Are ads ready to become content?

There have always been great ads, but is the quality of advertising great enough to rival content? Geoffrey Ramsey, Carol Kruse and Sean Finnegan debate the question of the day.

Consumers don't like ads, the idea of advertising or even the ad industry, according to eMarketer CEO and Co-Founder Geoffrey Ramsey, who pointed out that most people rate advertisers slightly above big tobacco but below lawyers.

"Consumers are getting ad overload, and new media only exacerbates the problem," Ramsey told attendees at the iMedia Brand Summit in Coconut Point, Fla. "Traditional advertising fairs a little better than interactive, and in areas like banner ads and video, we see a lot of negative consumer feedback."

That was the bad news from Ramsey, who painted a harsh picture for brands struggling to find ways to connect with consumers. But the good news came from Ramsey's panelists, who dissected the growing trend of ads morphing into content.

Having some fun with the idea of blurring the line between content and advertising, Carol Kruse, VP of interactive marketing for The Coca Cola Company, took to the stage with a crowd-pleasing stunt.

Before Ramsey could introduce Kruse, or her co-panelist, Sean Finnegan, CMO of Vibrant Media, the soft drink executive took control, asking both men if they would be willing to wear bright red Coke t-shirts. While Ramsey pocketed his shirt and Finnegan made a quick wardrobe change, Kruse joked about the idea of wrapping content -- the speakers themselves -- inside an impromptu Coke ad.

Getting down to business, Ramsey -- without a Coke t-shirt -- led the panel and the attendees in an interactive discussion of the new "Ads-R-Content" model.

Using clickers provided by ValueClick, Ramsey polled the crowd to see whether the notion that ads will have to become content actually holds water. While a handful of those in the room took extreme positions, saying either yes or no, the vast majority of marketers found themselves taking the middle ground with respect to the new model.

"I think that makes a lot of sense," Finnegan said in reference to the fact that most marketers viewed the new model as being something short of a sea change. "Any kind of zero-sum approach won't work, so I think some ads will have to look more like content, while others will stay the same."

Elaborating on Finnegan's analysis, Kruse pointed out that some brands will more easily adapt to the new model, while others will certainly struggle.

"I used to work for Clorox, and it's hard to see a brand like that spawning content-style ads, but if you look at what Tide did at the Super Bowl, you see that it is possible," Kruse said.

Notably, Kruse, who now works for Coke, referred to her brand as an entertainment brand. While many think of Coke as a consumer packaged goods brand, Kruse's assertion that the beverage company has become something more than the sum of its products may serve as a guidepost for brands looking to bring their messaging into the digital age.

But that messaging will require a creative ramp-up that will force brands and agencies to invest more heavily in production, according to Finnegan, who said he believes agencies are well-suited to the task.

"Entertainment units within the agencies are getting a lot more attention, and that's helping to reshape the agency model as compelling content becomes more vital," said Finnegan, who recently left the BBDO agency.

According to Kruse, that shift will mean increased costs and more work for independent production houses because digital often demands a slew of creatives for a single campaign. However, those costs may not be as painful as brands might think if their agencies are able to realize economic efficiencies by producing content-style ads for the web in conjunction with their traditional TV spots.

But the most engaging creative in the world may still fall flat, according to Ramsey, who reminded the crowd that with more users reporting a dislike of ads in general and technology that enables ad-skipping becoming more widespread, the industry may have a bigger problem on its hands than it realizes.

"I actually hope there's more disruption," Finnegan said. "The more that consumers turn away from ads, the more that will accelerate the growth of the new model."

Kruse was equally pragmatic about the prospect of consumers using technology to avoid ads.

"I think publishers will always find a way to serve ads," Kruse said. "Disruption is just a reality that we deal with."

But another reality that we deal with -- user-generated content -- might not be the place for the new advertising model, according to Kruse.

"I don't know if you'll see a ton of brands opening up the doors to UGC because that's giving away too much control, but I do think you'll see more advertising around that kind of content," Kruse said.

Whether brands simply promote UGC by running ads on YouTube or throw open the doors and ask users to handle the creative heavy-lifting, one area the panelists and those in the room were able to agree on was the notion that success will be defined by a sometimes dizzying array of metrics.

"I think that's an answer that comes down to all of the above," Finnegan said.

Will ads morph into content? That remains an open question for the future, as brands experiment in a rapidly changing media landscape.


Article By:Michael Estrin