Everything Old Is New Again

In the 60’s, which is about a thousand years ago in tech years (like dog years, only more so), in a time before SEO, SEM, and iEverything, marketers got their messages out in basically a handful of media: print, TV, radio, billboards and direct mail. That period was generally considered “the Golden Age of Advertising.”

Marketers spent many, many hours with pen and paper thinking hard about distilling their strategic messages. And then the agency gurus spent many, many hours distilling those messages into brilliant advertising campaigns like “We try harder” for Avis and the gorilla throwing around the suitcase for American Tourister.

The medium was not the message. The message was the message.

Then things changed.

We had all sorts of new ways to deliver advertising messages — more cheaply to produce and easier to distribute than ever before. And now tiny clickable boxes and 3 lines of text are expected to take the place of carefully crafted magazine or radio campaigns.

How can that be possible?

Did consumers change that much? Does anyone believe we’re happier with less information, not more? With so many purchasing choices in every category, does it make any sense at all that brand identity should no longer be critical in getting and retaining loyal customers?

Heck no!

It’s all even MORE critical now. If the first impression your customers get of you and your brand is three lines of text on the right-hand side of a search page, if that’s all they have to go on, and yet they still click, how much more critical is what happens AFTER they click on the ad?

Chances are they haven’t been gently pre-heated by a lovingly crafted print or radio advertising campaign. They haven’t been romanced by your brand story, to understand what sets you apart from your competitors, and how you have the answer to their needs.

Yet all too often, marketers assume that three-line ad was enough to seal the deal, and when respondents click they’re ready to bite.

Au contraire!

As a marketer your work is just beginning. Clicking on an ad means, “Yes, I’ll listen to your pitch. But it better be good.”

So give them a good pitch! Deliver highly targeted, strategically sound messaging that reinforces your brand. Make certain you address exactly what they’re looking for — at that moment.

They may not have as much time to be romanced, but they still want to fall in love. They expect to get everything quickly, but still want it to be a pleasurable experience. And most of all, they want to be spoken to one-on-one, with relevant information.

A single landing page, or a deep link into your website can’t be expected to achieve all that. But a well-crafted conversion path can — a rich experience that leads your respondent page by page through an engaging process, and delivers your strategic story in your brand voice.

The same amount of thought and energy that went into those advertising campaigns of yore needs to be put into your online post-click marketing. Just because it’s easier to (physically) create online advertising compared to a traditional TV or print ad doesn’t mean it’s any easier to make it effective.

In fact it’s probably more difficult. Consumers are more demanding, more time-starved, more informed and have WAY more options. They don’t instantly become “different” consumers because they’re using “different” media.

You still need to follow the basic tenets of the Golden Age of Advertising: deliver a relevant message in an engaging and unexpected way. No matter what medium you’re employing.

Because after all these years, the message is still the message.