If We Agree Advertising is Broken

To not debate semantics, but is advertising broken or are the people practicing it not doing it in the best way possible? Social media changed the way we communicate, but we still communicate in pretty much the same way we did 1000 years ago. Just faster and to a larger halo of people.

Ultimately advertising is the act of selling your product, brand, idea, whatever. Those who are going to lead it will be those who understand how to use the tools in the best way possible.

Chris,
Thanks for the topic and your insightful comments.
Of course this topic would be brought up by you! Ironically you are one of the out-in-front proponents practicing what will actually work. In short, you epitomize the solution that advertisers and marketers need to adopt.
I’ve been on Twitter for almost 3 months now, where I connected with you almost immediately thanks to your Tweet about being a Highlights Kid. This was helpful to me as I wrote about how i am a Highlights Kid, and especially how their find the hidden thing puzzles impacted my work as an artist.
As I have followed you almost since day one, I have seen that you interact with others and continue to offer information and opportunities that others can use.
Watching you (and a few others) I quickly came to the understanding that social media is not about me — it’s about US.
Traditional advertising, such as an ad in the NY Times is an all-about-me message. I Grew up reading the Times, am a NYer, but it’s struggling because the consistent message of the Times is one way. They present the news. And ads. There is little give and take except in the Opt Ed section, which is usually authored by pros.
Although I am a professional writer, I certainly am not that in the social media, or in the field of advertising, yet on your blog I have the opportunity for a voice.
It becomes about us. I feel of value. I feel valued even when I do not comment, which frankly is most o the time. Not just because you have a comments section, but because I know you read the comments and interact.
Your willingness and ability to successfully interact and make the message one of value to the community — to us– made the K-Mart contest so successful.
So, I’m learning that what has authority, what works in this century is all about us. Not them and us, just an all inclusive us.The kind of us you create, Chris!
When advertisers figure that out they will be learning it from you!
Thanks.
Very happy I follow you on Twitter and read your blogs and follow links.

Jud Rey Wasserman
On Twitter: @judyrey

Advertising is in full bloom folks. To say that it’s broken is ludicrous; it’s changing and that means mistakes, new vs. old, etc. All of this is healthy.

One nit: advertising holding companies are NOT helping speed change in advertising, they’re slowing it down. By wanting to own everyone, they impose limits on experimentation and risk, and without these factors, advertising can’t evolve as fast as it should.

Just my two cents.

Jeff

Chris,
Thanks for the topic and your insightful comments.
Of course this topic would be brought up by you! Ironically you are one of the out-in-front proponents practicing what will actually work. In short, you epitomize the solution that advertisers and marketers need to adopt.
I’ve been on Twitter for almost 3 months now, where I connected with you almost immediately thanks to your Tweet about being a Highlights Kid. This was helpful to me as I wrote about how i am a Highlights Kid, and especially how their find the hidden thing puzzles impacted my work as an artist.
As I have followed you almost since day one, I have seen that you interact with others and continue to offer information and opportunities that others can use.
Watching you (and a few others) I quickly came to the understanding that social media is not about me — it’s about US.
Traditional advertising, such as an ad in the NY Times is an all-about-me message. I Grew up reading the Times, am a NYer, but it’s struggling because the consistent message of the Times is one way. They present the news. And ads. There is little give and take except in the Opt Ed section, which is usually authored by pros.
Although I am a professional writer, I certainly am not that in the social media, or in the field of advertising, yet on your blog I have the opportunity for a voice.
It becomes about us. I feel of value. I feel valued even when I do not comment, which frankly is most o the time. Not just because you have a comments section, but because I know you read the comments and interact.
Your willingness and ability to successfully interact and make the message one of value to the community — to us– made the K-Mart contest so successful.
So, I’m learning that what has authority, what works in this century is all about us. Not them and us, just an all inclusive us.The kind of us you create, Chris!
When advertisers figure that out they will be learning it from you!
Thanks.
Very happy I follow you on Twitter and read your blogs and follow links.

