Tech for advertising refers to a growing trend of incorporating technology into the promotion and marketing mix of many traditional marketing venues. Traditional marketing such as brochure printing in Abbottsford, BC, for example, as well as billboards and flyers, still have their place in the marketing world, it has just adapted. There are many ways in which incorporating technology can be achieved, but a core component is to leverage current technologies to create new opportunities that were previously unavailable. For example, marketers can utilize social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter to create brand recognition, which can then be leveraged to sell a product or service. They can also integrate social media with email marketing campaigns to build a long-term relationship with their client base. Some online marketing venues, such as the marketing automation services for financial professionals offered by LeadJig, provide analytics tools so that marketers can measure how successful they have been at reaching target audiences. In fact, tech for advertising is fast becoming an inevitable element of marketing strategies.
While many traditional marketing venues still generate a majority of their revenue through direct sales channels, there is still a significant portion of revenue generated through indirect channels. For example, most brick-and-mortar retailers generate a majority of their revenue from third party direct sales channels, rather than through retail itself. While some companies are turning to e-commerce sites such as Amazon to replace their bricks and mortar locations, these initiatives are usually met with resistance from the general public, who generally associate shopping with being outside of one’s home, and therefore do not wish to see their money go to a faceless entity. In addition, tech for advertising allows marketers to advertise their services directly to their customers, and many are even learning how to buy Instagram likes to help with their own outreach within this. With the help of next generation advertising concepts like targeted advertising, companies can find out the exact demographic that their product can attract, and put out ads in accordance. For example, a company wants to advertise their product on the television. They can use software solutions from the likes of Samba TV (https://www.samba.tv/business/audience) or similar companies to derive accurate TV viewership data which can then help them decide where their ad should go. This enables them to leverage the power of technology while marketing their business to individuals who are likely to be interested in a product such as theirs.
One of the most interesting forms of tech for advertising is augmented reality. Augmented reality is simply the use of technology to take an existing experience and make it real. Take the use of the Nintendo Wii as an example. This popular gaming console can be used in a variety of different manners, including playing Wii Sports, playing games, and even using it as a fitness device. This allows marketers to take an idea of what consumers would be attracted to while in the store, and then design an ad campaign around these interests to generate interest. Similar technology is also used to personalize video content specifically for advertisement purposes, as can be seen in the work Idomoo carries out, and the potential it holds is incredible.
With augmented reality, marketers are taking the idea of using video games to enhance human experiences one step further. The idea is not entirely new, but recent advances in video game technology has made the idea highly viable for advertising. Brands that have shown off the potential of using this technology will likely receive heavy traffic, possibly from YouTube and other sources. If successful, this type of advertising could prove to be very lucrative for businesses that are trying to market to a niche audience that is just not covered by traditional forms of marketing. This form of advertising also makes the idea of online marketing, which has been largely ignored by many marketers because it does not take place in the traditional offline world, more viable.
Another benefit of advertising in this way is that the interaction between the company and consumer can occur in a virtual space, instead of forcing a customer into a physical location. For example, a company could place an ad on an online gaming website where millions of people are logged in at any given moment. Their interaction with the site could include providing their name and email address so that the marketing team can follow up and keep in touch with interested customers. Traditional forms of marketing may not work as well when taking advantage of social media websites. This means that incorporating online marketing strategies into ones marketing strategy could be a highly effective way to market to a large amount of customers.
While there is still some time to figure out how best to use augmented reality in advertising, there is no doubt that it is a technology worth watching closely. In the near future, it may become commonplace for companies to use this type of technology in order to advertise. This will only benefit the Internet, and all marketers looking for new ways to push the envelope on marketing strategies. It may even spark new ideas for advertising and make traditional forms of marketing more effective. There are a lot of questions and a lot of analysis that need to be done before advertising in this way becomes commonplace.
