No rules. No formulae. No best practices. It’s a new world and no one has a clue.
That’s the take Saatchi & Saatchi CEO Kevin Roberts puts forth in a presentation made in his keynote address to Ad:Tech. He sees us living in an age of screens where SIght, SOund and MOtion (SISOMO) have converged to create a new advertising landscape; “good stories well told, emotion, humor and music–in other words, sisomo.” (See an excerpt of his presentation here.)
While he packages it nicely, what Roberts sees as new are timeless principles in a shiny new wrapper. Calling for making emotional connection in advertising is about as edgy as me telling my 3 year-old to “use your words.” (instead of sounds and pointing)
He makes an important: we’ve moved from permission marketing to attraction marketing. ASKING consumers to please give us their time (permission marketing) is a quaint notion rooted in an era when we HAD time to give. In the compressed age we’re living in, ATTRACTING consumer attention means giving them a more appealing idea capable of preempting the one they have now.
Here’s a hint: the idea they’ll find more appealing is not about you.
[Originally published 10 Nov 2005]
