I asked Gene Kincaid, a UT Austin professor head of the Digital sequence in the advertising department, what he thinks will be the driving force behind connections planning and he believes there will be a “high and low” effect. What does this mean?
“High”: Change and improvement in the industry will come “from the top down” because big agencies will be able to afford interdepartmental training and afford to nurture 360’s. 360’s will fill in the cracks and allow mega agencies avoid missing out on the benefits of real integration and brand consistency, (especially since their clients are demanding it.)
“Low”: From the bottom up, because with the exception of television production, media is less expensive now than ever before and accessible to all—thanks to the internet which cuts distribution costs so much, even free is possible. (That’s right free. It’s not my idea; thank Chris Anderson, author of the Long Tail). Now, Google will buy even traditional media for you. So small agencies are able to provide good service and intelligence, which, as long as egos fall by the wayside, is the perfect environment for connections planning.
Kincaid says the other catalyst behind 360 advertising is the internet. If online promotions are not absolutely integrated with their offline branding, the effect is disruptive. Internet is only a small fraction of many clients advertising budgets, so why is it so important? Let’s face it, online advertising is important because clients are demanding it, and why? because they can directly measure it. Measure it like no traditional media ever dreamed of. The truth is clients know they could probably cut off 10% of their traditional advertising spending, or 20%, or add 10% more and double sales, but which part? and how much? Well, no one really knows. This is why online advertising is a financial dream. Several creative/media campaigns can be tested in a few days, directly measured, and easily improved upon. Online is efficient, so clients demand it. How does this help promote 360 advertising? Advertising on the internet has to be collaborative—there are no rules dividing departments; they industry is still figuring it out and working together.
-Karen Brooks
[...] Impetus Behind 360: High/Low Effect and the Internet By karenbrooks … is the perfect environment for connections planning. Kincaid says the other catalyst behind 360 advertising is the internet. If online promotions are not absolutely integrated with their offline branding the effect is disruptive. … AdBridge – http://adbridge.wordpress.com [...]