Ads to Icons: How Advertising Succeeds in a Multimedia Age

Citation

Hazlett, K. (2008), "Ads to Icons: How Advertising Succeeds in a Multimedia Age", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 65-66. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363760810845435

Ads to Icons is a guide to advertising in the twenty‐first century whose strength lies in its presentation of great … and not‐so‐great … advertising campaigns that have adapted to the demands of a technologically savvy public. The text is most useful to the mid‐to‐senior level marketing or advertising professional wishing to examine others' efforts to reach today's advertising‐soaked consumers. It “shows how advertising can still rise above the noise and clutter of mass communication to make people take notice” (p. xiii).

Written by Paul Springer, PhD, Head of Research and Enterprise at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, Buckinghamshire, UK, Ads to Icons provides ten chapters of trend‐setting advertising programs plus an overview of the advertising profession in the digital era. Additionally, most of the case studies contain the advertiser's web site so that the interested reader can delve more deeply into a particular area of interest. Chapters 1‐6 present case studies, while chapters 7‐10 discuss the context in which advertising applies to today's business climate.

Chapter 1, “Rethinking mass media,” examines, in the author's words, “how old formats have been revitalized, [and] how new channels offer fresh opportunities” (p. 25) for advertisers to reach out to and draw in audiences. One innovative example cited was of toymaker Mattel advertising its 100 percent Hot Wheels model cars in Auto Trader magazine, juxtaposing the ad for Mattel's scale‐model cars against ads for real cars to draw attention to the realistic construction of the “toys.” “A campaign strategy can be distinct by simply being out of context” (p. 41).

Next, Ads to Icons explores the concept of “Widening formats,” in which advertisers move from the traditional push advertising technique to the more interactive pull method in which customers become involved because of fresh approaches ranging from affinity groups (“Land Rover Adventures”) to text messaging and games (Cadbury confectionaries) and new venues (Nike football vending machines). “Customer involvement can be made fun – as long as it is easy to follow and engage with” (p. 89).

Chapter 3, “Events‐driven,” explores techniques for making “advertising three‐dimensional by creating or re‐appropriating spaces and objects” (p. 113). Staged events and activities, a staple of most promotional campaigns, can be taken to a new level by, in the case of furniture and home accessory retailer IKEA, “strategically placing … goods [samples of its furniture] in public places [a bus shelter on 57th Street in New York City] to create an unexpected buzz among passers‐by” (p. 120).

“Shaping product experiences” centers on customer involvement, “creating opportunities for customers to engage with the brand” (p. 154). Springer presents examples in this chapter of advertisers taking the proactive and direct step of making the customer an active part of the advertising itself. Siemens, for example, placed its new mobile phones in 100 of London's black cabs and enlisted the drivers as “brand advocates” who allowed passengers, typically businessmen, to use the phones for calls while riding in the cabs, a time when they otherwise might be unable to communicate. The risk is high but, as the author notes, “If brands give customers a stream of good experiences, customers will happily tell others” (p. 186).

In chapter 5, “Digital persuasion,” Ads to Icons explores such online techniques as “advergaming,” “advertainment,” and “virals.” The first two concepts are much as they sound, incorporating advertising into online games or entertainment venues. Virals are online advertising or games that can be shared among users. Examples are many and include one that this reviewer felt compelled to try (www.subservientchicken.com, sponsored by Burger King). “Involving people – not simply showing them content – meant that people were likely to have an experience that they could relate to others” (p. 212).

“Online spaces” features examples of how advertisers “have flexed the possibilities of the world wide web … to shape entire virtual environments around advertising” (p. 231). In all instances, the focus is on creating interactive opportunities for the viewer to “play” with the content and discover more about the product's advantages. “Getting viewers online is a useful call to action, because once online there is more opportunity to engage with participatory consumers” (p. 241).

Chapter 7, “The new media landscape,” discusses the changes that are driving marketing managers to utilize digital advertising platforms. “In recent years customers have changed their viewing behavior. Now it is the turn of marketing managers to change their promotional habits” (p. 277). The broadcast arena in particular, says the author, is changing dramatically, and viewers no longer passively accept programming that is pushed in their direction. “Consumers will seek out the media that give them the best return on their time invested” (p. 278).

No examination of developing technologies would be complete without a look at career opportunities, and “The new job landscape” (chapter 8) does just that. Areas of specialization have increased as have the skills required for those specialty areas, but, as Springer points out, although “… the scale and range of activities encompassed by advertising have grown significantly since the late 1990s … the many new types of media still require the application of established advertising practices” (pp. 285‐286). The challenge, and the opportunity, he observes, is to maximize the capabilities of digital programs.

Chapter 9, “Closer,” focuses on the changes that have emerged in customer identification … getting closer to the consumer than was previously possible through demographic mapping. From the early 1990s until present, as digital technology has developed, advertisers' methods of reaching customers have evolved from “talking” and “pushing” information to customers through dialogue and involvement to today's consumer advocacy via user‐generated video and advertainment. “User‐generated content … has proved to be a means of allowing customers to become evangelical advocates of their brand of choice” (p. 322).

Finally, with chapter 10, “Where advertising stops … and marketing begins,” Springer makes a case for the need for advertisers today to “take on chunks of promotion work that used to fall within the remit of marketing, public relations and clients' own boardrooms” (p. 327). As consumers become more empowered in their ability to “fine‐tune” their information and entertainment needs, the concept of “mass market” no longer applies. Advertisers must, therefore, integrate multiple platforms in order to pinpoint and engage.

Ads to Icons is a helpful, if not startlingly innovative, overview of advertising as it functions in today's wired and wireless world. Advertising and marketing professionals will find the case examples useful as they wrestle with their own clients' or employers' demands for “results.” Business managers, too, will find value in comparing previous, successful, campaigns to those created by their own departments or agencies.