“The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers” – Sydney Harris (journalist)
John Hegarty, the creative founder of a global advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty, said in his recent article that “creativity has taken a back seat” in today’s advertising world. Companies rely more and more on data processing and other big data solutions often resulting in producing campaigns that target mass market only.
Hegarty says that: “Steve Jobs or James Dyson did not build brilliant companies by waiting for a set of algorithms to tell them what to do. They built those companies by backing their own beliefs, innovating with technology that changed the way we think and behave, and then communicating those beliefs through the use of broadcast and other media
Hegarty says that in order for persuasion to be effective it has to be daring. He explains, how the beer markets were stagnating because of non-persuasive communication. Instead, consumers flocked to craft-beer markets. The marginal players in the beer market had a unique product and local ties to create powerful narrative. While the big players were trying their best to emulate the communication strategy of their competitor, craft beer makers knew that push marketing would be certain death for the business.
Discussion:
The idea of “persuasive” advertising is almost mythical in today’s media landscape. Today, the consumers are used to see ads that are seen relevant and beneficial. Thus, companies are pouring funds on public opinion research and market demographics to understand what kind of messages are most beneficial for consumers. It doesn’t matter how daring your advertising campaign is, if your consumers don’t see it. Advertising is incredibly competitive, especially today, where every medium is saturated with adverts. Every conversion counts and that’s why companies are investing in big data solutions, to offer seamless cross-channel ad campaigns for the consumer. The notion of an ad is becoming even more blurry when looking at branded content which further increases the possibility for a company to become nimble and dynamic in today’s advertising market. Technology today makes it possible to produce truly cinematic content and messages that could be targeted to a very specific audience. More on how companies are influencing public opinion and the way we form our opinions can be found on the Facebook case study.
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