Advertising nowadays

     I would like to make some reflections about advertising nowadays, because seems for me that a lot of money has been spent wrongly for many agencies. Unfortunately seems that some people around the world insist interpreting inaccurately the idea that "the advertisement is the soul of the business". Of course that advertising is a fundamental part inside the field of business, however, in my point of view, there are many mistakes when agencies and companies think about sell goods. Moreover, the markets have been changing, and nowadays, they need to be reflected deeply because the society is more selective. Furthermore, the clients can have more knowledge and can choose among innumerable possibilities. The world has been changing quickly, otherwise, seems that advertising has been changing slowly.

     I am a professor and among subjects that I have been teaching there is advertising. I graduated in Marketing and Advertising in 2001. During these 16 years I have been seeing the world changing fastest than advertising, and perhaps I am also carrying part of the blame when I teach the subject nowadays. Undoubtedly one of more important reflections that the professional needs to do nowadays concerns to consumer behavior, most precisely I believe that advertisers need to understand culture more than all. When we see young people choosing in life nowadays, it seems clear that they are thinking: "What culture or subculture are we gonna be part of?". Consequently, do you know what is important for us professionals nowadays? The best research that we can do is going and walking around the streets, going to festivals, malls, squares, stations, restaurants and bars, and surely most important, monkey around with social media, talking, sharing and knowing better the world. You need to go to everywhere and meet people. The secret of good advertising is to understand the target, hence you need go there and bump into them.

     The students when studying advertising want to know how to create good ads. There is no secret. You can not teach good ads, but you can teach techniques. You can not teach how to interpret the world and transform in good ideas. You only can prepare them to analyze the world. In my opinion, advertising is a point of view, is someone trying on something that can be suitable to a culture or subculture. And how do you do it? Understanding deeply this culture, nursing your knowledge to have perfect decisions. Thus, you have to understand two things: the business problem and the audience need. Therefore what you need to do is listening rather than talking.

     What makes a successful and effective campaign? The successful and effective campaign exists when we affect how consumers think, feel and behave with a brand. And, how can we do it? As I said before, understanding our consumers. How is the mistake then? The biggest mistake in my opinion is the practice to copy all. In my point of view, with some exceptions of course, advertising is a big copy. The majority of students go to universities and schools of communication to learn models, ads that worked, techniques from famous advertisers, and of course this is part of the process, but is not the unique part neither the essential. So, authenticity is more important than that. Be yourself. Research by yourself. Create by your own ideas. Try on. Understand the consumers and be yourself. Take risks. Nobody rises up in advertising without courage. Risk and creativity is part of this profession. However, one thing is the most important: authenticity. The way you will be recognized as a good advertiser is being different from the others.

     Summing up, there are two important points to be efficient in advertising and achieve the success. First of all you have to understand your consumers better. You need to have contact with them, meet them, live what they have been living, because only with a big deal of knowledge about your target you will be precise and accurate. This first Renzo Rosso simplify well: "We are not doing things for them, but with them". Secondly, You have to copy less and be more yourself. You need to let the blossom happen and be different from others. Thus, what you need is something called authenticity. Hence, be yourself.