Advertising in the digital age is a different beast than it was years ago. With the advent of digital media, such as the Internet, DVRs, smartphones and tablets, the way consumers digest information has drastically changed. Traditionally, ads were primarily used on television or radio and in magazines, and targeted to a broad range of different consumers in an attempt to raise brand awareness. These methods are no longer viable in the ever-expanding digital world.
Today’s consumers are more tech-savvy than ever and are more in control of what
advertisements or information they consume on a daily basis. With the advent of social media, customers have the ability to interact with businesses like never before, giving opinions and responses to brands and marketing techniques. As a result, consumers are also now being bombarded with more and more media, and even placing the right advertisement in front of the right customer may not garner the interest desired.
These web-connected consumers are more aware that they can decide on whether or not they will view ads in many media forms. For example, DVRs allow consumers to fast-forward through the commercials of a program, so that many advertisements will not reach their intended audience. Digital radio gives subscribers a new way to listen to radio with few to no advertising on many stations. Younger consumers who have been brought up in this digital age do not necessarily consider advertisements to be a mandatory part of their media experiences, like it was for past generations, making it more difficult for traditional advertising methods to reach them.
Advertising in the digital age has come to mean using different ad channels, such as mobile and social networks, to get the advertiser’s message across. With the amount of noise that is already bombarding consumers, multiple channels need to be used simultaneously to garner as much viewership of the advertisement as possible. Advertisers have to think of new and innovative ways to reach customers where they are already focused and spending their time.
Advertising has to be used in cross-promotional ways that focus on multiple channels for the same advertising message. Broadcasting an advertisement on television that is also integrated with social media and other ad channels can increase the likelihood of interest and response to the advertisement. Combining messages across multiple platforms to garner interest in two or more products to build on a brand is becoming more and more common in this age of multi-tasking and shorter attention spans.
Advertisers not only have to garner the attention of consumers who frequent digital media, but they need to learn how to use consumer’s interest and response to their advantage. Engaging consumers with products and brands is a new and innovative way to catch the attention of customers and keep them focused. Promotions that are interactive and provide opportunities for consumers to engage with and learn more about products through social interactivity have proven effective. Customers who are able to interact with brands spend more time focused on the advertisement than traditional methods where a consumer can instantly fast forward or abandon the content at a touch of a button.
Successful advertising in the digital age has lead to a new way of thinking. Now that consumers are more in control, advertisers have to come up with innovative strategies to keep consumers active and interested in the brands that they are marketing.