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Why companies need to work on overcoming media clutter . . .

Advertising is no longer the novelty it once was and has become so commonplace today that most of us barely notice it. Indeed, marketing clutter surrounds us in our daily lives through television, radio, newspapers, internet, billboards, and even your coffee cup! With such fragmentation of the media it is but natural that only outstanding advertisements catch the viewer’s attention and live on in human memory.

Likewise, ads too have changed. Gone are the days of mere showcasing of the product. Ads today have taken on an emotional hue and products have developed character to become brands. To stand out ads need to connect with the consumer in more than a sales-pitch manner. Aspirational marketing draws on people’s deep-seated dreams making them desire things that they do not truly need. Some emotional advertising even draws on negative cues such as fear or insecurity (eg insurance products) to earn sales revenue.

Advertising designing too has advanced greatly. Simple black and white images have been replaced by hi-fi graphic designs that jump out at you as you walk past. Images have always been a great way to grab audience attention as they say much more than words in a limited time. Some advertisers get carried away and plaster their ad space with words and images to get the most out of the media space they’ve paid for. Quite often, print ads with a lot of white space actually attract more eyeballs.

But the real problem behind ad clutter lies in the proliferation of brands in a booming economy. When people have a choice between 500 different toothpastes, marketing seems like the only way to be the preferred brand. While every company worth its salt seeks to be on every media platform possible, media space costs spiral and so do the costs of the products themselves, leading to a vicious cycle.

So what is the solution to such an obvious problem? The way to overcome marketing clutter is to constantly innovate. Once there is a breakthrough, chances are the new medium will be exploited untill it becomes monotonous to the audience in a very short span of time. In such a scenario, new innovations in terms of creative ideas, media, and message delivery are constantly required to keep the audience engaged.

Some of the greatest breakthroughs in marketing have been thanks to the internet. Social media marketing, pay per click advertising, search engine optimization, have all revolutionized the way companies spend their marketing budgets and given the smaller business a chance against the heavyweights.

The other surefire way to engage the audience today is through interactive advertising. Anything that gets the viewer to do more than passively look at a picture or watch a TV commercial is more likely to make a mark due to the levels of engagement it demands.

With a daily increase in products and brands, advertising clutter is likely to continue. In this media jungle, only the most creative or those with the deepest pockets will ultimately survive.

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