The End of Interruption —Why Interruption Is An Outdated Marketing Strategy

With today’s evolving digital landscape and constantly changing consumer behaviors, engaging with your audience is fundamental in order to build an effective digital marketing strategy. However, we must reevaluate the nature of how we engage with customers by designing less imposing strategies that don’t concentrate on interruptions. The potential benefits of perfecting this method can be substantial if done correctly.

During a recent webinar, “The End of Interruption,” Mark Ralphs, managing partner of the international digital strategy company, Good Rebel, addresses these issues. In this hour-long presentation, organized in collaboration with IE Business School, Ralphs explains why interruptive marketing methods are ineffective. In response to this, he delves into the practical ways companies can go beyond initiating audience interaction, enticing consumers to actively seek out their brand.

According to Ralphs, interruptions are annoying. People don’t want ads showing up on their computers, televisions and mobile devices, disrupting their daily activities. The growing popularity of ad blockers is a prime indicator of this. In 2016, the use of ad block software increased by 142 million devices, 180 million of which were on mobile devices. “You’re paying to reach people who are blocking your ads,” explains Ralphs.

If consumers don’t want ads barging in when using their devices, then what’s the alternative? According to Ralphs, one solution is to become more relevant. He describes relevance as the overlap that exists between what you want to say, and what your consumers are interested in. Today, we have unfathomable amounts of data available to us. Companies can use that data to develop tailored content that can provide more engaging, relevant solutions.

Many successful campaigns are centering around consumer involvement. Using crowdsourcing activities, such as co-creation and crowd labor, allows consumers to interact with brands by sharing and implementing their own ideas and opinions. Lego mastered this technique by inviting customers to submit suggestions for new Lego sets before encouraging them to vote for their favorite ideas.

Another efficient method, Ralphs explains, is to create experiences that consumers want to share. People inherently distrust brands, placing more value on other consumers’ recommendations—particularly people they know. Companies can use this knowledge to create opportunities for their customers to share information about their brand, as consumer-sharing holds higher credibility than brand-sharing.

To learn more about how to create deeper consumer relationships through effective digital strategies, join IE Business School this May for the 3-day “Leading in Digital Marketing” program. You’ll learn from other experienced, successful industry leaders, like Mark Ralphs, as you discover how to improve customer experience to achieve growth and differentiation within your organization. Participants will explore the latest tools and trends in digital marketing and agile innovation, and will learn to harness those skills to develop strategies that are interactive, not interruptive.