Re: First Ad Age Column

Alan Wolk — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:19:15 -0000

I think you may be misinterpreting the column Ben.
Or perhaps I wasn't being clear.
Because I really don't disagree with anything you've said.

To your first point, I specifically pointed out that ad agencies
generally do a poor job of finding the sort of content their consumers
want (that line about the Teutonic techno king) and that it's a
delicate dance that requires balancing uniqueness with mainstream
appeal a la "Slumdog Millionaire."

So yes, you'll brook no disagreement from me when you note that most
CMOs (and their ad agency counterparts) will make poor judges of what their customers are looking for in terms of content.

As to your second point: where you read "As consumers outside their
core audience grow increasingly frustrated with the banality of the
content their peers are sharing..." to mean ALL or MOST consumers, I
was talking about a very small percentage of consumers, the sort who
may be attracted to niche brands and niche markets-- not mainstream
brands and mainstream markets.

So again, I am in complete agreement that the vast majority of
consumers love cute kitten videos. But there's a percentage that don't
and the article outlines a way to reach them.

I'm not sure if you read the article in haste or if I wasn't clear
enough: perhaps others have some input.

Re: First Ad Age Column

Ben Kunz — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:09:07 -0000

Alan, this is a good concept, but I think brands and advertisers will have difficulty matching the appeal of user-generated content because, frankly, other users are better at finding exactly what consumers want. Fresh, unique, simple content.

This goes back to your Nascar Blindness thesis. Ad agencies and content publishers often fall into the trap of Stanley Tucci in "Big Night" pushing artistry and nuance onto audiences who just want something simple. Agencies in particular get so caught in trying to differentiate a minor aspect of a brand, to capture the product uniqueness that only the CMO of the product really believes, that they miss what people want -- clarity.

If you look at pablum such as America's Funniest Home Videos, you may groan, but each segment is remarkably clear. Simple. Surprising. Funny. You get what it's about in a second.

So I do disagree with your line "As consumers outside their core audience grow increasingly frustrated with the banality of the content their peers are sharing..." -- and instead, think consumers are growing increasingly *entertained* with the innovation their peers are sharing, as compared to the old formulas of traditional film, broadcast, print and advertising. Peer sharing works because it has a crowdsourcing aspect; items are voted up and down gradually until only the ones that really capture attention go viral.

Brands can participate best by not trying to control this content, but instead by setting up a forum in which users can hunt and sort and share what they find. Relying on a single agency to build a single perfect idea, probably filled with subtlety and nuance, is not the path to giving the public the clarity they want. Like Taleb noted in "The Black Swan," there is a randomness to the events that go big in life, and the only way to increase your odds of such success is to open yourself up to that randomness.

The Toad Stool by Alan Wolk - Latest Comments in First Ad Age Column

Re: First Ad Age Column

Re: First Ad Age Column