Advertising: The Industry of Consumer Advocacy
Somewhere along the way, advertising stopped just being about alerting or reminding consumers about our client's existence, or letting them know about some new product offering. It became about ruthlessly fighting and scratching for any dollar that's in the marketplace that has chance to be ours. Competitiveness, responsibility to shareholders, and shear greed has since replaced our simple duty, and demanded ruthlessness in a world that didn't know any better.
But, now we do, and now the consumer does as well. They know our client's flaws, sometimes better than the competitors do. They know when the goal is only the sale, at the cost of good or decency. So, our job now has to become advocation for our client's customers, to be protectors of the marketplace. It's only us who can purge the selfishness so pervasive in the industry today.
How do we become advocates for the consumer?
1) Follow the Golden Rule, as in, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We are an industry full of shame and abhorrence for what we do. We are the tax collectors. Why do we do the things that we, ourselves, hate? If we fucking hate a mailbox full of spam, sales calls during dinner, or holding for an hour to talk to some inept dumbass of a "customer service" rep, why do we feel that it's somehow okay to treat someone else in such a manner? Who gave us this free pass to be assholes?
2) Walk a mile in their shows. Experience the product in every way possible. Recognize and track these experiences, and how they make you feel. Were you ever surprised? Get mad, and see how they react.
3) Show some color, and make the color something other than gray. Being a consumer advocate doesn't mean making product experiences that are palatable to everyone, but making those that are meaningful to someone. Give consumers something to rally around.
4) Be trustworthy, and someone who not only lives up to, but exceeds consumer expectations. And, no, you can't do that with just a magazine ad or a billboard. Make consistent experiences that bleed off the page and radiate through every store, every employee, every interaction.
5) Involve the customers in the big decisions. Let them be on your team, and help to guide you in directions that are meaningful to both of you. Who could know better what the consumer wants most? And there's no better way to keep the best customers happy than to just simply ask them what they need.
6) Go beyond the Google motto. Don't be just not evil, be good.
photo from mjutabor via flickr