It may be a stretch to draw a parallel between the auto industry and the ad industry, but I think I’ve found at least one way.
There’s not much hype around the “Traditional” auto industry. Honda, Ford and Toyota have made their names on quality and reliability. Nothing flashy.
Tesla is one of the few companies that’s enjoyed lavish hype in the press. They’re the most successful auto startup in a very long time. The main focus of their success has centered on their technological innovation. But quality and reliability are now coming into focus, and there are problems.
“Traditional” Media has not been hyped much since, well, I can’t even remember.. probably before I was born. But when discussing all the technology involved in the request response loop of programmatic display, and the magical “field of intention”, folks were left mesmerized. But it always closed down the more pertinent conversation about how advertising actually works. Now that we’ve gotten past the hype and are actually taking a closer look under the hood.. we see that there are problems. The facilitation of Digital media has cleaned up waste, inefficiency and defects, but where the rubber hits the road; advertising effectiveness.. waste, inefficiency and defects increase.
**Imagine a CMO as the owner of a high performance race car. The car is a Brand and an Ad Tech salesperson the Mechanic** Hello Mr. Mechanic. I own this here car and consider it an extremely fragile, high performance vehicle. I’ve spend a fortune on making it the envy of other cars. It’s not only greater than the sum of its parts, but has literally taken on a life of its own. I want you to take it for a spin! Here are the keys and some booze…….. WAIT! Don’t forget the blindfold! Later, needless to say, the car comes back limping, tattered and scratched, smoke billowing from under the hood. The Mechanic gets out slowly, a bit wobbly. He hands the keys back to the owner and looks him in the eye. Smiling wide, displaying what teeth are not lodged in the steering wheel, he says “this car is now better because I’ve driven it”. The car owner smiles back and says THANK YOU.
