The evolution of advertising in the home

Technology and the internet of things will embed advertising even further into our homes, via ever-evolving products. While this may sound unnerving, it doesn’t necessarily need to be a bad thing, says Neil Cooper at Rehab

The state of advertising is constantly evolving and adapting to the times. Always has been and always will be. This has never been more prominent than in the last year. Suddenly, overnight, brands were forced to shift from considering how best to reach people in town centres, on commutes, and at events to joining a global arms race with their competitors for one thing – ownership of the home.

With people everywhere confined to their living rooms, brands had to get creative and consider new ways to reach them. The ramifications of this will last long past lockdown, and the technology now available will shift the ways in which products have a presence in our homes and daily lives.

This may inspire panic, but firstly, this idea is nothing particularly new or revolutionary. The principle of mainstream branding and packaging design has always considered ways of encouraging purchase past the point of being picked up on the supermarket shelves. Once it’s convinced you to buy it once, it needs to then convince you to do so again and again.