The Evolution of Advertising
It seems that the time for TV spots and print ads in the Yellow Pages is becoming obsolete in comparison to the new premier form of advertising—the internet. It’s quite obvious that people are using the internet more and more every day. And why not? People can watch their favorite TV shows at their own leisure on their laptop or their iPod, free of commercials. And when someone is looking to find tips on granite countertop installation, they now turn to the internet instead of the phone book. The internet provides you with a name, an interactive map, and more than likely, a homepage full of photos and customer testimonials.
We’ve reached a time where you don’t just take someone’s word for it anymore. Instead, you look it up online. And this really caters to advertising. People can watch twenty commercials on TV that tell them about the best vacuum in the world, and each claims that it can outperform all of the others with ease. But can it? This is when people start probing. Go on Amazon.com and look at the reviews. Go on YouTube and watch as your everyday person demonstrates his new vacuum and gives you his unbiased take on it.
People like the internet because it doesn’t always shove things right in your face—it takes a more indirect route. You get to select who the information is coming from and make your own decision on what you really desire.
The other remarkable quality of internet advertising is that it can reach the entire globe and not cost you a fortune. If you truly have a good product and you put it online, you will eventually succeed. The trick is getting people to find it and stay interested in it. Now that people have the power to select the advertisements, you have to seize the power to be a blinding beacon in a sea of substandard products.
The good news is that you don’t have to be rich to get rich. You just need a good product paired with some creative advertising to put online for the world to see. Personally, I see this as a win-win situation. The consumer can do enough research to really get the best product and the mom who made her own laundry detergent actually has a fighting chance to run with the big dogs—the “Tides” and the “Alls” who were once untouchable.
Remember, Balloon Boy caught the attention of three hundred million people. And if you’re creative enough, so can you. Hopefully you don’t get prosecuted in a federal court, though.
