Reactionary advertising

As the popular myth of ‘shrinking attention spans’ is further debunked, most recently by James Hurman’s post, I’d argue that the perceived dwindling attention to advertising has another explanation.

Rather than attention spans getting shorter, I think that our media consumption behaviours have just caught up with our reaction times.

Humans have always been quick to react. From first impressions to split-second judgements. And modern media, with the infinite scroll, has supercharged that tendency.

With so much choice available, if our immediate reaction isn’t to lean in then it’s to move on. If the song on Spotify doesn’t have a strong opening hook, we move on. But, if we like it, we put that song / artist on repeat and it climbs up into our Spotify Unwrapped. If the first episode of the Netflix series disappoints, we move on. But, if hooked, we binge the whole series and watch 8 hours in a row.

We have the attention span when we’re engaged. But, the decision of whether or not to engage happens more quickly.

It’s a subtle shift, but has meaningful implications for how we, as marketers, react.

If we believe that attention spans are short, then we focus on immediacy. Get the logo in the first two seconds. Make the message direct, and beat them over the head with it. Scream at the viewer before they have a chance to look away. Which, ironically, further serves to push audiences away. No wonder 35% of Brits use ad blockers. It can work if you really throw money at the problem, but it’s neither effective nor efficient, nor elegant.

However, if we believe that it’s a matter of instant reactions, it becomes our job to give the audience something they immediately react positively to. Something interesting. Entertaining. Useful. Beautiful. Funny. Shocking. When I say ‘react positively’ I don’t necessarily mean that they like it; just that it catches their eye or their ear, evokes a response, and lodges in their memory. It leaves a mark; preferably an emotional one.

This isn’t a new idea. In fact, it’s a very old idea. Just ask Paul Feldwick, PT Barnum, etc. about the power of iconic visuals, absurdity, earworms, ‘in media res’ action, etc. But it’s an idea that bears repeating.

Now, what are most people’s instinctive reactions to financial services? In the general public? A wrinkling of the nose. A furrowing of the brow. ‘It’s complicated’. ‘That’s not something for me’. ‘They’re all the same anyway’.

It’s not much better for marketers in B2B. Time-poor professionals with myriad other pressures and demands on their time. Responsibilities to do what’s best for their clients, their customers, their buyers, their business. Where a change requires additional due diligence, procurement, oversight, analysis.

It’s a category where people are quick to move on, or stick to what they know, because of these instinctive immediate emotional reactions. We, as marketers specialising in this area, need to make a better first impression in order to leave a lasting impression. We need people to notice us (as made abundantly clear in our Notice Me report). And we need to change how people react from the very first moment if we’re ever going to change how people think and feel and behave; especially when it comes to their money.