Today we are faced with billions of interruptive marketing. It is every where. When you log on to yahoo or any of the popular social networking media, you are daily bombarded with flashes of interruptive marketing or advertising to use the known language. It has become the major source of revenue of most free sites where people can open account. As much as I do not have any misgiving about that, I am of the opinion that brands should begin to see ways such channels can be used to add value instead of playing the “ME too” game. Many brands should see the handwriting on the wall by now but alas, their consultants, Ad agencies in collaborations with in-house experts are more interested in what they will gain than what is good for the brand.

There is nothing bad in creating this channel for a brand as long as there is a subtle connection of value-adding benefits to the audience whose privacy is being infiltrated. According to one internet article, Interruptive marketing is the process of interrupting prospective clients from whatever they are doing at the moment… to get their attention in order to begin/further sales relationship.

In the early part of world wide wed introduction, interruptive marketing works because of its persistence, hard work among other factors. More importantly it works because it resonated with the time where information passage reigned supreme. The other factor that aided the effectiveness of interruptive marketing then was its newness.

Today time has changed, interruptive marketing has become an irritation and it is wearing out prospective clients yet that has not informed many brand owners to device a new direction to follow. Even though this system can still be used, it must obey the present age rule. Today many hardly look at such marketing strategy especially in the social media platforms that are meant to be where we meet friends, socialize. The worst offense is to start a sales pitch. People are developing strategy to avoid many of the platforms that promote such marketing tactics.

These interruptive marketing messages can be redrafted to establish relationship that will lead potentials from being an acquaintance, to consideration, interest and a final decision process which make the potential to become a fan. Seth Godin captures the essence of this in a book “permission Marketing” when he maintained that marketers, brands have no right to sell in most of these social networking sites (italics mine) but to initiate first a permission to start a relationship that will probably lead to the road of connection. As we know we hardly give a total stranger a chance to start sales pitch at the first encounter. The wisdom in this is that even if brands have to “advertise” in social media platform, the wordings of all their interruptions should be drafted in a way that will lead the potential to a site where content marketing or the usefulness of the brand is already store. I think after this process should sales pitch be introduced otherwise, the first impression created may take several efforts to erase. The challenge with this is that Ad agency- because of the need to show ROI- will always counsel brand owners to the contrary. What a calamity! On the other hands, potentials they want to reach also hate unsolicited advert that is out to sell in a social gathering. Interruptive marketing has become an assault today on the potentials and this is against the rule of etiquette. Brand through their ads on social media should begin a process of asking for permission to be a friend, be ready to accept no or be gentle on their psyche through use of  “suggestive” words like a guy who needs a date.

On social media platform, I will want to agree with what Seth Godin says “You can either appear like a shameless flirt or as a gentleman”. Brands need to foreclose the road of aggressive approach they are now using and become gentlemen. I am of the opinion that permission strategy will work better than interruption, guerilla methods being used by brands today. Interruptive marketing is becoming noisy, wasteful, annoying and damaging and the difference in all is the approach and the wordings of the adverts. Most of them are devoid of any value-adding content or a direction to one.Most are laden with highly sentimental contents that are repeated everyday. What happens to creativity? They are already in saturation stage, brand owners please change!

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