"I have been in the industry for 43 years, and I think these three years are the most worrying three years, and I have never struggled so much, especially in the advertising industry. Because the mindset of the audience we're targeting has changed. ”
In today's fast-paced marketing environment, advertisers are standing at a crossroads full of challenges and opportunities. With the rise of digital technology and the prevalence of social networking, traditional advertising models are being disrupted and new forms of creativity are emerging. In this time of change, Chris Chen, Chief Creative Officer at Dentsu Creative China, told Modern Advertising what he thinks about how advertisers can adapt to change and stay ahead of the curve.
In the face of the impact of factors such as the climate crisis, the global pandemic, inflation, regional conflicts, and artificial intelligence, young people today have a huge desire to escape. Nearly three-quarters of CMOs also reported that they have failed to meet their earnings growth targets, and that there is an urgent need to strengthen the link between marketing and business growth if companies are to weather the turbulent times ahead. ”
From attention to discussion
Brand building is as important or more important than ever, but today's brands are built through engaging experiences, cultural connections, and impactful and authentic brand actions. Today's brand building is synonymous with what the brand does and what it does. Of course, there is ample evidence that consumers are "very engaged" at the moment, and advertising must be consciously focused on in order to have an impact.
In recent years, many consumers have been trading first and then looking at the brand, but with the peak of traffic, many practices that rely on live streaming or ** means to impact transaction volume cannot help brands retain and accumulate, so this year many brands have realized the importance of rebuilding their brands. Chen Minyuan said.
The way brands are presented is changing, and a new and dynamic approach is needed to celebrate the power of brands and turn every touchpoint into an opportunity to engage. "This requires digging deeper into brand equity, refocusing on the product, and telling a new story. ”
In the process of re-telling a story, there needs to be a shift from winning the audience's attention to the discussion, which requires the brand to initiate sustainable action, not a moment. "In the past, creativity was about making a story for a moment, and when you shoot a TV commercial and put it out, it's gone, and those are the moments we are telling. Now powerful brands, they are building an action, to find a goal, to find the pain points of social groups or a social issue, and to amplify it into a long-term event. Chen Minyuan said.
He believes that in the digital age, brands are no longer just synonymous with products, but bridges with consumers to build an emotional connection. "Advertisers need to focus on brand building and connect brands with consumers through creativity and content," he said. ”
Creatives need to move from storytellers to solutionists
In the face of the change in the brand's demand for growth, advertising creatives who are now standing at the creative intersection are about to face a "reshuffle", "which may shuffle out a group of people with more integrated thinking skills." "In the past, we called creatives storytellers, or storytellers, but now creatives are more like solutionists, more like people who provide solutions. "Today's marketers need to understand entertainment, technology, e-commerce, and have a variety of thinking paths at the same time, but they need to be able to turn it into a moving story, and creatives can integrate this series of capabilities and tell them with innovative stories," Chen explained. ”
Chen Minyuan believes that in the face of great changes in the advertising industry, advertisers also need to have more comprehensive skills and deeper insights. "Today's advertisers need to be creative, but also have the technology, data and cross-channel integration capabilities," he said. He believes that advertisers need to constantly learn new knowledge and skills Xi adapt to the changing market environment.
In the digital age, data has become a key factor in advertising decisions. Chen Minyuan emphasized the use of data in advertising creative: "We not only collect and analyze data, but also integrate it into creative to better understand the audience and improve marketing effectiveness. ”
In addition, Chen also mentioned the importance of cross-channel integration. He said that today's consumers no longer receive information through just one channel, but interact with brands through multiple channels. Therefore, advertisers need to have the ability to think in an integrated way across channels and organically combine various channels to achieve the best marketing results.
In the final analysis, advertising needs to help brands produce results, as Chen Minyuan shared with the four mottos of his team of young people, "First of all, social in, through social ** to create a topic;."Then mobile up, to be mobile as the core, not TVC as the core;Always on, we used to do 360-degree marketing, but now we recommend that brands do 365-day marketing to reach different people with different contentFinally, there is the last-mile first, which is to think about creating trading opportunities in **. ”
Facing the future development of the advertising industry, Chen Minyuan believes that advertisers need to embrace new technologies and new forms of creativity. He said: "Advertisers should continue to explore new creative techniques and forms of expression, and perfectly combine technology and creativity to achieve more efficient marketing communication. At the same time, he stresses the importance of teamwork: "Advertisers need to learn to work with other professionals to promote the development of their brands. ”
In short, at the crossroads of creativity, advertisers need to keep learning, Xi, exploring and innovating. They need to have comprehensive skills and deeper insights to adapt to changing market conditions. At the same time, they also need to embrace new technologies and new forms of creativity, and perfectly combine technology and creativity to achieve more effective marketing communications. Only in this way can advertisers stay ahead of the curve and drive brand success in times of change.