Advertising to a generation that blocks advertising

The nature of advertising shifted drastically over the last year. Not only are consumers seeing less experiential and traditional advertising due to COVID-19, they’re also growing tired of the constant bombardment of ads across their favourite media platforms.

For many consumers, Ad-blockers are the answer, which leaves marketing professionals with a new challenge of how to break through the digital wall. One of the ways to do so is by crafting a digital strategy that speaks to modern generations, while resonating with the needs of older generations.

What we can learn from millennials
Millennials are first generation “digital natives,” always connected and attached to smartphones, smart devices and laptops. This impacts the way they find, research, make purchasing decisions and consume products.

Millennials look for three unique influencing characteristics.

1. Deep meaningful communication
Millennials communicate far more than other generations. When deciding if something is worth buying, they speak to friends, read reviews on social networks and conduct research. Marketing professionals can use these insights to communicate better with their target audience and find ways of giving them instant digital gratification and the information they need, when they need it.

2. Create memorable experiences
Millennials don’t just want a product. They want an experience––from the way a brand interacts with them to the way it’s delivered. They crave a unique experience that resonates and touches them deeply and gives them something to talk about on social media. Craft breakthrough brand experiences and you will not only create brand loyalty, but also an army of brand advocates who talk, post and comment about your brand helping you achieve priceless word-of-mouth recommendations.

3. Give more than you take
Millennials want more, and they want it now. During the brand consideration process, they consult with friends and do online research. This presents a wonderful opportunity for marketing professionals to create relevant and engaging content that adds value. Not just hard-sell marketing messages, but related content that adds another value and dimension to their lives.

What we can learn from boomers
Marketing professionals believe that older generations are more reluctant to switching brands. Research has proved that the opposite may be true, that 50+ consumers are as stuck in their ways as previously believed.

1. Demonstrate practical benefits
Unlike millennials, who are easily swayed by their communities, mature consumers are less easily influenced by peers. They rely on their own experiences, practicality and logic to sway them out of their comfort zones.

2. Stick to the facts
Sweeping claims don’t work on mature consumers who will do substantial fact and cross checking of information to ascertain whether marketing claims are valid and true. What’s more, they’re much more likely to return items that don’t live up to expectations or brand claims.

How do you navigate a world rich with diverse audiences, who are able to block your brand messages at the click of a button? Desiree Gullan, Co-founder and Executive Creative Director of G&G Digital, offers the following advice, “there’s no need to allow ad-blockers and the increasing demands of consumers to block your marketing campaigns. Take insights from both millennials and boomers and merge those into a high-performance hybrid strategy that is well rounded with credible brand and lifestyle messaging, sticks to the facts, delivers on promises and is creates memorable experiences at all touch-points.”

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