Discipline of the And ... The Key to Success

Idea > To succeed in today's media world, you need to consider all points-of-view

We live in a very polarized society. Left vs. Right, Fundamentalism vs. Modernism, North vs. South. You get the picture, our world has become highly intolerant of others' points-of-view. So much so, that many of today's arguments about business, politics, culture, marketing or whatever are not really arguments for something ... rather arguments against something. We practice the Art of the Or ... you're either with me or against me ... and with great gusto and passion.

There seems to be no middle ground left, no room to compromise. Especially when it comes to the digital space. Either you get Twitter or you don't ... you iPhone or you Crackberry ... Apple vs. Microsoft. You text or you talk. Digital media or traditional media. Pick one and defend it to the hilt ... either you or me. ... and I am as guilty as the rest of you (oh yeah, just ask me about my MacBook, I dare you)

Quite frankly it's time to put a stop to this nonsense and start practicing The Discipline of the And. A way of thinking that looks for solutions using the best of both worlds.

Look at media and marketing today. There is value in the traditional thinking of Ogilvy who viewed advertising as selling, not entertainment. Porter who championed differentiation as a key to profitability. But it scares the digital modernists, who aren't trained in classical media & strategic planning, to the point of no return.

AND

There is value in the emerging science of digital marketing that expounds consumer-in-control, information currency vs. selling and open vs. closed platforms for sharing and collaboration. Yeah, it's not your Father's 'Command and Control' ... its better. And yes, it scares the hell out of the marketing fundamentalists who want all their functions under tight control.

Here is the truth ... we all learn a whole lot more from listening to the other-side-of-the-table's viewpoint vs. our own. Sorry, it's not only the truth ... it's the Power of the And and the key to success.

That's my point-of-view ... what's yours

Media Dot O

www.zigmarketing.com

www.webdma.com

www.twitter.com/hozo1

The Day the Digital World Forgot About 99.99% of the Universe ... Everyday

Idea > Using the last click as a single source metric is flawed

That's right ... if many of the scientists had their way, those who buy and sell media in the digital space, it would be ONLY about the click. We simply measure click thru and click stream and server logs and silly single-point behavioral data and we can optimize your buy. Let's move on to the next client.

Uh ... no you can't ... you forgot about the 99.99% of the world who didn't click that link, but were searching for information about a possible purchase, conversing about pros and cons of some product, hearing about customer service and a million other interactions that lead to a sale ... but you are just going to forget about them!

Oh, you don't have the technology to track them, so the selling messages they saw don't count. Guess what, if a tree falls in the woods and you can't hear it ... it doesn't matter because it's on the ground, whether you know it or not.

For those not trained in media or strategic planing ... there are plenty of techniques that exist to measure purchase intent, message recall, learning behavior of all kinds that help improve the impact of your digital campaign ... way beyond the click. And don't think I dislike analytics, love em ... just not as a single source for judging the effectiveness of an advertising campaign.

It seems to me a lot of 'before 1994' quantatives are neatly discounted because ... umm I don't know, maybe because they are viewed as old fashioned and not with it.

Clients are being done a huge disservice and decisions are being made solely on flawed 'final click' metrics. This is wrong. Its time to give clients a 360 degree look at how the web and everything on the web can and does effect buying behavior. This can only happen when we start modeling based on the best research techniques ... whether pre or post 1994. Best of both worlds ... The Discipline of the And.

That's my point-of-view ... what's yours

Media Dot O

www.zigmarketing.com

www.webdma.com

www.twitter.com/hozo1

Inside Out ... Media Strategy for Next.0

Idea > The New World demands a new media strategy

I used to work in big agencies on big clients ... it was cool (sometimes). We started all our multi-million dollar plans with TV. Why not ... it was the reach vehicle. Then we added complimentary media, made sure we hit our effective frequency goals and viola ... off we went implementing for another year. Life was great.

Oh yeah, the Internet came along and according to J.P. Morgan's 2009 Nothing But Net Report (available at www.delicious.com/zigit under Digital Trends tab) it now accounts for 29% of time spent with media vs TV's 37% ... but add in my kids and The Internet reigns supreme at 39% ... and eventually it will be 50%+.

So the agency business split into two camps ... traditional shops and digital ones. While integration was the buzz word ... guess what ... they still started with TV and added on that Internet stuff as a complimentary media ... disjointed, senseless and a grand waste of money, especially among low SOV brands.

Wait, what's that you say ... they are still doing it the same way. Why? Who knows why ... but here is what I do know. There is a better way to get ROI on your advertising investment.

Inside Out Strategy

It's called Inside Out because it starts with the target audience (cardinal rule of marketing) and where they make their buying decisions today (63% of users say I do not buy ANY products until I search information on the Internet).

Start at your site or a microsite (selling sites developed around one campaign) ... work out and plan your digital media to drive purchase intent, traffic, interactions and sales. Then work out to your traditional media to drive traffic to the site so you can leverage your digital marketing to the fullest extent.

There are many reasons for this and we will explore them in subsequent blogs. But the main reason is to maximize brand engagement and exposure with your target audience by aligning your entire advertising spend to leverage both digital and traditional efforts. The more time spent with your brand ... the higher your brand consideration and purchase.

That's my point-of-view ... what's yours

Media Dot O

www.zigmarketing.com

www.webdma.com

www.twitter.com/hozo1

What is Media.0 and Why Would Anyone Be Interested

It's called Media Dot O ... It's all about media today ... okay its not ... it's about the same thing marketing has always been about, the confluence of strategy and creative and media. But no one can deny that due to audience fragmentation ... media is now more important than ever to successful advertising campaigns.

This blog will explore and expound on the AND ... the combustible combination of old world media rules with new world media thinking.

It's about understanding how people make purchase decisions today and what is the best means to influence that process ... which is very different than even 10 years ago.

It's about the world before the first banner ad in 1994 (yes there was sightings of media planners) and the world after 1994 when users decided to 'own' the media.

Most of all is is about conversations between all of us. My fervent hope is this blog creates understanding, debate, outrage ... but most of all sharing and participation so we all can continue to learn.

Thanks for coming aboard.

Howard

Media Dot O

www.zigmarketing.com

www.webdma.com

www.twitter.com/hozo1