My generation (gen x) supposedly has an attention span of 3.5 minutes (the average length of an MTV pop video). The web has reduced this to about 3.5 seconds I reckon (about the length of time to read and digest a twitter post). Marketing to the internet generation requires new methods (sticking a 30 second spot on a flash video is not going to be the answer obviously).

I did a talk to the IABC last night on online pr which covered some of this (in brief these were my suggestions):

• Content needs to have immediate and easy appeal or at least offer enough of a tease to suck people into a longer engagement (the Best Job In The World campaign is a great example timed to break just as the northern hemisphere goes back to work in the middle of winter the offer of escaping to be caretaker of a tropical island has immediate appeal that’s easy and relevant to consume).
• Communications should be in short snacks of information and aim to draw people into a longterm relationships/communications – the marketing industry is built around intensive campaigns that are often short-burst this may need to change to be really effective
• We need to consider where our message is being consumed (at home, at work while avoiding doing tasks or increasingly on the move)
• Consumers are now talking back (via Twitter for example) assuming your marketing plan is to have a conversation with them its going to have to be a longterm commitment (its going to look weird when you suddenly shut up once “the campaign” is over)
• We need to understand the currency that works with web consumers they expect to be paid for their attention with something of value: free stuff, genuine entertainment, an ego massage/traffic to their web stuff
• Despite web 2.0 asking consumers to generate content for a brand is a big ask and requires a suitable incentive (most user generated content campaigns seem to struggle)
• I’ve posted on this already this week but the tone needs to be conversational and not ad copy (no one wants to talk to an ad)
• As more and more people are competing for attention there is a rapid arms race of ideas happening to cut through the clutter things often need to be unexpected and random (hence marketing getting more and more surreal/wacky)
• Ideas need to be micro targeted – the idea of hitting everyone with a massively viewed viral piece is pretty unrealistic these days – many consumers are buried in online communities around specific interest groups. Maybe its better to target smaller groups and use language and content appropriate to them (e.g. target bands and their followers or communities of mothers)