Advertising is not dead, there is a new marketing realm

Redesign marketing to see communication as a product, not just a message.

When we search for "The Future of Retailers (Futureof retail)" or "The Future of Marketing" (Future of marketing) in any video site, the most popular and persuasive videos mention the possibility that marketers and advertisers rarely consider--the future, There will be no more advertising. In most videos there is a new consumer experience-seamless, more efficient, simpler to live in. From these signs, does it really mean that advertising will no longer exist in future life?

The decline in advertising has long been heard. In my 14 years of career, I've been intimidated by a story. The report said that because of the rise of the Internet, in the future, no matter how much advertising lobbying people to change their habits, people will not be subject to advertising and marketing activities. Because people under the influence of the Internet, will be more aware of what they need, why and when they need the goods.

And 14 years later, the Internet does change a lot of things, including advertising. Advertising still exists around our lives, but the form has evolved. Today's ads are no longer just a propaganda object or a wave of activity. When we talk about ads, it's more about how to influence more people through different platforms, with high relevance content. The content may be a text, a video, an application (app), even an online tool, or it could be anything related to people's lives.

So, is this the way the whole thing is going? Are there any missing places?

In order to understand more thoroughly, we need to step back to understand the evolution of the Internet. Initially, the Internet was a platform for news (portals), browsing (blogs), communication (mail and instant messaging) and entertainment (video sites). At that time, most marketers or media companies viewed the Internet as another channel. Therefore, advertising on the Internet at that time, will be in the portal site or mail put some banner ads. In addition, in search sites and video sites, can be text, rich media format to present more content. Marketers have responded by placing some of the more relevant ads on these web platforms to get more attention.

The development of the internet has been a big step forward in social networks, location-based applications and the rise of electricity dealers. The internet we are talking about today is not just a channel, but a place where billions of of users coexist and flourish. These users share, express, create, use and comment here. Placing ads on the biggest portals, in mobile apps, or in emails is not enough to attract people's attention or promote brand preference.

Branding should be improved by not just conveying information or media implants.

This is a brand new marketing community

Unlike in the past, people turn on the TV to receive a lot of entertainment information. Today, when people produce specific needs, they naturally surf the web, finding services such as E-commerce platforms, blogs and microblogs, map services, food and tourism referral sites, apps and instant messaging, and online shopping to get what they need. So if the brand wants to attract people's attention, it has to go into these places and provide some useful information or service.

In the case of bookstores or publishers, it is well known that as people spend more time on social media, the time to read books is getting shorter. In the past, such situations have prompted booksellers/publishers to launch advertising campaigns in an attempt to convey certain information to change consumer behaviour. This kind of information may be used in a variety of tones: humorous, fearful, and sad to convince people. But today, our intention to produce an ad may no longer be just convincing people. In fact, a seasoned marketer may not be the first to advertise. Today, marketers are familiar with how to make brands play a useful role, using technology to change people's habits, based on the behavior that consumers already have. This is very different from the traditional spread of advertising through the jamming type.

In the case of bookstores or publishers, marketers can use innovative technology products to help users who lack reading time have a better reading experience. For example: a) Get as much content or knowledge as those who are heavy readers, and B help them create more reading time.

For example, booksellers may be able to turn people's browsing time in social media into book funds, buy books on a wish list, and get extra discounts--using people's existing habits and creating marketing campaigns. Today, with technology, we can see how to help them solve problems without interfering with consumers. People who want to read more books can be helped to meet their needs simply by asking for their consent.

From selling strong selling to solving problems

So what role should advertising play in this brand new marketing world? To be sure, the brand still needs advertising and promotional activities, but in essence needs to change. In this case, for example, bookstores can provide a new app to help people read the books they like and get discounts. Brand information is no longer just a piece of information that marketers want to convey to consumers, but rather translates into a service or a solution.

More interesting examples are about how marketers use technology to change people's habits, build visibility, and promote product sales. The curious brand in China shows how technology helps people. Many brands regard their mothers as "consumers", but ignore their needs and not just buy diapers. Curiosity aside from the old marketing ideas, no longer just to sell their products to mothers, but the initiative to think about how to solve problems for their mother. Curious to realize that most moms are busy working and don't have much time to spend with their babies. And on weekends, MOM can finally take the baby out, but because the mother and child room is not easy to find, resulting in mothers are always busy looking for mother and child room to help the baby diaper change dilemma. Therefore, in response to this question, curiosity in major cities in China began to carry out the mother-Child room map project. Curiosity developed a satellite positioning function of mobile phone applications, when mothers outside the need for mother and child room, only need to log into the social network account, you can find the nearest mother and child room. Spend more time with your baby without wasting your time looking for a diaper change. Curiosity to solve the substitution of strong selling thinking, success for the brand to win a good reputation and visibility, and the market share has a positive impact.

