The Future Of Advertising

Dyer (2009) defines the characteristic of communication as "its diversity - it ranges from the mass media and pop-culture, through language to individual and social behaviour". Advertisements influence our thoughts, feelings and lives. 

Advertising is all about increasing awareness. It enables a company to promote the products or services they offer and can create or enhance a brand. There are many ways to go about advertising as seen in previous posts regarding the elements of controversy as well as using comedy. The important aspect about advertising is to have a clear objective and target audience and know how the effectiveness will be measured.

There are many different methods of advertising available and many platforms on which to display these adverts. With technological advances come more platforms and marketers are able to produce augmented reality style advertisements to really engage with young people and the constant use of smartphones. Among this there is also the ability to target advertising using social media sites and the progression of the internet. 

Progressions in technology allow targeting in real life also. As seen on the AdWeek website below is an image of a Spanish advert raising awareness for the prevention of child abuse using Lenticular printing. This enables the advert to reach children under the age of ten (providing they're at or below the average height) to see the important elements and message and not adults (designed to not be seen by potential abusers walking along with the child). 

Advertising creates a need within a person to buy into the product or service advertised and is able to persuade a purchasing opportunity. Not only this but advertising can play a role in developing new cultures. This is commonly done when involving celebrity endorsements but even those that claim to hate advertisements and "trends" become a trend and culture of their own who are STILL influenced by the power of media. Evident in the circulation of the images below.

Unfortunately for advertisers everywhere the world has woken up and consumers know when they're being sold to and indeed when they're being lied to. Sue Unerman's book "Tell The Truth" outlines the importance of being honest when it comes to advertising. This creates a trust between the brand and the consumer. 

The advert above is a perfect mixture of honesty and comedy. They're not attacking a particular set of people but poking fun at the "bad skin" situation and the outcomes of  it. It's so brutal and honest it's hilarious. 

Using advertising as a marketing communications vehicle is still relevant but it is very important for agencies to realise how smart consumers are and how a little bit of honesty can actually work wonders for a brand. It is important for marketers to keep up-to-date to ensure they're targeting the right consumers and used as a form of information as well as entertainment rather than "buy this now".

Skills needed by advertisers currently I believe generally revolve around the digital world. Generation Y and the generation below consume media twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. This is the perfect place to display and run advertisements as our subconscious will pick them up even if we don't actively look and respond to them. We're surrounded by marketing daily so adverts have to have something that will make us sit up, put down our iPhones and actually pay attention. 

We as consumers are aware of advertising and that if we buy that dress we're not going to look like Heidi Klum but we're all still susceptible to it - it's the skill of being subtle enough that really takes advertising further. 

I believe it should be looked at as an integrated plan. It's no good putting an advert on the TV and leaving out social media. It's also no good not considering the digital route given that it's so inexpensive and the majority of people no longer consume TV through traditional methods but through on-demand watching, streaming or unfortunately illegal downloads. 

The new persuasive selling techniques come from using persuasive voices. Using fashion and beauty bloggers with a voice to be heard as well as celebrities. I'm sure Rihanna's done more for Timbaland boots than any other form of advertising. Consumers who follow blogs will buy into whatever is being "sold" to them because they believe the online publisher to be telling the truth. 

I can never stress enough the importance of social media. It's incredibly inexpensive and can be adapted to any business needs. The use of social media and the affects of it were truly brought to light to me when completing my dissertation based around HOW it can be used in a business-to-business environment. Generation Y and below are fascinated and obsessed with social media and it is full of amazing opportunities for marketers - the most important one being the ability to highly target consumers. In addition to this there is the use of social media as a means of market research. How a user shapes their profile on these sites is usually the way they wish to be portrayed to an outsider - this can be used to advertise effectively to that person and build up a greater consumer profile. 

These elements are ever-changing as technology advances. Mobile advertising used to consist of push messages and SMS but now you get advertisements prior to the start of applications and pre-rolled YouTube adverts to ensure everyone is seeing your brand. As social media progresses along with privacy laws there will be changes and the same applies to the use of bloggers and celebrities. 

As mentioned previously, these different platforms of promotion are always subject to change and what's hot now may not necessarily be hot in a week's time. 

What can be said, however, is that advertising will always play a role in communication. Whether it is controversial, informational or comedic it is always going to be the best way to really push information out there. 

Since my first day at university three years ago, a lot has changed and will continue to do so for the next three years. You just have to keep up-to-date to offer the best pitch and best marketing plan. 


All posts labelled with "CW3" are in relation to the final assignment. Particularly:

• Controversial Advertising 
• Stereotypes in Advertising
• Semiotics

But also relevant are:

• John Lewis Christmas 
• Power and Branding of Coca-Cola

References/Bibliography

Bodnar, Kipp & Cohen, Jeffrey. (2012). Chapter 2. In: - The B2B Social Media Book. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Dyer, Gillian (2009). Advertising As Communication. UK: Taylor & Francis.  

Funk, Tom (2012). Advanced Social Media Marketing: How to lead, launch and manage a successful social media program. New York: Apress. 123.

Jobber, David, 2010, Principles and Practice of Marketing (6^th Edition), Berkshire, McGraw-Hill Education, page 19.

Jones, Calvin & Ryan, Damien, 2012, Understanding Digital Marketing: Marketing Strategies for Engaging the Digital Generation, (2^nd Edition), London, Koran Page Limited.

McStay, Andrew, 2010, Digital Marketing, Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 61-65.

Smith, PR & Jonathon Taylor, 2006, Marketing Communications: An Integrated Approach, (4^th Edition), London, Koran Page Limited, page 620.