The fact that young people are much more comfortable on user-generated content (UGC) sites than older people should come as no surprise. But still companies targeting youth have been hesitant to advertise on these sites. So it’s worth nothing that a recent Comscore study shows that comfort translates to clicks. According to their research, 41% of the coveted 18 – 34 demo are receptive to advertising on UGC sites, compared to a lower 30% of 35 – 54 year-olds and only 23% of 55+ year-olds.
At nextMadisonAve held by NextNY, Michael Hurt, Director of Ad Product Planning and Strategy at Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions, pointed out that brand marketers are still very hesitant to embrace advertising on blogs and social networks because they could not be sure of the quality of the content. He equated it to an advertisement on the side of a bus driving through a sketchy neighborhood. And yes, some social networks can be sketchy as well (though MySpace is a bit less now that those sex offenders are being weeded out), but on the whole, it’s about young people having fun. Brands need to consider this audience and integrate themselves into it, and other SNS, usefully. But many old school companies are espousing a xenophobic view–its foreign and strange, so we don’ t like it.
As behavioral targeting develops on social networks as it has in Asia, it will be one of the best ways to serve up relevant ads that are useful to the consumer. Brands should stop worrying about their perceived lack of control over the adjacent content and realize: If the audience is creating the content, it’s relevant to them. Probably more so that a lot of print editorial out there. This era is about consumer control, so brands must relinquish theirs. Their is no longer a client relationship management (CRM), it’s now a client-managed relationship (CMR). Brands are barely keeping up with consumer expectations, resulting in an increased need for convenience and customization. Let ads be both.
This all ties into the new media measurement model being touted for social media properties called B2C (Business 2 Consumer). B2C = Advertising + C2C = Consumer Engagement. This new model is forcing a discussion about value creation within the C2C (Consumer to Consumer) world. Brands stand a fighting change if they allow themselves to become part of the online conversation, insert themselves on a conversational/creative level and show ads the consumer actually wants to see.
Now that Microsoft has bought Avenue A/Razorfish, the largest interactive advertising agency, we’ll see if they step up their ad-serving technologies on social networking sites–drive their proverbial buses across the tracks. The kids are waiting…
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