What’s going on: According to a new survey, trust in agencies has never been lower. Trust is declining among agencies, brands, and publishers, but for the agencies, the decline threatens to undermine their main revenue source. Why is this happening? Several reasons…
Business Insider reported earlier this week that nearly 70% of marketers have updated their media buying contracts since a bombshell 2016 Association of National Advertisers report confirmed the widespread use of illegal rebates and other dubious financial practices among agencies. Yet most respondents to the ID Comms survey still see paid advertising as a “complex headache” rather than a key investment.
I don’t watch top much network TV. The commercials that repeat day after day and month after month wear me out Yet there is a paradox because TV is still the nest way to inform consumers about new products. So where is the disconnect?
The disconnect comes with basic advertising; effective reach and frequency. At some point in time your commercials become annoying rather than entertaining as consumers tune them out. In fact about 81 percent of TV viewers across all age groups use a digital device while watching TV, Nielsen found. More than seven in 10 consumers (71 percent) use a digital device while watching TV to look up information on what they are watching. More than four out of ten (41 percent) send emails, texts or messages about the content.
But still we see the same Liberty Mutual Emu commercials and other annoying spots repeated ad nauseam. This is where agencies are dropping the ball. For too long too any agencies were about billing clients but now clients are pushing back and asking “what did out fees get us?”.
On the other side there are still too many marketing executives who don’t listen to agency people. For them it’s about doing something to make themselves look good. They fight for marketing dollars to make their agencies happy and don’t listen to their advice.
Ignoring Boomers
Older consumers, who hold trillions of dollars in spending power and make up a growing portion of the global population are often ignored by advertisers and it’s costing them.
Many advertising professionals blame the ageism rampant in their own offices for contributing to the invisibility and distortion of older people in marketing campaigns.
At advertising, public relations and related companies in the United States, more than 81 percent of employees are younger than 55, according to government data. In Britain, where the average age of advertising employees is not quite 34, only 6.2 percent of the workforce is 50 or older, according to the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising.
Baby boomers hold $2.6 trillion in buying power. They’re credited as one of the wealthiest generations to date and are still economically powerful despite their old age. Boomers have had more time to build their wealth in comparison to other generations while some are still in the workforce and making more money. However, their continued accumulation of wealth is stifled by things like workplace discrimination, poor investments, and debt. Below are a few things that illustrate their spending power. But hey, let’s talk about Millennials
The model is going to change for agencies just as branding is evolving. Can agencies still stay relevant?
