Advertising (ads) is one of the most powerful and persuasive form of communication to create awareness, interest, desire and take action. Whether it be for a product or a service or a personality, advertisements have the power to create a behaviour change or a habit leading to consumption of the brand or electing the personality as head of the state.

But what makes an advertisement get noticed and what makes few of them iconic. Why do some get the attention in the clutter of information floating around and have people willing to engage with them.

According to 2019 Zenith’s Media Consumption Forecasts, (https://bit.ly/2I8fYp4 ) people around the world will spend an average 33 days or 800 hours using the mobile internet this year without sleep or pause. And by 2021 the total will rise to 930 hours, or 39 full days. With more people adopting a digital lifestyle consuming more media the human attention span in this age is dwindling and changing, no surprise there.

 

Now with Covid 19 pandemic spread we all are grappling with a new way of life, being confined to our homes and the digital media being our lifeline. The pandemic is changing our lifestyle and also our media consumption pattern. According to a report released by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India and Nielsen on the impact of COVID-19 on television and digital media behaviour across India, users are spending 1.4 hours a day more on their smartphone devices with the biggest jump coming from users in the 35-44-year age group.

People love stories and stories which have the right content to inspire them, make them laugh, make them cry, which can entertain them, make them think, make them forget their misery and remind them of their joys or sorrows. But in the fast paced technologically connected world of today, with unlimited options of information and cluttered media environment getting people to watch or read your advertisement is a big challenge.

Will this new media consuming pattern change the way ad campaigns be made? Will technology enable the art of storytelling to articulate the brand value to their audience?

 

Anup Sharma (@TweetsAnup)
The author is a StoryTeller with two decades of experience in Public Relations and Corporate Communications. He is also the Senior Director at Public Relations Consultants Association of India.