Advertising’s BILLION Dollar Problem

The start of a new year is a time when we make changes to our lives for the better. It’s a time when we all look back on how we’ve been doing things, identify where we have problems and make the necessary adjustments so we can see improvements. When you apply this philosophy to the world of advertising, it’s an opportunity for all marketing, media, and creative teams to ask themselves what problems are we facing? How can we improve what we do? What changes can we make to better connect and engage with consumers and achieve a higher return on ad spend?

So as the industry does some soul searching, it’s time it recognize a very big problem with advertising that often gets overshadowed by some of its other ills. It’s a problem that, as eMarketer reports, is getting worse every year and one that all marketers and advertisers need to begin to resolve in 2020. It’s the growing mobile gap, where advertisers are spending more and more money each year on mobile ads that reach fewer and fewer customers. In recent years the share of video ads included in this spend has grown significantly. But there’s a big problem brewing that eMarketer reported and it’s simply this: consumers find video ads the most annoying ads on the internet!!!

The fact is that as much as consumers soak up video content on mobile they are very irritated by video ads. And it doesn’t matter if those ads come with sound off or not. So while the flavor du jour among many advertisers is video the numbers tell a very different story when it comes to what consumers will accept on the advertising menu.

And to make matters worse, according to Google, when people have a negative brand experience on mobile, they are more than 60% less likely to purchase from that brand in the future than if they had a positive brand experience. So, if your carefully crafted video ad grates on the nerves of consumers, it can do more harm than no ad at all!

Now let’s say you’re one of the few that does make it past the annoying meter? Yay you!!! Sadly, odds are your ad will be long forgotten before the next ad plays. At least that’s what the numbers say as industry stats indicate that nearly 90% of consumers don’t even remember the ads they do manage to see. 

The fact of the matter is that while brands keep funneling more and more money into video, it’s becoming harder and harder to get noticed on digital, especially on mobile. What it boils down to is this: advertisers are wasting billions on ads that the majority of consumers ignore.

Clearly, if the internet is to exist in its current form this trend can’t continue. Nor should it. Advertising, like it or not, has a place in our society. It does provide a service by informing consumers about new products and services, it enables businesses (both big and small) to let consumers know they exist, it offers up knowledge (sometimes!) and serves as entertainment (uh, can you say Super Bowl?).

Ultimately, advertising is content. And like any other form of content, it can be done well and it can be done poorly. As a marketer or advertising professional, it’s up to you to figure out how you can get a brand’s message across and break through the noise. And video, once a staple in every creative professionals toolbelt, is losing its effectiveness on mobile.

So, what do you do? You do what any good pro worth their salt does, you go looking for alternatives. You innovate! You look to do something “new” and turn to technology because you know that there’s been a flurry of cool, new tech that’s hit the market in the past few years. In the digital media world we’ve been hearing about new and advanced immersive media formats; things like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), 360-degree content, holograms, 3D, etc.  

The great news is that you can start using some of this awesome new immersive tech today to rise above the clutter and start addressing the big problem with advertising. Innovative brands and agencies across the globe have already started to see great success and the results should give every media planner, marketer and ad exec a reason to take action now.

As we kick off a new decade, don’t you think it’s time you question the real results you’re getting from your video ad spend? Don’t you think it’s time you stop overpaying for something that frankly isn’t working? The time for change is now, the decade of immersive advertising and marketing has officially begun. And getting started is easier than you think; you can even get started using the 2D creative assets that you already have. The best part of all, of course, is people will actually see and engage with the awesome branded content that you so painstakingly and lovingly created! And it doesn’t have to cost you a small fortune. How awesome is that!?!

Want to know more about immersive technology and how it can help you better connect with your audience? I’d love to hear from you. Please shoot me an email at: lbarton@advrtas.com