that an accountant has become the advertising industryâ??s spokesperson?
He was just an accountant at Saatchi & Saatchi and it was there that he probably witnesses just how easy it was to make money from gullible Clients!
Please return to those words, he was (is?) an accountantâ?¦not an Account Director or some such grandiose titleâ?¦just an accountant, and now that makes him a leading authority within an industry labouring under a heavy burden of doubt.
When you read any of the interviews given by this illustrious figure, never once does the word â??communicationâ? pass his exalted lips, why, because he knows nothing about the process of communication.
Probably doesnâ??t want to because he is making his money with an investment in highly inefficient industries, inefficient that is, to their Clients! â?? namely advertising/marketing/media agencies.
It is also interesting to note that he, like many others, keeps bumbling on about digitalâ?¦not communication, as they should be, but digital.
Thus it would appear that in advertising it has become an evident truth that digital w ill continue to grow as a force. The only question is how fast.
But as digital marketing continues to capture ad spend-as well as headlines-it is worth remembering the basics that underpin good effective marketing communication.
We all know technology is prompting revolutionary changes in marketing at all levels all the time. However the key for marketers is to adapt to developments and use new marketing tools in ways that makes sense.
The growing importance of digital has led to internal jockeying within some companies and in agencies as those dealing with direct budgets vie with those that handle conventional advertising for control over online spend. Oh dearâ?¦will they never learn?
Meanwhile out there in the real world, the world were all these millions of (digital) advertisements, and, in turn, all these millions of pounds are spent. It emerges that only 57% of consumers are inclined to trust companies and resistance to marketing is also now at a peak, with just 6% of consumers admitting to trusting any form of advertising!
How to overcome this mistrust? Well the most obvious thing to do is talk to the customer and try and deal with the problem.
Although they make uncomfortable reading, customer moans can provide valuable insight to marketers on what customers really think of their brands.
It is now a universally acknowledge truth that all organisations need to communicate with their customers using any device or method that works.
And the truth is that interactive communication, properly executed, is the means for anyone to have â??conversationsâ? with their customers.
In 2004, New Yorker columnist James Surowieckiâ??s book The Wisdom of Crowds explored a deceptively simple idea that had profound implications. As he said, â??Large groups of people are smarter than an elite few, no matter how brilliant; they are better at solving problems, fostering innovation, coming to wise decisions, even predicting the future.â?
That is why ideas such as â??Shopperâ??s Voiceâ? work so well, and that is because it is interactive! More and more developments are emerging behind this concept and it has already spilled over into packaging, product design, marketing and a whole host of other ideas. This is truly a big idea and the energy and creativity it taps are set to be major drivers of competitive advantage in the near future.
On-going dialogue is crucial for the success of any marketing communications programme. Involving your customers with your product is a way of pulling them inside your business and securing their loyaltyâ?¦interactive is the way forward!
Paul Ashby
http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/sir-martin-sorrelldont-you-think-it-odd-108058.html
Creative Thinking, Innovation, Creativity Training
