I'm heading off my post today with an 80's style motivational poster because I want to get you ready to face a challenge. I'm going to give you the same challenge that Chas Edwards of Federated Media gave everyone attending the Future of Online Advertising conference this past June.
I challenge you to stop thinking in terms of online media and offline media. Instead, start thinking simply "media."
The objective should be locating customers and finding where they are most engaged. Find where your target market goes what they are involved in. Then find the best way to start a conversation with them.
Most likely, you will find that an interwoven net of different mediums, both online and offline, is necessary to start a desired dialog with consumers.
A recent study featured in Ad Age, from Jupiter Research and iProspect, makes the interdependency of both online and offline mediums even more apparent. The study revealed that more than two-thirds of search experiences are started by offline channels, and "those who've initially been influenced by an offline channel tend to have a higher propensity to buy: 39% of them ultimately make a purchase."
What becomes obvious is how important consistency of messages becomes. Robert Murray, president of iProspect, puts it this way:
"If you roll out a new car, you want a site that's well-optimized organically and has a paid search supporting campaign with same color scheme, same taglines, same spokespeople."
All touch points have to be the same, whether they are printed in ink, generated with millions of 1's and 0's, vibrating through the airwaves or coming across the tube.
That said, Will you accept the challenge?
