HOW ADVERTISING WEEK IS FAILING IN THE “AGE OF ASSISTANCE”

My favorite takeaway from Advertising Week thus far is the term, “The Age of Assistance.” It clarifies the important phenomenon that has transformed advertising: from communications that are dependent on interruption…to communications that assist consumers throughout their purchase journey (or entertain or inform them along the way). 

Of course, the notion of “The Age of Assistance” is not new. Many of us have been talking about this phenomenon for more than a decade. Yet the succinct, memorable codification of the idea – in a headline – helps clarify the urgency of the issue. Kudos to whomever first coined this phrase.

Now, the problem with this year’s Advertising Week, in my experience, is that it isn’t living up to the values inherent in the Age of Assistance. Speaker after speaker appear to be selling their products, as opposed to first helping the audience understand new solutions, and then getting them interested in the presenter’s company thereafter. Many other sessions appeared to be opportunities for “celebrity CMOs” and others to tout their personal brands. Frankly, knowing what you and your kids do at dinner might be fine on your Facebook page, but it’s not critical information for the ticket-buying audience at large. 

Also inherent in the Age of Assistance, is the expectation that the experience at Advertising Week would be as frictionless as possible. However, ridiculously long lines, and session scheduling that prohibits movement from one venue to another, makes the experience a drag. 

The entire Advertising Week experience feels like going to Disney World: wait on a line for hours, then get three minutes of worthwhile entertainment. 

Granted, I have not gone to every session – and undoubtedly some of them are great. But having run major conferences, and presented at countless events, I know how difficult it is to do all of this really well. As such, my comments here are only to help Advertising Week succeed. I sincerely hope my thoughts can be of some “assistance.”

Lawrence M. Kimmel is CEO of Rung-UP, the first agency custom built for C-Level executives at mid-sized organizations. He can be reached at Hi@Rung-UP.com.