It\u2019s a great thing that brands these days are trying to be inclusive and \u201cconnect\u201d with the customers. It is necessary to survive in the unforgiving market competition, but customers deserve their own personal space. So, where can these brands draw that fine line between being inclusive and being intrusive? This article will elucidate on how it started and where it\u2019s going. That\u2019s also a trend these days, you know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How it started?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Interactive communication is not a new concept in advertising. There have been a gazillion of instances where brands have attempted to include not only customers but their competitors as well in friendly banter. To some, it worked wonders and to the rest it backfired. Dunzo always plays it safe by portraying themselves as a friend of Swiggy & Zomato and their communication reflects this camaraderie in a unique way. On the other hand, Rin & Tide, Complan & Horlicks, Seba Med & HUL, always end up in a figurative fistfight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On a scholastic level, \u2018interactivity\u2019 as a concept, has been \u2018overused and underdefined\u2019. Every object that a human being touches goes through the process of interactivity and advertising is merely a medium. Paraphrasing what experts defined Interactive Advertising, it simply means \u2018Online Advertising\u2019 and it all began when Global Network Navigator sold the first clickable web ad to a Silicon Valley law firm in 1993. The rest is history, as you know it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Ethan Zuckerman created pop-up ads, he apologized to the whole world for unintentionally creating the most hated form of advertising online. He knew then and there, that pop-up ads crossed the line. He was of the opinion that advertising is the original sin of the web. However, he did admit that, at the end of the day, advertising was the model that got him funded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where it\u2019s going?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brands that started amicably by making customers feel a part of their family, now are trying a little too hard to make them stay. Reader\u2019s Digest did a fairly good job in its time with sweepstakes and perks on extended subscriptions. Today, you see brands leveraging on the miseries and privacy of a common man and even those of celebrities. Journalism has hit rock-bottom when a journalist on a national television asked a gold-medalist about his relationship status instead of asking how he practiced every day to reach that position, which inspired him to stay focused and what his message to athletes would be who dream to win such a covetous medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another brand was so overwhelmed with Mirabai Chanu\u2019s victory, it offered her free pizza for life. Well, that\u2019s one way of expressing their pride, which is still acceptable. Yet another instance was one where PV Sindhu sued more than 15 brands for allegedly using her name to promote their products. Happydent (Perfetti), Pan Bahar, Eureka Forbes, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Vodafone Idea, MG Motor, UCO Bank, PNB, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Fino Payments Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Indian Bank, Wipro Lighting, are some of the brands that are facing the wrath of an athlete for crossing the line and wrongfully using advertising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n