Consumers are constantly striving towards something better, something new, and something more convenient. Lets face it, with all of the smart technologies on the market, society has recognized the ability to get what they want, when they want it. People are no longer grounded on one platform or homepage, but rather they have the freedom and ability to access the Internet wherever and whenever they please. This concept has brought about the idea of the “liquid consumer.” Things are no longer black and white for advertisers, but rather they are a combination of the two. A vast spread of grey area has evolved for advertisers where campaigns and promotions are no longer devised by following a simple formula. As consumers become more liquid, marketers must adapt by becoming much more “liquidly creative” and recognize that they can no longer put all of their advertisements in one place.
This has caused advertisers to become much more flexible and strategic in their marketing strategies and campaigns. For example, Snapchat was one of the first large companies to embrace this change by launching their “Snapchat Discover” campaign, which offers a newsfeed and Flipboard of current events and news for its users. Snapchat advertisers realized that they could draw more attention and attraction to their application by allowing other provinces to utilize their platform. In turn, publishers are beginning to see that without placing their content on a multitude of third-party platforms, their voice simply will not be heard. In response to changing consumer technology, Apple and Facebook have also launched similar campaigns to Snapchat advertisers. In turn, smaller companies will begin to see that as these larger brands are making these transformations, it is in their best interest to follow suit.
This shift in consumer technology and consumption has caused a direct response within the advertising and marketing sphere. While there may not yet be a magical solution to this emerging trend, advertisers have recognized that taking some sort of action is much more valuable than standing still and getting lost in the mayhem that is the Internet. As soon as brands acknowledge that the world no longer starts at the edge of people’s fingertips, but rather at the edge of their smartphones, there will be exponential shifts in advertising techniques across markets. This isn’t something to fear, but rather something to capitalize on. This shift gives opportunity for brands to become much more creative and allows for risks to be taken. The companies that can recognize the changing times of the Internet, and in turn acknowledge the necessity to adapt marketing strategies in order to reach consumers, are the ones that will stay grounded as they ride the slippery slope of liquid consumers.
