8/3/2019 HBR - Marketing

1/2

RESEARCH & IDEAS

Authenticity over Exaggeration:The New Rule in AdvertisingPublished: December 3, 2007

Author: Julia Hanna

Advertisers thought technology was their

friend in identifying and creating new

customers. Funny thing happened along the

way, though: Now consumers are using the

Internet to blunt traditional commercial

messages. Time for companies to rethink their

strategy, says HBS professor John A.

Deighton. Key concepts include: In today's media-rich world, traditional

advertising models are breaking down.

Now, the consumer runs the show.

Successful advertising campaigns today are

self-parodying and spark discussions rather

than blatantly sell products.

As digital interactivity increases the

contexts in which people use new media, it

becomes less and less productive to think of

people as consumers alone.

Imagine the glee of marketers at the dawnof the Internet eracould anyone imagine a

more sophisticated, precise way of reaching

consumers? By tracking the purchasing habits

of its prey, marketers could respond with

targeted advertising and special offers, resulting

in (of course) increased sales.

The past 10 years have seen some level of

this direct marketing model bear out. But

according to an HBS working paper to be

published in the Journal of Interactive

Marketing, consumers are using technology to

learn about marketers, rather than the other way

around.While product consumers use sites such as

eBay, YouTube, and Facebook to gather

information and share opinions on how they

spend their money, an entirely new marketing

philosophy is called for, one in which the

marketer no longer controls the message.

In "Digital Interactivity: Unanticipated

Consequences for Markets, Marketing, and

Consumers," HBS professor John Deighton and

Leora Kornfeld, research director of Canada's

Mobile MUSE Consortium, pinpoint 5 qualities

of success in this new world of digital media

marketing.

In this new reality, it's the consumer who

runs the show for the most part, not the

marketerin fact, forget the "consumer" label

altogether.

It's too limiting.

Deighton cites Dove's "Real Beauty"

campaign, a multiphase effort with an

underlying theme that subverts traditional

beauty product messages of aspiration and

perfection. In one ad, full-sized, regular-looking

women are used. In another, young girls reveal

insecurities about their looks, showing the harmdone by unrealistic standards set by the

industry. (Dove is also the subject of a new case

by Deighton.)

"Authenticity becomes a

much more desirable

property than

exaggeration."

"The story of Dove is one of a brand that

progressively cedes control," Deighton says. "Inthe 1950s, Dove's advertising approach was

similar to a World War II military campaign

with a heavy bombardment of 30- and

60-second messages with very strong,

functional content. It was all delivered with

complete control over the message and the

media."

Word to the media wiseThat sort of approach isn't possible in

today's media-rich worldand probably

wouldn't be very effective anyway.

"It's more like the Vietnam War now,"

Deighton continues. "The ideas have to belong

to the people you're attempting to engage with,

and that's going to be achieved through indirect

methods rather than by going directly at the

enemy." Instead of overwhelming consumers

with a message, get them talking by presenting

a topic they want to discuss. Then stand back

and cross your fingers.

"When a brand adopts a point of view,

rather than simply making a claim for softer

skin, for instance, it can become a lightning rod

for discourse," Deighton remarks. "You have to

be confident that your message can withstandreinterpretation."

The Dove ads, for example, have been

parodied on late-night television, although that

level of exposure hasn't bothered Unilever,

Dove's parent company. "An executive there

told me that you can't buy this kind of

publicity," says Deighton.

The new rulesBut what does this all boil down to for

companies that want to be successful in thisrelatively new environment? In the working

paper, Deighton and Kornfeld discuss 5 aspects

of digital interactivity, including

Thought tracing. Firms infer states of mind

from the content of a Web search and serve

up relevant advertising; a market born of

search terms develops.

Ubiquitous connectivity. As people

become increasingly "plugged in" through

cell phones and other devices, marketing

opportunities become more frequent as

welland technology develops to protect

users from unwanted intrusions. A market inaccess and identity results.

Property exchanges. As with Napster,

Craigslist, and eBay, people participate in

the anonymous exchange of goods and

services. Firms compete with these

exchanges, and a market in service,

reputation, and reliability develops.

Social exchanges. People build identities in

virtual communities like Korea's Cyworld

(90 percent of Koreans in their 20s are

members). Firms may then sponsor or

co-opt communities. A market in

community develops that competes on

functionality and status.

Cultural exchanges. While advertising has

always been part of popular culture,

technology has increased the rate of

exchange and competition for buzz. In

addition to Dove's campaign, Deighton cites

BMW's initiative to hire Hollywood

directors and actors to create short,

Web-only films featuring BMWs. In the

summer of 2001, the company recorded 9

million downloads.

These 5 aspects show increasing levels of

effective engagement in creating social meaning

and identity, Deighton suggests, noting that the

first 2 (thought tracing and ubiquitous

connectivity) change the rules of marketing but

don't alter the traditional paradigm of predator

COPYRIGHT 2007 PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE 1

http://features/research.htmlhttp://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5783.htmlhttp://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5783.htmlhttp://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5783.htmlhttp://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5783.htmlhttp://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5783.htmlhttp://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5783.htmlhttp://features/research.htmlhttp://quincy.hbs.edu/cgi-bin/validator/check/referer?ss=1

8/3/2019 HBR - Marketing

2/2

and prey. In the last 3 (property, social, and

cultural exchanges), the marketer has to become

someone who is invited into the exchange or is

even pursued (as in the case of the BMW films)

as an entity possessing cultural capital.

So what's the best course of action for

marketers faced with this complex new world of

meaning-making? Deighton challenges his

students in HBS's executive Owner/President

Management Program to think of a witty,

self-aware ad that they could create for their

business for the price of a handheld camera.

Admittedly, this is no easy feat when you

run a scrap metal dealership. But it can be done.

One popular video on YouTube, "A Big Ad,"

features 3 young men parodying a grand-scale,

cast of thousands Carlton Draught beer ad for a

small local dairy.

Deighton also cites a former Swiss student

now working for a pharmacy lab who finds

young, classically trained musicians; records

their work; and distributes the CDs to

customers.

"He blends the purity of the artist and a

sense of discovery with his business," he says.

"It speaks to a certain authenticity, which in this

world becomes a much more desirable property

than exaggeration."

And as digital interactivity increases the

contexts in which people use new media, it

becomes less and less productive to think of

people as consumers alone.

"If a company limits its engagement to the

part of the person's life when he or she is

thinking about skin care, for example, it

diminishes that person and marginalizes the

brand," Deighton says. "I think the central idea

here is that in the future, brands will be more

talked about than talking."

About the authorJulia Hanna is associate editor of the HBS

Alumni Bulletin.

HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL | WORKING KNOWLEDGE | HBSWK.HBS.EDU

COPYRIGHT 2007 PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC9NkUe7jL0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv5U0W8FDDk&feature=relatedhttp://www.alumni.hbs.edu/bulletin/http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/bulletin/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv5U0W8FDDk&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC9NkUe7jL0