Why does online advertsing not work as well as my above-the line media?

So the choice sits there in front of you. TV, radio, print, press, outdoor, activation, experiential, and the mobile and online options. Now the agency knows the traditional media forms well, and a bit about the online stuff and naturally the bulk of my spend goes into above-the line. But wait there is an online component, they take the traditional thinking and make a few banners and a few other online ads and run them on search engines and popular websites. I even get detailed reports in spreadsheet formats that are so impressive they are too wide to fit on a page. Well when looking at around 1% of my budget the reports don’t get that much of my time. And the online campaign is a failure; again. But it is the future of media apparently and it probably does work so it will keep getting a reluctant 1% of my budget. Sound familiar?

Why does the online environment work for so few South African companies when they advertise? Simple try and fit traditional thinking into an online environment and it may not slide in that easily. So what’s the solution if your strategy or big idea does not fit the digital space? Simple, create a digital strategy that ties in with the business deliverables and runs parallel and compliments the main campaign but does not necessarily have the same creative or message. But wait there’s more, the single minded message remains the same, the tone, personality and of course the call to action and brand retains its intrinsics and meat; but it may look different, and feel different because of the medium. But it’s the same. Let me use this example; when you are in your car driving and there is a billboard on the side of the road, what frame of mind and space are you in? When you are watching a movie on TV what frame of mind are you in then. In both instances you are exposed to advertising possibly even the same brand but you are in a different space. The digital space is also different but the gap between the digital and traditional environment is large and lends itself to separate thinking and usually a separate strategy.

So remember the digital space is different and just like you it’s unique and has its own set of rules and social and business protocols. It even has its own language and iconography :) So look at it not as a channel but as a medium that slots in with the other mediums that has its own needs, character and personality.

Now for the hard sell – We can make the digital space work for you and your clients and we are good at it. And remember small is the new big and flexible is the new powerful.

Stay cool and inspire everyone; without exception.
Francois

http://www.solarstorm.co.za/
francoisV@solarstorm.co.za