Clutter

This week's Ad Age has an article on the increasing problem of clutter.  Some good points made, but it still staggers me that the conversation is about the explosion of media channels.  To use the analogy of warfare (which we seem to love in marketing) it seems that we still believe we can win the battle by changing the approach from weapons of mass destruction to a guerrilla warfare approach.  Isn't it time we stopped obsessing over channel selection (important as it is) and focus more on making the content more interesting and more useful?  And isn't it time we began to focus less on reaching people efficiently and surrounding them with messages (the 360 degree communication model) and instead focus more on making the most of one or two channels and using them in a way that enhances and demonstrates the brand's behavior? 

Comments

[Melissa Walker]

YES. Been trying out this very approach with clients who have already been through the 360 plan (in many incarnations), and already seeing results from a tighter, more relevant communications model.

[kevin]

"You don't have to bruise an elephant all over to kill him. One shot in the right place will do." - Gossage

[gareth]

You have to love Gossage.

[Angus Whines]

God yes, well said.

[Rob @ Cynic]

I sort of agree ...

I totally am with you interms of the importance of creativity in communication - especially in these bland, high-spending, multi-channel times - because lets face it, when creativity is done right, it has the power to [legally] counteract competitors heritage, distribution and spending power.

However the bit I only sort-of agree with you is in terms of 360.

Don't get me wrong, 360 has always been flawed [both in practice and in theory] because there actually is little point to 'touch' the consumer at every single possible point of contact and even if you did want to, the cost would be outrageous.

However I also believe just communicating via 2 or 3 channels is equally as flawed because that tends to equate to only using 'reach' mediums and you will miss out the SIGNIFICANT consumer touchpoints [and I include those 'horrible areas' like POS and Promotion] that can move 'awareness' to 'sales'.

Then of course is what you define as communication.

Personally I believe distribution and packaging are vital elements as well and so to not include this in your thinking is potentially very limiting.

Is there a perfect comms model?

Not sure .... but one thing I believe is that it's about relative and resonant communication channels, not just bunging your ad wherever it might be seen or only running it in a couple of high-reach channels.

Thank you for listening to my rant.

[Gareth]

fair comment guv. i think we're not that far apart - my point is really that focusing on the channels that matter (be they more than 2 or 3; certainly packaging which most brands forget is their cheapest and most pervasive media), and using them in an appropriate way, is a lot better than being blandly everywhere.

[steve stokes]

Agree with you Gareth if you're talking about ATL. In the UK M&S has increased its media budget significantly but stuck to two main media: TV and Outdoor and within that focussed on concentrated heavy bursts. They avoided the temptation of spending everywhere just because they could. One of my mantras has always been to half your media budget and the double-up the resulting media plan. Although there's no point doing all the hard work by creating an amazing piece of brand communication if consumers get distracted or diverted when they get round to looking for more information or look to buy. That means nearly always including some element of Search and Digital to the mix - 2 more channels to add!

[Rob @ Cynic]

Haha ... I know we're pretty close in our opinions, I'm just being my normal argumentative self.

Not too late to cancel your flights ...

[gareth]

Steve - totally agree with you but always worry about the whole ATL, BTL thing. Because it's about agency silos rather than how people experience brands. Which means a lot of brands don't think holistically about their actions.
Rob - why would I cancel my flights? About time us two argumentative people met up...:)

[Mikej]

nice conversation. I think it is one that happens everyday in our industry from all the different agencies explaining the perfect model.

In my view there is no perfect model. Otherwise Mr Sorrells machine he spoke about at Cannes last year would be real and we couldnt have any fun in what we do. Its different strokes for different folks. At the end of the day the perfect model is to be great at identifying the right stroke for that client on that day. Then learn from it and move on

[Argumentative Essays]

Clutter<----that's what i was looking for