We have spoken a lot on this blog about tactics in today’s marketing world. We have gone over the basic blocking and tackling needed to introduce brands to consumers, and getting those consumers inspired to take action. But this time we thought we would get out of the tactical trees and see the forest instead. In other words, what are we trying to create for brands that will keep them relevant and alive?
Maybe the good old media plan is a great place to start. For decades it has served us and our clients well. Build your audience. Break it into pieces. Apply different media types to those pieces. Rinse and repeat.
Of course, there were some assumptions that came along with this, the two most important being time and sequence. As far as media plans are concerned, time doesn’t move very quickly. You used to be able to run six-month media plans and be fairly confident that the world would not chang that much in those six months, and that the assets you deployed in the last month would be just as effective as those in the first month.
Sadly, that is not the world we live in today. Not only is the consumer changing constantly right before our eyes, but competitors, overall market dynamics and competitive differentiators are changing just as quickly. Looking at the funnel, instead of a clean line from one end to the other, it’s starting to look like a crazy ant trail wandering around your house.
Which brings us to sequence. Not only is the consumer zigging and zagging down the funnel, but they are consuming many more channels and assets on their way. Again, think back to the old days. Fifty years ago you sponsor some soap opera and you are done. Forty years ago, you do some television and print and those cars practically move themselves. Twenty years ago? Well, will toss some direct mail in there just to keep things moving along.
Now? Audiences are consuming multiple channels, gathering in tribes at the most inopportune moments (United Airlines guitar dude anyone?), and generally making a mockery of messaging and media plans. Not only that, but here is the kicker. Each time they move down the funnel, they are probably going to change the sequence in which they consume your brand.
So what is a brand to do? At Palmer, we address this problem with something we call Fluid Brands. At the core of Fluid Brands is a realization that a gigantic reversal has happened with consumers and with their relationship with a brand. Marketing used to be about finding the consumer and bringing them back to the brand. But in today’s world, brands have to find the consumer and then go to them instead. Which means now your brand has to flow like a river, moving around unexpected obstructions, finding ways under the competition, and gathering in pools where conversations are happening.
So how do you build a media plan when you don’t know where they will be? This is the core of Fluid Brands, and it is based on three basic tenets:
1. Trust and credibility can only be created over time. This is not the land of “taste great, less filling!” Viral videos are fun, and getting people to sign up for causes is fulfilling, but this is a marathon, not a sprint. Which means when you build your media plan, plan from the back forward, not from the front. This isn’t a “launch,” and you won’t get engagement immediately.
2. Engagement is as much about creating champions as it is about being one. In today’s world of social consumers, they are the nodes of your network, not your brand. Empower them, don’t fight them. Leave space on the media plan to enhance conversations where they happen. And wait to be invited into those conversations. A pushy brand is a brand that signals it is in trouble.
3. Consumers will touch multiple channels before they make a decision. We have touched on this before, but it bears repeating. Consumers will look for different stories from you at different places in the funnel. If you media cannot overlay your channels against where the consumer is in the funnel, you will have inevitable fails. In other words, only sell when they are ready to be sold.
It’s a new world out there, and it requires a different approach to how you build media. Fluid Brands gives you the chance to adapt on the fly, approach when asked, and engage when the consumer is ready. And the best part is it’s only going to get more crazy from here. So stay fluid, and go with the flow. Only then will you find your customer.
Maybe the good old media plan is a great place to start. For decades it has served us and our clients well. Build your audience. Break it into pieces. Apply different media types to those pieces. Rinse and repeat.
Of course, there were some assumptions that came along with this, the two most important being time and sequence. As far as media plans are concerned, time doesn’t move very quickly. You used to be able to run six-month media plans and be fairly confident that the world would not chang that much in those six months, and that the assets you deployed in the last month would be just as effective as those in the first month.
Sadly, that is not the world we live in today. Not only is the consumer changing constantly right before our eyes, but competitors, overall market dynamics and competitive differentiators are changing just as quickly. Looking at the funnel, instead of a clean line from one end to the other, it’s starting to look like a crazy ant trail wandering around your house.
Which brings us to sequence. Not only is the consumer zigging and zagging down the funnel, but they are consuming many more channels and assets on their way. Again, think back to the old days. Fifty years ago you sponsor some soap opera and you are done. Forty years ago, you do some television and print and those cars practically move themselves. Twenty years ago? Well, will toss some direct mail in there just to keep things moving along.
Now? Audiences are consuming multiple channels, gathering in tribes at the most inopportune moments (United Airlines guitar dude anyone?), and generally making a mockery of messaging and media plans. Not only that, but here is the kicker. Each time they move down the funnel, they are probably going to change the sequence in which they consume your brand.
So what is a brand to do? At Palmer, we address this problem with something we call Fluid Brands. At the core of Fluid Brands is a realization that a gigantic reversal has happened with consumers and with their relationship with a brand. Marketing used to be about finding the consumer and bringing them back to the brand. But in today’s world, brands have to find the consumer and then go to them instead. Which means now your brand has to flow like a river, moving around unexpected obstructions, finding ways under the competition, and gathering in pools where conversations are happening.
So how do you build a media plan when you don’t know where they will be? This is the core of Fluid Brands, and it is based on three basic tenets:
1. Trust and credibility can only be created over time. This is not the land of “taste great, less filling!” Viral videos are fun, and getting people to sign up for causes is fulfilling, but this is a marathon, not a sprint. Which means when you build your media plan, plan from the back forward, not from the front. This isn’t a “launch,” and you won’t get engagement immediately.
2. Engagement is as much about creating champions as it is about being one. In today’s world of social consumers, they are the nodes of your network, not your brand. Empower them, don’t fight them. Leave space on the media plan to enhance conversations where they happen. And wait to be invited into those conversations. A pushy brand is a brand that signals it is in trouble.
3. Consumers will touch multiple channels before they make a decision. We have touched on this before, but it bears repeating. Consumers will look for different stories from you at different places in the funnel. If you media cannot overlay your channels against where the consumer is in the funnel, you will have inevitable fails. In other words, only sell when they are ready to be sold.
It’s a new world out there, and it requires a different approach to how you build media. Fluid Brands gives you the chance to adapt on the fly, approach when asked, and engage when the consumer is ready. And the best part is it’s only going to get more crazy from here. So stay fluid, and go with the flow. Only then will you find your customer.
