Brands at risk of self-destruction as marketers miss
the mark
95 per cent of
advertising spend in 2009 had no impact on the
consumer
London, UK – 18 May 2010 – Alterian (LSE: ALN), the leader in
customer engagement
technology and solutions, today published a new report
illustrating a major social change in the way consumers listen to
and engage with brands. Only 5 per cent (4 per cent UK and 6 per
cent US) of consumers surveyed in the report trusted advertising
and 8 per cent (9 per cent UK and 6 per cent US) believed ‘what the
company says about itself’. This equates globally to nearly
$426 billion spent on ineffectual advertising activity in 2009
alone.
In stark contrast, the research found that
consumers actively engaging in the use of social media feel more in
control of relationships and more positive about their connection
with brands in general. A third (31 per cent UK and 35 per
cent US) of respondents using social media believe that ‘companies
are genuinely interested them’.
“The report highlights that the majority of
marketers are simply not hitting the right note with their target
audience,” commented David
Eldridge, CEO, Alterian. “Consumer trust is at an all-time low.
What we are witnessing is an era of individualisation. It is no
longer adequate to adopt a strategy of mass broadcast and one-way
conversations. Brands should be trying to understand communities
rather than focusing on siloed communication channels.”
The report highlights that many organisations
still do not recognise the need to change, with 58 per cent of
respondents believing that the lack of a social media strategy was
due to the absence of board support. As global advertising levels
are predicted to increase by 0.8 per cent in 2010, the report calls
for businesses to redirect their marketing spend into better
understanding their audiences, which means investment in
appropriate skills across every department to make the most of the
opportunity that new media affords them.
Eldridge concludes, “Traditional marketing is
dead. To know and communicate to individuals, to a specific
individual, should be the strategic and tactical goal of all brands
and organisations. This will present the number one marketing and
wider business challenge over the coming decade. The question
is how quickly can brands evolve their marketing strategy? If
brands are ready to increase marketing budgets let’s ensure that we
focus that resource in the right places.”
Author of the report, Your Brand: At Risk or
Ready for Growth? Professor Hulme, said: “Meeting the challenge
of individualisation will require new thinking in the collection of
customer information/data for an organisation to be able to
interact at a personal level. This will call for a
commitment from the business to both structural and skill changes,
arising from the need to break down silos, both departmentally and
functionally to address the ‘single view’ of information but to
also understand how the information is being used at any one time
across the organisation.”
The report is available for download at www.alterian.com/brands-at-risk.
About Alterian
Alterian (LSE: ALN) enables
organizations to create relevant, effective and engaging
experiences with their customers and prospects through social,
digital, and traditional marketing channels. Alterian’s Customer
Engagement solutions are focused in four main areas: Social Media, Web Content Management,
Email, and Campaign
Management & Analytics.
Alterian technology is utilized either to
address a specific marketing challenge or as part of an integrated
marketing platform, with analytics and customer engagement with the
individual at the heart of everything. Working alongside a rich
ecosystem of partners, Alterian delivers its software as a service,
or on premise. For more information about Alterian visit www.alterian.com or the Alterian
blog at www.engagingtimes.com.
For more information, contact:
Beth Handoll
Bite PR
+44 (0)20 8741 1123
alterianuk@bitecommunications.com
Karen
Gibbons
Alterian
+44 (0)117 970 3200
karen.gibbons@alterian.com