This document discusses various myths about advertising and marketing. It summarizes that 1) targeting consumers based on limited search or browsing history may not reflect their future interests, 2) some targeting is useful but its effectiveness declines with too many parameters, 3) people usually search for products and not brands, and 4) advertising creates awareness but does not necessarily create demand or cause people to purchase if they are not already interested. It provides examples and commentary from an expert in digital strategy and marketing, Dr. Augustine Fou.

1. Mythbusting
Advertising
Dr. Augustine Fou
http://linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Marketing Science Consulting Group, Inc.
June 5, 2012 1

2. Targeting – only goes so far
What I surf or search for once may not be what I demand going forward
“My husband searched for
baby gifts for a friend on my
computer/browser. Now
Amazon thinks we just had a
baby and keeps showing me
„recommendations‟ and
sending me email.”
- Miss Targeted
June 5, 2012 2

3. Some targeting is good
Some targeting is better than no targeting; but the law of diminishing returns
kicks in when more than a few parameters are used.
M ? F
June 5, 2012 3

4. Branding – only goes so far
People search for the products they want to buy, not the brand in most cases
June 5, 2012 4

5. “Brand” is earned reputation
In some cases, a brand is synonymous with the product people want to buy
“In some rare cases, the brand
name is more searched than the
product itself. These products have
earned their reputation over time,
not by „branding‟ (or telling)
people they are the best. They ARE
the best and are consistently so.”
- Augustine Fou
June 5, 2012 5

6. Ads don’t create demand
“We just bought a minivan; no
“Our family drinks 4 quarts of matter how on-target the TV
milk each week. No matter ads are, we‟re not gonna buy
how much advertising the Milk another minivan.”
Council does, we won‟t buy a
5th quart of milk this week.”
“Just got email from United about fare sales. I love the
airline and always fly it, but I‟m not just going to take
a trip because there is a small discount on the airfare.”
June 5, 2012 6

7. Ads make people aware …
… then they choose which to buy
June 5, 2012 7

8. Dr. Augustine Fou – Digital Strategist
Dr. Augustine Fou is an industry-recognized thought
leader in digital strategy, search and social media
marketing and former Group Chief Digital Officer of
Omnicom's Healthcare Consultancy Group. Dr. Fou has
over 16 years of management consulting and digital
strategy consulting experience, advising CMOs, marketing
executives, and global brands. He pioneered the
application of the Unified Marketing™ framework to
optimize marketing across both traditional and digital
channels and tactics.
Dr. Fou is also an Adjunct Professor at NYU in the School
for Continuing and Professional Studies and at Rutgers
University at the Center for Management Development,
where he teaches courses on digital strategy, social media
marketing to executives. He is a frequent panelist,
moderator, and keynote speaker.
Dr. Fou completed his PhD at MIT at the age of 23. He
started his career with McKinsey & Company. He writes a
monthly column on Integrated Marketing for ClickZ.com,
and can be found on Twitter.com @acfou.
June 5, 2012 646.867.0826 acfou@mktsci.com 8