Will the Next Don Draper Stand Up?

By: Andrew Eklund

Posted on 08/05/2010 - 9:47am | From the Digital Marketing Blog

The new season of Mad Men is upon us and with it a glimpse into the not-so-fictional historical perspective of the ad agency in the early days of television. Ah, the glory days.

It wasn't really that long ago that agency media planning meetings started with, "OK. So what are we going to do on TV?" TV was the go-to medium. Not only that, it was the aspirational medium. Brands would yearn for the day that they had the budget to finally do TV. Until then, they were relegated to radio or magazine or newspaper advertising. While those media certainly worked, they just weren't sexy. And you didn't get seats court-side at a Laker's game for buying local newspaper. (Timberwolves?)

When surveying the current media landscape one is left wondering if the Internet is the new TV without the court-side seats. ("Internet" and "court-side seats" reminds me of the joke, "Is that the banjo player's Porsche?" See? Doesn't work.) Of all media it has become the single channel in which all brands must exist. Can you imagine a media plan without an Internet component? Almost seems ridiculous, right? Yet, while we might all agree that the Internet has become the great equalizer -- meaning that the tools exist where there are few if any barriers to entry, unlike television -- it is still the least understood. It is also by a long shot the most complicated of all media.

Let's run it down:

1. Internet strategies require integrated internal teams of business, creative and technical minds. These people don't usually even share the same office floors. They may even have their own Christmas parties. (I bet they don't sleep together either. Did you see last week's MM episode!? Did you like my creative use of bold lettering? Made ya look, didn't I?)
2. Internet strategies require a deep understanding of consumer behavior and technology preferences. This means creative begins with data.
3. The Internet is inherently social where brands are interpreted, shared, dissected, and redefined by consumers. And this is a good thing.
4. The shiniest of campaigns (i.e. the most sexy) are rarely the most successful.

In the large scheme of things, there are only a handful of CMOs who have ever lead organizations that enable these challenges to flourish. There are still a pile of CMOs who are in their positions because they killed it in television. There are a lot of Don Drapers in the role. We are just beginning to see the first generation of digital natives in the CMO role, and as such, we are just beginning to see what the Internet can really do. We in the industry tend to celebrate individual campaigns -- The Subservient Chicken, Old Spice Guy, and the like -- but rarely do you read about or see CMOs raising trophies for leading highly integrated teams that kill it on the Internet. And by "kill it" I mean they consistently provide their consumers with indispensable user experiences that inform, entertain, and serve useful purposes day in and day out that ultimately drive profitable sales or dependable customer service or loyalty or all the above, all at once.

If I could make a prediction, I don't think we'll really see the market celebrate these types of leaders until TV and radio, in particular, become just as interactive as the Internet. At that point, marketers will be out of options in finding a channel where a linear "create-buy-wait-rinse-repeat" media plan will work. When TV and radio go interactive, interruptive advertising dies and so with it the entire methodology of 20th Century advertising.

So, are you prepared? Assume TV and other traditional forms are moving ahead towards their obvious interactive futures. Will you be ready? I'd recommend you start killing it on the Internet beginning with your own internal marketing teams. First things first, you need the data people and the creative people sitting next to each other working in concert. They need to challenge each other, not feed files back and forth.

Basically, become digital-first companies. Start with digital and move outwards. If you must use television or radio or newspapers or magazines -- and many of you must -- then use your data to mine for audiences and messaging which then becomes the basis for targeting offline advertising buys. Use digital channels to test the b'jeebus out of creative concepts, audience segments, and calls-to-action or engagement opportunities, then go with your best foot forward into your traditional programs. It's not an either-or world. The Internet provides you with an insurance policy against monstrous failure and a breeding ground for incredible success across all channels.

Use it. Love it. Live it. You're out of options. Be the 21st Century Draper.

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Andrew Eklund :: Founder & CEO
Ciceron :: Digital Marketing
www.ciceron.com
612.230.3901 :: LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/andreweklund
Professional Twitter: @HeavyThinking
Personal Twitter: @aeklund