Tips for 2007: Advertising Growth & 'Brand' Promises

Is advertising your 'brand' as effective as it used to be? Many experts say not.

The chart above (from UK-based Business Zone) highlights the growth in internet-based advertising/marketing. It also shows the decline in local newspaper and radio advertising volume.

Some interesting thoughts are presented in this article from Business Zone. One is from, Simon Knox, a Professor of Brand Marketing.

"The old model is broken." By that he meant, advertising or pushing out messages to potential customers has lost much of its power. There were no longer big bucks to be made off the back of TV advertising and he cited a McKinsey study which showed that while the cost of advertising continued on an upward trajectory, its impact mirrored it downwards.

And another point made is that successful companies have...

competed on value not empty promises. They had shifted their branding focus up a level to the corporation, but also, they put considerable effort into delivering a rewarding experience to customers.

There are some valuable lessons here for marketing in 2007 and beyond.
Pay attention to what works now, not what worked in the 80's and 90's.

1. Focus on improving your client experience.
2. Compete on value, not basics like price and options.
3. Know your clients even better.
4. Consider your Client Relationship Management process in its entirety. Not just each aspect on its own (i.e. on a transactional basis).