POST-DIGITAL MEDIA STRATEGY: focus on INTEGRATION
In the swirl of digital change and the dash for data of the last two decades, the essence of marketing—building lasting relationships with customers—risks being lost in translation.
Continuing with many other articles and opinion pieces I have published, my view that the marketing landscape has become a battleground where performance metrics and short-term gains overshadow the broader vision of brand building and consumer engagement is becoming stronger, as I encounter more clients in almost desperate situations. It’s an era where clicks, views, and immediate conversions are king, we increasingly see that the consequences of abusing these tactics are not good, and the prices to pay regarding brand loyalty and mid-term sustainability of business are huge.
This focus on the so-called lower funnel activities is mainly a consequence of the digital revolution, with its promise of measurable, immediate results; things the marketing and media industry had longed for the decades before.
However, we must also consider the new problems that arise from this tunnel vision approach - and the opportunity cost of abandoning much of the proven strategies, tactics, and knowledge acquired during those previous analog decades. So now is the time to speak out and rethink the current state of affairs, because not taking action will become a major threat to brands in this post-digital age where nothing is new anymore (except the hypes that remain a constant in any change and innovation process) and where -more than ever- integration and brand narrative play pivotal roles in consumer decision-making.
At the same time, the media and advertising services industry that serves the marketing needs of their clients and their brands stands at a crossroads. It has evolved becoming shaped by specialization, and as a result, silos have emerged and are creating massive knowledge black holes.
Clients are faced with agencies, each focusing on niche areas of expertise — digital, social, SEO, or traditional media- who cannot connect disciplines anymore.
While such diversity has fostered innovation and depth in specific channels, it has also introduced structural challenges that hinder integrated thinking and holistic strategy development.
Addressing these challenges requires a concerted effort to rethink the industry's approach to campaign planning, execution, and measurement, ensuring that the primary focus remains on the client's overarching goals rather than the interests of individual service providers.
Time for Brands to rethink their approach to connecting with People, who just like you and me, are not defined by tactical metrics and KPIs or by agency silos. We too are people, getting on with our lives as best we can. wo we should understand that being relevant, fulfilling needs, solving problems, providing practical solutions, entertaining, and being trustworthy are just some of the basics the industry is forgetting.
So let’s take a quick look at some (there are many more of course) factors at play.
PROBLEMS:
Short-termism and Misaligned Metrics
The allure of digital media, with its granular targeting capabilities and real-time feedback loops, has led many brands down the path of short-termism. A study indicated a significant shift towards digital media, with investment growing by 86% in one year alone, starkly contrasting the decline in traditional media investments. This shift has not only recalibrated budget allocations but also redefined success metrics, focusing heavily on immediate ROI and performance indicators. This approach is reinforced by poorly constructed attribution models that fail to capture the holistic impact of marketing efforts across the consumer journey.
Fragmentation and Silos
The proliferation of specialist agencies has led to a fragmented approach to media planning and buying. Each agency, with its expertise in a particular channel, naturally advocates for its medium, often at the expense of a unified strategy that encompasses the entire media mix. This fragmentation not only complicates the decision-making process for clients but also risks diluting the overall impact of marketing campaigns. The data from various campaigns often reside in silos, making it challenging to obtain a comprehensive view of performance and to understand how different channels interact to influence consumer behavior.
Vested Interests and Bias
The specialized nature of the industry has fostered an environment where agencies may prioritize recommendations that align with their service offerings, rather than what might be best for the client’s brand and business objectives. This bias towards certain media channels can lead to suboptimal allocation of marketing budgets, where decisions are influenced more by the agencies' expertise or profit margins than by strategic considerations or the client's needs. For example, a digital agency might push for a higher investment in online advertising, while a traditional media agency might advocate for television or print, regardless of which is more effective for reaching the target audience or achieving the campaign’s goals.
CONSEQUENCES:
A Race to the Bottom
This excessive focus on performance metrics leads businesses into a spiraling race to the bottom, where the value of media is solely judged by short-term gains. This narrow perspective neglects the intrinsic value of broadcast media and the upper funnel strategies that are pivotal for brand building and long-term engagement. The shift away from traditional media and underestimating its role have resulted in a fragmented marketing strategy that fails to leverage the full spectrum of media benefits.
For instance, in many markets, the decline in investment in broadcast media is at least 4 times the size of its audience drop in 2024, despite its proven effectiveness in building brand awareness and credibility. With most of that spend going to saturating online video channels such as Youtube, with spots created for TV (a completely different medium with an average frequency cap of 3+ in most campaigns) brands are becoming intrusive, annoying, and boring. Has anyone reading this heard anything about the effects of Copy Wearout on brand preference and the relevance of such decisions?
Brands are allowing the same 30”, 45” or even 60” creative to run - low engagement categories included- three, four, five, or more times (forcefully) in one same user session without any mercy or respect for the person who has no option but to wait, alone, patiently to watch a piece of content sometimes shorter than the ad itself. Doing this, and running ads on the screen of the same user as many times as possible is against al the “laws of media planning” and is a telling sign of the current market dynamics.
Spending the budget vs achieving your planning objectives seems the norm now.
This is further compounded by the digital walled gardens dominance, which, while offering unprecedented digital reach, leads to a homogenized marketing approach that lacks differentiation, creativity, and control of first-party audiences.
