Media tattlers and the know-it-all Madmen talk about fluid consumer expectations, but have they rolled up their sleeves and begun walking the talk yet? Why are media agencies solely accused for not taking this model into action? Rewinding a few years back to the haunting hype about RTBs and programmatic, up until the top media agencies where gauged on having plugged their trade desks, unfortunately any innovative progression stopped there.
First of all, let’s get our understanding straight on ‘fluid consumer expectations’; a customer’s need is never set, and it changes consistently based on the context they are in, their location and movement variations. But the creative ad wits in the region are not flexible in adjusting to those data variables. Essentially, in this age of data galore, ads cannot be one content/creative fits all.
Who holds the baton today? Ad agencies do not want to swallow the truth because it destroys their illusions. Media with data centric intelligence hold the baton. Content from format to message is no longer creative-centric with data abundance ranging from physical sensors, search data, and accessibility of public contextual data. Ad agencies are not exploiting the full power of insights that reside with media agencies, failing to see that media data analytics know more about the target consumer context.
What’s standing in the way of data and creativity working together to revive old media from its stagnant 30 seconds TV ad and OOH digital loops? Ad and media agencies in UAE are just beginning to think about taking advantage of the data we possess and contemplating for strategic thinking to pave way to new content and targeting innovation. Will we see an emergence of capabilities that are creative as well as analytically driven?
So yes, we know Xaxis creates Xaxis Places allowing brands to buy DOOH inventory in full coordination with overall digital media programs (Europe and US). TubeMogul launched the same last year. Fueled by WireOrbit’s technology, Cadreon took it even further launching PTV (programmatic TV), allowing brands to buy TV ads in a marketing infusing manner. Let’s take a step back and ponder on how it took us a few years to inevitably inherit RTBs. We think of applauding the adoption of the same formats and technology to our markets, when we dismiss the simplest functions of leveraging on mass environmental, and behavioral data usage for old media.
In broad-spectrum, the idea behind big data and message tailoring is that ad agencies have to think more than the message, they ‘want’ to broadcast, and crack what to say at that specific ‘moment’ when the user is at a metro station waiting for his ride. Expecting a blast of 45 degrees heat at DMC station, what will your sports or refreshment brand say before he steps out outside the station? Not only does the content have to respond to data, it has to listen to behavioral data.
The liability is on us all, the media and ad minds, and consequently when we (data brainers) find data areas to innovatively leverage, we can then let the creative brand minds get involved. This will be where personalization of content on traditional media becomes fluid, or to put it in today’s glorified buzzword ‘programmatic’.
Do not confuse media data brilliance as a replacement for the creative message. With technological curation serving us, our ‘reason to exist’ analogy does not limit the role of the brand agency; it intensifies it, fueling a requirement for more remarkable creative work than ever before.
