I do not like to write – I like to have written. Gloria Steinem
Advertizing might be headed to its grave. This will be a slow march, yes. Sprigs of advertizing will always, I believe, fuzz the framework of things like news, playbills, and sidewalks.
The first sweet sound of advertizing’s demise was advertorials. Then came advertainment. The premise of these tools is to meld content with a sales pitch. While the combination seems logical, it may too become a dead and buried format.
Content — as in information, entertainment, or any other produced media — may lead the way for businesses to get customers. This is already in place. Anytime a business blog is written (ahem, like this one) it’s a form of content creation that’s not advertizing, and yet seeks to attract customers or clients. (So enroll with me already!)
Content is Facebook posts, Tweets, and website pages. It’s articles and PR. It’s whitepapers, opinion pieces, and lectures. Content is value. Value for the consumer.
When the consumer reciprocates by interacting with the business and making a purchase, the content has served its purpose. Advertizing traditionally doesn’t provide value. It invades where the customer is seeking value, interrupts the exchange, and attempts to divert focus to a different action. Content is sought after.
Moreso, content might not have brand ownership. This is scary for businesses. It like an investment bank throwing money out of the window hoping the right growth products will pick it up, use it, and return it with the interest. And, the bank hopes no one else picks up any of it. Is this vacuum ever achievable? No.
So content won’t replace advertizing over night. Or even over a year. We’ll see a phase shift. As technologies develop to better deliver, sort, and track content we may grow to despise it more than advertizing.
Wouldn’t that be something?
