Consumers are more advertising literate than ever, with marketing speak entering the vernacular. Children are even being educated at school to decode advertising. Indeed, many consumers are creating their own media through blogging or podcasts. Others are becoming ‘minipreneurs’, investing significant leisure time in marketing their own hobbies and interests.
Research in the US revealed that consumers are now more willing to do without TV than their mobile phones or the Internet.
Marketers are facing the “squeeze play – they can’t get their word out because jaded consumers refuse to share their attention:
Consumers are more in control than ever through the MPS, TPS, soon-to-be-launched unaddressed MPS, pop-up bloggers, PVR ad-skippers and simply choosing not to engage with your message. Research by Yankelovich Marketing and Forrester Research suggests that:
- 65% of consumers feel constantly bombarded by ads
- 69% feel that ads have very little relevance to them
- What’s more, 70% of consumers would be interested in products or service that help them avoid marketing messages
Consumer time spent with “engagement media” will continue to increase with the growing popularity of new delivery methods and devices. Ebay has over 200 million registered users across the globe, and accounts for 10% of internet usage time in the UK. World of Warcraft has over 5.5 paying subscribers, generating over $700m revenue a year.
We will soon witness the emerge as economic agents a new generation of consumers who have grown up with mobile and internet technology. They see little distinction between “online” and “offline” (its just the way you do stuff). In fact, many of them have been actively involved in the creation of their own media
In a recent survey, 69% of teenagers said that their day would be ruined or not as good if they couldn’t access the internet outside of school. Some 60% had visited social networking sites, with 60% who had visited creating their own personal profile.
The methods by which consumers absorb information and entertainment – and the ways they perceive, retain and engage with brands and brand messages have changed irrevocably.
Traditional definitions of marketing concern the creation of value through the meeting of consumer NEED. However, we are in a new era. Most of the time we are trying to engage with post-consumption consumers. They have everything they need, and most of everything they want. They have more choices than ever but what they want is more time.
So how do engage with such sophisticated, switched off consumers? How do we profitably satisfy their WANTS? In such information-rich times, we have to appeal much more to the emotional. To engage their sensitivities on a personal level by connecting directly with a relevant brand truth, in a relevant and engaging context. The consumer will chose to engage with our message, as opposed to being unable to avoid it.
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