Some introductory set-up content
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang I sometimes think this is the way traditional marketers view their audience. If I was seen in that light I'd also take that final route!
When we see traditional TV advertising and look at some of the advertising methods that are still used in today's world, it makes you think what the hell are marketers doing? Better yet, what are sales people thinking? Why are reps even providing such rubbish for marketers to buy? Yes, they want to make budget, but shouldn't they answer the consumer's need, not the media buyer's? If more consumers are interested, traffic will increase and naturally brands/products/marketers will come flocking.
It just makes me wonder how
people (sellers) view other
people (buyers) when we're all just
people! Shouldn't there be some respect? You could even forget respect, just remember it is the consumer who has the $.
And it all comes down to....
BENEFIT
In the diagram there is our little person/consumer. He is into consumerism, he likes having
things. He likes to buy products which allow his individual life to function. This is the
product element of the cycle. An individual buys in to a product, and this is where actual money changes hands.
However, people today expect more from a product than simply the product they’ve bought into. They expect
utility. This is that added service, engagement, interaction which does not depend on money changing hands. The most important part of the utility is that the consumer gets an added value and a benefit from this interaction, regardless of whether they’ve already bought into the product or they’re a prospective customer.
The important part of the Utility component from an Advertiser’s perspective is this now forms part of their ad budget. New media and new marketing means reaching out to consumers in ways that really do mean one-to-one and really create an impact on a person. Furthermore, the custodians of a product (the staff) should be able to interact with people who actually buy into that product.
Messages and messaging just don’t cut it anymore. Advertising needs to be about creating experiences and increasing value in people's lives.
And I'm not talking airy fairy stuff. I don't buy that brand fluff. I'm talking actual user experiences where either a tangible or 'feel good' value is the takeaway from the experience.
So a product purchase may initiate utility usage and involvement. Or utility involvement may initiate purchase. Where that utility is placed in the world is extremely important. The real/virtual world combinations of media as drivers to or from each other ensure marketers reach eyeballs in the right places. And that's where those little arms in the cycle work. That's how you drive audience.
Driving audience, the next piece of the puzzle. That’s where the struggle is. Getting through the fragmentation and finding audience to impact usage and create sales.
BUT, If you want that part, you're going to have to pay me!
