At the same time, I’ve no doubt Artzt would express surprise at the persistently cluttered, noisy and distrusted advertising environment. He might wonder why all the early talk about interactivity and two-way communication didn’t translate into more consumer-friendly, trust-building customer service—and the inclusion of minorities in all aspects of the advertising/media world.
Speaking of which, I suspect Artzt would caution leaders to ensure that new platforms, especially TikTok, end up having a positive impact, especially on young people. And he would remind them of the responsibility advertisers have in self-regulation—at a minimum—in delineating truth from untruth.
In his typical fashion, Artzt would apply his “whale of a change” expression to the hard realities of sustainability and artificial intelligence. He would remind us that “radical transparency” has the power to upend everything, allowing consumers to call out questionable brand claims with a single click. He’d up the urgency of brands pushing sustainability boundaries consistent with good business and insist on greater diversity in brand and agency ranks in the media and advertising world.
But instead of interviewing industry titans such as John Malone as he did in his first speech, Artzt would showcase interviews with hyper-attentive, diverse young influencers who possess profound knowledge about brands, surpassing most brand managers.
Though Ed is no longer with us to issue this clarion call, we should embrace the spirit of his leadership to step up in ways that we’re not yet doing—seeing AI, for example, not as a technology to fear but as an innovation to influence and embrace, and by seeing brand and corporate transparency as the future of brand building and the most important responsibility of every brand manager.
Artzt closed his 1994 talk by challenging the industry to “grab all this technology in our teeth once again and turn it into a bonanza for advertising.”
Artzt’s challenge is more relevant and urgent for us today than it was 30 years ago. Let’s go beyond what the industry did then and step up to even bolder possibilities today and in the years ahead.
The future of brand building depends on it.
from Digital Marketing Education https://ift.tt/ubt78lr
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