Au Revoir Paid Media - Hello Modern Marketing

The Glitz and glam of television commercials represent the advertising of yesterday, however we all know times are rapidly changing and with this being said, so should the medium in which marketers choose to advertise. As consumer behavior continues to evolve, the value a great campaign holds becomes more challenging. All us marketers and advertisers can continue to debate the meanings and terms related to paid, owned and earned, however one thing that can't be is the crumbling value in broadcast and reach media. According to Forrester, more than 50% of purchases in today’s society are digitally influenced.

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This shift to the now Digital Age has hit us fast and hard. For as many years as we can think back the concept and delivery of paid media has been the mistress for marketers and advertising agencies. The admiration television ads encompassed generally overlooked its accountability. In this day and age, clients are wanting more return on investment, more results and more value, and to top it off, they want it NOW! This sense of urgency has fuelled the technological age along with digital media to form new grounds for modern marketing, as we know it.

Today most of us either have an iPhone, iPad, MacBook, or perhaps all three, and to top it off, we have been conditioned to use all three at the same time, impressive no? Regardless of what it is, we as a generation thrive on technology and cant seem to live without it; pretty sad if you ask me, however, does it get the support it deserves?

The term “owned” as the name suggests, is but a mere asset; a living breathing investment. For those reading this article unaware of the term, the concept of owned media is defined as the communication channels a brand controls, including websites, blogs and emails. With this being said, it can be strongly argued that without a strong foundation and a so-called “digital ecosystem”, investment in paid media is pretty much wasteful.

Paid media only does a small percentage of the job. More importantly, we should be asking questions such as where the paid media is driving customers? What will they discover one they get to the destination? A campaign might be highly successful in deliverance, however, if the online experience is poor, what would the point of been? Technology has driven us marketers and consumers to consider speed, usability and simplicity as they key attribute. The concept of loyalty is now challenged more than ever, as even the largest of brands such as NIKE need to carefully ensure they don't let their consumers down.

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A step in the right direction would be to continually ensure total consumer engagement. A prime example indicating how powerful the right platform can be would be to include companies such as Uber and Tripadvisor. It can be said that these brands have assimilated into how we live our life and in some instances, having spent nothing on paid media. Not saying paid media is not important, because it is, however, without the appropriate next step including the right platform ready to convert, “paid” media can end up costing more.

The plethora of digital marketing platforms has most definitely changed the game, however, what does that mean? All in all, our job as marketers should be to find strategies in which we can continue to create a connected experience, one of innovation and empowerment for the consumer where online and offline channels become an amalgamation of seamlessness.

Lauren Musat
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School