Marketo-DG2DA

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS
SEAN BLACK
Director, North America Media Services Lead, SapientNitro
@creativemynd1
MKTO: How do you see the role of
digital advertising changing as a
part of the overall marketing mix?
SB: With recent developments in
technology creating new touchpoints
to engage with consumers, the role
of digital advertising seems to change
daily. To understand its role, we have
to understand that digital has evolved
past “internet” advertising and that it
now encompasses many more
environments, like mobile, social,
and digital out-of-home
(e.g. digital billboards.)
Yes, some people argue that we still
exist in a “traditional” world, but do
we really? Broadcast television drives
linear and non-linear watching, and
print has transitioned into a digital
format. This evolution of looking at
digital in a bigger way has changed
how we see it. Now, I ask, how are
you going to take your brand and
evangelize it within this new
marketing ecosystem? We need to
move past the questions about the
role digital plays and the best way to
reach consumers and instead move
toward your ultimate goal, which is
building a proper story around your
brand that can span across all digital
channels. With this core focus, your
will find that you have answered the
questions you raised at the start.
MKTO: What is one mistake you see
marketers often make when it comes
to digital advertising?
SB: I would like to admit there is only
one mistake often made when it
comes to digital marketing, but, in
reality, there are many. To simplify and
make this easy, here are two: 1) the
ability to truly understand your
consumers and their consumption
patterns, and 2) the ability to properly
align KPIs that set clear measurements
of success upfront.
We all recognize that media
fragmentation continues to make it
difficult to reach people. So it’s
important to identify how your
consumer will engage with your brand
and then create a thoughtful content
strategy to help you build as much
reach and frequency as possible. The
best approach is to connect all of your
touchpoints, making for a successful
holistic campaign.
The second mistake is around setting
up the proper KPIs. This goes hand-inhand
with recognizing the issue of
fragmentation and knowing that one
KPI does not fit everything. But
defining each of your touchpoints and
then aligning them with proper KPIs
will keep your campaign in check.
Even when looking at opportunities
within social, you shouldn’t assume
you are going to align all those
platforms under one KPI. For example,
perhaps Twitter is about engagement
and retweets and Facebook, reach and
effective CPM (Cost Per Thousand.)
Ask yourself these questions upfront,
otherwise trying to reverse this
process at the end of a campaign will
make your work that much harder.