Just because advertisers have access to real-time data and can communicate through it, doesn’t mean that they should, a leading advertising expert has said.
Speaking at Thinkbox’s Big Think event on Thursday, Laurence Green, founder of creative agency 101, warned advertisers of the risks of focusing too much on short-term results and forgetting the value of long-term advertising.
“I’m a big enthusiast for all the new possibilities real-time data brings, but I also know that it remains true – and will remain true – that brand impressions are developed over time and brands pay back investments over time,” said Laurence.
“Advertising does not pay back in the short-term. It is something to be invested in coherently and consistently over time, but in real-time it does not pay back and it will not pay back.”
Laurence, who is also an advertising columnist for the Daily Telegraph and co-founder of Fallon, said that too many brands are getting carried away with short-term brand goals and need to be clear about how they are going to use the ‘now’ in the marketing mix.
“We’re rushing towards real-time at the same time companies are, in my experience, asking more profound questions about value than they ever have before. So there’s something really big and unchanging going on at the same time something is changing second by second.”
There is, however, a place for communicating via real-time data, Laurence said – once brands begin to look away from using it as a means for making their advertising more engaging.
“A lot of the real-time possibilities are attached to products and services,” said Laurence. “Like when a customer’s broadband goes down.
“Rather than using real-time data as an advertising opportunity, brands should be looking at it as an innovation opportunity and a utility.
“Those are the smartest brands.”
