This landed in my inbox the other day from Ben D – have a read it’s truly brilliant. It also serves as a big reminder to us all that for all the internal dynamics in marketing and advertising that encourage engagement, UGC, mash-ups (what ever buzzword you want to attach to it) the original goal was to put people (consumers) first. Put simply, we need to understand them and give a sh*t before we start coming up with ideas that make brands feel like they are doing the right thing..
I think this originally may have been discovered by PSFK, so hats off there too
This is a great point. Far too often this industry puts forward ideas that include interactivity for interactivity’s sake or that approach comms with a checklist:
1. Crowdsourcing? Check.
2. Social engagement? Check.
without considering who our consumers are and what they enjoy. Everyday. In the real world (note: the real world isn’t “us” Eastern Suburbs hipsters vs “them” bogans in the West).
Worse still is when we get blinded by the shine of awards and industry PR and throw the consumer out the window altogether.
At the same time though, advertising is not just 30″ TVCs anymore. Advertising impacts almost every aspect of our lives in ways most people would never fathom and is not as cut and dry as “If you’d like to tell me what’s good about your product, fine I may buy it. I may not.” I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a bit of creativity in getting our messages across, we just need to remember who we’re talking to and make sure we’re being realistic.