• by Joe Marchese , August 14, 2007

Last week's discussion of how, in social media, "the publisher is the consumer," begged the eternal question: So what? What are the practical applications of understanding that social media will be dominated by pull advertising? One answer to this question is that the emergence of pull advertising markets will have immediate practical effects on creative development. The notion that social media advertising content must create value for the publisher/consumer to be effective has been discussed at length here in previous posts, but in recent conversations one analogy has seemed to hit the mark better than any other: The future of ad creative in pull markets resides in advertisers' ability to adapt the rules of fashion.

I really have to attribute this analogy to David Levy, Archetype Media's vice president of strategic partnerships, who was the first person I heard compare the way people personalize their social media profiles to the way those people get dressed to go out. David connects fashion to social media advertising by noting that, if you want your advertisement to get pulled onto someone's social media profile, perhaps you should start with a question: Would I ask someone to wear this creative on their shirt when they are (depending on the social media) in public/at work/with family?

People go out in public covered in brands -- from the subtle symbol on the breast pocket to the Abercrombie & Fitch plaster across the chest. Some fashion goes as far as to say "Property of..." And the ultimate proof that fashion has it all figured out: People pay to wear these walking billboards.

Admittedly there are limitations to this analogy, but the premise remains. Building creative that helps your ideal influencers express themselves, THEN building in your brand, is the path to succeeding in a pull advertising market. Ideally you could build an image or style that wouldn't even require your brand logo (Burberry, anyone?). While exclusivity is difficult, but not impossible, in digital mediums, social media advertisers have more to work with than fashion designers. For example, it doesn't have to come down to the style and fit alone, because advertisers can also look to add functionality for people who "wear" their brand online (widgets=cargo pants).

Maybe the best application of this analogy is a very simple fashion rule: ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL. Is it really that hard to make small, medium and large ad units? How about white, red, black, blue and brown color schemes? Do you really expect to create pull with limited creative choices? Add to the choices the ability to personalize, and you have yourself a social media creative strategy.

We could spend the rest of the day beating this analogy to death: keeping the line fresh, maintaining brand elements for consistency, listening to the market's feedback (TESTING, TESTING, TESTING), seeding the market, etc. As I said, I know the analogy has its limitations, but so many of its parts can help provide a starting point for a new generation of social media campaign planning, buying and execution, that it's worth taking a minute to consider.