Web 2.0—more than just the latest technology buzzword, is a transformative force that’s propelling companies across all industries towards a new way of doing business characterized by user participation, openness, and network effects. These digital platforms and capabilities are transforming the ways in which consumers experience advertising. What’s more, they are dramatically reshaping the relationships among marketers, advertising agencies, and media companies.
It’s more than just a change in the marketing mix or media buy. The marketing function, equipped to broadcast brand messages to consumers, has now become a center for dialogue, geared to gleaning what consumers want, and when and where they want it. Advertising has evolved from an interruption — grabbing attention for a product or brand — into an experience, an application, a service that the consumer actually wants. This new marketing model doesn’t shout; it listens and learns. And relevance, interactivity, and accountability are its essential ingredients.
Recognizing the power consumers hold, major companies are going to great lengths to understand and connect with them. Brands today must go beyond simply broadcasting their message; they must beckon the consumer into a conversation. When consumers use digital media to search, shop, blog, socialize, or seek entertainment, their actions create opportunities for marketers not only to gain insight but also to gather ideas to improve their brands, marketing messages, and media mix choices.
In fact, the majority of leading marketers are using two-way media such as blogs, word-of-mouth programs, and social networks to connect with consumers while employing predictive modeling tools to determine and continuously update their media mix. To effectively engage consumers in the digital space, you must clearly define the values that underlie your brand, and instill those values throughout your marketing program, since every interaction with a customer effectively becomes part of the brand.