Jud Rey Wasserman
On Twitter: @judyrey

Tend to agree more with Len. Advertising isn’t “broken” per se, but as an industry, advertising has fallen behind, much like it did when the WWW became all the rage. People say the :30 sec spot is dead, but in reality, it’s very much alive. The crappy :30′s spot is dead or at least has been rendered ineffective by technology but even Tivo will tell you – people do watch ads — they just watch the ones that are relevant to their lives or entertain them for some reason.

Agree with you Chris that Content Marketing is going to boom – and if done correctly – will actually work and consumers will invite it into their lives. Because the content has value and the product placement is discreet and not overbearing. Social Media – if practiced properly will be here to stay – because it makes big companies small again and makes consumers felt listened to.

The overarching problem with advertising and the advertising industry is money. For the past couple of decades, the best and brightest minds by-and-large were not going into advertising. They went to Wall St (80′s), investment banking (90′s), dot-com (late 90′s early 2000) and along the way, damn near anything technology oriented or if they weren’t a tech geek, they opted for Bain, McKinsey and the like. Advertising became a “creative” endeavor instead of a “commerce” endeavor. So we focused more on awards shows (we have almost as many as Hollywood) instead of developing critical thinking skills and business acumen.

But there are still great thinkers in advertising and there is great thinking being done. Problem is, a good bit of it goes unnoticed because it is done by smaller shops that are far from Madison Avenue. If a few of those big corporation marketing types that complain “advertising is broken” would cast a wider net and truly look for insightful, creative, strategic minds — I think they’ll find that advertising is far from broken.

My .04 cents.

Tend to agree more with Len. Advertising isn’t “broken” per se, but as an industry, advertising has fallen behind, much like it did when the WWW became all the rage. People say the :30 sec spot is dead, but in reality, it’s very much alive. The crappy :30′s spot is dead or at least has been rendered ineffective by technology but even Tivo will tell you – people do watch ads — they just watch the ones that are relevant to their lives or entertain them for some reason.

Agree with you Chris that Content Marketing is going to boom – and if done correctly – will actually work and consumers will invite it into their lives. Because the content has value and the product placement is discreet and not overbearing. Social Media – if practiced properly will be here to stay – because it makes big companies small again and makes consumers felt listened to.

The overarching problem with advertising and the advertising industry is money. For the past couple of decades, the best and brightest minds by-and-large were not going into advertising. They went to Wall St (80′s), investment banking (90′s), dot-com (late 90′s early 2000) and along the way, damn near anything technology oriented or if they weren’t a tech geek, they opted for Bain, McKinsey and the like. Advertising became a “creative” endeavor instead of a “commerce” endeavor. So we focused more on awards shows (we have almost as many as Hollywood) instead of developing critical thinking skills and business acumen.

But there are still great thinkers in advertising and there is great thinking being done. Problem is, a good bit of it goes unnoticed because it is done by smaller shops that are far from Madison Avenue. If a few of those big corporation marketing types that complain “advertising is broken” would cast a wider net and truly look for insightful, creative, strategic minds — I think they’ll find that advertising is far from broken.

My .04 cents.

Apparently we do not agree advertising is broken. You cannot extrapolate this from an ugly ad on the NYT site.
Chris, it’s not a good sign when your comments display more knowledge and insight than your posts. I hope you’ll take this constructively, but your writing is very sloppy. Ending a sentence with “and things like that” is just lazy.

As a businessman and person who’s not directly involved in advertising/marketing per se, I see the struggle summed up in the term “social media.” What’s going on today seems akin to having an endless number of product salesmen stop by my table while I’m out with friends. It’s not the right setting, time or place for my “social” interaction to be disturbed by “media”.

The resistance to much of online advertising is rooted in the same thinking. People are on Facebook and Twitter to connect with people. They’re not there to pick out a new car or toothpaste and they especially don’t want to fend off those messages. When they have to, the associated companies just come off as a nuisance – understandably so.

I think we’d all agree, Chris included, that this doesn’t mean it’s broken as much as not working yet – which I feel is true of much of the net. We can’t possibly have feature rich sites like Facebook without revenue streams so in the end we will gladly pay for them out of our pockets or agree to what will likely look a lot like the “traditional marketing” that’s supported media for years.

