In case you haven't noticed, the developing world's gone digital (in fact, virtually the whole world has). Savvy trinkets such as iPhones and e-readers suck the attention from our souls and reformat it as an intricate system of social networks, on-demand news and LOLcats.
Marketers pounced on this brightly colored ball of yarn known as digital advertising, and quickly proclaimed it to be the next evolution in human interaction. "We need a social networking campaign!" they scream. "Let's build a Facebook page and a twitter account and create colorful e-mail blasts to send to our friends!" It's all about building relationships, they say. Well, I'm not here to argue against them. For one, I agree -- digital advertising (and mobile marketing specifically) is the next evolutionary phase in commercial communication. It will allow us to easily stay connected with people, places and brands we want to stay in touch with. It will make access to information ubiquitous and free-flowing. And it will make advertising more fun and engaging. But digital advertising is just a system. A platform. A tool. It's not an idea. Let's not forget that great (i.e. effective) advertising begins with a brilliant thought, not the latest technology. True, digital advertising will make targeting consumers much easier, but it won't make up for crappy creative. The idea still rules supreme. But I have digressed on a rant perpendicular to my point... Building relationships between brands and consumers with emerging technology is all well and good. But when you need to get something done, and get it done fast, sometimes it's best to just rely on some good ol' 19th century technology...the telephone. A couple days ago, my buddy Mykal received an email from his law school regarding a special student offer on Rockets tickets -- the first ten people to request tickets would get to hang out on the court during pre-game activities (or something like that). Since the game at hand happened to be the day after my brother's birthday, I told him to buy the tickets immediately (this was roughly twenty minutes after the email offer was sent). Now, privy to the fact that an entire Phish concert call sell out in a matter of minutes, I was worried we were too late to redeem our prize. Luckily for us, though, Mykal, in his old school ways, opted for a live, real-time interaction with the sales associate rather than lazily clicking the 'reply' button and hoping we were one of the first ten to respond. So Mykal picked up his phone and called the guy directly. Apparently while processing our transaction, the sales associate had received 15 email requests! But we were the first to actually interact with him. So while the digital revolution has undoubtedly made it easier for us to all stay in touch, if you truly want to build 'relationships', try some good ol' fashioned interpersonal communication. You know, actually speaking with someone. No tweets. No avatars. No status updates. Just straight one-on-one conversation.
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June 2010
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