Changing Your Advertising as Consumer Behavior Changes

Reading this mornings article on eWedNews, Fairy dust, Feel-good Advertising and Marketing is no Longer working, as Reality Sets In got me thinking about the what and why of how you need to change your advertising to keep relevant.

Here is what I am seeing with brides and GenY in general today. They are all about mobility and portability. If they can’t take the media with them, they are less likely to use it. No longer do they need to be chained to their PC or even laptop.

This quote from the June 24, 2010 Research Brief from the Center for Media Research paints the picture.

• Rising power of mobility and devices: Advances in technology are expected to see increasingly converged, multi-functional mobile devices come of age as a consumption platform by the end of 2011. By 2014, US mobile Internet access subscribers are projected to increase to 96.1 million, a 40% CAGR from 2009.
• Growing dominance of Internet experience over all content consumption: Increasingly, the consumer has moved beyond thinking of the Internet as an end in itself, and expects all forms of media to embed the convenience, immediacy and interactivity of the Internet. People are already consuming magazines and newspapers on Internet-enabled tablets, and streaming personalized music services in preference to buying physical CDs.

Another thing I am seeing is the localization factor. Bridal marketing for most of us has always worked best when it is local. Brides look to the national media for idea, but to local for vendors.

The third change is sparked by this desire for portability. There is a building resurgence in local bridal print media.

How do you use this information?

Here are some steps I think you should look at.

1. Make sure that your web presence is in tip top shape. Your website is fully optimized for search, is user friendly, is updated AT LEAST weekly, is fully integrated with social media and is cell phone compatible.

2. Look at your local publications.

• How well distributed are they? Find out where, how and how many
• Does the content and other advertisers match your business?
• How good is their electronic tie in? Do they have a great, interactive website and are they taking full advantage of social media? Simply having their magazine online is no longer enough. Does their site work to build an active local community of brides?
• What other marketing opportunities to they align themselves with? ie: Bridal shows, TV & Radio

3. If, and only if, you are looking to expand your market nationally or you are trying to pull in destination brides, look at the top wedding blogs like Style Me Pretty to invest in banner ads. This is a big spend and results more in brand identity than direct sales, but may be worth it if you have the extra coin to invest on an ongoing basis.

You have to keep on top of this stuff, my friends.

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