Hands up if you have a Facebook account.
Keep your hand up if you signed up for Facebook because you saw an ad for it.
Hands up if you have a Netflix account.
Keep your hand up if you signed up for Netflix because you saw an ad for it.
Hands up if you have a slack account.
Keep your hand up if you have a slack account because you saw an ad for it.
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I’m dying to start a presentation this way. I think it would highlight the inefficiency of advertising.
I know it’s dangerous to assume but my guess is that everyone who has either a Facebook, Netflix or Slack account didn’t create one because they saw an ad for it. They signed up because the oldest and best form of marketing was taking place – everyone else was talking about it.
I find it a bit reckless making assumptions but the thing is that advertisers don’t need to assume. They can see the proof – advertising has become very expensive.
Having said that I can see why advertising still takes place. It has been around for decades, it offers short term measurable results, and the alternative is hard.
The alternative being – make something worth talking about (in the good sense).
A tricky task.
Not only do you have to be better than the competition but you have to be so much better than the competition that you earn the right to be talked about.
This is no easy feat and it presents a fork in the road for every marketer –
Get better at advertising or get better at being remarkable?
Thomas Duggan 