The pressure on brands to be in the market 24/7 is forcing even the most precious creative directors to abandon their loathing of response mechanisms, according to a new book co-authored by former IPA chief Hamish Pringle, who declares: “We’re all in DM now.”
‘Spending Advertising Money in the Digital Age’, published by Kogan Page, claims to provide detailed advice, backed by solid research, on how to understand today’s complex media landscape. It shows how to allocate a brand’s media budget most accurately, and then deploy it most effectively in order to build business.
The publication has been written by Pringle (now strategic advisor at 23red) and Aegis Media chief client officer Jim Marshall. It also has contributions from leading figures in the media industry and contains many examples of top campaigns with demonstrable results in the market.
Talking exclusively to DecisionMarketing, Pringle said: “The implications of the ‘media flow’ era for direct advertising and marketing communications are profound. Over the past decade we’ve moved from a position where creatives regarded a phone number at the end of a TV commercial as ‘aural fly shit’ and fought tooth and nail to delete it.
“Now smart marketers and agencies realise a customer can travel the purchase journey in minutes rather than weeks or months, so they must keep their brand in the marketplace 24/7. And since there’s not just ‘bought’ but also ‘owned’ and ‘earned’ media to work with, this continuous presence is an economic reality. We’re all in DM now.”
According to the book’s blurb: “Seismic changes are occurring in the world of advertising due to the inexorable rise of new technologies and the way consumers are using new media. These changes in behaviour are challenging accepted ways of using the media to build brands.
“Based on data from the IPA Effectiveness Awards databank and from IPA TouchPoints, plus research from Nielsen and Millward Brown, the authors propose a new model, ‘FAIPA’, for media and communications planning.
“This model describes how to select the right media channel to promote a brand from the many that are now available, and if you are employing a range of ‘bought’, ‘owned’ and ‘earned’ media, which to concentrate on, and how to allocate the budget between them.”
Charlie says: Hamish may be confirming what many in this industry have been saying for years – the future is direct – but the real point is who will grab the space? All too often direct marketers have been too slow and too reticent to ‘walk the walk’ and ‘talk the talk’ – something that those in adland have no trouble with. All clients want measurable, responsive marketing – can DMers convince them that they are the ones to deliver this?