Traditional Advertising is Now Broken

The traditional advertising vehicle is the 30-second television commercial. That traditional advertising is now broken. The proof is in all of the devices designed to allow the user to fast forward or skip the commercial. What does this mean to advertising? In response, where is marketing going?

While the TV commercial will still remain in place, more advertising dollars are going to alternative choices that capture the audience in a different setting. I have seen advertising in elevators, restrooms, kiosks, waiting rooms and large outdoor screens. Why these settings and locations?

When a person is on an elevator, there is little opportunity for human interaction. The person will be standing patiently, looking forward with nothing to attract their attention. This creates an ideal time to capture the person's attention with little interruption. That within itself is a successful formula for marketers.

When you can connect with a person when there is information scarcity, you have their captive attention. Since the person on the elevator is currently disengaged, the advertisement is not seen to be distasteful. Also, the elevator advertisement does not create any delays for the public. Therefore, this is a prime chance to capture an audience without the intrusion of traditional advertising.

You can start to think about all the times you are sitting idle: physician and dental office waiting room, stop lights, heavy traffic and congestion, bus stop, subway, checkout line and many more. It is these times that present an opportunity for a clever marketer. The new marketing is about where, when and how people will be receptive to your message without feeling you have intruded on their time.

The future of advertising is to deliver content to your audience on their terms and in their context. The one example that would serve to be different is entertainment. What I mean by this is that some people view commercial advertisements as entertainment. This takes on a totally different issue where the commercial packs enough punch and buzz that people will not fast forward through to the show. Can you think of the Budweiser frogs or funny scenes captured on YouTube.

Some of today's best advertising agencies no longer work in traditional advertising. They organize events, insert ads into video games, and produce videos to create grass root campaigns. Your new choices to captive an audience with commercials can be summarized as (1) interfacing with your target in the proper setting (i.e. elevator) or (2) adding value that takes the form of entertainment.