Since time immemorial, consumers have widely regarded advertising as a necessary evil they have to endure in order to get access to the media they want, be it newspapers, radio or television. And as advertising began its inexorable march online, a constellation of startups have tried using ever more sophisticated technology to try to make online ads more relevant, more interesting, more palatable. However, that same old attitude still continues to prevail.
Tellingly, in a 2008 consumer survey conducted by Razorfish (an online marketing agency), consumers declared that banner ads were their favorite advertising format for online video. That may seem a little odd, until you realize that banners, which are typically wrapped around the video-playing window, are the only ad format that can be easily ignored. All others – pre-rolls, mid-rolls, post-rolls and the various flavors of “bubble insertion” or product placement – directly disrupt the viewing experience.
I rather doubt that technology in and of itself will ever make consumers like ads, any more than painting elaborate flames on a car will make it go faster. Rather than trying to hatch new schemes to more efficiently cram ads down consumers’ throats, perhaps it may make more sense to create ads that they actually want to consume?
One example is Rick Steves’ Europe, a series of 30min “travel guides” frequently screened at prime time on US public television, and which I try hard to avoid due to its tendency to conjure fantasies of luxurious European vacations in my wife’s mind. What most people don’t know is that the show’s producers basically give it away for free to public television.
Now, while Rick is certainly passionate about traveling in Europe, he is no fool at business. He runs a veritable empire that spans guide books, travel DVDs, guided tours and even his own brand of luggage and travel accessories. The programs that he generously “donates” are essentially advertisements for his products & services, advertisements that attract hordes of eager viewers nationwide.
Another example is Reuven Cohen, a hyperkinetic entrepreneur who runs Enomaly, a cloud computing startup. Rather than blatantly promoting the magnificent merits of his company’s software, he chooses instead to contribute to cloud computing community – starting online groups & discussion boards, organizing a series of mini conferences and writing an industry-centric blog. As a result, he’s become one of the most visible individuals in the nascent cloud computing domain – which has brought more attention to Enomaly than would otherwise have ever been possible through any advertising campaign.
In short, I believe that the locus of advertising will gradually shift towards the creation of valuable and compelling content. There is, however, a relative dearth of professionals or companies that can provide such content creation services. Perhaps advertising agencies might evolve in this direction, or perhaps this may an opportunity for forward-thinking individuals?