Advertising: Who Cares? Onwards

We feel that the obsession with shortterm metrics the lack of transparency in media trading the lack of trust between advertiser and agency and the tremendous power wielded by the online platforms all contribute to a state of affairs that delivers ads that few like and that often donamp8217t workWe bombard our audiences and donamp8217t respect their privacy time and attention We serve up irrelevant intrusive ads in profuse numbersHuge value is lost every day to ads that no one sees or hears and to pure fraud A lot of money time and effort is wasted on advertising that is simply invisible or criminalMeasurement is a muddle Audience measurement once noncontroversial and based on goldstandard methodologies now uses the same words to mean different things Effectiveness measures regularly conflate longterm brandbuilding with the shortterm and immediateOne consequence of all of this is that advertising has become a less attractive industry to work in and to joinAnother consequence is that in obsessing over audience numbers weamp8217ve set aside the connection between advertising investment and original creative and effective paidfor media communicationsThis connection serves a dual function It helps fund a healthy quality media ecosystem that serves the public well It also provides larger more diverse audiences across a multiplicity of vehiclesCurrently those media providing the highest quality content are losing ad revenue to platforms who create no content at all and where the ad environment is inferiorAddressing this would direct money to wellresourced news reporting where objectivity and truth are vital It stops adspend funding mis and disinformationWe believe that advertising and the industry as a whole has a responsibility to add to peopleamp8217s general wellbeing It is not just there to provide advertisers with a competitive advantageIn September we put on an event for those who care It sold out was wellreceived and has led to a lot of commentary as well as podcast and conference appearances where the natural question was amp8216Now whatamp8217amp8216Now whatamp8217 indeed Weamp8217ve listened to all the comments the positive and the few negative weamp8217ve consulted with our supporter base weamp8217ve spoken with the key contributors to the September event and weamp8217re now ready to reveal the next stage in the Who Cares journeyOne key lesson from the September event is that everything is connected The cogs in the machine all work togetherFrom a set of outdated business models flows poor remuneration for agencies From poor agency remuneration agencies seek nontransparent revenue streams from suppliers including broadcasterspublishers Revenues from suppliers lead to a lack of objectivity A lack of objectivity leads to a lack of trust A lack of trust inhibits anything daring or new and encourages the dull and the safe Dull advertising is not attractive to consumers if they even notice it Media strategies based on an unthinking maximising of impressions means we bombard consumers with these unattractive messages This is unpopular and leads to a diminution in the trust consumers feel for ads Meantime adspend flows to those media vehicles who rely on usergenerated content with a poor ad environment and at the extreme content which inflames societal turmoilAdd it all up and you have campaigns that donamp8217t work and are not worth paying for Which leads us back to the business model issueThis starts within advertisers themselves and senior management who are often incentivised for share price growth rather than true business gains If cuts are necessary to move the share price advertisers inevitably seek unrealistic economies from their service providersOf course there are exceptions to this bleak picture as awards ceremonies and effectiveness studies show but the great examples we all applaud within the industry are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what the public is subjected to dayin dayoutWe need to recognise and then break this circle of ineffectiveness and inefficiencyThis has to start with the business models that have led us here This includes the buyside models of advertiser and agency behaviour and the sellside models that dictate media vendor and adtech ways of workingWe have to be radically honest about how our industry really works if we are to start reconstructing it to be better We have to redefine advertisingamp8217s role in todayamp8217s and tomorrowamp8217s worldWe believe that advertising can play a significant role in shaping the future when it is responsible intelligently designed executed and is welcomed by its audiencesWe need to champion the principles of good effective advertising that people value We need to promote the great thinking and execution that leads to better advertising and a better industry for people today and tomorrowThese principles have to be supported by evidence case studies data and research in short the facts that support the case for better advertising We need to demonstrate that such principles lead to success with responsibility and then make the case frequently and consistently to advertisers at all levels but particularly CMO CFO and CEOMuch can flow from there like accreditation systems and ISOstyle standardsLuckily we donamp8217t have to start from scratch The trade bodies the media marketing organisations conferences pressure groups academics professors even trade titles all do good work but what they do is inevitably driven either by singleissues or by vested interests Sometimes these interests compromise the need for radical honesty about the business models that distort our industryThereamp8217s a lack of joinedup thinking and much that is neither honest nor objective This limits what can be achievedWe have to identify the vested interest behind the ostensibly impartialOur ambitious aim is to pull together a central repository of evidence that sets out the principles of great advertising and its benefits amp8211 across every aspect of the industry everywhereamp160 A amp8216best practiceamp8217 guide that aims to offer practical advice not just theoryA set of evidencebased principles that exists without fear or favour and which acknowledges the business models that determine current behavioursWe care about advertising and the advertising and media industries we care about the symbiotic relationship between effective advertising and a healthy pluralistic media ecosystemWe think advertising should be properly and quantifiably valued We want to rebalance the debate around the longterm benefits of craft and experience across all disciplinesWe will be producing updates and articles blog posts as we go and will aim at a second event in Q4 2025Our aim is to provide reliable lasting building blocks to ensure that the buildings designed by practitioners are as good as they can beWe will be publishing more details of the subject areas we intend to include and who will be leading them shortly Fortunately for us all the workstream leaders from our efforts so far have agreed to continue to helpWe are under no illusions about the scale of this task and we know it will take a lot of effort from a lot of people who care As Artificial Intelligence develops there is a risk that the advertising industry succumbs to automation rather than uses it as a tool for the creation of effective and engaging advertising We should aim to preserve an industry where human values come firstamp8216Advertising Who Caresamp8217 is a movement to help the advertising industry retain its economic and societal values into the futureWe are thrilled at how many people do care We want to encourage as many people as possible from every corner of the industry to join us If you care do please sign up and suggest doing so to others too Itamp8217s free and you can do it from our site wwwadvertisingwhocaresorgOnwardsPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

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Brian Jacobs

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