Monday, October 15, 2007
ANA Study: Advertisers Need Big Changes As Marketing and Technology Converge
byThe Association of National Advertisers (ANA) released details of a comprehensive new study that points the way to rapid, significant change for many of the country’s biggest advertisers. The study, titled Marketing & Media Ecosystem 2010, advises:
“As the media environment becomes increasingly complex and rooted in the digital space, the existing marketing agenda and capabilities need to be re-tooled and marketing organizations, agencies and media companies are having to change at an unprecedented pace. [M]arketers and their agencies must change as the convergence of media and technology, combined with the fragmentation and personalization of media, changes the connection between marketers and end users.”
The study, which polled over 250 large marketers, indicates the strategies for success in the increasingly digital media environment will require companies to reshape their main priorities from a one-way broadcast model to one that takes advantage of the complex two-way interaction that is now part of the new media landscape. Most large advertisers admitted there were many barriers to making this shift including lack of sufficient organization support (51%), lack of experience in the intricacies of the new media (59%), and insufficient metrics (62%).
The ANA said the Marketing & Media Ecosystem 2010 study points out five critical themes for advertisers:
• Marketing must become more conversational in nature.
• Technology needs to be more integrated with marketing to drive consumer insight and future targeting opportunities.
• Distribution and contextual relevance now rivals creative execution in importance. Over 80 percent of study participants said a company’s planning capabilities will be critical in the new environment.
• Data quality and accessibility are vital to judge what type of efforts are having the most profound impact.
• The complex nature of marketing in the new system will require increased collaboration inside and outside of the organization.
The ANA study also outlined 11 Keys to Success for leaders as a result of these profound changes. They can be found on the link above.
While none of this information is profoundly new to those of us who are engaged in this new media landscape, the study does point out the unprecedented rate of change that has caught many companies off guard. The ANA news release discussed the need for increased training in this new media reality. We couldn’t agree more. We conduct training sessions with our staff almost every week to keep up with the profound changes that are now happening. These new changes require a mind shift in how to use the new media environment. Many marketers, still clinging to old media models, tend to think of the new opportunities as simply novel, do-it-yourself one-way channels. That is under-utilizing something that can initiate a conversation with the customer and eventually have a profound brand impact.
The study also indicated that 90 percent of the companies polled planned to increase their investment in digital media. The Marketing & Media Ecosystem 2010 study was a joint study between the ANA, the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), and management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.
