An assignment in the subject of International Marketing (III Semester)

1. [AMBIENT ADVERTISING]
INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
2010- 11
PRESENTED BY:
MEENAKSHI UPADHAYAY GAUR
MBA (IB)

2. ‘Mystery is the mind. More so, if it’s that of a
consumer! ’
A marketer wil l rarely find one single way to communicate and persuade a
consumer to buy a certain product or to influence his buying decision. With
millions of brands entering the market every day, mar keters are faced with the
constant need for finding intrusive ways to effectively market a product. Each
brand is vying for the all -important consumer's time and attention, ea ch willing to
experiment with fresh and unique ways to promote their messages to specific
groups in an appropriate environment. In this ‘buy me’ environment, advertisers
are left with little choice other than to resort to novel ideas to woo their
customers.
Good or bad, advertising is all about grabbing attention! One might not notice his
boss walking in the office in a business suit on but would surely get intrigued to
see him in a towel! Why? Because that’s an awkward thing to see, rather to do! A
market er today exploits this psychology of human mind. He aims to bring up
techniques to advertise so cleverly that it catches the consumer’s attention when
the consumer is completely unaware and in whatever state he/she may be in.
‘ Ambient advertising is one such trend, fast catching up as
an innovative marketing technique that grabs the customer
attention through an unusual medium, in the ti me and place
least expected. ’
A new concept for the
advertisers as well as
for the advertising
agencies, the whole
idea of ambient
advertising is to catch
the eye of the niche
even before they
realize they are a
target! ‘Ambient’
advertisements are so
considered because
they encompass one's
atmosphere. It neither
restricts itself to
mainstream media
outlets like radio,
television and
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3. newspapers nor does it adopts a size, shape or format. Ambient advertising is a
brand message that knows no boundaries and hits you abruptly anywhere, any time.
On public beaches, on the backs of bathroom stall doors, at the bottom of golf
course holes, on the floors of supermarket aisles, tattooed on people, painted on
cars, printed on egg shells. And that’s the point. That’s what makes it so
refreshing.
Ambient as an advertising medium:
 Puts greater emphasis on tactics such as surpri se, humor, creativity and
consequently audience involvement
 Is more engaging than out-of-home and hence less wastage.
 Draws upon incomplete message more than out -of-home. The ‘unusualty’
raises level of interest in consumer and hence their willingness to expend
cognitive effort to process message.
 Puts greater importance of reference group, opinion leadership, r esonance
with t arget audience ·
 Is created generally by young individuals, and so targets audiences of
similar age. Typically this has been seen as a notoriously har d to reach
demographic .
The importance of ambient advertising lies in the way in which the consumer
‘discovers’ it and its effectiveness .
‘Ambient works partly through surprise and creativity and
the discovery of the communication by the recipient. ’
The recipient is invited to believe that they have ‘found’ something and is
empowered by
this and can
better identify
with the
communication -
leading to a
relationship with
the target
audience.
Another
important
differentiator is
the way the
consumer
engages with the
medium.
Semiotics or
symbols are an
essential way of
conveying
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4. meaning especially in low-processing time advertising situations. Well chosen
images, colors, contexts etc can connote ce rtain meanings more effectively and
quickly than text alone. With Ambient advertising, the medium can b e seen as a
sign. It might, for example, connot e innovativeness, cleverness or even arrogance
and forcefulness.
Jignesh mishra of ON Media says,
‘ Advertisers are always trying new ways to reach consumers,
use spaces which
have not yet been
used. ’
Ambient advertisers
leave no place
unexplored and
untouched .And if they
have, it could only be
for the sole reason of
being rebuffed by law
or ordinance which
doesn’t forbids
advertising to its weird
limits.
Advertising has, at
some point, likely made
our lives better, either
because we must
advertise our own
businesses, or because ads
help pay for goods and
services that otherwise would
have passed costs along to
us.
Ambient advertising, though
considered a nontraditional
stand alone activity. I t serves
in the same manner as any
other advertising medium i.e.
letting consumers know
about products. Much of the
time, it's also highly creative
and entertaining, which
stems from its emphasis on
thinking outside t he box and
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5. trying to work with smaller
budgets.
Be it the blood spouting
fountain, which was part of
a promotional campaign for
a horror film festival and
the dog with the
‘unmanned’ leash used to
promote a film, The
Invisible premiering on a
popular television channel,
More and more consumers
are moving from just
transactions to experiences
with the brand. Ambient
helps brands be more a
part of people lives , break
through the clutter and
reach out to all ,say ad
professionals.
