Traditional advertising is dead

The world is a strange place to be right now. The world of marketing seems to be even stranger. It seems that rationality has simply gone out the window when people panic in times of economic crisis. You see examples of companies that are doing the exact opposite of what they should be doing and are run by extremely smart people who hire other extremely talented people to team up, brainstorm, propose and ultimately decide on the best approach. However, there is so much garbage out there that it’s unbelievable.

Let’s talk marketing. The average person (as well as the very average marketer) may think that the best thing to do in times of crisis is to simply cut the advertising budget and channel the remaining funds into known and proven forms of media. Well, let’s break that thought down a bit.

* Times are tough and business is struggling

* OK, we’ll have to cut the budget

* Budgets have been cut, so we must be careful where we spend our money.

* Let’s spend it on what we did before (you mean the same thing that put you in this position in the first place, right?)

*That’s a great announcement! (goes well with its competitors on pages 3, 7, 9, 11, 17, 22 and 33. Well done).

*I’m not sure how the ad worked, but it looked good, didn’t it? The others are still doing it, so it must be working.

Does it seem a little clearer why budget cutting and safe spending just don’t work? You may need to cut back on your marketing budget, but that doesn’t mean you should stick to your usual, often fundamentally flawed ways. Remember that those usual ways are exactly what got you (being the advertiser, not specifically like you) in the first place! The only way out is to really differentiate yourself from the rest. Be different, act different and think different. Being no different is the exact reason people stop buying or trying your offer.

Another major issue here is that everyone is trying to target the masses with the key defining characteristic that unites this group being that they are simply indifferent, but at the same time they represent the majority of the buying population. They don’t care if their ad looks good or how a guy who could never be wears his new football boot. You must remember that times are difficult for the masses, the economic and financial crisis is hitting the masses hard, the very masses you are addressing.

So now tell me the reasoning behind this marketing approach. You are targeting people who really don’t care and don’t have the money to go out and buy your product. How much money do you want to waste? How many ads do you need to print and display before you realize it just doesn’t work?

When the going gets tough, those products that stand above the rest, those that are surprising and extraordinary will prevail. Why? Because these do not interest and are not desired by the masses. The property market in the UK, US and Australia is in trouble, but what kind of property are we talking about here? We are talking about property for the masses. We’re not talking about multi-million dollar waterfront mansions. For example, take Donald Trump, who in mid-2008, during a time when the real estate market was in the doldrums, sold his house in Florida for $100 million! The housing crisis we’re really talking about is typical house prices going down and dragging large numbers of people down with them. The entire economic and financial downturn could possibly be attributed to subprime mortgages crashing largely accompanied by the undervalued nature of properties (everything is a bit of a shorthand explanation!). Who were these subprime mortgages sold to? The same people who now do not buy their products, the masses.

I don’t think I’m extraordinarily bright, but you don’t have to be. Just think about it. The old ways of marketing and advertising are useless now because the people you advertise to just don’t care. They don’t buy FHM to watch their commercials and use TV commercial breaks to fill their drink. TV advertising and magazine advertising once worked because they were different and the alternatives were few and far between. Traditional media requires the user’s attention to be diverted to absorb the message they are trying to convey. This doesn’t work anymore! People are immune to ads and subconsciously and consciously tune out or go to the next page whenever they are subjected to an ad. They’ve seen hundreds and thousands of these before, possibly even millions in their lifetime, so why would they pay attention to yours? Do you read all your spam?

So the sad truth is:

1. People don’t care

2. People have no money

3. People don’t even notice.

Yet I look at a popular men’s magazine and see hundreds of crappy examples selling the same things and marketing to these same people! Amazing.

How do you avoid it? To create. Create something that truly advertises value and appeals to a dedicated minority, NOT the masses. Wait, you say, that’s where all the people and money are! If you just asked this question, go back to the top of this post and read again. Going straight to the masses puts you in the “me too” category and you will inevitably fail. Even in times of crisis, the minority, i.e. those who like to try new things (innovators and early adopters) will try new things if they believe it adds value to them. Go to the niches and get the “sounding boards” and target them directly. They are the ones who will be interested in buying and if they like it they will talk about it, that’s why I call them ‘sounding boards’.

Being different and adding value is the backbone to form a solid business model. Seeing someone act differently, do well, and then join the group as a ‘me too’ is a recipe for mediocrity and inevitable failure. A perfect example would be Coca Cola entering the energy drink market and going up against Red Bull. Red Bull found a niche, offered something different and with value. It was unique in the market and didn’t even taste good, but it added value to those who adopted it, who then spread the word and the masses finally got on board (again, a short story, but you get the point). Coca-Cola comes in, brings Lift plus and Mother, says me too, makes it taste like garbage juice and says give me my market share. What happens? It fails and it will continue to fail no matter what they try to do. Why? They tried to target the masses who are indifferent and don’t really care about change. “I’ll stick with Red Bull, thanks anyway,” say the crowds.

The key is to find a niche, target early adopters, and offer them excellent value. This is how, now only in the current economic conditions but from now on, you will be able to create a solid and profitable business model. Become a ‘me too’ and you’ll become another ‘me too’ scratching your head, waiting in line for your bi-weekly government check thinking, what went wrong?