In the same way, Nestle Coffee has recently launched the Nestle alarm clock. Sounds a little strange, doesn't it? Why did Nestlé launch the alarm? Suppose, when people wake up in the morning, this alarm clock will remind you to remember to have a cup of Nestle Coffee, for the brand, the introduction of such an alarm clock is not bad! Nestle Coffee will be the lid of the coffee can be designed as an alarm clock, people have to turn the lid off to turn off the alarm clock. Naturally, people get up and start a cup of coffee.

Another interesting case is the activity of a male body incense brand axe in Japan. The challenge for the Axe brand is how to remind Japanese young men to use axe every day? Instead of using traditional advertising to remind consumers, axe consider using digital methods to solve the problem. Axe found that most people would set the phone as an alarm clock, so the brand launched a mobile app. In this unique alarm clock phone application, pre-recorded many beautiful attractive beauty information. When people use this alarm clock to wake themselves every day, they will find every day in the mobile phone application of Good morning beauty show more and more intimate, originally rely on not want to get out of the melancholy mood immediately away. And the brand also cleverly in content to remind users, don't forget to use axe today.

In these examples, the brand is no longer just a message, but a solution for people. In the process, the brand is no longer a redundant advertisement to interrupt consumers, but naturally, first of all to solve the problem for people, but also make the product naturally become a part of the solution.

Create a new marketing culture

From selling strong selling to solving problems, to marketers, it is a great change in mindset, which requires marketers to really realize this and practice on the brand.

So how do marketers implement such a concept in China? How can they help their brands and consumers to have more contact?

Marketing people can create new marketing culture through the following points:

1. Promote solutions rather than products: to help consumers feel the value of this solution. If people like it and feel it is a smart design, they will actively understand the product and brand information, and will produce a purchase action.

2. Tracking habits: Tracking People's digital behavior. Track people's preferences through social networks and other digital platforms. Know what's hot and what's not so common in the week. Consumer insights will be born.

3. Use rather than change the habits of the now: do not try to reverse the habits of consumers, try to use these behaviors. This is the most critical shift in mindset. Most marketers are always thinking of "getting people to stop doing something, and then start doing something", which may be the ultimate goal, but the solution doesn't come from changing people's habits. By providing people with solutions, they may not allow people to change some habits immediately, but to create new habits through the way people act in the design and guide them. For example, let the time spent on social networking sites become a book-buying fund.

4. Working with the best digital/technical Experts: Marketers should try to work with visionary people and agents with strong strengths and focus on the daily hot technology applications. These people are almost always new entrepreneurs and young professionals who will give you a lot of inspiration and help you keep a fresh head.

5. Develop a lot of ideas and conduct multiple trials: endless improvisation. Try to inspire good ideas from people's behavior habits and experiment. Don't wait for the so-called Big idea. Try to think of ideas as beta versions, 10 of them, always one of the best ideas, but before you get the best idea, you have to go through nine trials.

6. Trans cooperation: most of the solutions are difficult to complete independently, and sometimes need to work together with other companies to create the desired results.

7. Don't just think about selling, you should think about how to create more benefits for your brand to become a brand asset: don't treat sales as the sole benefit of the solution. In addition to sales results, the effective drive free media sound volume, can save the promotion cost for the brand, and affect the brand impression and visibility. And these can be measured financially. Curiosity, Nestle Coffee and axe gain not only popularity, but also the media response from consumers, but also improve the brand's reputation.

8. Push from top to bottom: Brand marketing and corporate leadership need to push this change. They must understand and share the concept of "solving and not selling" to different industries around the world. This will help marketers to develop different marketing thinking.

9. Recruit/train talents for this purpose: recruit people who know the consumer and can read the behavioral data creatively. For existing employees, help them understand what is "solve rather than sell", what can bring people. Encourage existing marketing talent to try to provide solutions to people, not just to promote activities. This is going to be a huge shift in time and effort.

10. To create an effective marketing organization: To create a smooth output of these results of the marketing organization structure. Employ technology experts and be able to form direct links with advertising, PR, digital marketing, sales and customer relations teams to create creative ideas for consumers. In addition, the science and technology experts should be laying a career path, so that they are more likely to stay in the enterprise, and enterprises grow together.

The solution is already in place, and now the missing link is the thinking mode of discovering the problem. By using technology, we can tap into the value of more consumers, and it will be a powerful tool to help consumers feel the value that more brands can bring to them. Now everything is all right, only the East wind, let us embrace technology, start!