Advertising in a Tech Savy World

 

    Hello again, hope this blog finds you well this holiday season.  This week we will be discussing advertisement in today's ever-changing society.  With technology advancing on a daily basis, the way we think about advertising needs to keep up to those changes.  People spend a significant portion of their day scrolling social media or surfing the internet.  It is important for advertisements to reach people of all demographics across the massive internet and use the best technology to do so.  We often see countless ads will on the computer many of them just get ignored.  One way to make your ad stand out amongst the rest is to keep them simple and to the point.  We will finally discuss the different medias for advertisers and how to use them.

It is no secret that the Internet has changed the landscape for advertising.  Josh Howarth says in his blog here, “According to recent data, the average person spends 3 hours and 15 minutes on their phone each day. And 1 in 5 smartphone users spends upwards of 4.5 hours on average on their phones every day.”  To further evaluate time spent looking at screens Josh Howarth writes in a separate blog here, “The average American spends 7 hours and 4 minutes looking at a screen each day.”  That is a lot of time considering most adults are awake for 14-18 hours a day, statistics show that on average people are on a screen probably surfing the internet around half of their time awake.  That being said, one of the easiest ways to reach individuals in today's world is through the internet.  These numbers are steadily increasing as technology becomes more advanced.  Marketing or advertising teams within an organization must understand the impact of advertising through the internet and how to do so effectively. 

Understanding how to reach consumers is extremely important for advertisers in today's tech frenzy era.  Stella Morrison writes in her article here, “Advertisers need to keep looking forward as the internet changes and new technology develops, but at the heart of any campaign is still its creativity. Good, effective advertising will still drive the messaging home.”  When we consider these technologies such as, email, social media, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence advertisers need to think about which best suites their companies and consumer demographics.  Social media may be the best technology or medium to reach the younger population but email maybe the best to reach the older population.  Ad space on smartphones is very limited there is not a whole lot of room to throw a large advertisement, however people spend a lot of time on computers working and surfing the internet this may allow for a different advertisement.  These are some thoughts that advertisers can think about to navigate this technology heavy society.  Once companies figure out what technology to use, they can begin thinking about how to advertise effectively on these different platforms. 

One of my favorite phrases my father told me growing up that can be applied throughout life is KISS, “Keep It Simple Stupid.”  I think that this can apply to advertising as well.  Max Freedman also backs up this claim in his article here, “Research shows that simple ads are more powerful than complex ones. Fortunately, the steps involved in creating uncomplicated ads are straightforward.”  He argues in this article that ads have become something that we filter out in our daily lives because we see so many.  Sometimes the ones that stand out to us are the simple yet effective ones.  He also gives advertisers a 7-step process on how to create a simple ad here, “1) Determine your target audience, 2) Consider multiple advertising channels, 3) Write straightforward, compelling ad copy, 4) Create separate ads for brand marketing and product marketing, 5) Check that you’ve included all pertinent details, 6) Set objectives and key results, 7) Run your ad, and analyze the results.”  With these steps in mind companies can produce a simple ad that stands out in the crowded ad space. 

When thinking about advertisement and marketing it is important to understand the distinction between the different medias to use.  Douglas Phillips defines the different medias in his article here, “Earned media is...well...earned – it’s free media you gain through your customers. Examples include followers sharing a brand’s post, press mentions, and bloggers reviewing your product.  Owned media is controlled by your company. It includes your website, email newsletters, social media profiles, and other media assets you have control over.  Paid media is the media you pay for. Examples include PPC, social ads, and any other form of advertising.”  I think that these different forms of media are important because they can drive you advertising campaign and how you consider their effectiveness.  Earned media and owned media will most likely not have an immediate return on investment (ROI) these are more long-term campaigns and effects.  However, paid advertisements are usually judged based on the immediate ROI in the short term.  Personally, I believe that organizations need to fully utilize all three types of media in their advertising campaign because they all target different demographics as well as different mediums. 

    In conclusion, as advertisers we need to be focused on the changing landscape of technology.  Advertisements can quickly fall off of the grid if they do not keep up with technology.  As discussed, people spend almost half of their days either on their phone or looking at another screen.  With this in mind it is imperative that companies use the technology effectively in order to reach the most people.  There are many tools that organizations can be using to reach people via technology, email, social media, AR and now with the rise of AI. These are all useful ways to reach individuals.  As more and more info is put online that also is true for advertisements. It is easy for people to just look over your ad and ignore it because it is just clutter on their screen.  One way to help your ad stand out amongst the clutter is to keep it simple.  The simple ads that can get the message across quickly can stand out.  We also need to consider the three different medias that are available, Earned, Owned, and Paid.  Advertisers need to use all three of these to reach all types of people.