The Future of Advertising with Dietmar Dahmen

In class on Monday, we were lucky enough to have Dietmar Dahmen in to speak with us about the future of advertising. I knew very little about Dietmar going into the presentation, but when I walked out, I felt that I had learned a great deal not just about advertising, but about Dietmar and his particular style of communication. It's clear to me that he is a passionate, animated, and enthusiastic man who really knows what he's talking about.

Dietmar brought up so many interesting facts and theories about where the advertising field is headed as a result of "Generation Connected" and the rapidly advancing world of technology. I tried to grasp each idea Dietmar brought up with a broader eye than I normally would. Dietmar himself is from Austria, so I felt it was important to consider his ideas from a cultured and global standpoint rather than narrowing the impact to only the U.S. or even my own little world in California. This was a key aspect of his presentation: the world today is constantly connected in a way it never has been before. Advertisers must be conscious of how an ad could be interpreted by people of countless social, political, geographical, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, because something created in and intended for viewers in California can easily be seen in Iceland within seconds.

That being said, I found the most intriguing part of Dietmar's presentation to be the idea that advertisers must think in terms of situations. He defined branding as "dominance of a certain situation" and used an example about buying cars. If you need an elite company car, you think of BMW or Jaguar. If you need a reliable family car, you think of Ford or Chevrolet. These brands are all well known, but each is specifically designed - and thus specifically advertised - to pertain to a certain situation for which the consumer needs a car. Dietmar made it clear that the goal of a company should be to remain in the top three recognized and trusted brands for a specific situation. 

This may not be the most distinct or new thing he said in his presentation, but I think it's an increasingly important view on consumerism in today's world. Just in the last century or so, we've gone from having one or two brand choices in a supermarket to five or fifteen brand choices in five or fifteen supermarket chains. Today, when a consumer has an overwhelming number of brands to choose from that perform the same or similar functions, distinguishing one brand from another is the most crucial aspect of making sales. Distinguishing them by situation rather than functionality could be an unexpected way to get through to consumers and sway them in one brand's direction. And in our world where outlets for advertising are everywhere from a living room to an airplane to a person's pocket, and with the introduction of "individualized digital anticipation," a brand would have to work tremendously hard to be almost omnipresent in a consumer's field of vision. It seems genius to me to target advertisements that show how a product caters to a certain situation, and since it's becoming easier to track a consumer's tendencies and purchase histories, this situation-specific form of branding seems vitally important when trying to win over a consumer.

I could go on and on about how I interpreted each of Dietmar's ideas. I thought his presentation was engaging and enlightening, and found myself questioning the good and bad aspects of the world's dependence on technology, let alone my own addiction. I want to sincerely thank him for taking the time to speak to us.

-Saige

So It Begins

I've always found it unfair that teenagers are basically forced to decide what they want to do with the rest of their lives by the time they turn eighteen. But I've also always felt very lucky because unlike many of my friends, I've known for quite a while what I want to do: advertising. People are often surprised when they hear that's my chosen field. They say, "Saige, you're so nice, you don't want to be a shark like them ad folk!" This generalization has always bugged me because while I may not know the ins and outs of the business, I do know that there will always be room for kindness and compassion when trying to sway a consumer. That's something that excites me about advertising - there are countless outlets, countless approaches, countless innovations that can be taken to get the job done. Of course some work better than others, and I have much to learn in that regard, but I find myself smiling when I think about the creativity I will be able to use in my everyday life while working in advertising. 

I've always been interested in the psychological aspect of advertising, and how the rapidly changing technological and social aspects of our generation affect how a consumer thinks. I think the most important part of advertising is its fluidity - there are certain things that will always remain true about selling products and ideas, but there's also an endless world of possibilities that fluctuate alongside the progression of society. An advertiser must be acutely aware of his audience and what message that audience will receive best. I find so many aspects of advertising to be intriguing and I am actually perhaps a little too excited to explore them all.

Still, the whole "shark" thing eats away at the back of my mind. If there's anything that actually disgusts me about advertising, I guess it would be the notion that I could one day become a heartless soul-sucking monster who values revenue over integrity. I think this is where being kind and compassionate comes into play - I will do what I must to succeed in the business, but I refuse to sacrifice my conscience in the process. Maybe this means staying away from political advertising, or maybe this means I'm not cut out to be a part of the industry at all. Only time will tell; I've got a lot to learn and an open mind will be my closest companion.

And so it begins. I look forward to learning all I can from this class. 

-Saige