Why You Can’t Buy True Consumer Engagement

We are in an increasingly dire situation as almost 50 per cent of 18-24 year olds use adblockers, according to the IAB, and 419 million people are now blocking ads on mobile - which is more than twice the amount as on desktop - according to a PageFair report.

But why? People are fed up with the volume and distracting nature of advertising.The whole thing is a mess. Consumers are losing trust, so campaigns that rely on paid media strategies are losing out. However, adblocking is an opportunity to look at how we communicate with consumers and understand that we have to earn their engagement. In this climate, it is more important than ever for us to champion earned engagement, and show how it can be achieved through the right creative process.

Creativity does not exist in isolation; the days of treating ideas, media, PR and social as separate steps on the creative production line are over. Here's a few ideas of how to carve a more connected approach: 

Be aware of what is likely to trend and what will dominate the news cycle. The old PR adages of ‘what is the news hook?’ and ‘what influencers will be interested?’ are as important as ever.

Understand the zeitgeist. What cultural and social topics are going to get people going? What Easter eggs can we place in campaign content that interest groups will react to? Joining an existing cultural conversation is easier and more culturally-relevant.

Craft creative content. Whether it's an online film, a great visual or a stunt, creative strategy needs to run right through development and execution. When it comes to reaching people online, how can we adapt the idea for Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter?

Understand the role of paid media. Investment in media needs to come from earned-driven creative, strategy and audience insight, not the other way around.

The impact of earned media also goes far beyond the hard metrics that adland peddles for showing success, and this comes down to the fact that campaign success and ROI needs to be qualitative as well as quantitative.

Just look at fast food sandwich chain, Quiznos, which created Burn Trials (above), a mash-up of Burning Man Festival, Maze Runner and House of Thrones. These campaigns racked up millions of views on YouTube, but they also tapped into the cultural zeitgeist and specific fan groups, appealed to the brand’s target millennial customer base and grabbed the attention of consumers that love a clever parody.

The ongoing #TMI campaign for the National Autistic Society (below) has used the trend for point-of-view video content – driven by the huge growth in GoPro filmmaking and VR, and with the film Hardcore Henry hitting the cinema – to produce two online videos and a VR film. Following the success of the brand's films, a 360 degree virtual reality version from the perspective of an autistic child was produced to put viewers right in the moment, to feel what it might be like to receive too much information. The content is an emotional experience that communicates the campaign message and grabs attention. You can’t buy that level of engagement. 

Content without the right creative thinking – the strategic insight of what will earn audiences – is just empty branded noise, pushed incessantly at people through algorithms racking up fake views and adblocker downloads. Great online content is not the same as online advertising. People don’t trust advertising.

A creative, earned strategy is how we get people buying, acting, protesting, and changing their perceptions and behaviours. How we have real-world impact. 

You can’t buy true consumer engagement, you have to earn it.