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Consumers
are tired of advertising. OK, maybe that’s not news to
you. But their new ability to avoid your advertising
through technology should be of concern. A recent survey
from
Yankelovich Partners finds that an overwhelming
majority of consumers (69 percent) would buy technology
that enables them to avoid advertising. How can a
marketer break through the ad barrage and create
consumer relationships in a world increasingly annoyed
at advertising?
An obvious
strategy is to increase emphasis on PR. While advantages
such as third-party credibility are obvious, other
benefits are now coming into play. According to the
Yankelovich survey, consumers are increasingly concerned
about new ad methods such as product placements and
sponsorships.
Building
brand awareness and reinforcing your message through
traditional and alternative media outlets allows your
company to obtain the kind of results that advertising
can no longer buy. When consumers become more concerned
about intrusiveness in advertising, resistance to overt
messaging grows. At the same time, consumers are
obtaining more information than ever from what they
consider “credible” sources – Web sites, blogs, and
other news outlets.
According to
J. Walker Smith, president of Yankelovich Partners,
companies gain a competitive advantage when they can get
their messages to the public without beating them over
the head with their advertising. He cites four factors
to increase a brand’s chances of creating a good
relationship with customers:
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Precision:
talk to the right people. How better to reach the right
people than by showing up in their “trusted sources”
media?
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Relevance:
make sure your message resonates. Isn’t this the key to
successful PR?
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Power: put
consumers in control. When consumers “choose” to read
about your company in their chosen media, they exhibit
the ultimate in control.
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Reciprocity: deliver value in all interactions. Value in
PR means having a valid message – and unless your
message has value, it won’t get picked up in the first
place.
In a world
growing increasingly cynical and proactive about
advertising, the opportunities associated with
alternative messaging vehicles like PR look more and
more attractive.
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