Can Media Silos Be Broken? I Say YES!

An commentary in yesterday’s AdAge speaks to a core issue plaguing marketers today. Ellen Oppenheim speaks about the silos prevalent in advertising and marketing communication and how rarely is there synergy across media that seamlessly blends the media and engages the consumers with a common creative thread and message, regardless of platform.

In my experience, the core issue begins with strategy. In this critical phase I think too many marketers are looking at media as separate entities and although across media there may be overarching goals and objectives, strategists are still addressing creative as separate communication points, depending on the medium.

It’s time for agencies to stop thinking about how they can out-smart their competition with creative that edgier, funnier or just more outlandish. That’s all great and imperative to the industry as a communication forum, but now is the time to address the one component of marketing communications that drives all others – the audience.

In today’s world of fragmented audiences and rich and engaging media on the go, digital billboards, social experiences, deep integration and memorable sponsorship opportunities, marketers need to think audience first. It seems like a no-brainer but I see not too many signs that this is truly top of mind.

So, what the heck am I talking about?

In the strategic phase it all starts with the target. Duh! Who are they? Where do they go? How do THEY communicate? What makes THEM shout out? What gives THEM goosebumps? Getting inside their skin and into their lives gives marketers a tapestry of their social lives and lets face it – regardless of how amazing TV creative is, or how cutting edge a mobile program may be - it’s what the audience does or how they feel after exposure to the message that really counts, otherwise why advertise?

Providing value and choice to become part of the conversation goes hand in hand. TV, needs to hook to mobile, mobile needs to hook to web, web needs to hook to social, social needs to hook to print or even DR – and by providing a perceived value to the target that we know hits their hot buttons – and multiple ways to join in that conversation, depending on that consumer’s preferred method of discourse, we set the stage for the promise of 1:1 consumer communication, shaping our brands around what our target consumers really want.

Now that’s a mouthful capable of chomping away at any silo.

Link to the original post here:

http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=146284


What do YOU think?

Portfolio Work - Music, T-Mobile and Vitamin Water

Working in the music space certainly provides multiple hooks that make sense for brands. Music is experience. Music is passion. Music is conversation. And for brands, connecting to consumers and their passion points is often best routed through the emotional connection of music.

Here are just two examples of some of our work with music and major consumer brands, leveraging the Rolling Stone and Rhapsody music brands, and working with promotional partners such as AEG, Live Nation and Superfly, we built out these multichannel programs to meet client objectives and get the brand into the minds and hands of consumers, across multiple touch points.

Vitamin Water @ Bonnaroo Music Festival: Vitamin Water was already locked up with the live event, so we leveraged this exiting relationship and extended their brand presence to a digital program, with extensions on RollingStone.com and Rhapsody.com.

Check out the Hub here:

http://rollingstoneextras.com/vitaminwater/

Working with both agency and T-Mobile brand team, our group rolled out a series of 3 convergence media programs around live music. The example shown here showcases our integrated strategy for T-Mobile at Austin City Limits Music Festival. Playing on T-Mobile's theme of self-expression, we captured content from the fans at the festival, as well as performance photos and video. Our RollingStone.com 'crib' in Austin provided T-Mobile with an endemic venue for experiential marketing, while also double as our production facility for band interviews, photo shoots and intimate acoustic performances captured in high def video - all brought online and promoted throughout our music properties.

Check out the hub here:

http://www.rollingstoneextras.com/tmobile/

Coors Light Cold Activation Program - Cool Program for Ice Cold Beer!

Over the years I was fortunate to work with the Miller Coors team at Avenue A on the Coors Light brand. Beginning with a sponsorship of distinct independent music performances that we taped in studio, and then brought online, the Coors team expanded their scope in support of music year after year. Obviously, it works.

This year the crackerjack account team of George Carney and Staci Parlari parlayed their solid relationship with the Coors team into a season-long series of music initiatives and impactful media programs. Starting back before Memorial Day weekend, this year’s program included a live event with full content capture in Los Angeles, featuring notable jam band, OAR headlining at the Wiltern. This event coincided with the launch of Coors Light new packaging initiative, the ‘Cold Activated Window’, allowing consumers to ‘see’ if their beloved beer is at optimal consuming temperature.

The stellar project management team, led by music maven Gina Perino organized content capture at the event, where select tracks from the band’s performance were brought online and housed on a Rhapsody.com Hub. Check out the content here:

http://www.rhapsodyextras.com/coorslight/

At the event, Coors Light flowed on tap, while LA music fans enjoyed a free music experience from our friends at Miller Coors - experiential marketing consisted of Coors street team, signage and a distinct branded presence that made it all seem seamless.

Media included site takeovers on key Coors Light dates, including, Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, with a focus on music and entertainment lifestyle properties, including Film.com [shown here].

This was a great example or thinking beyond digital and into the minds and hearts of consumers in environments that best suit the brand and what it’s about.

Now, if you're reading this and it's after 5:00pm isn’t it time to enjoy some Cold Activated freshness yourself?

Smart Mobile Marketing Gone Very Wrong

Since Tuesday August 31, the Michele Bachmann for Congress campaign has been targeting ads in mobile apps to people visiting the Minnesota State Fair. As reported on Clickz, September 2, 2010, these hyper-targeted attack ads with their uber-relevant creative, tell fair-goers that a vote for the Democratic challenger, Tarryl Clark is a vote for taxing fair-goers beloved corn dogs, deep fried bacon and [GASP] beer.

Of course our Republican brothers know how to dig right into the deepest fears of middle America and are sure to pull the 'a vote for Tarryl Clark is a vote for Satan' card soon.

According to stats 61% of the ads served were to iPhone and Android devices. No surprise really, as these devices deliver optimal mobile creative to an arguably higher percentage of influencers - ie peeps with enough disposable cash or ego to have the latest and greatest handsets.

The ad's creative features an announcer, Jim the Election Guy challenging the fair fiends. "So if you see Tarryl Clark while you're at the fair just ask her what's up with voting to tax my beer?" The ad refers to a vote Clark made to raise sales taxes, which would apply to food items bought in restaurants or from food vendors - including those greasy goodies available at the state fair.

"Once we saw the ad we thought, this would be great to market it to mobile phones at the fair," said Eric Frenchman, chief Internet strategist at Republican consulting firm Connell Donatelli, which is working with its associate digital firm Campaign Solutions on the Bachmann campaign.

In addition to pre-roll video ads and YouTube promoted video ads, the campaign also involves display ads in Google’s content network targeted to the 6th district, which is near the fair.

This is a really brilliant tactic. You have to hand it to those Republicans...they sure know how to throw the dirt...and the corndogs.

The campaign is set to run until the end of the fair on September 6.