For the benefit of those Cog Blog readers younger than me (that will be about 99%) Spock is a fictional character from the Star Treck franchise memorably played by Leonard Nimoy. Spock is defined by his love of logic. He\u2019s half human, half Vulcan; illogicality is a curious phenomenon that doesn\u2019t exist in his world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the Star Treck fan website, Warp Factor Treck, Spock \u2018defines logic as the absolute rejection of emotion in decision-making, using cold reason, empirical data, and probability\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Advertisers have a choice where to place their ads, even if in some instances they have little control over where they eventually end up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Take broadcast or linear TV as an example. Historically the marketers\u2019 choice (remember those \u2018as seen on TV\u2019 stickers?) TV as defined delivers memorable moments, is safe (content, including ads, needs to be deemed acceptable by regulators), and is by and large enjoyed by those exposed to it. The ads appear in a separate space, with a limited number of other advertisers in breaks within the content. The advertiser decides where.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It works too; there are volumes of studies and papers to show what others have done and the benefits they\u2019ve accrued. One reason for the documenting of its success is that TV\u2019s audience and delivery is measured via systems created by and for the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Compare and contrast with social media, a channel enjoyed, or suffered by an audience of billions every month. Advertisers are free to say whatever they like \u2013 even if that involves inventing and selling non-existent products. Regulations allegedly exist, but where they do they\u2019re internal and are not subject to any real scrutiny or external influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ads appear where the channel decides, including on a network of like-minded partner sites (you can opt-out, always assuming you know how).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SM advertising works; we know that because the sites say so. They measure and define audiences in their own way. They are it seems all for verification and validation, as long as it\u2019s them doing the validating and the verifying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some say social media causes harm, even that platforms are designed to ensnare and entrap audiences. Some say they\u2019re addictive, even designed to be so. The platforms don\u2019t agree; the reality is they don\u2019t care what you think of what they do or how they do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In any logical world where advertising is placed would be decided by a combination of control over where the ad finally appeared, and the likelihood of it working by delivering a measured benefit. The likes of price and audience would be inputs not outputs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Media professionals know all this, there are plenty of smart media agency and media vendor executives. The vast majority think that a world wherein 3 US-headquartered online businesses, operating to their own rules and oblivious to advertiser, regulator or even Government concerns, take two thirds of UK ad expenditure is nuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the professionals know this is crazy, and if they are as well informed as they are, why do their clients do the exact opposite to what logic suggests they should do? Are agencies these days so removed from the real decision makers in client companies that nobody with any real say over budget allocation cares about, or even hears their advice?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or are agencies so complicit in the hopeless placing of their clients\u2019 ads that they would rather keep quiet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is dangerous territory. If advertising on channels taking 66% of adspend doesn\u2019t work (by which I mean doesn\u2019t deliver a measurable and real return) what do we think will happen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are my predictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then what?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spock, a fictional character after all, had this to say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn critical moments men sometimes see exactly what they wish to see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And: \u201cWithout followers evil cannot spread.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That second one is a subject for another day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For the benefit of those Cog Blog readers younger than me (that will be about 99%) Spock is a fictional character from the Star Treck franchise memorably played by Leonard Nimoy. Spock is defined by his love of logic. He\u2019s half human, half Vulcan; illogicality is a curious phenomenon that doesn\u2019t exist in his world. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1975"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1975"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1976,"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1975\/revisions\/1976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}