Time is not on our side, but social media is
ADOTAS — Like most creatives, the thing I used to want more than anything was: Time.
More time to think, more time to tweak, more time to make it perfect before it hit the press or the air. There was a time when our fight against time was either a fight against an airdate, or a fight against an estimate that never, ever, seemed to include enough creative time.
But times have changed. And now I find that our old enemy, Time, is on our side. Oddly enough, though, it’s not because we have more of it. It’s because we have less.
As social media continues grow as the go-to function for web users, as brands continue to integrate social elements into brand sites and brand elements into social sites, the metaphor of marketing as a conversation ceases to be a metaphor. It’s real now. The conversation is happening. It’s live, and it’s in real time.
Things that happen on the web have always happened fast. They happen faster now. Sometimes, in 140 characters or less. Mini trends spout, blossom, mutate, spawn related trends, and die off, all in a span of time that was once considered not enough time to even get a project through the initial planning meetings. So, how can this new acceleration of time possibly be good for creative?
It’s good because it underscores the basic principle of all creative, online or off: If you’re doing it right, you’re creating something that initiates, or perpetuates, a human interaction. That’s true of interactive. It’s also true of a billboard. When you’re having a creative conversation in real time, you pay more attention to the person you’re conversing with. Making creative decisions in real time forces critical thinking about the possible immediate reaction to those decisions. It allows for real-time adjustments when the environment shifts. Real-time changes when you make a mistake. And real-time intensification when you hit home.
While I hate using over-used sports metaphors, I’ll do it anyway: The faster pace of creative in today’s environment has shifted the job of the creative lead on a project from being an offensive coordinator in the box to being the quarterback on the field. You do the pre-game strategy, and follow a game plan. But being in the middle of the action forces you to react, and sometimes improvise, based upon immediate changes around you. If you don’t, you’re in the dirt.
That doesn’t mean it’s a time for shoot-from-the-hip creative. Far from it. It’s a time for more homework. If you’re going to be able to react in a way that not only takes advantage of real-time shifts in the environment, but also moves your effort forward, strategically, and in a macro sense — you’re going to have to know your stuff. You’re going to have to be prepared for, literally, anything. Only when you’re fully prepared are you ready to play in real time.
Reader Comments.
No comments yet
Leave a Comment
Article Sponsor
More Features
-
Loading ...
Latest News
- Hulu’s Bringing Its “A” Game But… March 19th 2010 ADOTAS – Hulu’s sales team is actively subverting the ad [...] more »
- Yelp! A class-action suit? March 19th 2010 ADOTAS – One of three civil suits against Yelp filed [...] more »
- Viacom Accuses Google; Testing Digital Millennium Copyright Act March 19th 2010 Viacom has accused Google of turning a blind eye to [...] more »
- Google to Leave China April 10th? March 19th 2010 ADOTAS – According to the China Business News, Google Inc [...] more »
- [x+1] Creates The Smartest Tagging System Around March 18th 2010 ADOTAS – Today, if you happen to be at the [...] more »
- IAB’s Video Standards Tackled By ADTECH March 18th 2010 ADOTAS – ADTECH, a part of AOL Advertising and an [...] more »
- Google Search and Mobile and….TV? Oh My! March 18th 2010 ADOTAS – Google wants to dominate your screens…. Not just [...] more »
Features
- Growing Pains March 19th 2010
- For Better or For Worse? March 18th 2010
- Yahoo! Wants to Get More Personal March 17th 2010
- Creative Considerations for the iPad March 16th 2010
- Amazon Leaves Colorado Affiliates Out in the Cold March 12th 2010
Spotlight
AdBidCentral’s CEO, Vivek Veeraraghavan Talks Openly*What was the inspiration to start AdBidCentral? The conditions that inspired AdBidCentral came from a variety of factors in my personal [...] more...
Reader Favorites
Classifieds
- Communications Fellow
- Sr Director, Marketing Services
- Senior Web Analyst
- Account Director
- Director of Analytics
Recent Comments
- Durk Price: This is one early adoption I would do!
- Rolv Heggenhougen: Companies invest a great deal in their website which in many cases is their only
- docreiss: I find it interesting that the author ("Bob") indicates the reader may have the "patients"
- Jedd Gould: I think you miss the point. Publications have to charge because the content most are
