Brands and agencies alike are pushing the boundaries of traditional methods of advertising to strengthen their relationship with the consumer. Advertising is not just about “selling stuff” now days, although that is the ultimate goal, it’s more about the way consumers interact with the brand.
In recent years there have been fundamental advances in technology that have been cleverly utilized by the advertising industry to create interactive campaigns that engage consumers on a number of levels. An initial idea such as, a brand’s ethos and personality, can be played out on numerous media platforms, such as blogs, social networking sites, home made renditions of adverts spread via youtube and the list goes on. Jenkins describes this concept as transmedia that “unfolds across multiple media platforms with each text making a meaningful and valuable contribution to the whole” (Henry Jenkins 2006)
When applied to a brand this can be a very valuable asset. Perryman describes transmedia as “A participatory process that can potentially results in a richer entertainment experience”(2008). Culture convergence has moved the traditional ‘word of mouth’ to a global platform. Consumers are now sharing experiences of brands across the globe.
Interactivity occurs on various platforms, however, this week’s blog is going to focus on the phenomenon that is interactive outdoor advertising. That provides an outlet for the telling of a story about a brand.
Imagine this....it is raining, the skies are grey and miserable and you are waiting to get on the number four bus to take you to work. You close your eyes and can hear the sound of a bird and the calming noise of waves lapping at the beach?!...you look to your right to see an enticing sun glowing brightly next to you...no you haven’t been transported to paradise!..although that would be nice on a drab Monday morning! You’re currently experiencing the new realms of interactive advertising. Advertisers have begun to use bright LED screens and speakers transforming traditional advertising spaces such as bus stops and billboards into virtual experiences of augmented reality. Holiday companies have been able to transform the usual “wish you were here” to actually feeling like you are there.
The global outdoor advertising supplier JCDecaux has taken interactive advertising to a whole new level! The popular channel five programme, ‘The Gadget Show’ recently show cased the company’s expertise when it comes to outdoor, interactivity. Showing advertising on floors, bus stops and phone boxes that prompts you to turn on your bluetooth, so that companies can personally send you information about the brand when ever you’re in that area. Interactive posters at bus stops where you can play games and compete against other bus stops to gain the top spot on the leader board. Adverts that show a 3D image on the screen when a card is held at a certain angle. And finally giant 3D images now jump off the billboard, grabbing your attention as your drive down the road.
The link below explains more about the campaign challenge.
The main reason for advertisers to use interactivity is that is provides the opportunity for the brand to connect with the consumer on a deeper level. Wells, Burnett and Moriarty proposed in Advertising Principles and Practice that consumers respond to advertising in certain ways with the The Facets Model of Advertising Effectiveness, relating advertising to six facets, persuasion, perception, behaviour, association, cognition and emotion (2000). In my opinion, interactivity allows one single advert to resonate with the consumer engaging numerous facets, going beyond the effect traditional advertising has on the consumer. Adverts are now literally screaming out to the consumer to be noticed.
Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy, recently spoke about how interactive advertising has blurred the lines between advertising and entertainment. I would agree to a certain extent that interactive advertising is entertaining, but if you can engage and promote a genuine interest in your brand from consumers, then there is the chance of building brand preference and loyalty; allowing brands to pertain these consumers for a longer period of time, rather than just selling a product. The link is below to an interesting interview about how valuable voluntary story telling can be to a brand.
Another thing to consider is cost. Interactivity doesn’t come cheap and media planners are always there to bring creatives back to reality! The fairytale world of augmented reality and interactivity is one that comes at a price. Brands also need to consider what using such platforms says about the brand to its consumers and if the target audience even want or need interactivity.
So, what does the future hold for interactive media?...Well we are seeing more and more interactive campaigns from brands, however, I feel it will be a long time before this type of advertising becomes the norm. As a society we are just not ready to say goodbye to the old print advertisements.
No comments:
Post a Comment