3.22.2011

Marketing 2.0

Consumers see so many countless advertisements in a given day, in a given hour, in a given minute, that they have tuned out. Traditional advertisements no longer hold the power that they once did. Advertising used to be a very simple process: create a television or radio spot or a print ad and run it as much as your budget would allow. These days that's a good way to waste your entire marketing budget without much return (at least in relation to the investment).
 
The effectiveness of these traditional media outlets has dwindled. Tivo and DVR have drastically reduced the value of television ads, satellite radio and iPods have decreased the number of people listening to radio, and the internet has significantly decreased magazine and newspaper readership. It is becoming increasingly easy for the general public to avoid traditional advertisements altogether. And other, more unavoidable ads such as billboards, product placement, etc. are often simply ignored by the tuned-out public. Even online banner ads, which briefly looked like the future of advertising, are generally seen as a nuisance and disregarded. If a consumer feels they are being sold, they will pay no attention to the proposition. "Salesperson" has become a dirty word. This has forced the marketing industry to develop new and more innovative methods of reaching potential customers.