08 Dec 2011
Brands and Agencies Must Adapt In Order To Survive
Traditional, linear advertising can no longer survive in a world of non-linear media. Consumption of media has changed, with people forever jumping between devices and media environments. As a result, traditional ‘big’ campaigns with linear narratives are no longer appropriate for today’s consumers. ‘Real-time’ and ‘multichannel’ are the buzzwords of today with consumers expecting to be able to interact with brands in the present, through the form of media they choose. These changes in behavior and expectation mean brands must alter their campaigns to fit these demands. Changes in content distribution means that brands will have to think differently in order to continue to tell the story they intend.
Some brands have already managed to capitalise on these changes; the words ‘Old Spice’ perhaps come to mind here. When ad campaigns are released on TV these days, brands can be in a vulnerable position as people take to the web to voice their opinions, comparing and dissecting the ads bit by bit. Instead of ignoring these comments and letting them run their course, Old Spice decided to respond with videos, posting them online in a near real-time manner. Interacting with celebrities, influencers and fans, the company produced 180 videos in just two days generating a huge amount of buzz and giving them greater control of dialogue content. Another example is BA who created a hugely successful campaign in the wake of the troubled Heathrow Terminal 5.
BA react to Terminal 5 troubles in real-time
Sadly, the number of brands taking advantage of such changes and reacting in real-time is few and far between. Many brands have insufficient knowledge of how to manipulate this changing market in a beneficial way, while large agencies that produce the majority of big campaigns are not well equipped to work in this way either. With both sides reluctant to make these changes, huge potential is being lost.
What problems do ad agencies face?
Traditional ad agencies typically have a very specific method of working, perfected to produce linear campaigns over a specified amount of time. Now things are not so simple. Campaigns are no longer a planned-out monologue from a brand, but instead consist of a complex and continuous dialogue between brands and consumers, controlled predominantly by consumers themselves. Holding constant dialogue with people allows them to get to know your brand from the inside out and builds a solid, emotional attachment. With agency dynamics as they are however, there is no one to take on this role and interact with consumers in real-time, on a personal level. If there is suddenly a large amount of hype surrounding a product or a specific campaign, brands need to be able to react instantly to reap the benefits…a response three months down the line isn’t good enough.
Whilst structural difficulties cannot be ignored, the fundamental issue is an economical one. The need for continuous dialogue and real-time responses means that whoever’s in charge needs to be creating several pieces of content a day and what’s more, this content needs to be flexible. It is not only difficult for agencies, unfamiliar to this method of working, to put a price on this work, but it is also tough to make the margins they typically make from big TV or print campaigns. Adding to the problem, brands too are unprepared to buy fluid campaign narratives. Brands need to play an active role in the dialogue, something which is often a rather alien concept to them and in a recession, when marketing budgets are already stretched, brands tend to shy away from trying anything new and untested.
It’s a matter of do or die for brands and agencies
Due to size and prestige, large agencies have not suffered too much just yet, but this will change if they do not face these issues. In a world that is ‘always-on’ new roles must be created so that there are people who can speak for the company around the clock. We may find that these roles are increasingly brought in-house, making it easier to act quickly and in synchrony with brand objectives and aspirations. Even so, creative agencies must have the ability to turn around projects in days instead of months. They will need to have people continuously monitoring and following campaigns and working with in-house teams so that together they can continue to build on them in one long brand story.
Always ahead of the game, Coca Cola’s ‘Liquid and Linked’ marketing drive focuses on how to make the most of the current media environment. ‘Liquid’ because today’s marketing landscape is forever changing and ‘linked’ because, even though campaigns must be stretched to the furthest points in media, the message must always be linked to the brand strategy. Coca Cola is well aware of the importance of its customers when it comes to producing brand content and dialogue: with over 146 million Coca Cola content views on YouTube, only 26million of these views were of content uploaded by the company itself. This leaves over 120 million views being of content uploaded by others, a figure which speaks volumes. Coca Cola’s marketing strategy focuses on 3 things: Communication – through everything from its cans to its vans, Flexibility – to respond to conversations, and Content – Coca Cola must create content that is ‘shareable’.
Like Coca Cola, brands and creative agencies must become more flexible, engaging consumers in dialogue and reacting in real-time to real world events. Failure to do so will not only leave them behind in the ever-competitive race, but it may also result in epic fails, similar to those seen at Qantas recently.
Further reading:
The future of News – How the changing media environment is effecting more than just marketing
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