Adweek and WPP’s JWT have this week released a survey on “Ad Industry Perception” which canvasses societal opinion towards advertising and marketing communications in the US. The results show that many aspects of the ad industry provoke mixed reactions amongst the public, highlighting the need for more work to be done to stress the positive role that advertising plays in society. The survey has developed in parallel to a WFA led initiative to develop tools for actors within the industry to help the public understand the benefits advertising affords consumers and businesses alike.

 

Many consumers feel that the majority of advertising is not persuasive (61%) and believe the industry does not understand or connect with them (22%). Despite this, advertisements often find strong acceptance, as today’s consumers embrace general media as a component of their cultural experience and less of an interruption. 80% agreed that they like “smart, entertaining advertising”, and 74% that they like “informative, factual advertising.”

 

Adweek argues there is a basic disconnect between the ad industry’s “worldview” and that of its audience: When asked to pick the word that others would use to describe them, 42% of the sample ranked themselves as “pragmatists” - justifying the feature-centric and end-to-end benefit approach that resonates with consumers today.

 

“For an industry that has prided itself on and has dedicated many of its disciplines to understanding of its audience, we are missing the mark with the pragmatist, who is now the biggest segment of that audience,” said Marian Salzman, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at JWT.

 

“If we can tap into that mind-set, create messaging and participate in media that best serve it, I think we can begin to resurrect the influence of the industry and move ourselves up the chain of respected professions pretty quickly.”

 

Source: Adweek/JWT, with additional content by WFA

 

WFA has recently worked on an interactive generic presentation for use and adaptation by local markets seeking to promote the positive role and value that advertising plays within contemporary society.

 

The presentation focuses on the broad societal benefits of advertising, explaining how wider consumer choice, better value propositions and corporate/brand accountability are all enjoyed by consumers due to a company’s ability to advertise. Similarly, the contributions the advertising industry makes to economic growth, innovation, media pluralism and the creative industries are considerable assets to society and should be more strongly underlined by all actors within the industry.

 

The presentation is work in progress and is intended to be developed on a collaborative basis. Feedback is welcome to w.gilroy@wfanet.org

 

The “Role and Value of Advertising” presentation can be downloaded here.