Digital or Die – I think not! Stop the madness! We all can contribute.
Its not Digital v. TV . It should be Digital + TV. For those who have had success it simply is Digital + TV. The two converged and together they are more powerful than any medium on its own. Just look at the 2008 Election. They compliment and feed off each other.
I was born digital. So do not kill the messenger.
I ask you to listen to what I have learned through the ups and downs of having helped created the 1.0 economy where technology drove ideas and experiences, then lived through the bubble – you remember the time when we were all coding for food? Having lived through that experience the test results were clear.
The brands that have won are the ones who have used a simple formula.
Many digital practitioners have taken such polarizing stances on the role of the website, search, the banner ad and the long tail. In doing so they have alienated and confused brand teams as well as short changed their ability to make money.
Digital is a powerful medium. Digital offers the ability to innovate across the globe at the speed of light. When telling a compelling story it has the ability to cross cultures and deliver instant commerce, entertainment and education.
There is an effective way to combine them all to serve the brands you wish to sell. There are best practices that TV can teach to the digital socialites and Vise Versa.
Start with an idea! A website without an organizing idea is merely another fun toy. A TV ad without and idea is merely annoying. It is about being where they want us, when they want us and how they want us. Your Idea should answer why they want us.
Digital is not the best medium, it is not the only medium. It will continue to evolve like all other mediums. What digital offers is the flexibility and global reach like no other medium. All of that said, it is incredibly segmented and its continued proliferation will create smarter marketers out of consumers and the marketers who use the medium to its fullest potential. It cannot reach its full marketing potential if we allow technology to drive the consumer experience instead of a simple idea fulfilling a desire. Applications should have a purpose - they just cannot be cool.
Technology should facilitate the idea's amplification to the right audience. Digital is active not passive so an idea should be ubiquitous it should engage, enable and empower the consumer to own your brand.
