Dear marketer,
By now, you’ve probably already discovered that those faithful old advertising models that worked for years, suddenly seem to have let you down.
If you think digital has got you with your back against the wall, then read on and reconsider your approach.
It’s true…
As a marketer or communication professional, you could argue that digital’s a real game-changer, and that it’s shattered the marketing landscape, created a fragmented audience, shouting and comparing unhindered.
Maybe you’ve already seen that growing your business no longer means having to increase your advertising budget.
Indeed, your loyal audience no longer sits in front of their TVs at the same time, watching your commercials. In fact that ‘audience’ no longer really exists.
But… is digital really to blame? Or does digital hold the answer to reconnecting with your audience in a fundamentally different way?
Those who can look beyond the confusion may see new opportunities.
But to do so, you have to shift your perspective and reconsider some ‘analogue evidence’ from the past. Asking yourself the right questions might just be a first step.
Here’s your starter of 10.
No, they don’t. Whereas in the old days, agencies came up with the ‘big idea’, they now have to provide you with an ‘overall idea’. One that allows you to communicate and interact in a much more finely segmented and targeted way. This means that copy-pasting one creative campaign across these diverse formats is no longer an option.
Yes, but building and maintaining a strong brand means everything to do with what you’re doing instead of merely what you’re saying. Branded services and utilities deliver the new strategy of proof, as marketing is blending into more functional areas than ever before.
Sadly not any more, if indeed it ever could. Today’s prosumers sift through offers, comment and compare. In fact, as a marketer or brand director, you’re no longer fully in charge of the brand message, the conversations, all the way up to, and in some cases, including the pricing model.
The more marketing and metrics meet, the more painful an inefficient campaign becomes. And for those who rely on gut feeling… well, assumptions tend to be more ill-founded than ever before.
Testing, optimisation and tracking throughout the entire process is a new profession…and it’s becoming the norm.
Let’s be honest… do you or your team understand the specific characteristics of new and emerging touch-points?
No. There’s no longer ‘one audience’. And that’s due to increased personalisation and individualisation. While most campaigns, and even websites, are designed to be relevant to a majority audience, they’re largely irrelevant to actual people. Targeting is no longer about defining socio-demographic target audiences on fancy slides, but about offering the most relevant experience in real time to real people.
Does that sound like Greek to you? Optimising all your channels, including mobile ones, is a whole new ballgame.
You have to deal with more channels, more times, more modes… permanently.
Fortunately, there are some certainties. The power of word of mouth is an all-time given. But let’s face it… The best way to talk to your audience, measure and moderate for positive impact, requires a dedicated social strategy that suits your brand and objectives.
In the end, no single agency does everything well. There’s an increasing need for specialisation as a response to the generalists of the past.
Definitely yes… Asking the right questions is still the best way to get the right answers.
Whenever you’re looking at an agency, first ask yourself, “Are these people capable of asking me the right questions, and of challenging my current marcom strategy?” That’ll be a first step towards sorting out the confusion …