International Marketing-Ambient Advertising_Write Up

[AMBIENT ADVERTISING]

INTERNATIONAL MARKETING

PRESENTED BY: MEENAKSHI UPADHAYAY GAUR MBA (IB)

2010- 11

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‘Mystery is the mind. More so, if it’s that of a

consumer! ’ A marketer wil l rarely f ind one single way to communicate and persuade a

consumer to buy a certain product or to inf luence his buying decision. With mil l ions of brands entering the market every day, marketers are faced with the constant need for f inding intrusive ways to effect ively market a product. Each brand is vying for the all - important consumer's t ime and attent ion, ea ch wil l ing to experiment with fresh and unique ways to promote their messages to specif ic groups in an appropriate environment. In this ‘buy me’ environment, advert isers are left with l itt le choice other than to resort to novel ideas to woo their customers. Good or bad, advert ising is a l l about grabbing attent ion! One might not not ice his boss walking in the off ice in a business suit on but would surely get intrigued to see him in a towel! Why? Because that’s an awkward thing to see, rather to do! A marketer today exploits this psychology of human mind. He aims to bring up techniques to advert ise so cleverly that it catches the consumer’s attent ion when the consumer is completely unaware and in whatever state he/she may be in.

‘Ambient advertising is one such trend, fast catching up as an innovative marketing technique that grabs the customer

attention through an unusual medium, in the time and place least expected.’

A new concept for the advert isers as wel l as for the advert ising agencies, the whole idea of ambient advert ising is to catch the eye of the niche even before they real ize they are a target! ‘Ambient’ advert isements are so considered because they encompass one's atmosphere. It neither restricts itself to mainstream media outlets l ike radio, television and

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newspapers nor does it adopts a size, shape or format. Ambient advert ising is a brand message that knows no boundaries and hits you abruptly anywhere, any t ime. On publ ic beaches, on the backs of bathroom stal l doors, at the bottom of golf course holes, on the f loors of supermarket a isles, tattooed on people, painted on cars, printed on egg shel ls. And that’s the point. That’s what makes it so refreshing. Ambient as an advertising medium:

Puts greater emphasis on tact ics such as surprise, humor, creat ivity and consequently audience involvement

Is more engaging than out-of-home and hence less wastage.

Draws upon incomplete message more than out -of-home. The ‘unusualty’ raises level of interest in consumer and hence their wil l ingness to expend cognit ive effort to process message.

Puts greater importance of reference group, opinion leadership, r esonance with target audience ·

Is created general ly by young individuals , and so targets audiences of similar age. Typical ly this has been seen as a notoriously hard to reach demographic .

The importance of ambient advert ising l ies in the way in which the consumer ‘discovers’ it and its effect iveness .

‘Ambient works partly through surprise and creativity and

the discovery of the communication by the recipient. ’

The recipient is invited to bel ieve that they have ‘found’ something and is empowered by this and can better identify with the communicat ion - leading to a relat ionship with the target

audience. Another

important different iator is the way the

consumer engages with the

medium. Semiot ics or symbols are an essential way of

conveying

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meaning especial ly in low-processing t ime advert ising situat ions. Well chosen images, colors, contexts etc can connote ce rtain meanings more effect ively and quickly than text a lone. With Ambient advert ising, the medium can b e seen as a sign. It might, for example, connot e innovat iveness, c leverness or even arrogance and forcefulness. J ignesh mishra of ON Media says,

‘Advertisers are always trying new ways to reach consumers, use spaces which

have not yet been

used.’

Ambient advert isers leave no place unexplored and untouched .And if they have, it could only be for the sole reason of being rebuffed by law or ordinance which doesn’t forbids advert ising to its weird l imits. Advert ising has, at some point, l ikely made our l ives better, e ither because we must

advert ise our own businesses, or because ads help pay for goods and services that otherwise would have passed costs along to us. Ambient advert ising, though considered a nontradit ional stand alone act ivity. I t serves in the same manner as any other advert ising medium i.e. lett ing consumers know about products. Much of the t ime, it 's a lso highly creat ive and entertaining, which stems from its emphasis on thinking outside t he box and

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trying to work with smal ler budgets. Be it the blood spouting fountain, which was part of a promotional campaign for a horror f i lm fest ival and the dog with the ‘unmanned’ leash used to promote a f i lm, The Invisible premiering on a popular television channel , More and more consumers are moving from just transact ions to experiences with the brand. Ambient helps brands be more a part of people l ives , break through the clutter and reach out to al l ,say ad professionals.

