Ms.Krishnan spends as much time on her laptop as she does with her daughter’s homework. What she does not have time for however, is watching TV at a stretch. Which is why she isn’t aware of the new flavoured yogurt in town. But the loss is definitely not hers.
Ms.Krishnan is a case in point. Increasingly, intuitive brand builders are wary about putting monies everywhere their brand touches their customers. Gone are the days of the ‘do everything’ approach. Instead, they are identifying and spending aggressively on those consumer touch points they are sure will have maximum impact on revenues, growth and profitability.
So how does one go about it? Superior brand building, say experts, is based on certain cornerstones that set the conditions for the customer experience that matters most to them. As a media expert advises ‘One should never start off by deciding what kind of message you want to deliver, but rather by what kind of message your consumer wants to hear.’
Banks, for example, understands the first lesson well – that of identifying your most important customers. They employ advanced analytics to say with a high degree of accuracy what every customer is worth in terms of revenue and profitability.
Secondly, analyze those touch points that will have the greatest positive impact on their behaviour and loyalty. Is Mrs. Gopinath more likely to sit and watch a re-run of your 30-seconder or would she rather notice your brand if it were cleverly embedded in her favourite TV soap?
Of course what is equally important is to prioritize the initiatives that make a difference and set realistic goals for the same. Take for example a call center – improvements there could call for programs ranging from increased training to outright replacement of employees. But which of these are most budget, time and employee friendly, as well as being the most effective?
And fourthly, never ever relax after running a successful strategy. After all, lets not forget that competition is always at your heel. So if you’re an airline whose unique touch point is the in-flight entertainment you offer in economy class, remember, it’s just a matter of time before others ape you.
This brings us to the evolving role of today’s brand leaders. Gone are the days when they could afford to sit in their glass cabins and dole out the INTERRUPT and REPEAT methods of media planning to every client. Today, unlimited TV channel choices and tight budgets are not conducive to this ‘mass drilling’ technique. Instead, what they need to do is behave more like football coaches – fielding different players at different times to generate new and better plays. All so that touch points that matter are synchronized to form a chain that successfully convey the brand’s promise.
So what is the industry buzzword? Call it what you may. Total Communication Planning or Media Neutral Consumer Planning or Consumer Engagement Planning. Whatever the nomenclature used, one thing is clear. For successful brand communication, innovation is critical. The viewer is in control, channel choices are endless, budgets are under pressure. Indeed, The Age of Interruption is over. Open the doors to the Age of Engagement.
Ms.Krishnan is a case in point. Increasingly, intuitive brand builders are wary about putting monies everywhere their brand touches their customers. Gone are the days of the ‘do everything’ approach. Instead, they are identifying and spending aggressively on those consumer touch points they are sure will have maximum impact on revenues, growth and profitability.
So how does one go about it? Superior brand building, say experts, is based on certain cornerstones that set the conditions for the customer experience that matters most to them. As a media expert advises ‘One should never start off by deciding what kind of message you want to deliver, but rather by what kind of message your consumer wants to hear.’
Banks, for example, understands the first lesson well – that of identifying your most important customers. They employ advanced analytics to say with a high degree of accuracy what every customer is worth in terms of revenue and profitability.
Secondly, analyze those touch points that will have the greatest positive impact on their behaviour and loyalty. Is Mrs. Gopinath more likely to sit and watch a re-run of your 30-seconder or would she rather notice your brand if it were cleverly embedded in her favourite TV soap?
Of course what is equally important is to prioritize the initiatives that make a difference and set realistic goals for the same. Take for example a call center – improvements there could call for programs ranging from increased training to outright replacement of employees. But which of these are most budget, time and employee friendly, as well as being the most effective?
And fourthly, never ever relax after running a successful strategy. After all, lets not forget that competition is always at your heel. So if you’re an airline whose unique touch point is the in-flight entertainment you offer in economy class, remember, it’s just a matter of time before others ape you.
This brings us to the evolving role of today’s brand leaders. Gone are the days when they could afford to sit in their glass cabins and dole out the INTERRUPT and REPEAT methods of media planning to every client. Today, unlimited TV channel choices and tight budgets are not conducive to this ‘mass drilling’ technique. Instead, what they need to do is behave more like football coaches – fielding different players at different times to generate new and better plays. All so that touch points that matter are synchronized to form a chain that successfully convey the brand’s promise.
So what is the industry buzzword? Call it what you may. Total Communication Planning or Media Neutral Consumer Planning or Consumer Engagement Planning. Whatever the nomenclature used, one thing is clear. For successful brand communication, innovation is critical. The viewer is in control, channel choices are endless, budgets are under pressure. Indeed, The Age of Interruption is over. Open the doors to the Age of Engagement.
Age of consumer engagement is definitely on! But where do you catch the consumer to engage is the bigger question. So i guess, communications planning will mean spending more time finding the channels where your consumer will spend his / her time realtime!
ReplyDeleteNo arguments. More study is required to identify and measure the influence of the many touchpoints. An equally big challenge is to gauge if the mood of the consumer differs at each touchpoint and review the need to customize messages for different moods ( touchpoints ).
ReplyDeleteThe wisdom of a single brand message across all medium is already being questioned. This might further support that argument.