Some Still Think Interruption Marketing Works
April 10, 2012 
Author 
In 
AdAge recently ran a story noting (some) young consumers switch media 27 times an hour, and brands must ‘step up their creative game’ to hold consumers attention. Both of these items are true.
But more than the data shared, how the author framed the story is what got my attention:
It’s every advertiser’s worst nightmare: consumers so distracted by a dizzying array of media choices that they no longer notice the commercials supporting them. And its time might be closer than you think.
This time isn’t close…it’s already here. People tuned out interruptions from companies ages ago: in fact, Seth Godin pointed this out in 1999.
It’s a quaint notion to think buying non-contextual advertising to mass audiences during television (a medium more frequently timeshifted or consumed on other devices than TVs by my generation) is effective to reach young people.
Even if commercials are seen during shows, viewers don’t really care about the brands who bought advertisements supporting them. Not just TV, interrupting people online (or merely mimicking offline ads) is equally self-defeating. That’s because the interruption model applied to the web suffers from exactly the same problem, plus doesn’t really make use of technology. It’s merely slapping a broken concept on a different platform.
What if: instead you reached out to people with content they cared about and built permission with an audience to share ideas? Or if you did want to push messages, why not put them in front of users seeking them out instead of interrupting during more personal moments?
Of course, permission marketing isn’t a new idea. It is what the web enables and what savvy marketing professionals have been doing for years.
image credit: Shutterstock
Emma Geraln replied | Apr 11, 2012 (1 comment)
I’m one of those ‘consumers’… I don’t work in advertising.
I hardly ever click on online advertising, all those ads on facebook look like scams for the most part, the rest of the web I just tune them out. TV advertising I try to ignore, occasionally one gets my interest because it’s clever, but that has no relation to my actually being interested in a product. If I actually like a specific show we tend to pause it when I want a break so we can skip ads.
All this said, I find out about new products, I’m interested and engaged with new ideas. Some of these adverts filter through but mostly it’s about social media for me.
Nick Stamoulis replied | Apr 12, 2012 (30 comments)
Instead of starting a conversation with consumers, it’s better to join the conversation they are already having. On the web, create great content that will establish trust over time. If consumers seek you out, and not the other way around, they will be more likely to use your product.
Paul Allen replied | Apr 23, 2012 (2 comments)
Hello. Very much agree that interruption marketing (nice terminology, hadn’t heard that phrase before) is very much that – an interruption; something that in the physical sense is generally pretty rude and annoying unless it’s either an emergency or terribly important (and a flashing ad for the latest gizmo isn’t generally an emergency!)
As mentioned savvy mktg people are well behind this already, but I’m personally very interested in the ongoing evolution of consumer generated marketing – people utilising their own technologies in their own way to share a message that they personally believe in.
That message may well result in a sale of a product or service, but I’d be more willing to check something out that has been put my way by someone I know and trust (albeit in a digital environment) and who genuinely thinks there’s a reason why I, personally, might benefit from it.
Any particular examples of this being done really well I’d love to hear about them.
Paul Allen replied | Apr 23, 2012 (2 comments)
Incidentally I guess what I’m talking about is viral marketing, although from general experience viral is often something that happens by accident, rather than by strategic marketing.
Leah Morris replied | Apr 29, 2012 (1 comment)
So do I. I only click on online advertising, by accident.