Consumer: interrupted

He added, “There is no better hub of advertising information than the Lions AF held annually in Cannes, so armed with a video camera and a laptop, we signed up for the international crash course in advertising current affairs,”

What he and partner Sacha Matulovich discovered in the Cannes lectures, seminars, debates and workshops confirmed what they have long believed – the consumer has become immune to traditional media and finds its messages uninspiring, irrelevant and interruptive. But while it's no longer news that consumers have changed, the reasons why this is the case – and more importantly, what can be done about it – have perhaps not been fully explained.

Unsurprisingly, it's a trend that has traditional media and advertising agencies deeply concerned. In a desperate attempt to hang on to consumers who appear to be increasingly detached, disinterested and disengaged, they've approached the problem in a variety of ways. The most common of these has been to simply raise the volume of their messages in the sure conviction that the consumer must be deaf. The truth is however, that he's not. He's simply ignoring you.

Insights

Matulovich and Ferreira offer some interesting insights into the problem. They attribute the massive overnight migration towards new and exciting media (think YouTube, Facebook, Skype, blogs, PVR, online and network gaming, pod casts – the list is endless) to new forces driving the consumer. As Matulovich comments, “Consumers want to be inspired and entertained; they want to have a sense of connectedness with their world and the people who live in it. The want to be a significant and contributing member of that world and finally, they want to be challenged to grow, learn and improve.”

There's no doubt that wave of new media sweeping the industry affords them such opportunities. But more importantly from a marketer's perspective, they empower the consumer to choose which messages he wants to hear – and to filter out those that he doesn't. As Contagious magazine editor-in-chief Paul Kemp-Robertson said at Cannes 2007, “The consumer is now the emperor and YouTube is like a 21st century coliseum. Brave brands must compete here.”

According to Re:Act, the brands that receive the proverbial ‘thumbs up' and get to fight another day will be those that encapsulate a few common characteristics. To illustrate what these new principles are, Matulovich and Ferreira outlined seven new categories which they believe will be used by the consumers to decide whether a media message is allowed to enter their airspace. “In the spirit of Cannes, we've created ‘award categories' to represent the new criteria needed in today's communications environment,” says Ferreira, using examples of work that exemplify the principles in each category.

The seven categories

The first of these is the Experience and Entertainmen category, and as Ferreira comments, “Experience and entertainment are two of the best incentives we as marketers can give our audiences to engage with our ads.”

In the past, advertisers may have sought to entertain their viewers but this approach is no longer sufficient on its own, particularly in a world where consumers have the widest choice of entertainment options available. Creating an experience for the viewer, in addition to keeping him entertained, will not only keep him listening for longer but also ensures that he engages with the brand, taking away with him the memories of an experience long after the interaction is over.

Participation, fast becoming known as ‘the fifth P of marketing', is closely linked to Experience and Entertainment, and forms the second of Re:Act's new categories. “Advertisers who excel in this category understand that the monologue has to end. Talking at the consumer is over. Participation is about getting the audience involved,” comments Matulovich, highlighting the fact that campaigns that encourage the consumer to contribute to and influence the outcome of a brands' communication, are being rewarded by a more positive consumer response.

And response, at the end of the day, is what it's all about. Which is why the category of Integration, is so relevant to advertisers who persist in strict above -or below-the-line classifications of their business. “Getting a response is not about being a specialist in one medium but rather pulling together elements from traditional and non-traditional advertising, in order to offer a solution.” explains Ferreira. Campaigns that integrate different elements across a wide range of media touch the consumer in more ways than one.

Synergistic collaboration

Matulovich adds that, in the same way that advertisers need to show greater flexibility and collaboration between different media expressions, so too should they be more open to synergistic collaboration with other brands. He cites a range of enormously successful campaigns where brands have leveraged off their shared interests. “The key here is to find a shared passion, with your audience as well as with other brands, so you can innovate,” he says.

In an environment where consumers are trying to filter out media messaging, it seems unlikely that they will pay to view an advert, but this is precisely what the fifth category Creative Asset, is all about.

“Building creative assets is very exciting new territory,” says Ferreira, referring to examples of brands that have created such interesting, innovative and appealing campaigns that these have becomes assets in their own right, and been much sought-after by consumers willing to pay for the privilege to view them.

Of course, getting consumers to pay to listen to you is not always achievable but it is closely linked to the principle of Value vs. Spend. As Re:Act points out, the campaigns with the greatest reach need not be those that are the most costly. One such examples is Re:Act's own Urban Massive campaign, launched on behalf of Motorola. For the price of the creation and flighting of one television advert, Re:Act secured exposure in 11 African countries, involving 100 musicians, a 13-part TV series (which Channel O repeated three times, free of charge), five mini-programmes, three branded music videos, six music events, four radio hits, a compilation CD and press conferences.

Key to the success of the Urban Massive campaign is the seventh and final category of Relevance. Re:Act recognised the relevance of music in the lives of the urban youth target audience and maximised its usage to create something young people wanted to be a part of. “Sometimes an idea is so relevant to the target market and is so compelling and contagious that it becomes a virus and spreads around the world,” says Matulovich, making reference to some other interesting campaigns that have enjoyed similar success.

In closing, they make an important point. Ads have always been creative but that's not what shakes the new consumer out of his self-imposed cocoon. “These categories are effective in what they intend to achieve – they call the consumer to action, they engage with and entertain him, they shake him up and demand that he pay attention,” emphasises Ferreira. What he's referring to is what marketers have always tried to achieve – to make a connection. But in the world of the new, more sophisticated and infinitely more discerning Consumer 2.0, doing so is proving to be no longer just child's play.