Opinion

Stop using content saturation as an excuse for not getting the job done

Marketers are challenged by content saturation on a daily basis, but these are weak excuses for not getting your job done writes Alex Louey, Appscore's managing director.

Have you met technology’s version of the fidget spinner? It’s called Binky, and it’s an app that, like Seinfeld, is pretty much about nothing. It has all the form and functionality of a top-class social app. You can like, share, heart and comment until your thumbs fall off.

The difference is that none of it has any consequence whatsoever. It’s hugely popular and it’s killing our industry, not because of how good it is, but because of how lax we have become.

Binky: The perfect tool for typing into the void

Binky is not the only app taking consumer attention away from marketing campaigns. Marketing is facing somewhat of a technological backlash that is currently in its infancy.

Yondr, for example, is a smartphone case that event organisers ask patrons to put their phones into as they enter a show. The cases automatically lock as they step inside the venue and will only unlock if they step outside. Binky and Yondr are virtually re-invented ad-blockers.   

Of course, these are all great excuses as to why your client’s campaign isn’t kicking goals. “It’s content saturation on steroids,” I hear you cry. Consumers are heading to Binky for a break and event organisers are using Yondr to literally take the content away. It’s a tough market out there.

Sorry, but that’s a load of BS. Content saturation is the enemy, and you need to cut through it. How are you going to do that? By using data properly. Luckily for the industry, content saturation has led to a lot of crap content. That means there is opportunity. Opportunity that can only be found by collecting, reading and using data properly.

You know about data. You’ve probably spoken about it. Your agency might wax lyrical about how great it is and how it is revolutionising the workflow. You probably have terabytes worth of it. But here’s the thing – if you are serious about fighting Yondr, Binky and all the rest of the world’s content saturation, you need to know how to use data properly.

Data is an enabler. One that allows brands and agencies to keep better track of their customers, know where they are, what they want and how to deliver it. It’s like a golden key being delivered straight to your office. So why are so many of us still struggling with it?  

Louey: “Marketing is facing somewhat of a technological backlash”

A recent CMO Council Data Report concluded that we don’t understand data properly. Of the 263 marketers who participated in this study, 51% held the title of chief marketing officer. If that’s not alarming, I don’t know what is.

You can no longer simply place an ad on TV and just expect the crowds to come – but that’s old news. The new news is that the same now applies to digital. Content saturation means you can no longer use a display ad, site takeover, apps or even a social media campaign and simply expect results.

Everything now has to be hyper-targeted using the data insights you have if you want the consumer to move away from Binky or stop scrolling through Facebook to pay attention to what you have to say.  

All this talk about consumer attention spans waning and new technology disrupting consumption patterns – it’s all just a big excuse for why agencies and brands are not getting the job done.

Data is the answer to many of your problems. And you probably have the data you need, all you need to do now is learn how to read it properly. That is a bloody hard thing to do, but marketing was never meant to be easy.

Somewhere in all the information you have is the key to bringing down Binky and the smarts to convince the creators of Yondr they are barking up the wrong tree.

Alex Louey is Appscore’s managing director

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