"You can't just buy people's attention anymore. You must engage them."
This is the word from BBDO New York CEO Andrew Robertson in a recent article updating the activities of David Lubars, their Creative Director. I couldn't agree more, and it is why I enjoy interactive media so much.
It's very name - "interactive" - tells it all. It is not passive. It assumes the visitor is engaged in some sort of behavior, be it for education, commerce, or just communicating with friends or colleagues or family. For corporate marketing, the traditional thinking that the 30-second TV spot is king is so outdated that I have never even considered it so in my almost 30 years in this business.
It has, and always will be, the touchpoints that matter. Whether that is a banner ad you clicked through, a YouTube video you forwarded, a customer service encounter, a buzz event you experience on the street, or any other form of message communicated from company to customer, it is how it touches you on an emotional level that matters. What is important is not how cool or clever or even entertaining it is, but how well it motivated you to spend more time with the brand or, more importantly, how well it compelled you to part with some of your hard earned money, or your company's money. And how quickly. That is what has always mattered.
And one of the best attributes of interactive media is that its impact is all measurable. There is no guesswork or interpretation of impression value needed. Results are finite, and can be available in real time. What's not to like when you need to know true ROI?
It used to be that online and interactive marketing should be a component of any strategic marketing plan. The larger long-established agencies call it 'playing small ball' because of the relative production budgets and lower commissions. It's actually a big-league game, with serious stakes and opportunity for winning streaks for those who get it and do it right, leveraging the knowledge of those who have been in the 'league' a long time.
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