13 Feb Human-Centred Marketing: Standing Out In A World of Distractions

The increase in technology and innovation has consciously led to an infringement of distractions in our daily lives. From the start of your day as an individual who picks up their phone first thing in the morning, the probability that you will come across various ad formats and channels is quite high. From mobile ads to digital visual placements across the city, you are most likely to see a variety of products and service offers across various industries from brands trying to draw your attention. While some are likeable, others might be annoying, and the appearance of another can easily alter the possibility of recalling one message. 

The challenge for marketers is staying afloat amidst the distractions that their customers are likely to encounter. How can consumers engage with your brand and imbibe the right message amid other flattering, similar or even different messages? The importance of human-centred marketing comes in at this juncture. It’s alright to curate messages and play the fight for visibility across several channels, but the win primarily lies in the ability to create differentiation by investing in unconventional practices.

Emotional Connection: Marketing should be more about creating an emotional connection and less information. Technology has made it easier for people to get information. Through a quick search, an individual is more likely to learn about an issue, product or service faster than they would have years ago so your messaging should be more about getting an emotional reaction from them, reaching their sub-consciousness. For example, West Jet’s Christmas Miracle was less of ticket sales and more of “we care about your needs.” 

Strategic Messaging Development & Placements: It’s widespread for advertisers to be fixated on just selecting a channel and getting it done. However, there can be more intuition into just placing a banner or an image on a poster or billboard. How about making it an experience for your customers? For example, in this British Airways ad, the brand took Out-Of-Home (OOH) marketing to the next level by enabling customers not just to experience their brand, but also take action. While other brands might create posters or tv ads about energy conservation in a sustainable world, Shell created an exciting content series that sheds more insight on the topic.

Appeal to other senses: There’s a tendency to place focus on only visual communication, and we tend to forget that humans have other senses apart from sight — for example, Dunkin Donuts “smell-vertising” campaign in South Korea. 

The core requirements for marketing in a distracted world is the need to amplify the use of human-centred marketing. It’s key to remember that we are trying to communicate with humans hence the need to understand their perception and realities.

Please note that this article was first published this article on Webcoupers’ Blog.