Shift Happens

Selling products is about advocating the best aspects of that product. “This product is the product you need because... it gets the job done twice as fast. It’s better looking than the rest. It now has even more functions. Improved formula. New handy bottle. Etcetera.” But since the internet came into the equasion, consumers started to do research on products, and discovered not only the pros of products, but also the cons that weren’t mentioned in the adverts. When I'm looking to buy an mp3 player and advertising has notified me about a certain product, me doing research might actually point me in the direction of another product, just because it has better quality, better support or better features. Good advertising needs to be backed up by a good product.

This is the current reality. Marketers need to realise that they can’t fool consumers anymore like they used to be able to do in the past. Marketers need to be more honest about products, if they still want to be able to sell to a critical consumer who does its own research.

The number of people buying products for a brand image alone is starting to decline. One of the things we can recognize this behaviour in, is the decline in the return on investment that television commercials have ^[1]. They are used primarily to position a brand image, rather than to actually sell products and the number of products sold per person that watches a television ad is decreasing.

This is mainly because the bulk of advertising that a consumer sees on television isn’t meant for him or her.

Google has a vision for the future when it comes to advertising. They want to say 'If you just give us some money we will garantuee you a sale'. This is the goal. And Google is working towards that goal by increasing the relevance of their ads.

The ultimate ad finds you at a moment when you're in a mood to make a purchase and it will make you an offer you won't refuse. One offer, so relevant to your state of mind or your situation at that particular time, a sale is virtually garantueed.

The diffusion of innovation refers to the tendency of new products, practices, or ideas to spread among people. Usually, when new products or ideas come about, they are only adopted by a small group of people initially; later, many innovations spread to other people. The bell shaped curve frequently illustrates the rate of adoption of a new product. Cumulative adoptions are reflected by the S-shaped curve. The saturation point is the maximum proportion of consumers likely to adopt a product. In the case of refrigerators in the U.S., the saturation level is nearly one hundred percent of households; it well below that for video games that, even when spread out to a large part of the population, will be of interest to far from everyone.

Several specific product categories have case histories that illustrate important issues in adoption. ATM cards spread relatively quickly. Since the cards were used in public, others who did not yet hold the cards could see how convenient they were. Although some people were concerned about security, the convenience factors seemed to be a decisive factor in the "tug-of-war" for and against adoption.

The case of credit cards was a bit more complicated and involved a "chicken-and-egg" paradox ^[2]. Accepting credit cards was not a particularly attractive option for retailers until they were carried by a large enough number of consumers. Consumers, in contrast, were not particularly interested in cards that were not accepted by a large number of retailers. Thus, it was necessary to "jump start" the process, signing up large corporate accounts, under favorable terms, early in the cycle, after which the cards became worthwhile for retailers to accept.

So it's important to get the cycle started. We need to talk to the right consumers through the right media at the right time. When we were using Google, Google was also using us. The keywords we entered where cross-referenced with those out of the AdWords database. Also, which ad gets shown to you is depends on your location (determined by IP-address), ad-rating, the number of times you have been shown an ad in a specific category, the content of the website and demographics (data accumulated by forms filled in by you on websites), etc. ^[3] All this data makes up your Consumer Profile, which is used by advertisers to find the right consumer for their message.

Digital Television (DTV) is an advanced broadcasting technology that will transform your television viewing experience. DTV enables broadcasters to offer television with better picture and sound quality. It can also offer multiple programming choices, called multicasting, and interactive capabilities.
^{source: DTV.gov}

At this moment of writing in 2008, TV advertising still has a bigger return on investment when compared to online advertising. But that gap is narrowing as technologies to target ads get more and more sophisticated. But with television going completely digital (in the US in 2009) ^[4], more becomes possible for advertisers in terms of targeting consumers. When you hook a persons' Consumer Profile to their set-top box and content comes in using the internet through the set-top box, it is easy to match a consumers demographics and individual charactaristics and data that you have about him or her against the metadata in a database of ads, to show the consumer the most relevant ad. Content will be custom tailored to the customers' needs but so will advertisements.

The same principle can be applied to advertising on mobile devices such as phones, handheld consoles and portable media players. All it requires is a connection to the internet, paired with your Consumer Profile. There is even a lot more possible with mobile devices because the content is often relevant to a location. If you can track the consumers' location history like a browsing history on his or her computer, you can offer content relevant to that information. Let's say you're walking through a city that you are unfamiliar with and your Consumer Profile will show that you have an interest in books. What you might not know is that just two blocks ahead, a big bookstore has 50 % off on all books, which would be relevant information to you. Since the level of sophistication and precision in this type of information and technology increases, we're likely going to see the use of this marketing tactic increase in the years to come.

When content and interaction will find its way to other devices, so will advertising. Let's say that we've gotten to the point that you get the latest offers from the supermarket right to your fridge, which notifies you when a certain offers is relevant to you. When you're all out of milk, you might be interested in a new flavour of pineapple milk, if your Consumer Profile reveals to advertisers that you buy a pineapple every week and you're a regular consumer of milk. Add the ability to order right away with by just touching the 'order now' sign, and a purchase is easily made.

Advertising will find more outlets to spread its message and the relevance between the medium, the message and its targeted consumer will increase to create a better tailored message will an increased likelyhood of a sale. The release of new devices like the iPhone 3G and its predecessors will only increase this trend. Mobile advertising will be all about your needs, your wants, your brands. Brands want to become a much bigger part of your personal life.

The question of whether this is a good development is an important one. As we see brands trying to become part of our lives, it has its implications. Some good, some not so good. The issue of privacy, how much penetration would you allow brands to have in your personal life, arises. Brands will always want to know more about its consumers. Brands may create an easier, more valueble, custom-fit to my needs, hyper-targeted campaign to sell me their products, but we always need to remember that a brand still has a company behind it. And they have to make money.

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