Technology research firm Gartner has released details of a new study that suggest firms should already be very serious about digital campaign work, and encouraging the public to engage in a two way dialogue with brands. Which is something we’ve been saying for some time.
According to the figures, within the next three years 80 per cent of consumer purchases will be guided by interactive marketing. So that’s everything from Flickr and Instagram uploads to Facebook competitions and day-to-day Twitter engagement. Of course these kinds of practices are already commonplace, take a look at our recent story on the McDonalds user-generated ad scheduled for London 2012’s Closing Ceremony for just one example this week.
The figures were also included in a report by global marketing firm ExactTarget, with a key recommendation therein being to adopt an integrated approach, whereby traditional and digital campaign management is combined to ensure all aspects of branding are working towards the same end goal. Because, needless to say, when digital, social media, print, broadcast and face-to-face public projects are combined they make for some formidable results.
Alongside this, the report also places an emphasis on evolution, highlighting how a customers needs and choice platforms for communication are not stagnant. As with Smoking Gun’s own in-house mantra then, ongoing research into a target audience is nothing short of essential in order to accurately target consumers, attract and retain clients, further evidencing the notion that in 2012 plurality of media is key to commercial success.
However, many companies still have some way to go before they can expect people to be satisfied, proving it’s not just a case of jumping online (if you already haven’t). According to User Management specialists Janrain, 96% of UK consumers claim to receive information and promotions from irrelevant brands via Facebook, Google and the like, which they don’t like, and 68% are put off by registering with a website, to the extent they leave the domain and go elsewhere. In business terms that means finding a rival firm with a similar offering, but only half the effort required, all of which should give everyone with a commercial interest plenty to think about.