Thursday
Feb152007
Value for Attention
Thursday, February 15, 2007 at 10:38AM
A friend of mine who works in marketing for a very large and progressive company was complaining to me that her company's tactics of muscling their customers into buying product was outdated and, frankly, disrespectful to their customers.
This lead to a discussion on the Attention Economy. I explained that Economies are driven by what's scarce, and that in an age of over-abundant information we have proportionately less Attention to pay to it all.
The point is that our Attention is scarce and valuable. This is why we're getting annoyed with all the advertising being forced on us. It virtually amounts to theft if we haven't given permission for the advertiser to speak to us! Quite obviously, this is unethical.
What can progressive marketers do to amend this?
We can offer meaningful experiences that transcend the advert itself - whether by offering a chance to connect with like-minded others at an event like a 27dinner, or simply becoming a source of social-currency (by creating a compelling story or great humour).
The point is that we're all used to giving away our attention without a second thought to how really, economically valuable it is. Great marketing in the future will be respectful of this and offer real, economic value in return.
This lead to a discussion on the Attention Economy. I explained that Economies are driven by what's scarce, and that in an age of over-abundant information we have proportionately less Attention to pay to it all.
The point is that our Attention is scarce and valuable. This is why we're getting annoyed with all the advertising being forced on us. It virtually amounts to theft if we haven't given permission for the advertiser to speak to us! Quite obviously, this is unethical.
What can progressive marketers do to amend this?
We can offer meaningful experiences that transcend the advert itself - whether by offering a chance to connect with like-minded others at an event like a 27dinner, or simply becoming a source of social-currency (by creating a compelling story or great humour).
The point is that we're all used to giving away our attention without a second thought to how really, economically valuable it is. Great marketing in the future will be respectful of this and offer real, economic value in return.
Reader Comments (6)
Love it dear chap, I'm all for making marketing more interactive, then as a potential client we can feel more involved and so more likely to be happy to associate ourselves with the brand or product.
I think the mere existence of infomercials proves your friend's point of view.
So true Dave
When will marketers and advertisers realise that that days of "locking in" customers and trying to "blow" them away with some R4 million bullshit creative commercials just isnt the way to do things anymore.
Consumers are more and more savvy and can tell when they're being lied to (which is often). Sure some companies who practise this may have a monopoly now, but they have to look to the future. As more and more competition becomes prevalent and technology makes it easier for people to do things, these guys are going to become irrelevant.
As Jack Nicholsons Joker says " Hey Eckhardt - Think about the future"
I find this amusing. We are selling our latest product directly and do a LOT of cold calling. The funny thing is that people HATE sales people knocking on their doors trying to get 30 minutes of their time, while they have no problem being force fed advertising when they watch TV or a movie or anything else for that matter. You get some people that are plain rude when you call them for an appointment. Yet they have no problems advertising themselves in weird/wonderful ways like email spamming etc... Weird...
Chris: Exactly.
Jayx: ...and a whole lot of other ad-sins too!
Mike: "If rascals knew the value of honesty, they would be honest out of sheer rascality" - Benjamin Franklin
Stii: Us Safricans are generally a passive bunch - we don't go out of our wy to stand up for our consumer rights and better service... But that doesn't mean we aren't fed up of being disrespected!
HOWEVER... I don't think that your calls are actually cold. You personally qualify your prospects, and make sure that what you tell them is relevant and helpful to their business. Not too bad, and I wish you success - which you will have becuase your company culture is respectful.
Hmmm...