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I would really appreciate your feedback and look forward to writing a revealing analysis, to be summarised and posted for the viewing pleasure of anybody who may be intrigued by the findings!

Thank you.

Only now the control gauge has swung a 180 and the dial is pointing firmly at users…oh, and it’s not about what YOU have to say, it’s about what you might have to hear.   Listening has long been a one-way street, unless of course we’re engaging in a bout of expensive market research and then we’re all ears.   It’s not enough just to listen when we ask a question anymore; we need to be listening even when we’re not being spoken to.  Think of it like that friend you don’t keep in very close contact with, until you remember that their brother works at Apple and you fancy discount on your new iMac; they’re not going to keep picking up the phone to you forever if it always comes down to what they can do for you.

You can’t buy attention today anymore than you could buy respect or love.   It might look like attention on the outside – real estate on a website, air time on a targeted satellite channel – but users own the time and the space and if they choose to withhold their attention then they’ll simply fast forward through the TV spot you paid for (they’re probably watching the programme days later than it aired or have downloaded it on their PC/mobile anyway).

Attention today is earned and every last drop requires the creative and strategic pairing that means that your thought-starting gem of an idea is waiting in the right places for whenever your eager, investigative audience should happen to search it out…and tell someone about it.

Value is in the eye of the beholder and as marketers there is a large debt to our ‘listeners’ to be repaid.  Users are in the driving seat and they’re demanding to see the proof in the pudding, we said we understand better, care more, work harder, last longer….so prove it.  Congruence is our new best friend.  User control means that businesses need to be totally transparent and keep every promise.  Surprise and delight by doing exactly that.

There has been lengthy debate surrounding the extent to which we will become digitised, with everyone predicting, Nostradamus -style, a year at which we will be fully digitally literate. There have also been many ‘how to’ guides published regarding the ways in which to maximise the financial opportunities of a digital-savvy society.

However what I am interested in is attitude conversion; the ability of digital and new medias to change someone’s attitude or behaviour. Businesses spend millions, and with the publication of the Carter Report and the subsequent government investment, are set to spend millions more online…yet all we really know is who clicked where and how long they chose to dwell. We know what the industry deems entertaining and innovative, but does that simply highlight which clever creative is to be the next Cadbury gorilla with electronic go-faster stripes? How can we determine which creative, which formats and which criteria makes an execution affect consumer attitudes and behaviours?

Cadbury Gorilla

I would love to know your views on the situation and would very much appreciate your comments on either:

a) Which new media concepts have changed your attitudes or behaviour towards a product/service?

b) What was it about those concepts that was influential i.e. were they interactive/original/offer you something unique?

c) Can you recall anything you’ve seen that was perhaps clever but missed the mark?

d) Where do you think new media is really effective?

e) Where, if anywhere, do you think new media or digital formats may never work?

Your comments can be as short or as long as you like and you can either respond via this blog (just add a comment) or email me with any insights into any or all of the above at sykes.rebecca@googlemail.com

Thank you!