AKQA CCO outlines five-step plan for advertising evolution

Inamoto started his presentation at Spikes Asia 2012 by referring to old ad-land, which has relied on TV, print, media, storytelling, campaigns, and 360 degrees of communication for many decades. The industry hasn’t, however, been creative about its own way of operating.

“As mass communicators, the important part of our work is to find the truth of the product or service, and come up with the story and multiply the story," he said.

Inamoto highlighted these key areas for marketing evolution:

• Software: “The problem of marketing is that it’s a short-term investment," he said. "The clients have budget for a certain time period, and they need campaigns for that specific time. Marketers need to start thinking about how to create a campaign like a piece of software, which can be upgraded and used for the long-term.”
• Products: Because marketing is about building awareness through search, marketing must be built into products themselves. Products should help carry the message.
• Behaviour: Today’s advertising is less about brands telling stories, and more about how brands behave.
• Franchise: Brands should see their business as a franchise in which customers participate as partners.
• 365: Inamoto argued that marketers should think of 365 days instead of 360 degrees, and focus on putting the message into people's daily life and experience. Brands should create 365 days of connection.