GS Direct
Is it time for agencies to learn the new language of success? By Rebecca Braithwaite, Director of Golley Slater Direct
It’s well known that consumer media consumption is changing rapidly leading to new marketing media and methodologies and giving rise to the development of a plethora of specialist agencies and consultancies.
The biggest changes and the most significant growth is in the digital space where, Google is set to become bigger than direct mail, email marketing likewise is predicted to overtake the direct mail business. And it doesn’t stop there…The rise, for example, of social networking sites is leading to a rethink by an increasing number of clients on how best to spend their budgets when seeking to engage and drive response from their customers and future customers.
In short, the task of customer engagement is becoming increasingly complex. And in this complex world it is the task of responsive and digital agencies to re-organise themselves and their capabilities to offer the right advice and deliver effectiveness to their clients across the media spectrum.
As a direct marketing practitioner however, and viewing the world from the direct marketing perspective unashamedly, it is not so much the rate of change that I see as the major issue. It’s more about capability and experience. The experience of dyed in the wool direct marketers is particular. They have grown up with the techniques and principles of direct response, many of which hold for the new generation of media. They are used to working with a mix of media, and have grown up with the commercial realities of being measurable - and tested. New media agencies on the other hand bring a different interpretation, a new creative energy but often limited ‘direct marketing discipline’. This can lead to a tension in approach to marketing strategy and can lead to a limited response to the client brief. A simple example. We have massive evidence that customers who provide email address can be very email ‘unresponsive’. Whilst happily using the web to research key things - accessing the web at point of need, email is an intrusion that is met with the delete button. They might, on the other hand, be switched on by other channels. Channel mix therefore becomes important and whilst an email-only marketing programme can look attractive from a cost point of view, and provides income and is within the knowledge zone of the digital agency, essentially swathes of the database can fail to engage simply because of that media choice. And for the client, this could be an issue.
True integration is the way forward. Agencies that bring together and consolidate skill sets across responsive media, including digital channels, and provide a point of co-ordination: that’s people with skills in CRM and traditional brand responsive communications planning will offer clients the most effective solutions. These solutions may be single or multi channel. These agencies will harness data across all platforms and provide insight into the planning and deployment of marketing budget. This won’t be an easy task as it requires the merging and learning of different languages and the close collaboration of people with very different skill sets and professional backgrounds. But where it’s successful, it will be in high demand.
It’s well known that consumer media consumption is changing rapidly leading to new marketing media and methodologies and giving rise to the development of a plethora of specialist agencies and consultancies.
The biggest changes and the most significant growth is in the digital space where, Google is set to become bigger than direct mail, email marketing likewise is predicted to overtake the direct mail business. And it doesn’t stop there…The rise, for example, of social networking sites is leading to a rethink by an increasing number of clients on how best to spend their budgets when seeking to engage and drive response from their customers and future customers.
In short, the task of customer engagement is becoming increasingly complex. And in this complex world it is the task of responsive and digital agencies to re-organise themselves and their capabilities to offer the right advice and deliver effectiveness to their clients across the media spectrum.
As a direct marketing practitioner however, and viewing the world from the direct marketing perspective unashamedly, it is not so much the rate of change that I see as the major issue. It’s more about capability and experience. The experience of dyed in the wool direct marketers is particular. They have grown up with the techniques and principles of direct response, many of which hold for the new generation of media. They are used to working with a mix of media, and have grown up with the commercial realities of being measurable - and tested. New media agencies on the other hand bring a different interpretation, a new creative energy but often limited ‘direct marketing discipline’. This can lead to a tension in approach to marketing strategy and can lead to a limited response to the client brief. A simple example. We have massive evidence that customers who provide email address can be very email ‘unresponsive’. Whilst happily using the web to research key things - accessing the web at point of need, email is an intrusion that is met with the delete button. They might, on the other hand, be switched on by other channels. Channel mix therefore becomes important and whilst an email-only marketing programme can look attractive from a cost point of view, and provides income and is within the knowledge zone of the digital agency, essentially swathes of the database can fail to engage simply because of that media choice. And for the client, this could be an issue.
True integration is the way forward. Agencies that bring together and consolidate skill sets across responsive media, including digital channels, and provide a point of co-ordination: that’s people with skills in CRM and traditional brand responsive communications planning will offer clients the most effective solutions. These solutions may be single or multi channel. These agencies will harness data across all platforms and provide insight into the planning and deployment of marketing budget. This won’t be an easy task as it requires the merging and learning of different languages and the close collaboration of people with very different skill sets and professional backgrounds. But where it’s successful, it will be in high demand.