The first point I make is usually more of a reminder, but I think it’s necessary. Selecting an area to focus on, whether digital or not, should really come at the end of a marketing process. It’s an outcome, based on a clear understanding of a brand’s objectives and challenges and as it is tailored to each brand the area of focus will be different for each brand. Now, I am really not me trying to be clever, here! It’s simply an antidote to those ‘ experts’ who love to jump-in and show off their accumulated knowledge, suggesting AR platforms, branded content, real time advertising without a second thought about what the brand is trying to achieve.
The second point, is to take a long hard look at what a brand may already be doing in the digital space and identify what they can do better. It is sometimes easier to jump to the bright, new shiny thing, but by putting on the brakes and looking at how a brand is already interacting with customers or businesses it usually provides a better indication of gaps or new areas to focus on. For example, many leading brands can better leverage their existing social influence tools (and it doesn’t have to be a scary or complex process either). There is a wealth of data here, allowing brands to identify the nature of conversations about their products/services, sentiment, competition and industry trends. This leads to a better understanding about their customers and their sector and help identify the emerging channels they should participate in.
This then leads to my final point! A brand should focus on the emerging trends that allow them to be in the right place, in the right tone and ready to respond to a target audience’s needs. Whether that’s in the form of a promotional microsite, an interactive store wall or an AR mobile app. After all, if they aren’t doing this then all the ‘crowd sourcing product development platforms’* in the world won’t make up for the missed opportunity.
*…although, this was always my favourite one ….sorry!
Digispeak 