Ad World Lessons Learned in 2019 to Take Into the New Year

It39s traditional to start the first post of the New Year with predictions for the year ahead It39s inevitable that a few of these will come true on the basis that even a stopped clock is right twice a day and equally inevitable that most will never happenSo as the Cog Blog enters its seventh year we39re going to steer clear of any predictions amp8212 especially those with any trackable numbers attached to them Rather we are going to look back at what we39ve learned throughout 2019 and cogitate on how we take those lessons forward into 2020Lesson 1 The advertising world did exist before the advent of online media forms Hard to believe I know but the lessons of the past are remarkably useful and this will no doubt continue to be the case in 2020For example reach matters Excessive frequency can be irritating and hugely counterproductive Trying to convince the same person who has just bought your goods to buy them again might work if you happen to be selling beans but doesn39t work for selling saucepans you may correctly assume I39m writing on the basis of personal experienceLesson 2 Machines are clever at many things including helping to write media plans but the clue is in the word helping We are not yet at the stage when media plans can be entrusted to a giant digital optimizer Creative excellence trumps most thingsAnyone who thinks otherwise either doesn39t know what a media plan is wouldn39t know creative excellence if it punched them in the face or has no experience of working with optimizersLesson 3 Short snappy slogans work They become memorable and as such we want to believe them amp8212 more so than when we have to work to try to understand a wordy restating of a strategy or policyLesson 4 Audience measurement might be a dry topic discussed and delivered by earnest people who don39t wear black Tshirts jeans and sneakers and who prefer to attend conferences that actually debate the issues as opposed to a dressedup trade show But dry or not believe me measurement is the topic of the momentMedia runs on measurement If the measurement is wrong not there or not validated objectively then we39re all in troubleThose who think otherwise are in for a nasty shock when they wake up to find that the ground beneath their feet has turned into a rather nasty messy bogLesson 5 Branding works building brand equity is a worthwhile enterprise Shortterm activity designed to drive shortterm results also worksBut amp8212 and here39s the bit we need to get a lot better at in 2020 amp8212 these things work better in combination Campaigns designed to deliver shortterm results work better if someone has thought to build the brand over the preceding few years It39s not eitheror it39s bothSimilarly all media forms and platforms work but media forms work better together as has always been the case As media fragments and more new opportunities emerge this truth only deepensThose who disagree are either a media salesperson paid to have a blinkered world view or someone new to the business who simply believes the latest round of absurdly big numbers from the online platformsThe more things change the more we sometimes forgetClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Ad World Lessons Learned in 2019 to Take Into the New Year

Author

Publish date

Channel

Brian Jacobs

We Are the Outliers - By Jack Myers

More Videos:

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Ad World Lessons Learned in 2019 to Take Into the New Year

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Brian Jacobs

We Are the Outliers - By Jack Myers

Cookies