Mass advertising

Seth’s “Reaching the unreachable” largely co signs this post I made a little while back about the issues with mass advertising. I agree 100%.

I think the problem with mass is the fact that it’s original purpose is outdated. For the most part, mass media has generally been used to build general awareness of a brand. Not necessarily to call to action or oftentimes not even for a special promotion. A message is conveyed, and with repetition, the brand will be recalled in the consumer’s mind at the time the brand becomes relevant to their needs. I think if done properly, and with the right company, mass media can still accomplish this. But vague and general “awareness” campaigns for little known brands to say “i’m here now” will most likely not get a very good ROI without having a compelling message (as in compelling to the world, not from the company’s perspective) or direct response promotion aimed at a focused audience that speaks directly to their needs. Otherwise, it’s almost like using a white smoke screen amongst a fog storm to be rescued. Your message aimed to reach the unreachable will simply blend in with the millions other it has to compete with on a daily basis and ultimately go relatively unnoticed.