‘What has triggered the trend of ambient advertising? It’s
the need to get noticed. ’
Traditional marketing is slowly loosing its charm and appeal and its returns
dwindling every year. The public are ignoring TV ad vertising in its masses as
broadcasters offer the option to re cord specific programmes and fast forward
through ads (Tivo, Sky+ etc) negating advertising breaks effectiveness. Moreover,
these main stream advertisements mediums usually cost a huge amount for one
insertion. And if the size or reach of the newspaper or any such conventional
medium is not significant, it goes unnoticed.
As such more and more brand s are opting to advertise through an anomalous
source of media rather than more traditional ones of print & electronic media,
radio & newspapers. Ambient adve rtising helps in establishing individual connect,
and is more reasonable in terms of cost effectiveness. That's the reason bigger
brands are going in for it.
Bharat Parekh, a financial consultant, was looking for a unique way to publicize his
latest schem e. He was not interested in promoting his scheme through
conventional ways. "So, when my ad agency came up with the idea of gifting apple
baskets with my company's logo stuck on each apple to my premium clients, I was
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6. all for it. It not only helped build a personal connect, but also got me good
business."
‘ Ambient is not a ‘usual’ tactic designed to meet
conventional communication objectives and hence ‘usual’
measures may be inappropriate or at least difficult to identify. ’
The difficulty in
measuring advertising
effectiveness applies
no less to Ambient than
out -of-home and other
forms of advertising. It
may indeed be
necessary for
alternative assessments
to be considered. Some
potential methods may
include:
 Sales response
after campaign
(however this
has an attendant
measurement
problem similar
to out-of-home; wastage, confounded results etc),
 If widespread media coverage results, then measure in similar ways to PR, ie
editorial space,
 Recall, recognition with target audience,
 Measure the importance o f creativity and simplicity to effectiveness,
especially as a result of low processing time.
‘ Advertising is one that impacts! ’
A water fountain spouts blood. A dog walks around with a leash around its neck,
ominously suspended in mid -air. No, these are not attempts to create a sci -fi
thriller but ambient advertisements. Not just fresh idea but ambient advertising is
impactful. A marketer opines,
‘ You either
like it or you don’t. With a commercial you can
turn it off, with a print ad you can turn the p age, but with
ambient - it's unavoidable and that's why it's so powerful. ’
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7. Whether you love it or
hate it or, you cannot
ignore it. Not just this,
the great thing about it
is its ability to target
specific age groups &
demographics in a chose
n location with
confidence, be it a
nightclub or a sports
stadium etc. Having said
that, this does not
always work’ s in its
favor.
Ambient media though
proving to be a powerful
source of communication
is discar ded on certain
fronts. Every available
space is now an advertising platform, it seems. Over the past decade, ambient
advertising has become ubiquitous. Be it high traffic areas include shopping
centers or main pedestrian walkways, business parks o r roads ide, exhibitions or a
fashion store changing cubicles.
‘ Ambient advertising , views almost nothing as sacred.
Perhaps it's time
they should. ’
Ambient media in
someway or the other
tries to invade in the
private space or relaxed
moments which instead
of creating interest
would annoy a
customer and may
persuade a rather harsh
and aggressive behavior
. Billboards were taken
down in the city centre
of Sau Paulo for the
sake of architectural
beauty and cleanliness
of the city. Even space
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8. is not left !The Russian space program launched a rocket bearing a 30-foot Pizza
Hut logo, and some companies are investigating the possibility of placing ads in
space that will be visible from earth!
Not jus t places, the amounts of
advertising and marketing, people
are exposed to daily have also gone
beyond belief. Ambient advertising,
today, covers lavatory walls, adorns
petrol pump nozzles and book -
marks, and livens up coffee cup
holders and pizza boxes .in sho rt, it
has simply become impossible to
avoid. Unfortunately, the basic
nature of most ambient advertising
is developed in this way!
Some accuse efforts into getting
ambient as "environment
pollutants”, creating disorder and
clutter. This is why marketers are
pressed to find even more
pioneering and insistent ways to
cut through the "ad clutter" or "ad
fatigue" of modern life. Others
worry that this deluge of
advertising will create a backlash with consumers and they may walk of .People
may feel trapped and that cannot always make the desired result.
‘ Ambient tactics can be fun & informational but
marketers need to stop being so self -serving and sales driven
and get a clue to do the
right thing fro m the get
go. ’
Most ambient marketing is fun but
the more potentially damaging
campaigns can makes some
marketers “ask forgiveness rather
than ask permis sion”. This can
ultimately have a negative impact
on current and future customers.
Globally, ambient advertising is
going in the direction of
interactivity. It’s better for the
ambient industry to think of
possibilities that brighten up the
city and accent uate the
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9. architecture such as neon and LED (light emitting diode) screens. One can even
make advertising ambient interactive such as a touch screen so that you wave your
hand and play with the billboard. Screen technology, mobile -tagging technology
such as Quick Response (QR ), a two dime nsional bar code, were initially seen in
Japan and have now travelled to Europe and the US. A user with a camera phone
equipped with the correct reader softwar e can scan the image of the QR code
causing the phone’s browser t o launch and redi rect to a site’s url. So, it’s also
about entertainment, not just “buy me, buy me!”
