Marketing is continuously growing, but as time passes by, is the effectiveness of marketing growing too? Finding your company’s fuel to build connections with these multi-dimensional people can be tricky, but is most certainly the key to success.
So, what’s changed?
Marketing tools are changing so quickly, it’s hard to keep up! Regular research is essential. Are you up to date on the platforms that your competitors are using? Being adaptable is key to ensure that you don’t get left behind within your industry.
Changing audiences for changing media – over the years, people have changed too. People do not expect to call your helpline and be kept on hold for hours – they will turn to Facebook or Twitter for an answer NOW.
FACT: According to ‘Statistic Brain’, the average attention span in 2000 was 12 seconds. The average attention in 2015 was 8.25 seconds.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to segment the market – consumers to not see themselves as being part of a ‘target audience’, they see themselves as being individuals with innumerable options.
Let’s take a walk down memory lane…
Mid 1800’s – First billboard ads. The invention of lithography in the late 1790’s made it possible to mass-produce as many posters and announcements as a business needs.
1920 – Commercial radio was introduced. This means radio stations were able to generate revenue through advertising.
1941 – First TV ads. This was aired in the United States for the company ‘Bulova’, a watch and jewellery company from New York.
Since this day, privately-owned television networks receive a huge proportion of their revenue through advertising.
2000 – Google AdWords launches with only 350 advertisers. AdWords now generates billions in revenue for more than a million advertisers.
2004 – Mark Zuckerberg introduces Facebook, an American for-profit corporation and the most popular social network on the web. Facebook itself states that they have around two billion monthly active users. Shortly after, the money-making initiative of Facebook ads was established.
We are now living in an age where mobile usage exceeds desktops, and we are exposed to advertising everywhere we go. It is without a doubt that viral advertising has now overtaken traditional marketing by a longshot.
