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January 8, 2016
Paid Attention
Innovative Advertising for a Digital World
Faris Yakob
©2015 by Faris Yakob
Adapted by permission of Kogan Page Limited
ISBN: 978-0-7494-7360-0
Key Concepts
•
Content is everywhere, but attention is limited. In a digital world, consumers armed with tools such as Facebook and Twitter can and do produce their own content. Over five billion gigabytes of information are
posted every few days, making it highly challenging for an ad to get noticed.
•
Successfully transmitting ad messages is not enough. In traditional advertising, success was measured by how
many people potentially viewed an ad. This measure is less relevant in an age when so much information is
available. Viewing an ad is not the same as noticing it or making a purchase because of it.
•
Asking consumers what they want brings misleading ends. When customers are surveyed about their spending preferences and intents, they will give rational responses that do not reflect actual behavior. People are
driven by their subconscious minds and cannot accurately explain their motivations.
•
Emotion gets attention. Because people are ruled by their subconscious minds, they are most affected by
emotional content. Ads that are entertaining or emotional will grab attention.
•
Buying attention requires giving value. Good content alone is not enough. People are drawn to messages that
offer content of value to them or that have received much public comment.
•
Advertisers have scale and size advantage. Despite the ability of individuals to produce content, advertisers
still have advantages: They have access to the newest technologies and have sizeable resources that allow
them to produce “awesome” and engaging content.
Business Book Summaries® • January 8, 2016 • Copyright © 2016 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
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Paid Attention
Faris Yakob
Summary
Introduction
In Paid Attention, Faris Yakob relates how the age of digital media has completely rewritten the rules of advertising. Media-transmitted messages are no longer the sole purview of advertising agencies and big business.
Today, anyone can publish content in a multitude of forms (e.g., Facebook, Vine, Twitter). Consumers are producing and being exposed to massive amounts of information, and advertisers need new tools to slice through the
overload. Yakob presents practical ideas for engaging consumers in conversations that will bring widespread
brand awareness and changed purchasing behavior.
Paid Attention—How Much Is It Worth?
Companies worldwide spend $467 billion annually to get their brand messages to consumers, but is anyone
listening? In earlier days of advertising, there were only three main television channels, which gave advertisers
a good shot at getting people’s attention.
Today, message outlets have exponentially increased. Tools such as Facebook,
YouTube, Vine, and Instagram can be used by anyone to produce content.
Content is everywhere, yet a person’s ability to pay attention to it is limited.
Therefore, attention is a scarce resource, and how it is allocated is of vital
importance to advertisers. Producing ads that simply try to overpower those
of competitors is no longer effective. Relying on just the quality of content is
also not enough.
Logocentrism: What’s in a Name?
Decades of research
have demonstrated
that rational messaging seems to have
little impact when
changing behaviour,
and that emotional
response—regardless
of how it is generated—is what does.
A brand may be a trade name or be the embodiment of all that a product or
company represents. Brands are powerful forces in today’s culture. They have
replaced old myths with modern images, values, and behaviors that help people create meaning and a sense of
place within the global consumer culture. For example, people who wear shoes with Nike’s “Just Do It” swoosh
symbol may believe they are strong and capable.
Brands are social constructs. A brand identity is whatever consumers collectively perceive it to be. Consumers
are willing to pay premium prices for products with a desired brand name.
Uncovering Hidden Persuaders: Why All Market Research Is Wrong
Human behavior is not rational. People are primarily driven by their subconscious minds. Asking people to
explain what they do or why they do it is largely wasted time for two reasons:
1. People are unaware of what drives their behaviors because the subconscious mind makes the decisions.
2. There is little correlation between what people say they will buy and what they actually buy.
If consumer inquiry is not helpful in designing advertisements that reach the public, what is effective? Advertising researchers agree that ads with high emotional content have the most positive impact on consumers. Also,
entertaining ads, even those without rational product information, get results.
Advertising Works in Mysterious Ways: Modern Theories of Communication
There is no single best approach to advertising because the behavior that drives buying a canned good is different from the one involved in buying a car. The two most popular advertising approaches today are at opposite
ends of the spectrum, but each has its place.
Business Book Summaries® • January 8, 2016 • Copyright © 2016 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
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Paid Attention
Faris Yakob
The engagement model relies on building relationships with consumers through dialogue and by representing
values congruent with those of consumers. The attention of consumers is earned. This model works well for
purchases with “high involvement,” such as cars and electronics.
