Integrating digital media into the traditional media mix

However, for anyone who works on our side of this relationship, it becomes clear early on that there are many challenges to be faced.

The first challenge is the fact that it is the traditional agency that represents the Agency of Record (AOR) or the 'gatekeeper' to the client.

They most often have a closer client relationship, have a far bigger sway over the use of campaign budget, and unfortunately often have little-to-no understanding of the Internet other than checking AME Info from time-to-time to gawp at the latest 'city within a city' project which has sprouted up next to their supermarket.

For those working in online, this of course involves hearing a number of common phrases; for 11th hour online campaign cancellations ('We're sorry but the client has requested to put the online segment on hold for now').

Major budget cuts ('But cant you achieve the same results with a budget of $5,000?'). And the all too familiar online presentation slot that almost happened, ('Sorry but the ATL media planners could only shorten their competitive analysis slides to 26!'). Do I sound bitter? Of course I am! But is it our responsibility to make a change? Of course it is.

Before we all throw our hands in the air and become classifieds ad salesmen for the Gulf News, we need to reflect on a couple home truths. Whether we like it or not, we are the 'new kids' on the media block and hence we are breaking new ground with every new initiative that gets signed off.

In the Middle East if you went back 4 years you'd remember that our industry didn't even exist! To add insult to injury, digital media (mobiles and Internet especially) are often considered the scariest and least approachable media to jittery marketing managers terrified of the boss. With all our indecipherable jargon and technical 'back ends' who can blame them?

Now of course, no article can ever hope to solve this state of affairs, I can only share with you some of our experiences to help make the path a little less rocky. If you, like me, believe whole heartedly that digital media rightly deserves a seat at the media mix table, then read on:

1. Be prepared to teach or find a new profession: I've always said that 80% of my job is as a teacher and there is no better way to gain the trust of colleagues and clients alike then to spend some time explaining to them 'how it works'.

Often it is really quite simple when you cut through the technical aspects and water down the terminology. This is difficult when the deadline was yesterday (or even last week!) but think about organizing semi-regular client workshops, or internal presentations to help educate those who you work with. You'll often find that you don't need to 'sell it in' as the audience actually make the conclusions for themselves.

2. Be involved from the beginning: Not being involved in the initial client-agency briefing meetings, is a recipe for 'oops we forgot about online, so we will do this next time' scenario.

Clients love to receive agency thinking which is integrated, comprehensive and holistic. This is why we do a media mix in the first place. Make sure, where possible, to have a presence at agency-client meetings and strategic planning sessions from the outset. This way you will have a voice to show the role that online can play, or the problem that online can better tackle within the overall mix.

3. Determine a role for digital media in the overall mix: What will the role of digital media play within the campaign? Once a strategy is put together, involve the rest of the planning team to synergize ideas. Perhaps Internet could be a more cost effective frequency boost to the TV campaign? Perhaps the role is primary 'lead generator' in the campaign? Be specific.

4. Integrate 'success' measurement at offline consumer contact points: Internet is strong at tracking and reporting the success of the campaign. But what about offline? Is there a way in which we can measure media contribution through our call centers, showrooms or retail points? Not an easy task, but more accountability through data collection makes marketing managers a lot less jittery when signing off budgets.

5. Leverage traditional spends to keep online costs low: Often you will find that the ATL planners have booked on the same titles as you are considering online. So for instance, if we are booking full page ads in Gulf Marketing Review then GMR-online.com should perhaps consider a discount. This can save the client literally thousands of dollars.

6. Synergize traditional creative by further developing the online counterparts: Get a hold of the print ads and radio spots, ask to see the developing TVC. Also push to see the PR and sponsorship activity for any online opportunities. Try to incorporate online's interactive and multi-media capabilities to give new life to the traditional executions as opposed to just transferring the images into a banner ad.

7. Source online research with regards to the campaign target audience (TA): Media strategies are based on consumer insights and hence budget allocation should be determined via consumption patterns. Any data that you can source which shows that 16-21 year olds are spending 6+ hours per week in online chat rooms and forum boards, will strengthen your case for the inclusion of Internet media into the mix.

The above tips all point towards better integration between the online and offline planning teams and will hopefully result in a better marriage between the online and offline media strategy. This will allow all members of the planning team to better value the online component through clearer understanding of its contribution.

At this point I must stress that this is a long term initiative and will not be achieved overnight. Dedication to this integration is a pre-requisite but you can rest assured it is the direction that this industry is inevitably headed, so the sooner you accept it the better positioned you will be when clients demand it.