Marketing has to change its tune and have a proper conversation

27 November 2008

“The real digital revolution has to be about creating content that people actually want”

I’m getting a bit bored of digital conferences. It seems all we ever do is agree violently about how the customer’s in control and TV is doomed. We need a bit of good old conflict. So here goes.

We need to stop making stupid Flash sites that hardly anyone wants to go to. And we certainly need to stop putting up a load of old banners so that 0.3% of the people who see them can click through to ‘dwell’ for a few moments. We criticise traditional agencies for messaging at consumers, yet the vast majority of work done in digital agencies is just the same crappy messaging writ small and tarted up with a bit of Flash coded by someone on £500 a day.

The real digital revolution has to be about creating content and services that people actually want. Your average digital campaign just doesn’t do this. And the reason it doesn’t is that the industry is catering to a moribund marketing philosophy forged in the days of broadcast media. Doesn’t it strike you as odd that we have a marketing culture obsessed with customer loyalty? Who the hell are we to bemoan the loyalty of customers when all we ever do is talk to them in bursts of activity before going quiet? Why go to the effort of engaging an audience only to walk away? We do it because media is expensive. But it doesn’t need to be.

Why not continue the conversation or, better still, stimulate it and let your customers get on with it? Why not create platforms for sharing content which become self-sustaining? If you give people something useful and fun, they’ll use it. Give them something useful and fun that actively embodies your brand proposition and you can build that brand very effectively, with very effective use of media spend.

Marketing departments need to listen to consumers while the action is happening, not in focus groups. In fact, marketing departments need disbanding. In their place should be a mix of communication skills, R&D, technology prowess and business acumen. This new fleet-of-foot and innovative department would give the best agencies a run for their money, demanding ideas that force consumers to engage.

Brands need to and can offer something of real value to people. Let’s take the initiative. The best brands are doing it already. Think about Apple, Google, Nike or brand Obama. These are all powerful brands communicating in powerful new ways. It’s no accident they’re winning attention. Marketing needs to get on the front foot and start putting some good stuff out there. It’s not a war anymore; forget about target customers and campaigns. We lost that one. Let’s do things for people that they want and will talk about. Surely we can all agree on that?