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how the Internet is changing us
It's been fascinating to watch how the growth of the internet has started changing human expectations and responses in other areas of communication. The influence of this new high-tech medium is changing us, and those in the advertising business need to pay attention.
Have you noticed how textures have suddenly become popular? We see this influence in the kind of papers used for brochures and packaging, to interior decorating trends, to the kind of heavy textures currently showing up in the latest clothing styles. I believe this trend is directly related to the growth of Internet communications--a flat, untouchable medium that looks pretty but never offers any real tactile essence.
This isn't the first time a communications trend has affected us culturally. The growth of television in the late 1950's had a similar impact, though in those days it was checkered tablecloths, wrinkled chiffon dresses, silk shirts, and corduroy pants.
People have had enough experience with the internet and interactive presentations by now. The excitement that characterized the mid-1990's is fading. The internet is becoming an everyday tool. Meanwhile, people are getting tired of the pretty pictures behind glass. They are yearning to touch something real. They want to feel blind embossing and corrugated cardboard. They want to watch the shadows interplay from die-cut openings and edges. They want to run their fingers along unusual bindings and shapes of annual reports that look more like packaging than business documents.
Advertisers who wish to maximize the psychological impact of this trend should combine their internet strategy with extra effort on production of collateral materials. The most effective strategies will probably involve the use of highly tactile print communications combined with highly interactive and informative online communications. Especially if one requires or supports the other to complete the message.
Another change that good advertisers should be aware of is the need for interpersonal communications. This can include those "Talk to a Live Person" web site features that are popping up all over the Internet. A growing dislike of voice mail and other impersonal forms of interaction means that companies which utilize live human interaction are likely to see increased support as a result.