We love advertising. We do. We love it. We love it more than Kanye loves Kanye, more than Olivia Newton John honestly loves you, more than Whitney will always love you. There’s just one problem. Sometimes we think we might be the only ones. You see, marketing agencies live and breathe advertisements, but it’s becoming more and more simple for consumers to avoid them if they want to.
It started with DVR. Don’t want to watch commercials? Just skip over them. Then, there were ad-blockers. The internet was suddenly ad free. Now you can pay extra on services such as Hulu or YouTube Red to avoid watching commercials and advertisements as you stream entertainment. You can cut the cord and use streaming apps and devices like Roku to watch TV without really watching TV.
Part of us thinks that all of this is great. For decades the job of marketing agencies has been to help consumers get what they want. But we can’t break up with advertising. We love it. We want consumers to love it too.
How do you help a consumer fall in love with advertising? Make it relevant to them. The days of tossing a catchy jingle out into the open air and hoping for the best are over. Most consumers will never even hear the jingle.
Today, marketing agencies have to work together with brands to produce advertising that is less display and more distribution. Advertisements must become something consumers don’t want to live without. What will your advertisement teach consumers? What information will it provide that they absolutely need to know? Will it make their lives better? Will it make them feel something — nostalgia, pride or… love?
When in doubt, think Super Bowl. Super Bowl commercials are probably some of the last advertisements consumers actively seek after. Why? Because they inform them, teach them and make them feel something. For 30 seconds, they make consumers love advertising too. Don’t break up with advertising. Just make it better.
