Time. It is all about time: creating time to think, evaluate and consider a hurricane of choices.
Due to the relentless rate of digital adoption across the globe, media has become a ubiquitous part of our existence. We are seeing new products, applications and channels arise daily and, as a result, a plethora of new communication opportunities for brands. This has, in turn, also had a significant impact on media strategy and planning.
Strategy and planning has always been an intricate, rigorous process that requires time and a large dose of perspective. However, the pressure to be at the forefront of every one of these new platforms, services or channels is shifting the scales into an uncomfortable arena where these new stars are soaking up an inordinate amount of time and attention, shaking the orbit that enables their shiny existence in the first place: good solid strategy.
The chase is on to deploy, and this rush has created a fog of tactic-based decisions. To paraphrase a marketing professor I once interviewed: “Strategy without tactics won’t get you very far, but tactics without solid strategy is absolutely pointless.”
Channels are essentially tactics ready for deployment in the pursuit of a goal. Yes, we need to be strategic when we evaluate and or use them. But, in the end, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok are all tactics – so is radio and TV. They should always be evaluated against a much broader structure and without a commitment to this evaluation they will be lost in “media schedule orbit” destined for an awfully expensive tactical crash-landing.
Going into 2023 we need to enforce a renewed balance. It is very tempting to be part of the latest development and of course be first-to-market, but we need to create time and an environment for these opportunities to be judged against an unforgiving jury of strategic rigour to ensure they can stand up and deliver against what really matters.
~ Graham Deneys, group strategy director, Carat SA & SSA
