London, 19th September 2012 —(Internet Advertising Bureau UK)— Jonathan Gardner, Director of Communications at Vibrant Media, argues that despite recent advances in advertising technology, brands should not forget that they should be focusing on creating genuinely useful and compelling advertising.

Just as the best products — like the new iPhone — put users’ needs first, so should the best advertising. In a technology landscape that’s growing more complex by the day, life has certainly not gotten simpler. With our consumer hats on, let’s step away from the metrics and the noise, and think about what our audience wants.

Companies like Apple captivate consumers, journalists, and investors by placing one priority above all others, by delivering products that aim to change your life and the world. It may be a lofty goal, but it’s a simple promise. And, simplicity is what consumers want, what marketers need, and what standard-bearers have proven as a successful way forward. And nowhere is that more true than in the wonderful world of digital marketing where we can all learn from their example.

The advent of ad exchanges, hyper-local targeting, mobile SSPs, and DSPs have left many of us drowning in a deep sea of ad-tech acronyms. When advertisers obsess over brand impact, and agencies insist on slicing and dicing every impression, I wonder when are we going to stop focusing on the wrong things? Because the only metric that really matters to consumers is interest: Give them compelling ads and content, and they will actually want to engage with it.

When we overly focus on every impression, page load, and ad view – as we are now wont to do – everybody loses. Data is critical, numbers are important. But, neither are the whole ball game. Brands, who waste time over-analyzing useless data; consumers, whose privacy can be compromised by the oversharing of tracking info; and most of all, publishers, whose shares of the revenue pie continue to shrink.

Let’s cut the clutter and focus on creating a quality user experience and a quality brand experience. Let’s entertain them, inform them and help them. Let’s strive to create advertising that truly delivers for brands — by putting consumers first. In an era where people can swipe, expand, and share an ad or useful brand content, it’s not enough to rely on the same old brand advertising – it’s time for a real creative refresh.

The beauty of data, of course, is that brands now learn more about their customers and can use that to deliver more valuable messages than ever before. You have amazing technological power to laser target your audience – you’d better do something to leverage that feat. For brands, simple marketing is relevant marketing. Brands that can deliver this – keeping their marketing focused on the needs and context of the consumer – will be rewarded with unprecedented engagement. Focus on creating a targeted, relevant, measurable, brand-safe advertising experience. When we build useful and compelling advertising that is in the interest of consumers, they will come.