There’s little doubt today that digital advertising is here to stay.  This is no fad, and if you fight or attempt to resist digital advertising you do so at your own peril.  The challenge is how do you measure the effectiveness of digital advertising, and how can you monetize it?  Calculating what your ROI is on advertising is critical, and given that digital advertising is still relatively new, a leap of faith is required.   That’s somewhat risky but to not get in the game at all poses even greater risks to your business.

It was close to four years ago that I decided that Merix would have to embark on a digital journey.  Social media was just starting to create some buzz but it’s was nowhere near the acceptance levels of today.  I have to be completely candid with you, I still have a difficult time rationalizing social media.  So four years ago I wanted someone, anyone, to explain to me why people are embracing this thing called “Facebook” and “Twitter” and other social media communication vehicles.   I did some research on the internet but I couldn’t find a definitive answer.  I decided I needed to talk to an early adapter of this technology.  I realized I was having a hard time understanding the social media phenomenon because there was a generational gap.  So I talked to a twenty something person in our office.  I asked this individual to come by my office and explain to me why Merix needed to embrace social media.  We chatted for 45 minutes, and at the end of our conversation she looked me and said, “you just don’t get it”.  You know what?  She was right.  I didn’t get it, but it doesn’t matter if I don’t get it.   At that time it appeared that more and more people were getting it, and Merix needed to go where their customers were heading.  It was from that day on that I decided that social media and digital advertising was going to be an integral part of growth.

 Through osmosis I have learned a fair bit about social media over the past four years.  One of things I learned was that we had to hire an expert in this field.  I’m glad to say we did just that, and her efforts to date are helping us to transform how we do business.  One of things that I learned about social media is that we are all becoming tribal.  People today want to be a part of a community.  It didn’t take me long to figure out that all email was being viewed as spam by our customers.  Our customers wanted to be communicated too in manner which is personal and comfortable.  Gone are the days where you can force-feed one communication platform to your customers.  There’s just too many options available to customers today, and information alone is not enough.  Our customers want information, but the experience in which way they receive the information is equally important.  What wins today is not price alone, it’s about the overall experience.

I’m always on the lookout for unique and different ways to advertise to our customers.  If you’re going to stand out today you have to be sheik, unique and cool.  It doesn’t hurt to have a huge budget, when is that not the case, so let’s set that aside for a moment.  Have a look at the video below.  The video below is an internet advertising campaign by Carlsberg beer,  which resulted in 800,000 views in the first two weeks.  It’s brilliant, and it was cost effective. Watch Here.

The second video is from Burberry; this company has completely transformed how it communicates with their customers, and there’s no questioning their commitment to the digital world.   Two years ago they hired a CCO, Chief Creative Officer.  How many companies will follow Burberry and hire their own CCO?  If you answered “not likely”, remember what happened to the dinosaurs.  Watch Here.

 Until next time.

 Cheers