Last year marked some landmark events in the marketing communications business. The Great Recession continued to plague many business sectors and, consequently, advertising spending remained depressed. Mark Zuckerberg was named Time's Person of the Year, the unofficial coronation of social media into the mainstream. And newspapers and magazines continued to circle the drain, relegating the original definition of advertising - salesmanship in print - practically obsolete.
So, now that "new media" is no longer new, and the economy seems to be on the up, what's the ad biz supposed to do in response?
I'll give you three predictions for 2011:
The return of branding
Except for the world's largest brands, most advertisers in the last couple of years have forsaken image-building communications, opting instead to generate messages that would drive immediate sales. With the economy finding its footing, consumer confidence rising and purse strings loosening (somewhat), advertisers will begin to reacquaint themselves with their long-lost friend, brand-building. Proportionally, expect to see less communication intended to drive a direct response from the audience and more image-oriented storytelling.
The life or death moment of The Big Idea
In 2010, social media ruled a whole new media kingdom, one in which the balance of power shifted away from broadcasters, publishers and advertisers in favor of media consumers. The comfortable confines of mass media became further endangered as audiences opted instead for information and entertainment from more highly personalized sources. And creative directors abandoned their posts at agencies across the country, nervously scrambling for relevance in a different media landscape. With all these changes, old school advertising faces two options - adaptation or extinction. In 2011, it's no longer good enough to just push out "The Big Idea" as part of a message to the masses. Creatives must find a way to engage users on their turf, in a more personal - and personalized - way.
The integration of social media
So far, most advertisers have treated social networking as a separate medium with strategies, messaging and creative executions that rarely integrate with their other communications. Look for this to change in 2011 as advertisers and agencies grow more comfortable with the enormous potential of meaningful, one-to-one communications. Last year's pioneers (think Old Spice Man's Internet Responses) were successful not just because they were novel, but because they allowed the audience to engage with the brands and become part of the story. In the new user-generated world of the Internet, accomplishing this feat is number-one challenge for advertising strategists and creatives.
Author Resource:
M/C/C is one of the top Dallas advertising firms . They offer interactive branding, seo, social media, and other digital services. For more information, be sure to check out their blog.
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