Media Transformation vs Media Change

Many advertisers want to exploit “mass personalisation” where they use data, technology and talent to personalise their communication to individuals on a large scale.

Many look to their agencies to achieve this, sometimes running a pitch to try and achieve the desired result. Others, hastily embark on an in-housing exercise.

These approaches rarely work, often leaving the advertiser and their agency disappointed.

Why?

To achieve mass personalisation requires not a change, but rather a full media transformation. And, many advertisers miss one of several of the key transformation drivers.

Talent. Marketers need to identify the new skills they need, reorganise their teams, and nurture and upgrade their skills with new learning and development programs. Without first understanding their marketing capabilities, the gaps, and filling them they will not be able to deliver what they desire.

Processes. A word that many marketers shy away from, but mass personalisation requires completely new “test and learn” processes than the old “launch and leave” campaigns.

KPIs. New measures are required to measure different personalised types of activity. The old media currencies of CPM won’t help, old media audit practises largely irrelevant.

Data and Tech. And, of course, new Data and Tech needs to be used to drive the whole system. The identification of, and plumbing in, of this new system can be challenging to some organisations who’ve not got marketing technologists on staff.

Agencies. Mass personalisation requires a different scope for agencies, different measures of success, different remuneration systems, different evaluation, and a different working relationship and culture. It’s anything but “business as usual”.

If this sounds hard and complex, well truth be told, it can be. There are no short cuts, no silver bullet. And, each advertiser is unique so there is no “one size fits all” model (this may be news to many professional services companies who are hawking round their “models”).

But, is the dream unachievable or not worth the effort? No.

If you work through a thorough holistic media transformation process, you can unlock the potential. In a way that is right for you efficiently and effectively.

If you’d like to understand our 3D (Define, Decide, Do) process to transform your media don’t hesitate to let us know.