If you’ve had any doubt about the wisdom behind Marketing as Service then be sure to read the article in this week’s Business Week called “Attention-Deficit Advertising.” Acknowledging the mind numbing clutter of ads invading every spare surface (at Renegade, we call this “ad pollution”), BW notes that marketers are looking for “new ways to capture consumers’ attention” and are turning to “messages that, in and of themselves, provide a service.” Ding. Ding. Ding. We have a winner. This is exactly what we’ve been talking about for the last 18 months. Stop messaging. Start servicing.

The BW article offers a number of interesting examples of Marketing as Service in action:

Through a special promotion, Motorola (MOT) enabled loved ones to “Say Goodbye” via photos and messages sent from their phones to digital billboards in the departure area. The photos appeared there inside the image of a giant Motorola mobile phone. Motorola got thousands of Hong Kong’s ad-inundated consumers to stare at a billboard longer than usual.

Hoping to sell more of its Johnnie Walker whisky in Singapore, liquor giant Diageo, (DEO) with the help of OgilvyOne Worldwide (WPPGY), created a “digital personal assistant” for drinkers’ mobile phones. An avatar named “Jennie” sends out VIP invitations, information about hot night spots, and Johnnie Walker promotions. For the inebriated, the service includes a “take me home” button that, when pressed, uses GPS to call a cab.

BW also offered a great summary about Why Marketers Like ‘Useful Ads’:

1. Consumers actively seek out services, even if they are veiled ads. And they spend more time with the brand than they would watching a 30-second spot.
2. When consumers sign up for a service, marketers can gather everything from demographic information to product interests to names and addresses–data they can use for a harder sell down the road.
3. When the ads work, consumers feel more loyalty to a brand because they feel like it did them a good turn.

Ironically, there were almost no examples of Marketing as Service amongst the 25 or so ads in the magazine. The closest I could find was an ad from computer reseller CDW which informed readers that higher resolution LCDs are “easier on your eyes” and offered prices that were “easier on your budget.” A lame example indeed but it certainly demonstrates that there is still time for all you inspired marketers out there to gain competitive advantage through “marketing as service.” The simple truth is–only you can prevent ad pollution.

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