Forget about clutter

No doubt the modern world bombards us with literally thousands of messages every day, and there seems to be very clear evidence that our attention spans have never been shorter.

We're all familiar with the concept of clutter. Something we need to ‘cut through’. When it comes to mass media, this feels harder to do than ever. Many even go so far as to suggest mass media marketing has become redundant.

The truth is, there’s always been another name for clutter: boring, irrelevant crap. Back before the revolution, when we had more time on our hands and less choices at our fingertips, we tolerated it. Mediocrity worked, as long as it had enough reach and frequency to sear into the memory.

Now we are time poor, and option rich. Boring, irrelevant crap has had its day.

But despite the sea of information out there, people crave rewarding information more than ever. To the consumer, the information overload is like dying of thirst in a lifeboat, surrounded by a salty ocean. Our minds are ever more focused on our thirst.

When you know your customer well enough, clutter is irrelevant. Because you know what they are thirsting for. We love stories that meet our needs sing to our soul. And today it is easier than ever to put your story where your audience can actively seek and find it.

Why in this on-demand age, are so many of us still prepared to go through the bother and cost to sit in a dark cinema with a bunch of annoying, wrapper-crinkling strangers for two hours?

Because we still crave a good story, and we always will.

The truth is, clutter is just irrelevant, crap. Great story telling will always be scarce and in demand.