branding

It’s about balance

Marketing that is. Public Relations and Branding too for that matter. Even Advertising.

Yes you heard me right. Even advertising.

Now, some of you no doubt subscribe to the view that mass media is a dying breed. Social media and all the new shiny toys like Facebook and Twitter are going to rule the future.

Others believe that advertising will stage a dramatic comeback and destroy these upstarts.

Still others believe that it’s about an all or nothing battle either on the side of digital marketing and campaigns; or in favour of traditional advertising and marketing efforts.

Seriously - why does it have to be quite so cut and dried? Isn’t it really about balance?

Think about it - sometimes you actually need an advertisement. Other times, a great word of mouth campaign will rock it. Still other occasions demand a good ol’ fashioned meet-the-public effort that allows you to look your customers in the eye and say “I’m here. Talk to Me.”

I would however add that as you set out to develop your next campaign - or even when looking at what you have out there already - you need to ask yourself a couple of questions.

These include:

- what am I getting for my dollar?

- are there tangible results or am I paying for something as vague as ‘branding’ and ‘presence’ without a way to tie it back to sales or some other more tangible measurement?

- if I am advertising, is my choice of media being guided by blind faith in an agency and th circulation numbers they offer? would I be better served by perhaps niche slicing my campaign and actually following my customers rather than trying to get them to follow me?

- do I really have to advertise at all? can I transfer some of that expensive campaign spend into more cost effective public relations, digital and search engine campaigns?

The list can go on and on. But you get the picture.

Ask a couple of questions. Look for a little more balance and your marketing campaigns will feel much healthier for it!

So, what campaigns or companies have you seen that seem to have their act all balanced out?

If you’re reading this elsewhere, check out Journeys Through The Line (http://www.arciscommunications.com/blog) for more thoughts and ramblings from Stephen P Francis of Arcis Communications.

© 2009 Journeys Through The Line.