OPPORTUNITY:
Rebalancing for a Post-Digital Age
Brands must reassess and realign their media strategies to embrace a fully integrated approach. This means moving beyond the binary of digital versus traditional media and towards a synergistic model that leverages the strengths of each medium. To do that we must start to think of those receiving brand communications first and build strategies where the integration of digital and broadcast media, coupled with a renewed focus on brand narrative and consumer engagement, can pave the way for sustainable growth and competitive advantage.
Moreover, embracing a full-funnel strategy that balances short-term conversions with long-term brand building can significantly enhance the overall effectiveness of marketing efforts. Such an approach not only drives immediate sales but also cultivates brand loyalty and advocacy, contributing to a brand's resilience in the face of market shifts and competition.
Normal people (just like you and me when we are not in “professional” mode) don´t care about our industry metrics or KPIs. We don’t count clicks, we don’t remember how many times we watch something we like. But we quickly feel stalked, and harassed by brands. And when we do we don’t like it at all. So let´s think about people as people and not as “personas” or “consumers”, and understand their passions behind data to build integrated strategies that are relevant to them once again.
SOME IDEAS TO OVERCOME STRUCTURAL CHALLENGES FOR INTEGRATED THINKING AT AGENCIES:
To overcome these challenges and rebuild integrated thinking, the industry needs to embrace a more collaborative and transparent approach, with teams thinking less about where they work, and more about who they and their agency work for.
Here are some thoughts about strategies that could help address these current structural issues, but please add constructive ideas to the debate in the comments section below if you wish:
Embrace a Client-Centric Approach
Agencies must prioritize the client’s overall business objectives above their service offerings. This involves adopting a media-agnostic stance, where the choice of channels is guided solely by where the target audience is most active and engaged, and what will drive the client's business forward.
Foster Cross-Disciplinary Teams
By forming integrated teams that bring together specialists from various media disciplines, agencies can ensure a more cohesive strategy that leverages the strengths of each channel. These cross-disciplinary teams can work collaboratively to develop and implement campaigns that are more coherent, consistent, and aligned with the client’s broader marketing objectives.
Leverage Data and Technology for Holistic Measurement
Investing in advanced analytics and cross-channel measurement tools can help break down silos and provide a unified view of campaign performance. By analyzing data across all touchpoints, agencies can gain deeper insights into consumer behavior, measure the incremental impact of each channel, and optimize the media mix for better results.
Promote cross-learning vs self-serving cultures
Agencies should foster a culture of cross-functional knowledge sharing, to enhance their recommendations and the rationale behind them. Educating teams about the benefits and limitations of different media channels, and the reasoning behind strategic decisions can lead to more informed choices and a stronger partnership between agency teams.
IN SUMMARY
The marketing and advertising industry stands at a pivotal crossroads, facing the dual challenge of evolving beyond the short-term, performance-driven strategies that have dominated the digital age and addressing the structural complexities introduced by excessive specialization. This moment calls for a recalibration of media strategies and a unified push towards integrated and holistic approaches that align with immediate business objectives and long-term brand building.
In the pursuit of efficiency and measurable outcomes, the industry has gravitated towards metrics and KPIs that emphasize immediate returns, often at the expense of building enduring brand equity and consumer relationships. The performance-only approach, while valuable for short-term gains, risks sidelining the broader narrative and emotional connections that are the lifeblood of long-lasting brand loyalty. The digital age, with its array of specialized agencies and fragmented media landscapes, has further complicated this scenario, leading to a siloed approach where strategic cohesion is often lost in the noise of channel-specific biases.
The challenge is twofold: to elevate the marketing discourse beyond the confines of narrow performance metrics and to dismantle the structural barriers that hinder integrated thinking. Embracing a media-agnostic perspective that prioritizes the client's overarching business and brand goals over the interests of any single channel or agency specialization is imperative. This requires a collaborative effort to form cross-disciplinary teams that can craft and execute strategies leveraging the full spectrum of media opportunities, from digital to traditional, ensuring a coherent and consistent brand narrative across all touchpoints.
Moreover, overcoming the industry's structural challenges necessitates a culture of transparency and education, where agencies are forthcoming about their recommendations and the why´s behind them. Investing in advanced analytics and cross-channel measurement tools will be crucial in breaking down silos and gaining a holistic view of campaign performance, enabling a data-driven approach that respects the nuances of consumer behavior across the entire journey.
As the industry navigates the complexities of the post-digital age, the call for a more integrated and holistic approach is not just a matter of preference but a strategic imperative. The evolution towards this more cohesive model promises to deliver marketing campaigns that are innovative and impactful in the short term and deeply aligned with the brand’s values and long-term vision too. By addressing the immediate challenges of performance metric myopia and structural fragmentation head-on, the industry can ensure that it services its clients in a manner that drives immediate business results but secures a sustainable, meaningful connection with audiences. It's time for brands and their marketing partners to craft narratives that resonate in the moment and endure over time, building a legacy of brand loyalty that transcends the transactional.
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This article touches only on the tip of the iceberg of a problem rooted in knowledge sharing and conservation towards best practices and competitivity that threatens the continuity of the brands paying for these services. Happy to discuss more, be challenged, and listen to other opinions that build and improve upon these thoughts.
Thanks for reading: comments/contributions/additions are very welcome!