In addition, we’ll have the right kinds of businesses interacting with us when two way conversations are truly needed – support, questions, information seeking etc. We’re seeing some of that now, of course, and it will grow ’cause it works well.

As a businessman and person who’s not directly involved in advertising/marketing per se, I see the struggle summed up in the term “social media.” What’s going on today seems akin to having an endless number of product salesmen stop by my table while I’m out with friends. It’s not the right setting, time or place for my “social” interaction to be disturbed by “media”.

The resistance to much of online advertising is rooted in the same thinking. People are on Facebook and Twitter to connect with people. They’re not there to pick out a new car or toothpaste and they especially don’t want to fend off those messages. When they have to, the associated companies just come off as a nuisance – understandably so.

I think we’d all agree, Chris included, that this doesn’t mean it’s broken as much as not working yet – which I feel is true of much of the net. We can’t possibly have feature rich sites like Facebook without revenue streams so in the end we will gladly pay for them out of our pockets or agree to what will likely look a lot like the “traditional marketing” that’s supported media for years.

In addition, we’ll have the right kinds of businesses interacting with us when two way conversations are truly needed – support, questions, information seeking etc. We’re seeing some of that now, of course, and it will grow ’cause it works well.

Broken is a nice way to say as dead as Custer! Most local television is only presenting Info-mercials, you know fix the zipper on your fly with super glue or by the one and only clapper to put out your lights ! It is time for firms to hire the abilities of the Public Relations folks who can create content , most fifteen year olds kids can create a You Tube Video that equals what you might pay a TV Production Firm to do for $50,000.00. In the newspaper care dealers devote more space to pictures of their salesmen and cars than creating content that will attract buyer , they just don’t get it ! All cars have lost their design quality and all look like kidney beans so you better sell features ! You have a following on your blog , if I had a product i am sure I could in time sell it at a profit and with words and a few videos create a desire on your Blog and save and make money!

I don’t think it’s broken – more slightly scuffed.

I think part of the problem is that we, as people, have far less attention spans than we did 5, 10, 20 years ago, and it’s getting less all the time.

Micro-blogging has allowed us to get a whole message across in 140 characters; video sharing sites have allowed us to dilute what we want to watch into easy soundbites; blogs have negated the need for print.

Basically, we’ve changed the way we allow others to communicate with us. That doesn’t mean they’re broken – it simply means we’re already fixed. Now it’s up to the others to get our attention. But they better make it short.

I don’t think it’s broken – more slightly scuffed.

I think part of the problem is that we, as people, have far less attention spans than we did 5, 10, 20 years ago, and it’s getting less all the time.

Micro-blogging has allowed us to get a whole message across in 140 characters; video sharing sites have allowed us to dilute what we want to watch into easy soundbites; blogs have negated the need for print.

Basically, we’ve changed the way we allow others to communicate with us. That doesn’t mean they’re broken – it simply means we’re already fixed. Now it’s up to the others to get our attention. But they better make it short.

Nice post buddy.

One point… you seem to be using “content marketing” in a very narrow sense, and this concerns me. Content marketing is much broader than “paid” (sponsored) content, and I’m uncomfortable with that narrow association lodging in the heads of your massive legion of followers.

Cool? :-)

Broken is too severe. It’s just adapting to new ways of reaching consumers. The tone is changing, has changed. More direct. Consumers can filter the messages they expose themselves to so you better make sure yours has something of value for them whether it’s info, empathy, or entertainment.

Looks like advertising faces a similar shift it’s seen before with the rise of various media formats from newspaper ads to radio program sponsorships to intelligent television commercials. It’s always been about influencing ideas. Right now, there have been never been more ways to influence consumers. That seems a good thing for advertisers.

If anything, we’re seeing an environment where the quality of content is what matters. That’s a positive for both advertisers and consumers. As Tom mentions, more filters mean getting noticed is more complicated now so good content is key.

The advent of inbound marketing where you are speaking directly to your target market via whatever community you are able to tap could make ads even more effective and efficient.