The low attention model recognizes that the subconscious drives decisions. In this model, ads register impressions in the subconscious mind to be called up automatically when purchasing decisions are being made. For
example, when shoppers are at a grocery shelf trying to make a choice among similar items, they will default
to a familiar brand rather than try to reason out each decision. The low attention model works best for small or
impulsive purchases.
Is All Advertising Spam? Communication Planning in an On-Demand World
The goal of traditional media has been to transmit its messages to consumers. Success was measured by the
number of people who saw the message. This measure erroneously assumed that transmission equaled attention. In the United States, where 14.5 billion digital ads are served every day, the reality is that advertising, if seen
at all, is viewed as irritating spam.
Interruption advertising, in which messages are pushed out to the consumer with increasing aggressiveness, is
near the end of its effectiveness. Consumers now use tools extensively to block ads.
The future of advertising is in providing value to consumers along with brand messages. For example, Red Bull
ran a contest where people created artwork that included the Red Bull can. The winning creations were shown
online and at events worldwide. Brand images created by real people attract more attention than professional
ads and can be seen as having greater credibility.
The Spaces Between: The Vanishing Difference Between Content, Media and Advertising
Medium and content used to be tightly intertwined. TV schedules permitted 30-second ads that largely controlled advertising formats. Today, media and content are no longer bundled. Digital content can be consumed
in a variety of forms. For example, a book may be read in paperback or on a laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
Brands come to the
rescue. They function
like heuristics—they
take away the need
to make decisions.
Once something has been digitized, people can copy it and share it with their
friends for free. People share content they like with others across a whole
system of media.
Advertisers should not make the mistake of thinking that good content alone
will bring in customers. An abundance of content exists already. Instead, agencies need to be aware of how they can use the power of interconnected media
to influence consumer behavior.
Do Things, Tell People: How to Behave in a World of Infinite Content
In the past, governments and advertisers largely defined mass culture, but that changed with the advent of
digital technology. Now, anyone can create content. Consumers publish blogs, create and post videos, and use
social media to criticize brands that do not perform as promised by ads.
With widespread consumer access to media and the potential for an infinite amount of content to be released,
marketers and advertising agencies must reinvent their own roles. Corporations have the following two advantages over individuals:
1. Technology: Corporations and media organizations can partner with technology innovators to implement
new tools for marketing.
Business Book Summaries® • January 8, 2016 • Copyright © 2016 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
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Paid Attention
Faris Yakob
2. Scale: The size and power of corporations allow them to create excellent content. For example, Red Bull arranged for a skydiver to jump from 24 miles above the earth to break a world record. The jump was a huge
media sensation.
“Awesome” actions get attention, but campaigns do not always have to be huge events. Sometimes, smaller acts
that make people happy are enough.
Recombinant Culture: Talent Imitates, Genius Steals
All new ideas are just recombinations of existing ideas. Most recombinations are made from piecing together
the most obvious pairings of ideas. These are uninspired imitations. In contrast, genius steals take old ideas and
pair them in non-obvious ways. Such combinations bring truly creative and original results.
In the art world, when an artist’s work becomes widely known, people are willing to pay more for it. Brands work in a similar way. When people turn their
attention to a brand and tell others, the brand becomes desirable and can be
sold at a premium.
Combination Tools: How to Have ideas: A Genius Steals Process
Steps that advertisers can take to combine old ideas into fresh ones include
the following:
•
Create behavioral goals that overcome barriers. Put the goals in everyday
language to spark better creative problem solving, such as “what will get
people to use mayonnaise on their fries?”
•
Seek inspiration from within and outside the advertising realm.
•
Make sure that ideas can be articulated in a way that will bring them to life.
Being creative is not a
magical skill, it is simply a way of thinking,
a process, one that
combines things in
non-obvious ways
in order to achieve
something useful or
beautiful or both.
Today’s generations define who they are as individuals by “mediating” or broadcasting their experiences on
social media and seeing themselves as others do. Advertisers can be part of the trend by using interactive communication to engage audiences in both the generation and sharing of content.
Advertising for Advertising: Is the Industry Paying Attention?
The main goal of business is to make money, but sometimes advertisers focus too much on intermediate targets. Often, the targets, such as sending a certain number of emails to prospective customers, are only assumed
to result in successful sales. Advertisers need to remember that their purpose is to help businesses make money.