‘What has triggered the trend of ambient advertising? It’s

the need to get noticed.’ Tradit ional market ing is slowly loosing its charm and appeal and its returns dwindl ing every year. The publ ic are ignoring TV advert ising in its masses as broadcasters offer the option to re cord specif ic programmes and fast forward through ads (Tivo, Sky+ etc) negat ing advert ising breaks effect iveness. Moreover, these main stream advert isements mediums usual ly cost a huge amount for one insert ion. And if the size or reach of the newspaper or any such conventional medium is not signif icant, it goes unnoticed.

As such more and more brands are opting to advert ise through an anomalous source of media rather than more tradit ional ones of print & electronic media, radio & newspapers. Ambient adve rt ising helps in establ ishing individual connect, and is more reasonable in terms of cost effect iveness. That's the reason bigger brands are going in for it . Bharat Parekh, a f inancial consultant, was looking for a unique way to publ ic ize his latest scheme. He was not interested in promoting his scheme through conventional ways. "So, when my ad agency came up with the idea of gift ing apple baskets with my company's logo stuck on each apple to my premium cl ients, I was

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al l for it . It not only helped build a personal connect, but a lso got me good business."

‘Ambient is not a ‘usual’ tactic designed to meet conventional communication objectives and hence ‘usual’

measures may be inappropriate or at least difficult to identify. ’ The diff iculty in measuring advert ising effect iveness appl ies no less to Ambient than out-of -home and other forms of advert ising. I t may indeed be necessary for a lternat ive assessments to be considered. Some potential methods may include:

Sales response after campaign (however this has an attendant measurement problem similar to out-of-home; wastage, confounded results etc),

I f widespread media coverage results, then measure in similar ways to PR, ie editoria l space,

Recall , recognit ion with target audience,

Measure the importance o f creat ivity and simpl ic ity to effect iveness, especially as a result of low processing t ime.

‘Advertising is one that impacts!’ A water fountain spouts blood. A dog walks around with a leash around its neck, ominously suspended in mid -air. No, these are not attempts to create a sci - f i thri l ler but ambient advert isements. Not just fresh idea but ambient advert ising is impactful. A marketer opines,

‘You either like it or you don’t. With a commercial you can turn it off, with a print ad you can turn the p age, but with

ambient - it 's unavoidable and that's why it's so powerful. ’

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Whether you love it or hate it or, you cannot ignore it . Not just this, the great thing about it is its abil ity to target specif ic age groups & demographics in a chose n locat ion with confidence, be it a nightclub or a sports stadium etc. Having said that, this does not always work’ s in its favor. Ambient media though proving to be a powerful source of communicat ion is discarded on certain fronts. Every available

space is now an advert ising platform, it seems. Over the past decade, ambient advert ising has become ubiquitous. Be it high traff ic areas include shopping centers or main pedestrian walkways, business parks o r roadside, exhibit ions or a fashion store changing cubicles.

‘Ambient advertising , views almost nothing as sacred. Perhaps it 's time

they should.’ Ambient media in someway or the other tries to invade in the private space or relaxed moments which instead of creat ing interest would annoy a customer and may persuade a rather harsh and aggressive behavior . Bi l lboards were taken down in the city centre of Sau Paulo for the sake of architectural beauty and cleanl iness of the city. Even space

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is not left !The Russian space program launched a rocket bearing a 30-foot Pizza Hut logo, and some companies are invest igat ing the possibi l ity of placing ads in space that wil l be visible from earth! Not jus t places, the amounts of advert ising and market ing, people are exposed to daily have also gone beyond bel ief . Ambient advert ising, today, covers lavatory wal ls, adorns petrol pump nozzles and book -marks, and l ivens up coffee cup holders and pizza boxes . in sho rt, it has simply become impossible to avoid. Unfortunately, the basic nature of most ambient advert ising is developed in this way! Some accuse efforts into gett ing ambient as "environment pol lutants”, creat ing disorder and clutter. This is why marketers are pressed to f ind even more pioneering and insistent ways to cut through the "ad clutter" or "ad fat igue" of modern l ife. Others worry that this deluge of advert ising wil l create a backlash with consumers and they may walk of .People may feel trapped and that cannot always make the desired result .

‘Ambient tactics can be fun & informational but marketers need to stop being so self-serving and sales driven

and get a clue to do the right thing from the get

go.’

Most ambient market ing is fun but the more potentially damaging campaigns can makes some marketers “ask forgiveness rather than ask permission”. This can ult imately have a negative impact on current and future customers. Global ly, ambient advert ising is going in the direct ion of interact ivity. It ’s better for the ambient industry to think of possibi l it ies that brighten up the city and accent uate the

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architecture such as neon and LED (l ight emitt ing diode) screens. One can even make advert ising ambient interact ive such as a touch screen so that you wave your hand and play with the bi l lboard. Screen technology, mobile -tagging technology such as Quick Response (QR ), a two dime nsional bar code, were init ia l ly seen in Japan and have now travel led to Europe and the US. A user with a camera phone equipped with the correct reader software can scan the image of the QR code causing the phone’s browser t o launch and redi rect to a site’s url . So, it’s a lso about entertainment, not just “buy me, buy me!” Social responsibi l ity causes are also kicking in. Large companies take the responsibi l ity to talk about the problems of certain communit ies, green movement, etc.