Broken is too severe. It’s just adapting to new ways of reaching consumers. The tone is changing, has changed. More direct. Consumers can filter the messages they expose themselves to so you better make sure yours has something of value for them whether it’s info, empathy, or entertainment.

Looks like advertising faces a similar shift it’s seen before with the rise of various media formats from newspaper ads to radio program sponsorships to intelligent television commercials. It’s always been about influencing ideas. Right now, there have been never been more ways to influence consumers. That seems a good thing for advertisers.

If anything, we’re seeing an environment where the quality of content is what matters. That’s a positive for both advertisers and consumers. As Tom mentions, more filters mean getting noticed is more complicated now so good content is key.

The advent of inbound marketing where you are speaking directly to your target market via whatever community you are able to tap could make ads even more effective and efficient.

Brian DeKoning said it best. Advertising isn’t “broken”, it is metamorphisizing as consumers and media change. If you are keeping up on the news, you would see that website advertising is drastically falling. Simply because NYT decided to take revenue from an online ad that is not appealing to you does not mean advertising is broken. Newspapers are hurting, and they are trying to transform to digital w/o ending up broke.
Quality advertising is more about content and placement. My company has been extremely successful with connecting brand with advertising and marketing venues that do not consist of online space or all TV ads. We research and understand our consumers. With that knowledge, we know when and where they will be most receptive to advertising, and what form of advertising.

Not all print or online advertising is as effective as other forms. There are numerous opportunities for brands to market themselves beyond the slice off your sidebar. Those avenues of advertising are extremely effective.

A post like this brings out the kind of thinking I need. Your thoughts are all very useful, so thanks.

Calling anything broken or dead just draws out the best perspectives.

I want to agree with Brian Clark that I used just one narrow definiion of content marketing in this post. As I was only thinking about the part that applies to a parity with ads, I didn’t mean to imply that this was the only definition of content marketing.

@Agitationist – I’m going to presume you’re new here. The comments are always better than the post. It’s intentional. As to the quality of my writing, is it proper to end a sentence with GFY? I’ll have to pull out my Strunk & White.

A post like this brings out the kind of thinking I need. Your thoughts are all very useful, so thanks.

Calling anything broken or dead just draws out the best perspectives.

I want to agree with Brian Clark that I used just one narrow definiion of content marketing in this post. As I was only thinking about the part that applies to a parity with ads, I didn’t mean to imply that this was the only definition of content marketing.

@Agitationist – I’m going to presume you’re new here. The comments are always better than the post. It’s intentional. As to the quality of my writing, is it proper to end a sentence with GFY? I’ll have to pull out my Strunk & White.

An interesting type of marketing that combines virtual space, branding and visual appeal, with real world locations and mobile technology named “QR Code” marketing has become pretty hot in Japan already.

There’s nothing like seeing this kind of application of our present day technologies with real world marketing to get the creative mind working.

Insightful post Chris.

@ Chris – GFY? That’s short for “gentleman friend, yes”? ;-)

@ Chris – GFY? That’s short for “gentleman friend, yes”? ;-)

Ok, maybe I’m way off base here, because I’m new to marketing. However, I’ve thought of content marketing in terms of sponsorship.

For example, let’s say you write a mommy blog, and pampers becomes a sponsor. Now, not all the readers might need pampers, but some might, due to the content of the blog. Am I wrong here?

In regards to the post, I do think “traditional” advertising, at least as it pertains to online isn’t working. I would have never clicked on the ad you featured in the NYTimes article, and I think the Times lowered themselves, at least in my mind, by running the ad.

I’m don’t think traditional advertising is dead, but it definitely needs to up its game a lot or it won’t get my attention.

@Lisa – I’d think of that as advertising to match the content. The other way might be to write content that matches an advertiser’s needs. For instance, if American Express wants to show off their leadership and business intellect, they work with Federated Media to build OPEN.

@Lisa – I’d think of that as advertising to match the content. The other way might be to write content that matches an advertiser’s needs. For instance, if American Express wants to show off their leadership and business intellect, they work with Federated Media to build OPEN.