Conversations Are What Ad Communications Need To Be

Recently I read an article which stated that a majority of the millennials have stopped trusting traditional advertising. From depending on traditional media vehicles to get product and brand updates, they have moved to the so-called media vehicles that provide what is known as “social conversations”.

This shift has also resulted in many brands becoming active in these spheres of communication. Advertising hence is showing a tendency to move from communication for the mass to personalised one-to-one communication.

Today many brand communications have become two-way conversations. Many of the millennials believe these conversations provide them with a much better brand connect than what traditional communications have been doing all along: a one-way focus with the company dominating the content.

We thus see an evolution from monologue to dialogue happening around us, especially when it comes to brand communications. And that makes us question the relevance of traditional advertising.

While it is too early to sound the death knell of traditional advertising, I feel the time has come for ad professionals to take note of the changing times and the manner in which the millennials are consuming ads. While the sceptics and industry experts have long been shouting about the need to shift focus, many ad agencies as well as their clients are still reluctant to admit the fact that changing times demand different strategies.

They are not ready to accept the fact that revenues are dwindling for the traditional agencies and the share of voice for the traditional media vehicles is on a slide. Many professionals still believe that the tipping point is far away. What they do not realise is the fact that there has been a drastic shift in the way millennials consume media. And it is this shift that has resulted in the dynamics changing by the minute.

This has forced many of us to get a better understanding of the way media is consumed in today’s changing times. A consumer has got multiple sources to get the information that she is seeking.

The traditional media vehicles do not figure anywhere near the top of the pyramid. Add to that is the fact that people are consuming content in a different manner.

Content has come to dominate the marketing and advertising world. Content that engages finds better resonance and the key is to have content that is authentic.

Today, consumers are looking for authenticity. Of late the trust factor has come down with regard to many of the messages that we see in traditional media vehicles as well as on social media. While mass media is struggling to address this, social media has come out with solutions that reassure the audience.

And one such measure is the presence of influencers. The role played by Influencers is on the upswing and to a large extent they have covered the same grounds that traditional media vehicles have ceded. Today, we see so many brand success stories where influencers and social media have played pivotal roles.

And this is not restricted to select categories. Engaging content and innovative approaches have made consumer courting a different ball game. Consumers are ready to overlook the marketing language of yesterday.

Most of them have embraced a new language, one that they believe is more authentic and relevant to them. The old order need not pass into oblivion, but should surely evolve.

Consumers believe advertisers should earn their attention and not take them for granted. And when advertisers take the necessary steps to do so, it leads to consumer engagement and in turn consumer confidence. This is what will help brands make inroads in the coming days.

— The writer is Account Director at Publilink Advertising