| Current Trends in Advertising Bigger Is Better Like so many other industries, advertising has experienced much consolidation in recent years as companies join forces to lower costs and stay competitive in the global marketplace. In advertising, bigger size means more clout with media outlets, and therefore lowers advertising costs. This trend is also a result of the fact that by owning several different advertising agencies, a single holding company can control several competing accounts without conflict of interest. Take It from the Brits Account planning—also known as strategic planning—was developed in British ad agencies in the 1960s and 1970s. It took a while, but in recent years the American advertising industry has discovered account planning in a big way. The discipline seeks a better understanding of the consumer through quantitative and qualitative research. The quantitative portion requires the compilation of buyer statistics, while the qualitative research focuses on the "whys," and requires agencies to conduct focus groups with a client's target consumers. Today, account planning is such an integral part of many American ad agencies that it’s the account planners, rather than the account management staff, who do most of the strategizing on behalf of clients. Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign The Internet is not the only new medium when it comes to advertising. It seems that people are jaded by the overload of ads in traditional media, like TV or newspapers, and often don’t pay attention to them. As a result, advertisers are now trying to get your attention through nontraditional advertising media, like movies, where product placement has become a permanent part of business. Other nifty places where you can now see ads: on bus rooftops (ads atop buses apparently reach the professional market that works in office towers) and at the bottom of golf holes. Beer ads have even begun to show up on disinfectant cakes in men’s room urinals. |
