JWT rounded up a herd of marketers yesterday in an attempt to rewire their brains in helping them better understand the level of consumer creative appreciation and comprehension.
While the current economic scenario might result in a dearth of materialism, faster, wider communication and the shrinking of borders has also developed a more informed, educated and opinionated consumer amongst every strata in society.
The objective of the discussion was to impress upon the audience the extent of change the consumer had gone through and sought to establish that current standards of communication had failed to keep up, simply because marketers underestimate consumers. Just as you never judge a book by its cover, consumers ask us not to judge them by their external appearance. They are craving for intellectual and emotional stimulation and we are not delivering.
Overall, marketers tend to make four fatal errors of judgment
1. Talking down to consumers
2. Consumer phobia
3. Category traps
4. Advertising realism
Why have we failed to realize the power of storytelling? Why do we refuse to involve consumers and fail in evoking emotions within? Brands themselves are powerful storytellers but we tend to treat them like “town criers”. Such communication ends up being loud, obnoxious and forgotten just like when the town crier leaves town. Good stories end up being passed down the passage of time and live on in the hearts and minds of consumers.
Its not to say This does not mean that creativity is the ultimate utopia of an agency while results in the market place come second. The Numbers game will always be played and will never be a convincing point of differentiation. Neither will advertising be an analgesic to all our marketing maladies. Marketers have to be brave enough to challenge all norms and rules to make a significant change. Fortune only favours the brave and not the panicked.
The point tabled is that Agencies are equally passionate about the numbers but also have a larger vision of building brands that resonate with consumers.
Go for it……Have your say!
Also take a look at some of the questions tabled at the panel .
Q1. Nushad,how would you feel , or how would Dialog Telekom see if you were quoted tomorrow in press media , as seeing the customer as a beggar? Is this how Dialog see’s its 5 million customers?
Q2. To Roshini and Nushad- What is the connection between the consumer understanding an being entertained by an ad. How is the purchase decision eventually made.
Q3. To Imal: What is effective advertising. Sales or effectiveness?
Q4. To Srikant – In todays context, do marketers have the luxury of time to reach the consumer across many touchpoints. Or do you stick to a more convenient type of communication such as a 30 sec tvcm.
Q5. To Deepal: Will marketers ever have the courage to break the tried and tested models of advertising or is it just wishful thinking
Q6. To Thayalan: Why aren’t their any good ads in Sri Lanka like the ones you showed us.
Q7. To Dharshana: What is the guarantee that these types of ads will sell my products. I need sales more than anything.
Q8. To Thayalan: With the rising cost of media, I get very little opportuinity to communicate to customers. Shouldn’t I give them as much information as possible instead of entertaining them?
Q9. To Nushad. – DO you think the consumers is actually dumb or actually pretends to be so until he is presented with a better proposition.
Some TV Commercials the udience were asked rate at the forum. Will you as brand custodian approve this creative, (executed in local context) to communicate with the mass market?
Motorola – Video Messaging TVC
Yawn – It’s simple to communicate
Ceiling Sheet TVC
Top Leaf Tea
MTV – Life is shit without music
