Traditional Advertising, How It Will Die

“As the world becomes more digital, there is a need for tangible experiences and there’s nothing like a piece of paper.”
Rob Bagot, executive creative director at McCann Worldgroup San Francisco, a part of the Interpublic Group

Full disclosure: I work for a McCann-owned company and my paycheck says “Interpublic Group” in the top left-hand corner. That being said, let’s proceed to poop where I eat.

“There’s nothing like a piece of paper?” Are you freaking kidding me? This is your marketing strategy? This is OUR marketing strategy? “Well, people like to, you know, touch stuff… so… let’s… um… give them… paper!” HOW DO YOU STILL HAVE A JOB?

Question: if my email spam were more tangible, would I be more receptive to it? Of course not. Spam is spam, tangible or intangible, and meaningless marketing doesn’t resonate with consumers, no matter how pretty or clever or touchable it is. Here’s a marketing strategy for you: don’t treat me like I should be impressed just because I’m holding your clever direct mail piece in my hand. 

And what if my tangible experience with your marketing is a NEGATIVE one because I’m sick of my mailbox being full of drivel? There’s certainly “nothing like” alienating customers through insincere, meaningless marketing. Especially if your goal is to drain a company’s marketing budget with zero-return-on-investment pieces of paper.