Mass media age is over

It’s great when agencies start educating their clients about the digital democracy. The more initiatives like the Ogilvy Verge conference in Johannesburg today, the better. Fact is clients are still remarkably unaware of the power of ‘new’ media, tending, particularly in tough times, to stay with what they know – mass, traditional media – rather than take chances.

Highlights so far today include Rory Sutherland, vice chairman, Ogilvy UK: “It isn’t going to get any simpler – but it will get more fun”; Patou Nuytemans, EAME digital director, Ogilvy One Worldwide: ‘Reaching the always-on consumer’; and one of our most knowledgeable local guru’s on new media and the digital landscape, Stanley Edwards from Platypus Productions. Up now is the slot allocated to the sponsors and it’s getting very technical, so my eyes are glazing over. Luckily the arctic aircon here at The Forum in Bryanston is keeping us fairly lucid.

Up first this morning, Sutherland made a brilliant point about how the mass media has actually subverted the message, killing creativity in effect, over time. And that the trend – driven by digital innovation - back to individual and quality contact with consumers is emphasising creativity, innovation and most importantly, building loyalty by making the consumer a partner in the message – and sometimes even the distributor as consumers play with branded content in blogs, vlogs and other multi-media applications.

“Mass media obscured what advertising was all about!” said Sutherland.

While the mass media ‘age of persuasion’ isn’t quite over yet, the trend is certainly to “finding a mutually profitable space” for the brand and the consumer.

Your audiences are on the move, Stanley Edwards warns, and you need to go hang out where they are. All these new media/digital platforms are shells which need new content – whether they are mobile, internet, blogs, web 3.0 virtual worlds, etc, representing new opportunities for brands.

And brands and ad agencies are becoming producers of content too – branded content albeit – but content nevertheless. What you need to consider is if you are equipped for taking advantage of these new technologies. What came out of the latest MIP TV event in Cannes that he has just returned from, is that you no longer ‘sell’ an idea – you ‘design an idea’.

I really liked the point he made about ‘shared jargon’. How when selling ideas to clients, we need to speak the same language and make sure that clients do understand what we are talking about when we throw about all these acronyms, stats, figures etc. Technology innovation is moving at such a rapid rate, it is impossible for even those clued up enough to keep up – for the ordinary person working in anything other than IT or new media, it is virtually impossible.

Patou Nuytemans gave an excellent presentation and I actually wrote up a story on her speech and headlined it on Bizcommunity.com today, Tuesday 15 April 2008, instead of blogging it: http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/82/23728.html . The gist was that the traditional advertising model is dead and that you now need to engage with your consumers in the new networking places online that they hang out on.

Peppered with awesome visuals and a stunning three screen stage presentation display that only ad agencies have the budget for, Nuytemans emphasised the importance of human networks, media transition, and reaching the “true engaged citizens of the new digital democracy”.

To engage citizens of the digital democracy needs ‘push marketing’ to make room for ‘engagement marketing’.” She gave five clues for engagement with the 21st Century consumer who is ‘always-on’.

*Posted by Louise Marsland, Editor: Bizcommunity.com