What is the key task that communication should do? We might say that the key task is to ensure that the cash register keeps ringing. To that extent what we see as advertising around us today does do the job. The communication is transactional, doesn’t make you think and with all the digital tools around, aids selling. But is that the key task?
The key task is not a short-term immediate sales push that we often believe is critical. Any communication activity that a brand undertakes has one and only one objective: create a competitive advantage. The competitive advantage cannot be built overnight. Even if there is an enormous amount of media exposure bought, it cannot be built by being transactional, it cannot be built by being cheeky, cheesy and ‘trending on Twitter’.
It does seem that as agencies, we have stopped creating the long- term competitive advantage and most of the work we do is of the quick flip-the-burger variety. This short-term thinking may also be the reason behind the decline in interest in working for the communication industry by talent today.
Look around the IPL right now. Most advertising that we see is poorly crafted, poorly produced and leaves you with no memory. IPL is an expensive property and I would assume that what has been created for IPL has gone through multiple rounds of thinking, testing, debates before resources were committed. But despite that, the advertising rarely creates a competitive advantage.
What it boils down to is simply skills. Strong insights and persuasive communication are dependent on skills. Creating an advantage through a 15-second film or a half page ad or a social media post that moves heart and mind is the toughest task. This cannot be achieved by just being trendy or conversational or provocative. All three decay quickly leaving the brand with no residual long term benefit.
In the last few days I have seen ads that are poorly detailed or have language that makes me cringe. I have seen birds that have never been spotted in India being used in a real estate ad, I have seen a hand tool brand use a hashtag that the brand manager or agency executive would find hard to use in their personal posts, we have all seen outdoors with a hint of cuss words from a food delivery brand.
All of this is a function of the brand and the marketer not taking itself seriously and pushing out work that raises more questions than it answers.
I have heard this often from brand managers that they find it tough to stand out in the clutter. Yes, it is tough, but then that’s what communication does. It creates a long-term advantage by being memorable.
For as many ads that we find not worthy of a second look, we do find ads of brands that we remember. These are the ads that help the brands stand out and become strong.
Communication is not easy, it cannot be created by an AI tool, it cannot be created in a hurry, it cannot always be transactional. As it is often said, the first idea that strikes the team cannot be the only idea that you develop. The six-hat thinking is even more critical today to avoid being boring, mundane and irrelevant.
(The author is Co-founder and CSO, Bang in the Middle.)