‘The ad industry needs to be keenly aware of the cues we’re sending to kids on a much deeper level in terms of what we

‘value’ as a society .’ Before one considers ambient market ing, the impact it will have on prospects and current customers should be carefully thought of. Provocat ive and excit ing campaigns, Eng aging visuals, great experience True, the effect in the eye of the beholder. No one is saying ‘don’t market’ , that’s unreal ist ic. Ambient advert ising is l ikely here to stay, and "ignoring" it won't help combat commercial ism. But, responsibi l ity and accountabil ity go hand in hand, with o utcomes that cannot be ignored. Often, l itt le thought is given to the trickle down impact of ambient advert ising on society. Media l iteracy and crit ical thinking ski l l sets wil l help overcome the shock value an ambient advert ising creates . It ’s in the favo r of those marketers be mindful of the methodology, messaging, and harm that comes from zero accountabil ity and reach out to society in an acceptable way.

‘Brands are expected to spend £40m across the sector in 2009, down from £57m last year and a severe drop from the high

of £61m achieved in 2007.’

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Although ambient advert ising may make a mark by having immense shock value,

yet it is st i l l not strong enough to muscle out the more conventional forms of advert ising. For branding and publ ic ity we st i l l need to rely on print and electronic mediums. Ambient media alone wil l never have the same effect, unless it ’s connected to some other media and recognizable in what it tries to tel l you. It is a sort of self -regulat ion. If you look at Sao Paulo,

there were a $100 mil l ion lost in ad revenue in out -of-home (as per the Internet), and it sounds dramatic for companies that rented out bi l lboards. It’s tragic for those who sel l space. The boom years before 2008 created an explosion of creat ivity in media ideas, though many of them were poorly conceived. Every week we were gett ing three or four new bits of media that were never going to succeed. You just know when an idea is not going to work out,” says Gideon Adey, kinet ic business development director .For e.g. Ads on escalator risers are in themselves self -defeat ing, as they are visible only when there are few people on the escalator. The worst advert ising down-turn in decades has cut a swathe through the ambient media sector, cl ipping the wings of media owners , forcing them out of business and driving revenues down .This should, however, leave the f ield clear for brands to take advantage of more effect ive niche opportunit ies. According to Michel le Edelman,

‘Ambient advertising should provoke emotions and provide an experience to its customers. Essential ly there are three main routes to success for an ambient medium. Timing is vital ; a medium that can reach someone just before they are about to do something else will often prove successful . For example, credit card brand Visa advert ises on petrol pump nozzles to encourage people to use its cards rather than cash when paying . Another important considerat ion is the mindset of the consumer

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when they receive the message. Changing room ads target their audience when in a personal environment.

Ads about weight loss or beauty products which may be embarrassing in a wider social locat ion are therefore more appropriate there. It is a lso important to match the environment to the brand message. Ambient market ing campaigns should be entertaining, non -intrusive, and

meaningful . Paramount Pictures promoted the release of the f i lm Transformers: Revenge of the Fal len by instal l ing a giant Bumblebee Transformer in London's Westf ield shopping centre. For example, Sony Ericsson promoted a fashionable mobile phone through ads in changing rooms in Miss Selfridge, knowing the campaign would almost exclusively reach 16- to 25-year-old women. Such t ight targets of such campaigns make them more advantageous in their effort . However, by the same token advert ising can easi ly reach saturat ion point and lose effect iveness through overexposure. As such original ity of concept and innovat ion of approach is important in ambient Media.

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‘Ambient media forces advertisers to think on a much wider plain and to realize that media is completely open -ended, it's everywhere. Unlike broadcast and print, ambient is more in your face and you connect with it at a very immediate, emotional

level.’ Consumers and advert ising messages have evolved and become more sophist icated. From this background has risen ambient advert ising. The ‘communicat ions and technology revolut ion’ has given us omnipresent information. Whether used stand-alone or in conjunct ion with a more tradit ional advert ising campaign, ambient advert ising brings up a fresh idea to way to advert ise and so i s expected to stay here for a long t ime and b ecome more and more visible as it is an innovat ive and cost effect ive way to influential ly and expressively target consumers.

‘Advertisements carried by niche media are always effective especially when they never let go a chance to surprise,

excite and engage!’ ______________________________________________________________________