Reilly Lee
What Digital Planning is Not
Naturally, our gist had revolved around current events and trends in the Nigerian media and advertising industry, especially given the country’s poor representation at the recently concluded 57th Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.
He revealed how his agency was still trying to come to terms with successfully integrating digital offerings in their brand proposals to clients. Marketers were not buying these ‘digital recommendations’, and had told the agency to stick to what they knew best – strategic implementation that was focused on the utilization of traditional media channels – TV, print, radio, and in-store media. One client in particular, had explained their position was borne out of a research they had conducted recently; to gauge the impact of digital advertising on consumers, and that only a fraction of the target market in the research poll had reacted to online advertising. Fewer still had gone on to purchase a product or recommend it based on some digital influences.
I had probed further to understand what the issues were, and was shocked to find out that in this time and age of prosumers, conversations, engagement, social interactivism, and digital ecosystems, some agencies and clients still don’t get it. The blame went to the agency because they were supposed to act as change agents for marketers, consumers, and the industry, and yet, they were proffering outdated digital models, and exporting platforms and concepts that were not resonating with consumers in the Nigerian market.
They have to understand that in the industrialized world, and supposedly, digitally developed countries, agencies and marketers are still trying to cut their teeth in this space. The digital world is continually evolving, and moving at a pace faster than we are at understanding digital natives [the internet generation that grew up surrounded by digital technologies].
What Digital is not
Digital is not about taking a big idea that was successful some place and localizing the concept for other brands
Digital is not about packaging a cool concept wrapped up as product ideas to sell to clients [no smart client will go for that nor will it have any meaningful impact for their brands]
Digital is not about developing an online presence, Facebook campaign or Twitter app, and expect consumers to love your brand because you have attempted to inhabit their space
Digital is not about websites, or developing cool slogans and images on moving media platforms
Digital is not about setting up a unit with planners, and calling them ‘digital strategists’, and expecting them to come up with ‘digital ideas’ for brands
What then is digital? What does digital planning entail?
I do not claim to know all of the answers, as I am still understudying cultural insights, digital planning models, and brand engagement tools that have been used successfully on digital natives in the past five years. However, I know that digital should combine the following:
User insights, design thinking, entertainment, information architecture [IA], social chatter, content strategy, user experience [UX], mobile and data analytics, media and connections planning, and innovative use of offline channels
Simple put: Digital planning is about platform ideas not channel tactics.
Stefan Olander, Global Director of Brand Connections at Nike states:
“The digital world permeates consumers’ lives, but they never think of it as technology – it’s just another tool of convenience. So rather than viewing it as ‘new media’ and a vehicle to fire messages at the consumer, we use it to service a need. As we move from passive one-way communications to a two-way conversation, we give our consumer a voice by listening, sharing, and co-creating and, above all, by enabling meaningful solutions.”
The whole idea of interactivism and utilization of digital media stems from the notion of offering real value and meaning to people’s lives for a longer period of time by creating “tangible and real assets that transcends mediums to an engaging platform that people are eager to own” [Tom Himpe].
Check out the following case studies, and try to understand the mindset of the agencies that developed these award-winning concepts for their clients:
* Taxi – MINI
* R/GA – Nike+
* SS+K – MSNBC.com
* Tequila/Hong Kong – Levi’s World
* Farfar – Diesel [Heidies]
* GT – Microsoft [Big Shadow]
* Kirt Gunn & Associates – Lincoln [Dreams]
* Kokokaka Goteborg Sweden – Wrangler Blue Bell Jeans
* Mobile Dreams Factory Madrid – IKEA
* Crispin Porter + Bogusky – Burger King [Subservient Chicken]
Wrangler Blue Bell Jeans
IKEA interactive Catalogue
Nike Plus
From the above case studies [including works researched in the past year from agencies in Johannesburg, London, Paris, Miami, Hong Kong, Brussels and Sydney, Australia], and ongoing conversations had with some marketers [Nokia, VW, Charles Schwab, HP], I believe we have not yet scratched the surface. We are going about it wrongly, and we need the support of clients in the industry to make any headway.
Digital Planning goes beyond planners who get it sitting down in an intelligent hub, crafting proposals and partnering with media vendors that have purchased rights to already existing digital models, and packaging them as innovative, ground-breaking concepts for clients. And they wonder why clients don’t fall over themselves to utilize their ideas?
If we are going to proffer brand engagement ideas and digital solutions as a basis for achieving set objectives, agencies have to work in tandem with clients, content providers, trendspotters, marketing technologists, and social media curators to create original + integrated concepts that reflect their total understanding of the business segment, and the consumers they are trying to make a connection with.
What Digital is About
“A social creation designed for a social effect – to help people work together” [Tim Berners-Lee]
Transforming “target insights” towards ‘user insights” [Aki Spicer]
“Converting viewers to users, and users to advocates” [Aki Spicer]
“Creating new opportunities to do a job that customers want done” [Tim O'Reilly]
“Backing ‘people powered ideas’ and ‘back pocket solutions’ by offering true marketing benefits backed by technology [Aki Spicer]
Next on Digital
Allow me to end on this note by quoting Steve Rubel [of Edelman Digital]:
“The next great media company won’t have a website; it will be all spokes and no hub. It will exist as a constellation of connected apps and widgets that live inside other sites and offer a full experience plus access to your social graph and robust community features.
About the Author
Web 2.0 Summit 09: Tim Berners-Lee and Tim O’Reilly, “A Con
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