Emotional Connection Should Lead Consumers to Relevant, Interactive Online Experiences, Says Donat Wald CEO in Chapter of New Book
‘Rather than rising to the occasion, Madison Avenue is moving in the opposite direction,’ Says Lucas Donat
DMA09 Conference & Exhibition
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Donat Wald CEO Lucas Donat believes most companies are missing an opportunity to connect with their consumers because their advertising campaigns fail to take into account the fact that the computer screen has surpassed the TV screen as the place where consumers are emotionally engaged.
Donat shares his views in a chapter of a new book, Reinventing Interactive and Direct Marketing, edited by Stan Rapp and published by McGraw-Hill with the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). The book is available immediately for media reviews, and will be available to the public in early November. Donat is available immediately for comment.
“People spend time involved in intense social networking, blogging about subjects dear to their hearts and clicking into a 24-hour news and opinion cycle,” says Donat. “All advertising, no matter the form or function, must embrace emotion to connect with today’s always-on consumer. Rather than rising to the occasion, Madison Avenue is moving in the opposite direction. In reviewing a bunch of directors’ reels recently, I found that few commercials offer a moment of real emotion that drives true interaction between the brand and the viewer.”
WHO:
Lucas Donat is founding partner and CEO of Donat Wald. Donat has been helping companies successfully build their brands for two decades – in many cases boosting fledgling start-ups to industry leader status, past entrenched competition. Donat Wald has helped move more than a billion dollars through the economy while building nationally known brands, with campaigns for eHarmony.com, LegalZoom.com, Register.com, Hotwire.com, Mattel Toys, Columbia, MGM/UA and more.
WHY:
About the book: “[Editor Stan] Rapp compiles the best thinking on a future with low-cost and no-cost connections between products and consumers. Essential reading for marketers.”
―Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief, Wired; Author, The Long Tail and Free
WHAT:
In his chapter, Lucas Donat makes the case that “Advertising’s most important task is to make an emotional connection that takes the consumer by the hand and leads her or him to a relevant, interactive online experience. Whether it’s a TV commercial or a print ad, if it fails to present clear motivation to visit the advertiser’s web address, at least half of the budgeted expense has been wasted.
“All advertising, no matter the form or function, must embrace emotion to connect with today’s always-on consumer. By ‘connect with’ I mean lead directly to actions that generate increased sales. Because all ads–whether they make consumers laugh or cry or something in between–are designed to do one thing: sell stuff.”
WHEN:
Lucas Donat is available now for media interviews. He can address:
• How his agency has been able to create campaigns that consistently achieve positive ROI on every media dollar spent
• How to choose metrics that allow a company to measure results – yes, even for TV advertising, to the point where results are trackable and quantifiable, dollar for dollar
• How to make an emotional connection with consumers
• How to identify that core human need that a company meets for its customers
HOW:
To speak with Lucas Donat, contact:
Ken Greenberg
Edge Communications, Inc.
ken@edgecommunicationsinc.com
(818) 990-5001
