So how do advertisers reach the 71 million “Millennials” in GenY that spend over 200 billion dollars annually and will soon replace the baby boomer generation as the largest percentage of the workforce?  The answer: Advertising can no longer be a group of old men deciding what is best for consumers.

According to the book, Trust Us, We’re Experts: How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles with Your Future, Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber attack the 20^th Century model of marketing and public relations for misusing their power as “experts” in the eyes of the consumer.

Products and services used to be validated using this “third-party technique”, where an industry would purchase the services of so-called independent experts (a.k.a. advertising agencies) to promote a message that would monetarily benefit a specific industry.  The advertising spin-doctors would then shape a message to flatter the product or service, while simultaneously discrediting or attacking the competition.  Sometimes they would even go so far as to suppress or manipulate problematic data about the product or service to make it “sell-able”.

But advertising has taken a turn – consumers no longer rely on the experts.  Not only do they not want to be told what to buy, they don’t want to be pushed into what to think, who to vote for and how to raise their children.

Today’s advertising is about the consumer deciding what they want to see and buy.  For example, according to a national survey from Arbitron and Edison Research, 48 percent of Americans 12 years and older have a profile on one or more social networking sites.  On Facebook, the most visited website, consumers can “like” a note or post a page. Advertisers code the site to recognize those favorites and use this information to target the needs of consumers.  All of the sudden on your Facebook page there is an ad for your favorite band on tour in your area or a new restaurant to try on your street. No more pop-up ads flashing shiny letters and “experts” selling you catchy phrases and manipulated data.

Advertisers finally realize that it’s not about how much spin they can put on a product or service to increase sales – it’s now all about YOU.

Mobile advertising is catching up to the fast growing mobile market.  In the Mobile State of the Industry Survey conducted by DM2Pro, agencies reported that mobile advertising average spending increased a substantial 80 percent in 2010 from $143,000 in 2009 to $260,000.  This advertising allotment may not appear significant.  However, with the rapid increase of new mobile technologies coming to market and the flexibility and possibilities these devices enable consumers, mobile advertising is at the forefront of the advertising world.

As the mobile market continues to grow, consider incorporating mobile advertising into your brand’s marketing campaigns.  Here are a few effective types of mobile advertising that can be implemented:

Mobile Web Banners – Similar to banner advertisements you see on Internet websites, mobile web banners (located at the top of a page) or mobile web posters (located at the bottom of a page) are advertisements created specifically for website interfaces developed for mobile devices.

SMS Messages – SMS ads are short messages sent as text only messages to mobile phones and can be distributed to a purchased list of phone numbers.  According to the Mobile Marketing Association, SMS advertising accounts for a staggering 90 percent of mobile advertising revenue worldwide.

MMS Messages – With mobile devices now featuring large, color displays, multimedia messages (MMS) are becoming increasingly popular in mobile advertising.  Engaging graphic advertisements are replacing plain SMS text messages.

Sponsorships – Mobile games, apps and videos are viable sources for advertising opportunities. Advertisements can be placed within these mediums, before the applications or web pages load.

Augmented Reality Apps – Applications, like the Layar Reality Browser, use one’s current surroundings to highlight businesses and places of interest in the immediate area. This is a great opportunity for business to consumer companies to list places of business within augmented reality applications. Consumers can gain access to business information, including real-time directions taking consumers directly to a business from their current location.

These are just a few examples of how advertising is penetrating the mobile market. When planning your next marketing campaign, extend your advertising reach by adding a mobile advertising element into the mix.

Tip: To learn more information on mobile advertising, mobile marketing guidelines, or mobile marketing case studies, visit the Mobile Marketing Association website.

However, just as Doug Pray conveyed in his documentary film, Art & Copy (which premiered in the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and was funded by the non-profit advertising organization, One Club) – “Hate advertising? Make better ads”.  Pray bases his documentary on the idea that advertising may actually be a unique and rebellious accomplishment, similar to what most of us know as “art”, rather than the manipulative “Devil’s workshop” with which the industry is typically associated.

“Sure, [advertising agencies] were just selling us stuff, but along the way, their ads actually inspired us, entertained us, or might have even been socially redeeming,” wrote Pray in his film synopsis.

Art & Copy details some of the greatest advertising since the 1960s and unearths the creative mavericks behind these ad campaigns and innovations that have literally defined mainstream culture.  The cast includes the real “Mad Men” of today’s industry, including: Dan Wieden and David Kennedy of Wieden+Kennedy, who helped turn a then little-known athletic shoe company into a trend for decades with the slogan, “Just Do It”; Lee Clow, the man behind Apple’s  “Think Different” ads; Mary Wells, with the help of Creative Director Charlie Moss, who fashioned the “I (Heart) New York” campaign; and George Lois, whose “I Want My MTV” campaign elevated the booming channel into the mainstream (and into a song by Dire Straits).

These are examples of the commercials and campaigns we can never seem to get out of our heads.  We may not appreciate advertising that treats us as needy, unintelligent or easily manipulated, but we do appreciate when advertising is clever, brilliant, funny, or emotionally charged, as these creative and innovative campaigns have been.  Advertising is the daily language of our entire system of commerce, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

As one of the top creative minds in advertising says in this inspiring film about creativity, art and innovation, “That’s advertising, baby!” –George Lois.  Art & Copy was released on DVD in May 2010, so I suggest you buy a copy in order to be introduced to the real “Mad Men” of advertising.

Sounds like a science-fiction movie, but the technology is here and now. It is Augmented Reality, and your wireless provider has a team dedicated to its strategy and market pollination. Several apps are already available — offering travel-type data overlaid on your phone’s camera display. See Yelp’s iPhone Augmented Reality app. And geo-specific overlays are only one piece of the augmented reality pie. The resource can be used with packaging, clothing, print — you name it.

Augmented Reality (AR), as the name suggests, is the blending of virtual information and 3-D graphics with the real world. To experience it, you need a video device (like the camera on your handheld), a visual cue (a symbol marker or motion that unlocks the animation), and a connection (wifi). Bring the marker into the camera’s view and the 3-dimensional animation is triggered. The fun part is that marker can be as simple as a black and white symbol or as specialized as your product’s packaging. Lego uses AR in a store kiosk to provide a 3-D glimpse of their built models. See the video demo below.

Source: Orlando Attractions Magazine

Beyond the bells and whistles, AR has the power to offer a complete visualization of product, service, or concept. View the United State Postal Service application of AR for selecting the best shipping box. This type of functionality enables the end-user to streamline their postal tasks and eliminate confusion, saving time and money.

An AR component can be appropriate for campaigns ranging in size. Use a marker that is familiar with your audience, keep it simple, and explore the idea of bringing the AR experience beyond your site. Burger King used a dollar bill as the marker for their Dollar Menu campaign, which was implemented across web banners. See Burger King’s Dollar Menu Promotion.

The technology can connect real world experiences with the messages your campaign aims to convey. From taking a demonstration to the next level at a tradeshow to offering a unique visualization of your product online or in store, the opportunity to create an intimate and high-tech brand experience with your consumer can be found with an augmented reality solution. See how Belding Associates can help make Augmented Reality for you!