My most impressive blog post title to date I feel! I read a great article on InFlux today, pointed out by the ubiquitous Piers Fawkes. Rather than paraphrasing the article – here’s a cut and paste of the highlights.
“We are rapidly moving into a landscape where there will only be two models of marketing communication.
1. An entertainment based model where marketers work hard to breakthrough the clutter. The goal is to raise awareness and to get people to like you.
2. A utility based model- the brand provides something useful, good and meaningful to its consumers and perhaps the world beyond. Instead of just running regular ads, they are big idea platforms that inspire, encourage engagement and give something back.”
If you don’t do either of these, you will die.
The “shouting” benefits model of marketing communication is about to become as extinct as a dodo. So the challenge for brands that operate is to understand how they get to entertainment and/or utility.”
This mirrors my feelings about how marketing has to evolve, although I wouldn’t have phrased it in quite the same way. I think Faris puts it nicely: that it’s crucial for brands to deliver “value as well as messaging” to ensure there is a “balanced value exchange”.
I have been banging on about “non interruptive communications which add value” for a while (I wouldn’t claim to have invented it!), and its great to see so many marketers thinking the same way, and to see the thinking evolving.
