Marketing in a multiplatform world

Forget above-the-line. Below-the-line. Through-the-line. Advertising agencies will need to understand how consumers in a converged economy think and behave in order to effectively market to consumers. This means getting your head around multi-platform marketing, understanding which media and devices create awareness, how consumers investigate or research before they make purchases, and what influences consumer buying decisions.

What agencies need to ask themselves is who will own the strategic relationship with marketing clients and brand owners in future?

My bet is that traditional agencies who don't get new media will lose out to specialist agencies or marketing companies with proven multi-platform expertise. Brands will want to work with marketers who understand how technology affects and influences consumer lives and buying behaviour. Agencies should no longer talk about above or below the line, but about managing content and messaging across a myriad of multiple channels.

Check out Jolie O’Dell's brilliant blog on Mobile and Multiplatform Marketing which was written for ad:tech, the interactive advertising and technology conference and exhibition which is held in 11 cities across the world.

Then listen to the following ad:tech podcasts:

The Modern Agency (49 MB)
Digital media and technologies continue to impact all media and the business of marketing communications. And advertising agencies are not immune to the influence of the digital revolution. What is clear is that the strategic relationship with the client is up for grabs and the agencies, regardless of their exact pedigree, with the best ideas and an ability to execute will be victorious.

The Consumer Experience in a Multi-Platform World, Part I (50 MB)
In this rapidly emerging multi-platform universe, the opportunities to create innovative and compelling marketing campaigns are seemingly endless. Marketers have the opportunity to reach new and more refined audiences with new forms of creative and branded sponsorships, and media companies have a wealth of new platforms and resulting content and advertising inventory models to offer their marketing partners. With this opportunity comes the major challenge of prioritization, execution and go-to market capabilities. In this session, paired presenters will present in-depth case studies and discuss how they approached strategy, development and execution for their innovative, new multi-platform initiatives.

The Consumer Experience in a Multi-Platform World, Part II (41 MB)
In this session, paired presenters will present in-depth case studies targeting Hispanic consumers and discuss how they approached strategy, development and execution for their innovative, new multi-platform initiatives. Specifically, they’ll address how they managed internal teams and external vendors to conceptualize and deliver successful content into the Hispanic marketplace and how they delivered on the advertising value proposition for their clients.

Comments

[ALEJANDRO TOVAR]

Very nice post. I totally agree with the approach that "traditional agencies" are trying to get to the interactive/integrated marketing communication approach. As a client my current agency is trying to get past this line, however it is very certain that more and more up & coming agencies that have a better feeling of the multi-platform approach can gain ground in terms of strategy and implementation.

[Mandy de Waal]

@ALEJANDRO TOVAR: Thanks so much for stopping by and for your comment. I think it's going to be interesting to see which agencies make the leap and how marketing companies transform themselves to meet the challenge of multiplatform marketing.

[Nocat]

You are right, tradition has no place in marketing, it's constantly changing. If you are playing the game and do what you are told 'watch the ball' you are not accepting information that doesn't relate and missing new oportunities. Anyway, so are you going over to London for Revolution's The Best Of Digital Marketing Showcase, it's spotlighting new digital channels on the 1st of July 2008. They are offering a special feature: To guarantee you leaving the conference with expertise that you can apply. Check it out over at http://www.webmarketingassociation.org/blog/2008/04/the_best_of_digital_marketing.html

[Mandy de Waal]

@Nocat: I would love to be going to London. (And not just for the Best of Digital Marketing Showcase), but unfortunately that's not on my agenda just yet.

[Jolie O'Dell]

O hai!

Thanks for the link love. =-)

ad:tech Miami was a great place to learn a bit about multiplatform approaches for Latin American and Hispanic marketing; I'm also hoping to catch up with the general side of marketing at ad:tech Chicago in mid-August, if you feel like following along.

Great blog, great topics!