Various analysis predict that atypical forms of propagation will be a huge part of the near future, as projects using ambient media strategies are noting increasing financial revenue[1]. Despite the stagnation the advertisement market went through, in 2001, ambient marketing rose by 23%[2]. Starting in 1996, when the ambient marketing approach became the topic of marketing research for the first time, this sphere has been getting much attention and it is predicted that this tendency will hold in the foreseeable future (Parikh, 2017)[3], along with the implementations of the newest digital technologies (Hagan, 2017)[4]. The newest research is not available yet, but we can conclude that the connection of marketing and the surrounding outside world will be present in the future as well – especially when we consider emerging new technologies that use augmented reality, virtual reality, various implemented bio-sensors and other tools connected to the future of media. (Lugmayr, Serral, Scherp a Mustaquim, 2013[5]). We can follow this trend as interest in new possibilities in ambient marketing is still growing, with both the clients and marketing agencies being the interested parties.
Advertisement agencies are forced to include new marketing forms that also utilize modern technologies in their portfolios. This presents a wide field for experiments that have already been explored by both the creators and their clients. When a decision to opt for an innovative approach to marketing is reached, three effects can follow:
- The innovative campaign can result in a failure – for example when it fails to reach the target group.
- The innovative campaign can reach a level of effectiveness comparable to classical approaches.
- The innovative campaign will yield a significant success and prove to be a discovery of great value.
Of all of the innovative techniques, it is the ambient that has the best chance to reach the third result. That is the reason why there has been a steady increase in its utilization. Continually, the number of companies opting for ambient strategy has been rising and there is no prediction for the near future implying this trend should change, even though this approach is connected to a measure of worry associated with risks ambient techniques inherently contain.
Such doubts about ambient’s usefulness might stem from differences between generations, but also from the utilization of technology. Despite these problems, however, ambient has been more successful in reaching consumers than any other form of propagation – and not because it would be universally better, but because it is able to pique the viewer’s interest.
Another fundamental strong trait of ambient is its ability to avoid spending resources on recipients that would not react to the message. At the same time, it works with a high probability that the advertisement will get noticed, while the classical forms of marketing are actively avoided. It is impossible for a client to remain indifferent towards the ambient marketing form, as it induces emotional responses, unlike the traditionally constructed communiqués. In doing so it reaches subconsciousness and more effectively influences its recipients.
Ambient media will be more often utilized by entrepreneurs. This statement is further strengthened by the decreasing effectiveness of traditional advertisement. On the other hand, it is questionable whether such a tool, that is becoming steadily more popular, would still be categorized as ambient.
Considering the high levels of creativity and innovation of ambient marketing, it is common for classical media to also notice the ambient activities. Thanks to this, ambient advertisement is realized twice – by the non-standard activities, and by
the following publicity in classical media, which however does not have any financial costs. A useful example is the campaign of Saatchi & Saatchi from 1997, during which the Delta Air Lines built a live billboard on Times Square in New York. The billboard was a part of the Concorde airplane, including living passengers and staff. This realization was a favorite topic of American media for some time. It is in human nature to be interested in watching other people. Another example would be from the Red Square in Moscow, where there used to be an apartment in which six people lived – passersby could watch them continually through a one-way mirror.
A research conducted in association with Millward Brown from 2009 points at the significance of the new propagation form and unconventional approaches. The new prediction of the Millward Brown company from 2018 especially mentions inclusion of the newest digital and technological elements into marketing, for example the voice-controlled marketing or storytelling via personalized identification, geolocation and passive measuring.
Despite all the positives of ambient marketing, it will never supersede the standard tools of propagation communication. For various reasons, not all subjects will want to utilize ambient advertisement communication. The non-standard communication activities cannot be realized without considering the reality, thus without having a thorough understanding of the target group.
Ambient can also have another future. Many ideas connected to understanding of ambient marketing actually do not prove useful. It is possible to discover that an ambient marketing conception was so original and innovative that it cannot be used again, thus becoming absolutely unique. Another situation that might occur is that a campaign for product X will never be compatible with campaigns for product Y, even if they are from the same market segment.
Differences can be caused by little variations: a symbol, a gesture or the unique play outs of association. When these things happen, ambient itself comes the full circle, effectively strengthening the original source of traditional techniques
and tools of advertisement.
Ambient marketing can be an ideal occasional answer to the gaps of classical marketing tools with an actual inclusion of the newest technologies and communication channels. As it has become clear, effects of the ambient are best visible in symbiosis with the standard advertisement tools. K Wehleit[6] suggests the same.
In Germany, in cooperation with the German Ambient Media Association, the Media e. V, and in cooperation with a producer of the premium foods segment, an experimental research was realized. On hand, classical media were used, but in some parts of Germany, non-standard forms of marketing added to the mix – for example free-postcards, indoors marketing and street furniture[7], that Walheit did not concretize in their report. Data gathered from 2003 Germany show that connecting ambient media with the standard tools of communication reached a higher following for the campaign – 52% of respondents stated they have seen the marketing campaign in areas where the classical approach was combined with the ambient forms. On the contrary, only 18% respondents stated they have seen the campaign in areas, where only the classical marketing tools were used. Unconventional advertisement also reached better rankings for the product and the subject itself (it was liked better).
We are able to conclude that during promotion of a subject, it is optimal to connect various forms of promotion. Ambient marketing has become one of the most important forms of unconventional and alternative forms of advertisement. The result of inclusion of ambient media in traditional communication is the growth of awareness about the campaign itself, but ambient media also serve as strategic tools in time of marketing communication.
[1] PQ Media LLC. Available at: <http://www.pqmedia.com/execsummary/DOOH09-Executive-Summary.pdf>
[2] Marketing Charts. Available at: <http://www.marketingcharts.com/traditional/alternative-out-of-home-media-spending-soars-27-301/>
[3] PARIKH, D. (2017) Available at: <https://www.allaboutoutdoor.com/special-feature-detail.php?category=1&mid=110>
[4] New IFTF Report Forecasts a World of Ambient Communications (2017). Available at: <http://www.iftf.org/future-now/article-detail/new-institute-for-the-future-report-forecasts-a-world-of-ambient-communications/>
[5] LUGMAYR, A., SERRAL, E., SCHERP, A., MUSTAQUIM, M. (2013) Ambient media today and tomorrow.
[6] WEHLEIT, K. (2003).Ambient Media: the Key to Target Group Communication. Available at: <http://www.docshut.com/kmyqvi/ambient-media-the-key-to-target-group-communication.html>
[7] Street furniture is a summary term for all objects installed in the streets and on roads – benches, blocking columns, mailboxes, telephone booths, lamps, traffic lights and signs, transit stops, fountains, statues… All of these offer a potentially interesting placement for marketing communiqués.