Advertising - The Personal Touch October 16
It almost goes without saying that, in today’s consumer-focussed age, enterprises are incessantly seeking to find the magic advertising formula which will steal a march on their rivals. How to achieve this? Increasingly the focus seems to be falling on more personal means which involve the individual - and these can be divided into two categories.
The personalised ad is very much in vogue. A newly-opened nightclub in Ipswich has started distributing mocked-up news articles detailing a potential reveller’s birthday night out at the venue, putting the targeted individual’s name in the appropriate place - thus guaranteeing to grab and attention and promoting a night out with what would seem to be a personal touch. The birthday celebrant, with his or her name singled out, is made to feel privileged, and will quite possibly invite their friends to dance the night away at the new venue.
This kind of ad intermingles with the second - the shock tactic - to a degree. Enter certain pubs in central London and, while looking in the toilet mirror when relieving yourself or washing your hands, it’s not unusual to see an ad for a local enterprise or particular product sold at the bar flashing up in front of your eyes, having been projected from inside the mirror. This both surprises the potential consumer into paying attention and makes for something of a personal experience, given that this is effectively one-on-one advertising contact while somebody is performing their ablutions.
Another idea currently being pioneered in the US and likely soon to come to England is the placing of ads on eggs. This can have a positive effect both for the egg producer or distributor and the firm which is placing the advert - especially given the widespread distribution and market for foodstuffs such as this. This might open a debate about intrusiveness - eating and trips to the bathroom are highly individual experiences after all - but on the face of things these seem like interesting methods of trying to interact, in a sense, with the consumer via a static medium.
Of course, one of a consumer’s most prized and personalised possessions is inevitably his or her mobile phone - and interactive ads using Bluetooth technology are becoming increasingly prevalent. One such example is of the soon-to-be-launched men’s magazine, Monkey, which will transmit sample content to interested parties’ phones from special screens located in around 200 bars. By Bluetooth-enabling their phones, consumers can pick up and download the content while sipping on their drink of choice in a relaxed environment.
Just around the corner, too, comes the prospect of harnessing Bluetooth technology to tap into an individual’s shopping history and thus present them with the appropriate pitches based on their apparent predilections.
Engaging directly with the customer, and providing them with something a bit shocking or different, looks likely to succeed in pulling in the customers for many types of industry and enterprise - particularly young, pub-going or technology-savvy individuals. Interacting via more fixed kinds of media can be just as effective as - or even more effective with - using methods such as podcasts and blogs to get the message across.
Article Written Exclusively by AdFero for Seriously Business