• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, November 3, 2008

Agencies have begun to take the oversaturated buzzword "engagement" and place it at the crossroads between online technology and human issues to give it new meaning.

At least one ad executive views traditional advertising and marketing as "pollution" as the landscape shifts, more ads are TiVoed and browsers continue to block pop-ups. Everyone knows the limited effectiveness of banner advertising, and the industry has evolved past push messaging into a different place, according to Jared Hendler, creative director at New York-based Edelman Digital.

A recent campaign for Brita Water Filters demonstrates what it all means. In a saturated market, to sit up and "beat your chest" to tell consumers why Brita Water Filters are the best would not bring value to consumers unless they were looking for the product. "More interesting is the fact that these consumers buy the filters because they don't want to use bottled water," Hendler said. "Perhaps they are environmentally conscious and don't want the plastic to end up in the landfill."

Getting the client behind the environmental cause became the campaign, complete with Facebook applications--and filterforgood.com, which provides valuable information, such as: Americans send 38 billion bottles annually to landfills. But cause-related marketing is one approach that consumers will see more of in the coming year.

Nike, for example, could give consumers a tool that helps measure the distance they walk or run, rather than directly advertising the collection of footwear or sportswear. Virtual trainers and dietary programs listed on a Web site would give the brand an opportunity to offer valuable information.

Curating content--which Hendler defines as the act of taking everything related to a topic and aggregating on a Web site that pushes information to consumers--will become more popular. Consider the brand as the core piece of information. Associating the brand with everything Italian, so every time consumers thought about Italy they would also think about their product lines, means that a Web site would go up and Edelman would curate content--all related to Italy--on the site. Perhaps the content would include recipes, travel vouchers, and hotels to rest a weary head while in Florence. The Web site would provide consumers with the best information about Italy, sponsored by the Italian brand.

Blogs and social media will also remain vital tools. The back-and-forth conversation between the brand and consumers provides consumers with an opportunity to comment on new product lines and influence future versions. It's about letting the walls come down, as well as transparency and trust that allows consumers to get involved and be part of the brand, he said.

Hewlett-Packard tapped the social messaging tool Twitter to tell consumers about a scavenger hunt at a technology conference. The event created online buzz that drove HP's name to the top of online search queries because people were Twittering about it.

These organic results rose to the top of the search page without paid search. The technology and techniques will only become more sophisticated as time goes on. "You think the marketplace is fragmented now--it's only getting started," he said. "No company will have a bigger media buy than consumers. The consumer has a larger voice than any brand. And no brand can outspend the consumer's voices; therefore, you need to participate with the consumer."