Adapt your strategies to digital, not vice versa

13 November 2008

For some time brands and marketing services groups have been locked in a circular debate about the virtues of adapting leviathan models, with all their scale and revenue, versus contemporary greenfield builds. In fact, it’s brutal Darwinism that will call the tune.

As we approach that watershed moment when the market share of digital communication eclipses that of traditional channels, there’s a clamour for digital to become the engine at the heart of integration. But instead of calling for the upstart to usurp the incumbent, shouldn’t we be thinking about a new model?

The ad-led model worked because it dominated client expenditure and choice was constrained. Yet the hegemony of one discipline limits the opportunities to create value via other forms of communication.

On the consumer side, we talk about the power of word of mouth and engagement rather than reach, reflecting brand choice in a climate of uncertainty. Harnessing consumer advocacy is a prerequisite for sales, but this doesn’t necessarily have to be done exclusively via digital.

We have to be more rigorous about creating strategies that enhance brand value and optimise our plans daily rather than annually. Generalist skills of value planning, communication strategy and data analysis should be at the heart of the model, rather than any particular channel.

Is this an argument for putting digital at the heart of integration? Possibly, but what part of digital are we talking about: community marketing, eCRM, ecommerce, SEO? Any of these and more could be a client’s digital turnkey to value generation. It all comes back to flexibility and the need for more rigorous business planning up front.