Click Happy
The click is dead. Or at the very least, we’re all tired of being slaves to it: being asked to do it, measuring how much people have done it, and so on and so on. The reality is, we’ve reached a point where both the thinking and product of the advertising industry are built around the click when really, click-through rates give us data that may or may not be valuable in the first place. This issue of click-dependency persists with banners as well.
Our reliance on click-through rates has trapped us in an outdated model of creating, one in which we ask the consumer to validate our advertising efforts with their desire to “click here” or “learn more.” But in 2017, couldn’t we do more? The modern advertising landscape offers richer and broader experiences, which in the end, gives consumers a greater sense of confidence in brands and brings good sentiment back to advertising as a whole.
So what are these new formats that don’t rely solely on the click? There’s AI that’s sweeping the industry and giving brands an unprecedented ability to mimic the capabilities of the human brain. Virtual reality which is still finding its footing, but has already begun to make a splash with brands like Qantas who created a 360 degree island experience, Renault that lets you see into the future, or Jaguar who has a new take on virtual reality.
But if you don’t have the fancy budgets for AI, VR or long-form video, you can still adopt a fresh format with creative takes on the classics, like print. Toyota, L.L. Bean, and McDonald’s have turned a would-be-boring medium like print into out-of-the-box executions. Whatever your approach, perhaps this post-click era can bring a return to what has always been at the heart of good advertising: creativity.
Interested in the newest ad formats popping up around the industry? We’re keeping you up to date with the latest addition to the Weekly Digest, aptly called “Fresh Formats,” down below!
Photo credits: Michael Prewett (top post) and Christopher Burns (bottom post)