Some advertising awards, such as the Effie Awards, recognize the most effective ad campaigns. Ads that win
awards are 11 times better at bringing measurable business success than ads that do not.
Effective ads are bold and engaging. Also, brands that take a stand and that actively engage the community are
rewarded with consumer attention and, ultimately, brand success.
Integrative Strategy and Social Brands: Be Nice or Leave!
What is the business of advertising agencies? The question is important because many industries forget their
true purpose. Advertising agencies do not exist to produce ads but to impact consumer purchasing behavior.
In today’s content-rich world, some agencies may choose to enlarge the scope of their services. Rather than
offering ad creation services, they may position themselves as creative business consultants to corporations.
Business Book Summaries® • January 8, 2016 • Copyright © 2016 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
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Paid Attention
Faris Yakob
Prospection: Planning for the Future
Advertisers can plan for the future by taking a role in inventing it. Two strategies for getting ideas to consumers
above the noise include:
1. Low latency communications: These ads are created in one part of the media system to quickly respond to
something that has happened in another part. For example, in one three-day campaign, the Old Spice man
responded to incoming tweets via short, entertaining YouTube videos.
2. Social TV. People often tune into a TV show because of social media comments about it. Advertisers can
capitalize on this tendency by building in opportunities for live engagement with shows.
Agencies of the future need to offer a broader array of creative solutions to corporations. Included in those
offerings should be brand communications that engage consumers and offer them value, rather than communications that are direct sales propositions.
Features of the Book
Estimated Reading Time: 3–4 hours, 216 pages
In Paid Attention, Faris Yakob shows how advertisers can cut through consumers’ overload of information to
get attention, influence behavior, and ultimately make a difference for brand profit lines. Yakob draws from the
fields of neuroscience, communications, and technology to present a guidebook of advertising insights and
ideas. He includes strategies, toolkits, case studies, and real-life examples from major companies like Coca-Cola
and Red Bull. The book is most useful for advertising agencies, corporations wanting to establish or strengthen
brands, and for people interested in media culture. It should be read in chapter order.
Contents
List of Toolkits
About the Author
Thanks!
Part One: Paid Attention
Introduction: Paid Attention—How Much Is It Worth?
1. Logocentrism: What’s in a Name?
Part Two: Attention Deficit Disorders
2. Uncovering Hidden Persuaders: Why All Market Research Is Wrong
3. Advertising Works in Mysterious Ways: Modern Theories of Communication
4. Is All Advertising Spam? Communication Planning in an On-Demand World
5. The Spaces Between: The Vanishing Difference Between Content, Media and Advertising
Part Three: Attention Arts and Sciences
6. Do Things, Tell People: How to Behave in a World of Infinite Content
7. Recombinant Culture: Talent Imitates, Genius Steals
Business Book Summaries® • January 8, 2016 • Copyright © 2016 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
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Paid Attention
Faris Yakob
8. Combination Tools: How to Have Ideas: A Genius Steals Process
9. Advertising for Advertising: Is the Industry Paying Attention?
10. Integrative Strategy and Social Brands: Be Nice or Leave!
11. Prospection: Planning for the Future We Want
Epilogue: Talkin’ About Your Generation
References
Further Reading
Index
Further Information
Information about the author and subject:
www.farisyakob.com
Information about this book and other business titles:
www.koganpageusa.com
Click Here to Purchase the Book
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By George Westerman, Didier Bonnet, and Andrew McAfee
The Digital Innovation Playbook
Creating a Transformative Customer Experience
By Nicholas Webb
About the Author
Faris Yakob is cofounder of the strategy and innovation consultancy Genius Steals, working with brands, agencies, and start-ups all over the world. Previously he was founding partner of creative technology boutique
Spies&Assassins, chief innovation officer of MDC Partners, and EVP chief technology strategist at McCann Erickson NYC. Prior to that he worked as digital ninja at Naked Communications in London and Sydney. Yakob has
variously been a communication strategist, media planner, account planner, creative director, a writer for Maxim
magazine, and a management consultant. He has won and judged numerous advertising awards and speaks
at events all over the world. Yakob is a contributing author to Digital State: How the Internet Changes Everything
(2013) and What Is a 21st Century Brand? (2015) and was named one of 10 modern-day Mad Men by Fast Company. He received an MA in English literature and language from Lady Margaret Hall College, Oxford.
Business Book Summaries® • January 8, 2016 • Copyright © 2016 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
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Paid Attention
Faris Yakob
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