Advertising as we know it has always been passive in nature. Make a great product, then produce a breathtaking commercial, air it on TV among 100 other breathtaking commercials, and hope the consumer will pick your product out from the dozens lined up at the supermarket.

In today’s world, parity rules. The odds of getting noticed or bought are ridiculously high. Unless you are one of those marketers who has a never ending supply of cash to keep funding your agency’s fantasies and making media owners richer.

The theory of effective frequency and reach has no relevance as the consumer is not listening in the first place. They have become experts at tuning out of advertising and it needs serious effort and money to even get noticed. The trick is to make the consumer come after us rather than the other way around.

For far too long, brands have been content with ‘I’m over here’ message. This attitude benefits brand leaders, as consumers pick up the leading brands on auto pilot. It’s easier to trust brands that have been around for ages.

If you need to shake consumers out of their reverie, you have to initiate a meaningful conversation with them. Appeal to their interests, bring your product or service benefits upfront and make selling as subtle as possible.

Once that is achieved, purchase becomes the next logical step.

How do we do this?

Enter Search Engine Marketing.