Each needs the other to survive and be effective.
Like the mythical double-headed serpent, advertising is in a process of rebirth. This can be attributed to an overcrowded internet, hell-bent on engagement, and a resurrection of creative advertising focused on long-term brand building.
How search engines contributed to short attention spans
In the not-too-distant past, print was king and digital advertising was something novel, made for experimentation. Then Google figured out how to monetize their search engine by selling keywords. The days of magazines were numbered and search whittled down advertising to its basic essentials, something akin to “Hamburger $2.95 a pound.”
The birth of AdWords for search and display networks promised a utopian ecosystem. Ideally, advertisers could identify their best prospects using behavioral targeting and deliver their pitches with more efficiency at a fraction of the cost.
That was until the deep pocketed brands in a variety of market segments decided to use digital advertising as a blunt force weapon for market dominance, driving up the cost of keywords and squeezing out their competition.
A renaissance for creative brand building
As advertising agencies stocked their employee rosters with tech talent to master these new digital channels, creative talent took a backseat to coding, big data, and analytics. The channel became more important than the message. One of the unintended consequences of these new digital channels was the amount of content needed to keep the viewer “engaged.” It became apparent that the advertising quality was diminishing due to the quantity of content needed to drive engagement. This unrelenting pace and insatiable appetite for content has brought us remarketing, unwanted sponsored posts, and a mental blackout for most of internet advertising.
Now, a shift in long-term brand building thinking is taking place. Recognizing the lasting value that beautiful creative execution brings to the brand, marketers are focusing on messaging and visual storytelling to increase brand awareness. Like the mythical double-headed serpent that sheds its skin, advertisers are now viewing digital channels as rich mediums for creative execution that will bring lasting brand recognition for those seeking advertising that builds and cements an emotional connection with customers.
