TechCrunch are running an article on Why Advertising Is Failing On The Internet.
The article claims that the expected drop in internet advertising revenues hasn’t just been caused by the recession, but because of three reasons:
Consumers don’t trust advertising.
Consumers don’t want advertising.
Consumers don’t need advertising.
And this is something new?
I remember when my parents bought our first VCR. It was a huge noisy box, and the ‘remote’ control was attached by a 10 foot cable. We used the video recorder a lot, and while I remember fast-forwarding the adverts (at triple the speed!) I don’t remember fast-forwarding the recorded programs so that I could watch the adverts.
When we see, hear or read an ad that makes an impressive claim, as most do, we don’t automatically assume that the claim is correct and run out to buy the product.
And would you complain if your TV viewing wasn’t interrupted by ads?
The issue of whether we actually need ads is slightly more complicated. Consumers may feel that they don’t need to have product information pushed at them, but the fact is that many of their magazines, TV programs and favourite websites need the ads to exist. If advertising truly dried up overnight, so too would much of the content they support. And if consumers were give the choice to either have ads or pay a monthly fee, which do you think most would choose?
The other issue to consider is the context and means of delivery. There are after all ads, damned ads and relevant ads.
Google AdWords is the obvious example. The person searching at Google should find precisely what they’re looking for in the ads, and the amount of revenue generated by AdWords suggests that the model works for all involved.
So in the case of AdWords, consumers do trust, want and need the advertising. It not only doesn’t interrupt them, it assists them. At the right time, in the right place.
Every day brings another prediction of The Death Of something. Advertising is adapting and will continue to do so. Product placement in movies, tv programs and video games is just the beginning. Watch this space.
