Advertising Push vs. Pull

This is an article written by Tony Mikes from The Second Wind Network, of which we are members. It's a network of about 700 small and medium sized advertising agencies. Here Tony writes about the push/pull strategy difference between the Web and traditional advertising. Pretty good stuff:

Advertising Needs a New Model
Read this carefully:

The old advertising model where advertisers and their agencies pay for the privilege of exposing an audience to their message is fading away. It is fast being replaced by one in which advertisers pay only for real and fully measurable actions by consumers.

If you believe this, then you must realize how important it is for your agency to fully embrace internet marketing.

On the internet, only those who already want what your client offers even come close to seeing your marketing. They actively seek your client’s products and then click through to find out more. In this environment, you deal with interested prospects. It’s very efficient.

With traditional media, you hope that your marketing; TV, radio print, out-of home, etc is being viewed and noticed, and that it inspires prospects to check into it further.

Hoping to be noticed is the problem. Every time you run a spot or place an ad, you hope that maybe your target audience might be out there watching or listening. But, in reality, you have no idea where your prospects are at that moment. They may be in the bathroom, making a sandwich, away for the week and not reading the paper, or even worse, using Tivo on your ad as well as any others. This is just NOT very efficient.

Today’s consumers are very smart. They know how to use media, they are fairly cynical about advertising and they really don’t have a lot of time. So, highly directed media that allows them and enables them to find what they want, quickly and completely, is mandatory.

At the same time, it is becoming very clear that today’s consumers are hungry for something more than a transactional relationship with companies. They yearn for a more intimate, more caring relationship with their favorite brands. They WANT to be loyal, and they want to be advocates of their brand choices.

All of this absolutely fits the new model of convergence in media.

On one hand, buyers want the efficiency of on-line, and on the other, they want a strong brand relationship.

Your agency can supply both. Unlike internet-only agencies whose only stock in trade is based on CPC, CPA and other click metrics, and unlike old-fashioned traditional agencies (where you used to reside), your agency can combine converged philosophy and strong brand relationships with razor sharp measurement.

There are two ways to do this:

1. Grow your brand development capabilities. You are already good at branding. This is not brand development. Branding is what you do after you develop a brand for a client. Brand development is helping your clients to find the “sweet spot”. It’s their claim of distinction, the promise they make to their customers. It’s the truth of the company. The brand truth or promise is very important in this age of very smart, but relationship-starved consumers. The Brand Establishment is a group of agencies within Second Wind who have decided to devote themselves to brand development . If you are interested, call Jim Hughes at 949-633-2222.
2. Learn all you can about internet marketing metrics. Research and become familiar with SEM (search engine marketing), SEO, organic search, internet advertising, rich media, e-mail marketing, gaming, mobile marketing, blogs, vlogs, podcasts, shoshmosis, wikis and the other 21st century tools, that are now an important part of any company’s marketing mix. Then put all your new knowledge to use, and put a program in place, in-house! The internet is such a powerful and incredibly efficient marketing tool that you can’t afford not to be good at it as your agency progresses.

Integrating these marketing strategies and forming a convergence style will set you up as an important marketing partner for prospects and clients in the future.