Asymmetric Consumer Engagement
Well done, you made it to Article 6 and there will be no more boomerangs. This need not be the end of your journey, however. Look on it as the beginning of a new journey. One that is going to add value to your marketing and brand strategies and give you that crucial differentiation from your competition.
We call the idea Asymmetric Consumer Engagement (ACE) because we recognise that the symmetry of the age-old unspoken contract between advertisers and consumers has been broken. And it has been broken by the advertisers.
The reasons why it has broken are covered in previous articles, I won’t go through them again now because I suspect you are more interested in what can be done than why things are changing.
The most important lesson we have learned in our research is that you need to demonstrate respect for your audience. You need to create content the audience actively chooses to watch, and share, and revisit, and allow that to be the vehicle for your sales messages.
Sounds obvious? It’s easy to get it very badly wrong and end up back at square one, so here are some basic rules that you MUST follow if you are to succeed with this approach.
The product cannot be the solution to a problem. This will destroy trust and negate the process
The product cannot simply be mentioned in an ‘ad break’. This negates the purpose of ACE
An aspect or aspects of the product can be used as the entry way into the narrative. This introduction can be used as the conceit that drives the media
The product must never be hidden. The audience must never believe or feel that they have been tricked
You must then answer the following questions. Again, if you miss these steps out, your project is on uncertain foundations. Preparation is key.
What needs to be sold?
To whom are you selling?
What sort of media does your target audience consume and how?
By medium (video, audio etc)
By delivery mechanism (tablet, mobile, PC, TV)
By occasion (at work, at home, in the car, commute, evening, cooking, cleaning, shower, etc.)
By duration (sub 5 mins, sub 15 mins, sub 30 mins, sub 1 hour)
By binge watch (are they prepared to return, or will they consume everything in one sitting?)
Is this to be consumed alone or with others?
What genre(s) do they favour? (Drama, entertainment, lifestyle, health and fitness, wellness, comedy etc.)
At this point in the process you will have a profile of the audience, the content, the genre, the runtime, perhaps the number of episodes to release, the format. All of which inform the creative approach.
None of this is rocket science, but it does take care, attention to detail, skill and creativity to make it work. If any one of these elements is lacking, the strategy will not deliver the results you expect and want.
Which is where we come in of course. I respect my audience and you know as well as I do that people post on LinkedIn as a business development exercise. I am no different.
But we do have something new and, especially in these disrupted times, maybe something new is what you need.
So, if you are not sure, call us.
Thank you for listening, best wishes and stay safe.
David
+44 (0) 1780 322 101
david.acton@strawman.agency