Marketers still too focused on TV, ZenithOptimedia UK chairman says
Rowe
Brands must end their obsession with TV advertising and “liberate” themselves with a new approach to media buying, according to the global managing partner and UK chairman of ZenithOptimedia.
Belinda Rowe, who was CEO of ZO in Australia for a decade and a chair of the Media Federation, told the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) Reset conference this morning that she still attends too many meetings where TV is still “front of mind”.
“Everything is seen through that lens,” she said in comments directed at marketers. “You need to liberate yourselves and ask how can you come up with innovative ways to to get you out of TV-led thinking.
“There are conversations around digital but I can tell you I have so many meetings where TV is still front of mind.”
She said consumers are no longer “waiting for your next campaign to break” and are buying products and engaging with brands in a variety of ways. Yet digital is sometimes viewed as “too hard”, Rowe said, with brands reverting to “getting as much TV air time away”.
“We still have these fundamental issues, she told delegates. “I am suggesting you should [put your advertising] at a different place rather than the old assumptions. There are new ways to approach your communications.”
The linear approach is “not relevant anymore”, she said, with the customer journey more complex.
“It is important for the CMO to own that customer journey and a lot of marketers we talk to are grappling with that now. Companies have an increasing amount of data but it is hard to access it,” she said.
“Often we are creating communications that are not joining up with the way consumers are wanting to receive communications,” Rowe continued, adding that brands and marketers “must embrace the unlimited world” of digital channels.
“You don’t need to be shackled by old fashioned notions, you can be more expansive.”
Rowe, whose speech at the conference centered on the need for a fluid approach to media, also called for a greater focus on owned-channels, although she stressed that did not mean she was encouraging a reduction in paid media budgets.
She said more companies should articulate the purpose of their brands and end the “obsession” of promoting their “personalities”.
“Consumers judge brands based on their deeds,” Rowe said, adding that brands with a purpose “outperform the market.”
Rowe argued that data should be equally as important as creativity and said building content should form a central plank of a marketing and distribution strategy.
Creating stories and quality content will also lead to more “earned media”, she said.
Steve Jones
Good to hear Belinda. If you acknowledge how your customers are changing, rather than making decisions on how you (the brand) see the world then you will start to see the world differently. Businesses need to start to compete for relevance and embrace digital as a lifestyle to increase profits, morale & revenue.
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If you want to know why every young person in media is jaded this is why
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Im no longer obsessing over brand ‘love’ or brand ‘personalities’ anymore…i am obsessing over brands ‘deeds’? Really? What about the product itself…mostly shrinking and off lesser quality
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increasingly, kids don’t watch TV. they don’t have the time or patience to make an appointment with a broadcaster.
kinda suprised Free-To-Air still exists, but the grey market should keep alive, until they’re not.
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It’s a good point but I can also see the intimidation factor with digital. There’s no doubt something to be done there but then digital itself is so fluid it’s hard to know how to be creative in the media space in a consistent way. But it’s not great when customers are more up to date on it than those who are meant to ‘own’ media as a marketing channel.
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Australia is a unique media environment. TV is relatively inexpensive compared to most markets and, as a result, is still the go-to channel for most astute Australian marketers.
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I do enjoy the effort to be polite being made her:
“come up with innovative ways to to get you out of TV-led thinking”
That’s a very courteous way of putting it. Many speaking privately would prefer to say “its past time you acknowledged reality”.
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Whether you’re the Ad Agency or the Advertiser, take a deep breath and expand your thinking into the possibilities that Digital presents…otherwise you’ll be left behind. If you sit and ponder too long, you’ll lose your audience. They’re already a step ahead of you..
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