Social responsibility causes are also kicking in. Large companies take the
responsibility to talk about the problems of certain communities, green movement,
etc.
‘ The ad industry needs to be keenly aware of the cues
we’re sending to kids on a much deeper level in terms of what we
‘value’ as a society . ’
Before one considers
ambient marketing, the
impact it will have on
prospects and current
customers should be
carefully thought of.
Provocative and exciting
campaigns, Eng aging
visuals, great
experience True, the
effect in the eye of the
beholder. No one is
saying ‘don’t market’,
that’s unrealistic.
Ambient advertising is
likely here to stay, and
"ignoring" it won't help
combat commercialism.
But, responsibility and
accountability go hand
in hand, with o utcomes that cannot be ignored. Often, little thought is given to the
trickle down impact of ambient advertising on society. Media literacy and critical
thinking skill sets will help overcome the shock value an ambient advertising
creates .It’s in the favo r of those marketers be mindful of the methodology,
messaging, and harm that comes from zero accountability and reach out to society
in an acceptable way.
‘ Brands areexpected to spend £40m across the sector in
2009, down from £57m last year and a severe drop from the high
of £61m achieved in 2007. ’
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10. Although ambient advertising may make a mark by having immense shock value,
yet it is still not
strong enough to
muscle out the more
conventional forms
of advertising. For
branding and
publicity we still
need to rely on print
and electronic
mediums. Ambient
media alone will
never have the same
effect, unless it’s
connected to some
other media and
recognizable in what
it tries to tell you. It
is a sort of self -
regulation. If you
look at Sao Paulo,
there were a $100 million lost in ad revenue in out -of-home (as per the Internet),
and it sounds dramatic for companies that rented out billboards. It’s tragic for
those who sell space.
The boom years before 2008 created an explosion of creativity in media ideas,
though many of them were poorly conceived. Every week we were getting three or
four new bits of media that were never going to succeed. You just know when an
idea is not going to work out,” says Gideon Adey, kinetic business development
director .For e.g. Ads on escalator risers are in themselves self -defeating, as they
are visible only when there are few people on the escalator. The worst advertising
down-turn in decades has cut a swathe through the ambient media sector, clipping
the wings of media owners , forcing them out of business and d riving revenues
down .This should, however, leave the field clear for brands to take advantage of
more effective niche opportunities.
According to Michelle Edelman,
‘ Ambient advertising should provoke emotions and
provide an experience to its customers.
Essentially there are three main routes to success for an ambient medium. Timing
is vital; a medium that can reach someone just before they are about to do
something else will often prove successful. For example, credit card brand Visa
advertises on petrol pump nozzles to encourage people to use its cards rather than
cash when paying . Another important consideration is the mindset of the consumer
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11. when they receive the
message. Changing
room ads target their
audience when in a
personal environment.
Ads about weight loss
or beauty products
which may be
embarrassing in a
wider social location
are therefore more
appropriate there. It
is also important to
match the
environment to the
brand message.
Ambient marketing
campaigns should be
entertaining, non -
intrusive, and
meaningful. Paramount
Pictures promoted the
release of the film
Transformers: Revenge
of the Fallen by installing
a giant Bumblebee
Transformer in London's
Westfield shopping
centre.
For example, Sony
Ericsson promoted a
fashionable mobile phone
through ads in changing
rooms in Miss Selfridge,
knowing the campaign
would almost exclusively
reach 16- to 25 -year-old
women. Such tight
targets of such
campaigns make them
more advantageous in
their effort. However, by
the same token advertising can easily reach saturation point and lose effectiveness
through overexposure. As such originality of concept and innovation of approach is
import ant in ambient Media.
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12. ‘ Ambient media forces advertisers to think on a much wider
plain and to realize that media is completely open -ended, it's
everywhere. Unlike broadcast and print, ambient is more in your
face and you connect with it at a very immediate, emotional
level. ’
Consumers and adverti sing messages have evolved and become more
sophisticated. From this background has risen ambient advertising. The
‘communications and technology revolution’ has given us omnipresent information .
Whether used stand-alone or in conjunction with a more traditional advertising
campaign, ambient advertising brings up a fresh idea to way to advertise and so i s
expected to stay here for a long time and b ecome more and more visible as it is an
innovative and cos t effective way to influentially and expressively target
consumers.
‘ Advertisements carried
by niche media are always
effective especially when they never let go a chance to surprise,
excite and engage! ’
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