Rapid. Dizzying. Unprecedented. Staggering. These are just some of the words people bat around when talking about the nature of the changing ad industry landscape.
Article upon article opine about how different things are today. We hear about how complex and challenging it is to reach audiences who are fragmented, mobile time-shifters.
All of this is true. No doubt. But reaching the targeted consumer is still advertising.
The basics of advertising remain the same: Define your target, develop a strong message and get that message to the target with the right balance of reach and frequency. Consider each.
The Target
Yes, today’s consumers are fragmented and fractured. We spend our time in front of multiple screens and technology is producing new platforms like wearables and phablets. (I love the new words…) But, at the same time, we have more information than ever on consumers. And we can reach them with pinpoint accuracy.
The Message
My 13 year old daughter taught herself how to edit on her iPhone. Not even an iPad! Don’t get me wrong, she probably won’t win a Cleo or an Addy. Yet. But, in the hands of creative experts, we can make more and more powerful messages to capture the attention of our ever scattered audience.
Media Selection
Demographic targeting. Geo-targeting. Behavioral-targeting. Block-by-block ad insertions. Un-skippable video. Programmatic. Automatic. Systematic. More than ever, we can reach the right target and eliminate waste. We can serve up ads with increased frequency to the right audience.
All of that said, the advertising industry isn’t simple. It’s nuanced and becoming more so every day.
This is precisely the value we bring to our clients. We are immersed in the technology. We are driving the leading edge of change. The stewardship we provide is more necessary today than ever. We can have the expertise, experience and tools to refine the targets, use creative technology and place the increasingly effective and efficient buy.
And so, when my colleagues at Gillespie start feeling frazzled about the latest…whatever…we just remind each other to keep calm. It’s advertising. And we know what we’re doing.