Why permission is the biggest issue
A couple of years ago, a book called Is it just me, or is everything shit? was published. From out of town shopping centres to the Daily Mail, it left no stone unturned in its rampage through contemporary culture.
Right now, with the clouds of recession growing ever darker, it is tempting to view the marketing industry with the same brown-tinted spectacles, particularly the direct bit. It also makes you wonder whether there is, in the words of the NatWest ads, another way. The trouble for direct marketers is that 'another way' tends to mean the same way, but in a different environment.
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I was reminded of this the other morning, listening to a pitch from someone about the opportunities in mobile media, particularly in emerging markets. China and India are such vast places that fixed line Internet access is going to be hard to come by. Mobile will therefore be the key conduit for an enormous proportion of marketing communications in both countries. "It's exciting," said the guy, "you can reach people cost effectively, en masse, and right in the palms of their hands." It was hard to stifle a sigh.
It is not, of course, that mobile media isn't exciting. The growing uptake of 3G handsets is already showing the mobile's potential as an advertising medium, and creative work is becoming more sophisticated.
Marketers' enthusiasm is understandable; but the industry should be cautious. Collectively, we have knocked several golden geese to within inches of their lives with injudicious use of direct media. With opting out at the top of the political agenda, the last thing our industry needs is another casualty.
As David Cole of CCB fastMAP remarked recently in this magazine, consumer tolerance of cold marketing messages is eroding. Permission is arguably the biggest issue facing marketers now, and mobile must be nurtured carefully.
Jon Ingall, managing partner, Archibald Ingall Stretton
