6 Reasons Why Brands Need An 'Always On' Approach
The call to action of our time, why brands should be using the new marketing strategy, ‘Always On’ to drive their content.
- ‘Always On’ is a new marketing method that has been developed for the digital era, where brands promise to tell great and engaging stories so that a two-way conversation of value is built with their audience.
- In a world where audiences are more selective about the content they consume, with no time for interruptive advertising, ‘Always On’ will provide continuous rapport, increased engagement and other benefits outlined in this article.
The advertising industry has been affected by heavy disruption and displacement due to three key factors:
1. Evolution of technology and platforms.
Technology and platforms are advancing at an astronomical rate. The likes of Facebook, Instagram, and Google are set to monopolise the advertising industry and with digital spend on the rise, attention is moving away from print and TV.
2. Changes in consumer behaviour.The habits of consumers are always evolving, with the current market seeing Instagram as the number one social channel for many western millennials and mobile as their device of choice. In addition, consumer awareness of data privacy is resonating more throughout the industry, with more social channels taking an active interest in enforcing this for their users.
3. Legacy business models.When a business considers the ever-changing consumer habits, coupled with evolving technology, an issue is presented with a business’ ability to innovate and adapt in line with these changes - each advertising business has its legacy of how they do things, and the age of the business will affect how they make these tactical changes in order to stay in line with current and future changes.
What is an ‘Always On’ approach?
‘Always On’ is a new marketing ethos that has been developed for the digital era and has been adopted by an increasing number of brands. These brands have acknowledged that quantity is a key focus whilst incorporating authenticity.
‘Always On’ means a brand will be relevant and engage with the channels their audience populates. It’s a promise to tell stories and create a two-way conversation with their audience, not to interrupt, bombard, or simply take from without providing value.
With new algorithm developments, social can filter and reject nonsense advertising by de-prioritising it in the feed. When an ‘Always On’ method is integrated, brands would begin by assessing their data so that they focus on ‘usable data’ which will increase personalisation and relevance for their audience.
Why brands should consider an ‘Always On’ approach:
1. Higher value and return on investment:
‘Always On’ will eliminate the siloed campaign mentality. As a result, this will promote further reach across a variety of channels and can influence an audience at different stages of the customer purchase cycle. Although providing the ‘right message at the right time’ to target audiences is key, brands will in turn, receive higher value and return on investment.
2. Continuous rapport and dialogue with target consumers:Additionally, through using ‘Always On’, brands will achieve a continuous rapport with their audience, building a two-way conversation of value, that is not just an intrusive ad which is forgotten about as quickly as it appears.
3. Pricing efficiencies:Brands will be able to develop a sustainable content programme over an extended period of time which leads the way for economies of scale in planning, production, and media distribution. To be in continual conversation with an audience requires commitment, which demands that the creative, production and distribution departments are always being innovative. But when this is compared to the more sales-oriented advertising, the ‘Always On’, conversation focused approach is the clear winner.
4. Increased engagement:The best marketers will understand that the content they share is about both the quantity and quality, this will ensure that it is portrayed in a way which engages their audience to comment, and engage.
5. Uplift and awareness increase:
With an increase in engagement, comes an audience who will always be in conversation with the brand, which will promote uplift and brand awareness. Many businesses make the mistake that interruptive brand logos or product reinforcement is effective, but an audience know what they want and through using an ‘Always On’ approach, marketers will be able to add value, not interrupt their audience’s brand experience.
6. The ‘next step’:Brands do not just want an audience to consume their content and then have the journey to end there. They want that valuable next step, for an audience to take the time and effort to find out more. Data has shown that when people are taken on a journey through telling a story, they are provided with value whether it's educational or entertaining, they want to find out more. Just think how many people go to IMDB or YouTube after watching a good Netflix documentary - this is what brand campaigns are noticing more of. Read more in our article ‘To Make An Impact, You Have To Think Long Form’ where we discuss the effect of long-form content on a consumer’s desire to find out more about the brand.
Campaigns will remain as an effective method for a brand’s recognition and engagement, however, the results are not sustainable unless integrated into a larger strategy - ‘Always On’ is the call to action of our time and should not be overlooked.
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