It is NOT all about digital. I swear I read that somewhere in a magazine. Or, maybe, I saw it on TV. Not sure, but I do know that Marketing is a many-splendored thing and shouldn’t be cast as narrowly as it has been of late.
This piece is an admonition not a statement of nullification. But we need to make it clear that Marketing is still about the “mix” and about “context.” So the intended audience is those of you who are in “digitally zealous” mode – head out of orifice please!
My favorite piece of Marketing over the past 5 years has to do with the TSA. Yes the Transportation Safety Administration. No, not their cool outfits. No, not their incredible customer-service. And not the **** probes either. Instead, I love the trays. Because Zappos “owned” them for a long time and it made sense: advertising shoes where you put your, well, shoes.
Nothing like a captive audience, already immersed in “context.”
I have to admit I still believe in magazines too. While I think there are serious considerations around the environment that might militate against the growth of the magazine base in general, I still subscribe to no less than 10 magazines. In many ways, I still have a bias towards what I call the “burden of authorship” which characterizes the print editorial process. Because of that, I pay more attention to the advertisements in magazines because I find the surrounding content valuable.
And so on. You get the point.
Look, I embrace digital too – when it makes sense. The possibilities unmasked by the digital media are fantastic: measurement, quick-revolution, interactivity, deep experiential value, and so on. Wow. Because of these, it’s easy to get sucked into that world and to think “Digital is everything.” It’s easy to get sucked into religion as well but so far I’ve steadfastly avoided that as well.
Because zealotry of any fashion hurts the whole.
So as Marketers, let’s reintroduce ourselves to our complex and wonderful craft.
In all its forms.
[Editor's Note: This post originally appeared on our sister site, MarketingAccess.com]
