The most important idea in advertising is new

In times of financial carefulness, “New” becomes something risky
. Why invest a dollar (or a Norwegian Krone) in something that has a slight uncertainty connected with it, when it is much safer to invest in something “tried”? Where we more likely would know the success rate and can calculate the gains before investing. It might not be great, but it will be anticipated.

The problem is, as probably anyone reading Seth Godin knows, being safe is the riskiest place to be.

The careful times ahead won’t get better by advise like “spend your way out of it”, but by “filling the wholes in the bucket rather than pouring in new water from the top“. This requires new thinking. New ways for marketers to build relationships with participants and new ways of communicating and creating brands with momentum and energy
.

Both Godin (again, here) and the Heath brothers (here) write about the way to alight interest in new concepts and needs: By creating a knowledge gap, and then filling it.

I believe brands need to start looking for “New” (and agencies need to continue selling and teaching it). Because, as this report states, many brands missed their first opportunity to be successful online
. And now they have a new chance to come around
. And it’s up to “New” to help us do that

.

This Carousel clip from Mad Men, makes the point even better:

“Freddy told me the most important idea in advertising is new.”