  That being said, mobile connectivity is the reality of the global market and it will continue to change things in remarkable ways.

Take India. Only 7% of the population regularly access the internet from a PC. But brutal price wars mean that 507 million Indians own mobile phones. That’s 507 million people who see your products and retail setting as potential status brands. How can mobile factor into this?  How should mobile factor into this?  Under what conditions are people shopping and why is it so?

In other developing countries, too, there are many more mobile phones than traditional internet connections. There are 610 million internet users in Brazil, Russia, India, China and Indonesia, but 1.8 billion mobile-phone connections. And each of these economic giants has different expectations about language, product status and shopping. Getting your mobile strategy right can mean millions. Both in terms of profit and in terms of failure.

Remember also that this is about more than the technology, it’s about behavior.  There was a time that breaking out your cell phone in a public space was considered rude. Today it is perfectly normal.  Similarly, while people may not break out their iPad or tablet in a store today, it will happen soon enough.  Be prepared for changing behavior and how those changes will change how, where and when people will use their devices.

In order for the mobile phone to reach its full potential, we’re going to need to understand what people really need from their mobile devices.  And we will need to understand why.