Hold on…wait for it. Just a little longer. Ok, there it is…I present the newest greatest idea that will revolutionize marketing. It will change advertising irrevocably, make everything that went before it moot, and create new product opportunities, revenue and communities. It may even solve world peace, unify physics, and answer why San Francisco Giants batters feel it necessary to swing at everything within a three-mile radius. Well, maybe not that last part. Nothing is that revolutionary.
Oh wait, something newer came along…never mind.
It’s funny that an industry that cautions its clients to be strategic, to think before you market, and to research everything is so inclined to go charging off over the hills like a pack of baying dogs every time something new arrives on the scene. We saw banners as a new media asset that would change our business. That was followed by viral videos, blogs, social networks, interactive elements like apps and widgets, augmented reality, and whatever will be announced next Monday. Each one more fabulous than the last.
However, at a certain point, we got so busy throwing out everything to embrace the new that we lost our way. The first sign was spectacular missteps like the Skittles homepage redesign or the “flashmob of the week” routine on YouTube. And then something more insidious started happening. Those darn clients started asking what exactly all these fireworks were for. And how do we measure them? And do we know whether they succeeded on all that fabulous strategy we did for them.
It is like we woke up one morning and were suddenly staring at a box of puzzle pieces. We know they fit together, but we suddenly didn’t know how. In retrospect, it is pretty easy to see how we got here. We were under the impression that our current crop of tools replaced the old versions. They didn’t. They were just more modern versions of what we have always done. Which means the way to put the puzzle back together was not just to throw out the old, but to bring back the old.
I’ll explain. Banners were the new great thing. Except they weren’t. They were just billboards reborn for the digital age. Targeted banners are even better, just like displays in stores that are contextually targeted. Social media? Good lord, there have been online places to gather since the days of the first BBS…we are just a lot better at it. As the consumer’s decision-making process has become faster, we have replaced old formats with new ones that can keep up.
And here is the fly in the ointment. In thinking we were throwing out the old to embrace the new, we forgot about the most important part. The funnel. What we do as marketing professionals hasn’t changed at its core for 50 years, and it will be the same 50 years from now. We move people from awareness to consideration to purchase. That’s our job. Forget all the trappings of our industry: the wild hair, no hair, crazy clothes, loud music at the office, party with the clients nonsense. We help our clients help their audience make a decision.
I don’t want social media gurus. I couldn’t care less about conversational marketing experts. I want someone who can look at the funnel and can tell me where these pieces fit. And can tell me how they relate to all those boring traditional assets that are still the glue of our business. And how as a result we inspire, incent and inform customers so they make a decision. I want people who still see the world through that boring old thing called a media plan. Who can take this marketing toolbox that grows every day and understand how to combine them together, measure them, and prove strategy to the client. Who understand that it’s not about the latest greatest thing, but about doing the same old job better, faster, and cleaner. So I say to you all, out with old! And in with the old.
Oh wait, something newer came along…never mind.
It’s funny that an industry that cautions its clients to be strategic, to think before you market, and to research everything is so inclined to go charging off over the hills like a pack of baying dogs every time something new arrives on the scene. We saw banners as a new media asset that would change our business. That was followed by viral videos, blogs, social networks, interactive elements like apps and widgets, augmented reality, and whatever will be announced next Monday. Each one more fabulous than the last.
However, at a certain point, we got so busy throwing out everything to embrace the new that we lost our way. The first sign was spectacular missteps like the Skittles homepage redesign or the “flashmob of the week” routine on YouTube. And then something more insidious started happening. Those darn clients started asking what exactly all these fireworks were for. And how do we measure them? And do we know whether they succeeded on all that fabulous strategy we did for them.
It is like we woke up one morning and were suddenly staring at a box of puzzle pieces. We know they fit together, but we suddenly didn’t know how. In retrospect, it is pretty easy to see how we got here. We were under the impression that our current crop of tools replaced the old versions. They didn’t. They were just more modern versions of what we have always done. Which means the way to put the puzzle back together was not just to throw out the old, but to bring back the old.
I’ll explain. Banners were the new great thing. Except they weren’t. They were just billboards reborn for the digital age. Targeted banners are even better, just like displays in stores that are contextually targeted. Social media? Good lord, there have been online places to gather since the days of the first BBS…we are just a lot better at it. As the consumer’s decision-making process has become faster, we have replaced old formats with new ones that can keep up.
And here is the fly in the ointment. In thinking we were throwing out the old to embrace the new, we forgot about the most important part. The funnel. What we do as marketing professionals hasn’t changed at its core for 50 years, and it will be the same 50 years from now. We move people from awareness to consideration to purchase. That’s our job. Forget all the trappings of our industry: the wild hair, no hair, crazy clothes, loud music at the office, party with the clients nonsense. We help our clients help their audience make a decision.
I don’t want social media gurus. I couldn’t care less about conversational marketing experts. I want someone who can look at the funnel and can tell me where these pieces fit. And can tell me how they relate to all those boring traditional assets that are still the glue of our business. And how as a result we inspire, incent and inform customers so they make a decision. I want people who still see the world through that boring old thing called a media plan. Who can take this marketing toolbox that grows every day and understand how to combine them together, measure them, and prove strategy to the client. Who understand that it’s not about the latest greatest thing, but about doing the same old job better, faster, and cleaner. So I say to you all, out with old! And in with the old.
