subject: Brand Consultancy: A New Twist on an Old Idea [print this page] Brand Consultancy: A New Twist on an Old Idea
The calendar flips to a new year. Immediately we are thinking about resolutions, changes, evaluations and similar ideas. What worked, what didn't work? What do we need to keep? What do we need to change? What do we need to never, ever, ever-in-a-million-years do again? Will we exhibit persistance in the changes we say we want and need to make? These thoughts can be both invigorating and intimidating all at once. It has been said that reflection is good for the soul. This remains true even in the business world and even in marketing, whether digital, social or traditional.
Digital marketing is changing. Right now. A recent survey gave the report that 46% of companies are planning to increase their overall marketing budgets for 2011. Amazing news. Perhaps even more amazing is the statistic that 70% of those were increasing their budgets for off-site social media marketing (i.e., twitter, facebook, etc). This is an astounding figure that compels us to conclude that more and more businesses are getting the message that digital and socialmedia is here to stay. Brand consultancy and targeted intelligence are no longer "pie-in-the-sky" notions but very real and reliable pillars of the marketing framework of today.
Digital marketing is simply using digital advertisting to promote and sell your brand. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. For example, television, radio, internet and cell phones would all be conduits for digital marketing. From there it can branch out in hundreds of directions (ie., again: twitter, facebook, youtube, email, texts, blogs, etc., etc.). There are two forms of digital marketing; pull and push. Pulldigital marketingis simply what it implies. The consumer "pulls" the information for him or herself from the internet or any other source available. On the other hand,push digital marketing includes both sides of the buying experience in the equation."Push" could include such things as text messages, emails, voicemails, etc.
Thereport alluded to previously tells us that change has come. Traditionally, companies were reluctant to pursue digital marketing, targeted intelligence, brand consultancy, etc., etc. because there was no concrete method for tracking the results. Times have changed. As the demand for companies and products to be online has increased, so has the time, money, and attention tothe subject companies are paying to this issue of digital marketing. Progress isbeing made and more and more understanding of the various issues is taking place. The greatest driving force is, once again, consumer demand. It's a beautiful thing to watch unfold.
