Web vs. TV

The worlds of advertising and product design are converging. CMOs are spending more on technology than CTOs. The web is more important than TV. Digital products and services are more important than messaging for customer engagement and brand creation. Two-way conversations between brands and consumers are more important than one-way, top-down campaigns. Results are measured by engagement instead of number of impressions.

Nike, with a record-high marketing budget of $2.4 billion in 2011, has dropped its spending on TV and print advertising in the U.S. by 40% in just three years. Instead, Nike is going where the customer is,  spending nearly $800 million on nontraditional advertising in 2010 and foregoing $100 million-plus sponsorships and traditional media buys to focus on online campaigns first.

In a 2013 survey by Econsultancy, 55% of marketers globally are planning on increasing their digital marketing budgets this year, with 39% of them planning on reallocating existing budgets toward digital channels.

This is a permanent shift, not a passing trend. Products and services must deliver value while telling engaging stories through a multitude of digital devices and within a network of multiple brands, services, and platforms. As a result, companies are experiencing new challenges of how to deepen customer engagement, grow revenue, and structure creative teams.

The upshot: Marketing and product teams need to work more closely. Copywriting and story teams must collaborate with user experience teams. Likewise, interaction and interface designers, rooted in human need and usability, need to work in integrated ways with marketing and advertising creatives.

Standing on the shoulders of The Boston Giants

Collaboration across disciplines is essential to remaining relevant, although it’s easy to think of marketing and product design as impossible to combine. The cultures between the two are often adversarial and usually sit on opposite sides of an organization. Yet, they aren’t so different.

In order to succeed and create great digital experiences for today and into the future, these principles remind us that advertising and product design teams need to work together to build brands, products, and services that are meaningful, relevant, and connect with customers. That presents new challenges, but, fortunately, we're offered some valuable guidance that can be adapted for the digital world.

Visibility

Companies that engage in PR are 30 percent more successful in getting early funding than those that don’t.

 Well-known VC's are getting into the PR game. Kleiner Perkins, Andreessen Horowitz, and Sequoia hiring in-house PR talent.

There is a simple reason startups and their financial backers are entering the PR arena: PR done right works. My B2B PR firm over the years has launched a number of startups and we’ve found that PR can truly make the difference in a startup’s obtaining new customers, growing revenues--and catching the ultimate brass ring--funding.

Don’t for a second, however, think that PR for startups is a slam dunk. The hard truth is that no one cares about the latest whiz bang product or service released by an unknown company unless it does something amazing. And to be honest, most new products or services are not going to knock your socks off. That is where public relations comes into play. A good PR person can properly position your product or service--or yourself for that matter--so that people care. Great PR--and yes there is such a thing--transforms a product or service into something meaningful.

Consider the term “Certified Pre-Owned Car.” I’m old enough to remember when the term didn’t exist. You simply bought a used car. It didn’t give you a lot of bragging rights. The car company geniuses who came up with the terminology “Certified Pre-Owned Car” turned the negative connotation of a used car into a positive. Suddenly, a used car had to meet certain standards and criteria. Better yet, it often came with a warranty. Of course, all those goodies are folded into the price of the car. But at least you received something solid for your money. And no worries if the car was a clunker. Meanwhile, you could take pride in your “like new” car.

Not only will it help you stand out but it will also help make it memorable and engaging. After all, you can be just another has-been company or you can Think Different.