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It’s Not Or, It’s And

Context is crucial. When I take the following text from a Business Week article, for instance, it sounds as if marketers want to save money by having customers make their ads. Since, that’s insanity, it must be something else. I must be taking it out of context.

In a time when consumers can scrub advertising from their laptops and distribute ad-free amateur radio shows online, marketers are giving away some control over their ads. Their hope is that the public will accept them as entertainment rather than advertising. The most successful have found it a way to spark buzz and get creative ads on the cheap.

The BW piece fails to make this point. Customer involved marketing is positive, but it’s not a replacement for anything, it’s one more tactic

About David Burn

David Burn is the co-founder, editor, and publisher of Adpulp.com. David joined the ad agency business in 1997 as a copywriter and then worked for seven agencies in five states prior to launching Bonehook in 2010. Today, David is a writer, brand strategist, and leader of creative teams in Austin, TX.

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Comments

  1. Danny G says

    Agreed. And another thing to keep in mind is that the majority of consumers who are making their own ads tend to only do it for products they love–and that’s a tiny fraction of all the products in the world.
    Someone did a spot for iPod–but what about all the other mp3 players out there? Did anyone do their own ads for them?

  2. David Burn says

    My problem with the BW article is the writer just throws language and ideas around without really knowing what he’s talking about. There’s no mention of customer evangelists like the teacher in California who made his own Apple spots for fun. The article is about brands like Audi and Converse that have reached out to customers to engage them in what is essentially interactive marketing. So, how does one jump from interactive to the conclusion that ads will be cheaper when customers make them? That’s why I claim lunacy. It’s silly talk, with no basis in reality.

  4. David Burn says

    Change is the only constant in our world. I love the changes the ad biz ig struggling with. It’s fun and good for everybody.
    As for telling me who we are, I have to laugh. This is a blog where we show one small part of ourselves. You don’t know what or who we are, and it’s some weak sauce to act like you do.