Maybe it’s time to divest ourselves of the IPA? After all, the IPA is “the industry body and professional institute for leading advertising, media and marketing communications agencies in the UK”. But along with many others in the advertising business in this country, whom the IPA works on behalf of, it doesn’t appear to see what is happening in the advertising world. That unfortunately is at the least myopic but also a reflection that it is perhaps time for the whole advertising and TV industries to get contact lenses, because the latest research suggests that there may be trouble ahead.
So what has the IPA done in response to these warning signs? Why it has called for the advertising industry to open itself up and encourage people to enter from more diverse backgrounds. It has argued for greater "creative diversity in the predominantly white, male and middle-classed industry", calling for a new approach labelled "diagonal thinking".
What? Is this really the magic cure for the malaise of the industry? And if this mantra holds true, why on earth has it taken so long to discover such an obvious panacea?
Okay so I’m being a little cynical and the IPA clearly considers there is a need to make this point even though it eludes me no matter how many times I read it. However, making such a point is all very well but shouldn’t this august body representing the industry, be looking at more important trends because the problems facing advertising and marketing are far deeper than a lack of diagonal thinking.
Perhaps the sad truth is that the IPA cannot address the myriad problems, because if they do they will herald the end of advertising, as they know it. Yes advertising can be said to work but if you throw enough money at pushing something down consumers’ throats, it is bound to have some effect. Just look at what’s happening in the presidential nominee race in the US. However, it is being recognised, at a pace, that current conventional mass media are weak conductors of knowledge and comprehension, vital if the brand message and differentiation from competitors is to get across.
So just how effective is advertising really? Does anyone know? What studies have been done to measure the effectiveness of advertising or even, who watches the ads? Where’s the accountability or is it just a dirty word? Barb measures program viewing not advertising. It’s time that UK clients followed their counterparts In the US, where clients are putting advertising on the block and demanding accountability. They are also using alternatives that interact with their customers. And this is why conventional advertising is not working in this modern world of savvy consumers. There is no interaction between the brand and the purchaser. It’s all one way traffic but for any communication to be effective there has to be a dialogue, a conversation, an opportunity for feedback so that the message can reflect the demands of the customer.
And then there is clutter but ask yourself does the advertising business want to end clutter? Hell no, that’s how they make their money. The more clutter, the more profitable the business is. And what clients should recognise is that the role of the IPA is to serve, promote and anticipate the collective interests of IPA members, not their clients.
Consider this, we should dump the IPA and form the Institute of Practitioners in Communication, and the first thing we do is educate people that advertising isn’t communication, never has been never will be.
So, here’s a thought and I don’t care if it is diagonal or anything else, isn’t it time to get rid of the IPA…for good?
