Five Keys to Connecting with the Customer

I don’t think there is such a thing as a perfect first blog entry, like an opening line to a book. I believe blogs allow for open communication, sharing ideas, generating discussion, and growth toward a positive future. So I think individual blog entries will have value to those who take the most out of them. I hope you enjoy the ride.

To start this blog, I’d like to address five key points that will help advertisers and customers connect. This is the “right place, right content, right time” theory expanded.

CONTENT IS KING (the right content)
There is value in technology helping to tell a great story; some believe that technology is just as important as content. But this is like saying any movie made before HD is awful.

Simply put, content is king and always will be.

Regardless of the technology, the story is the reason the viewer watches. I never met a customer who cared about how the content got on the screen unless the delivery mechanism (a Blu-ray player, for example) was for sale too.

Nothing beats good writing, good acting, and good directing. We saw this in music videos, where big name directors took on the task of creating compelling stories out of hit songs. Remember Jon Landis and  “Thriller?”

TECHNOLOGY WILL TAKE YOU THERE (right place/right time)
Technology gives us the “right place, right time,” a huge factor in the “when” of the content. Technology ensures the connection between the advertiser and the viewer is made. Technology is very important in the equation.

The challenge to locations is finding the right technology that will satisfy their needs and not be obsolete in a month. As collaboration grows, the technical capabilities will plateau and allow locations of all shapes and sizes the opportunity to engage the customer as well as any other location.

RELEVANCE IS KEY (right time)
This is where the advertiser, the technology, and the location all come together. By sending a message to a viewer on his or her time, when he or she wants to see it, the connection in inevitable and invaluable.

But relevance is fickle. What worked perfectly five minutes ago may be completely off the mark or obsolete right now. Viewers are always changing. If you’re telling me something that I saw on TV or my favorite website last night, I don’t care today.

ADVERTISERS WANT TO DO IT YOUR WAY
Advertisers want their content to be perfect in your environment. But the logistical factors are overwhelming. There are literally thousands of individual locations that would love an advertiser’s spot to be just the right length, right colors, and right message.

Communication and collaboration are critical to help advertisers create a “kit of parts” to deploy content that is much better for you.

And you can help them get there.

AGENCIES NEED YOUR HELP TOO
Over the past several months, some agencies have been unable to deliver for their clients. This is largely due to the old-school mentality of Madison Avenue and the reluctance to embrace living in the consumer’s world (on the cell phone, on the iPod) on such a granular level rather than mass exposure through traditional channels. But this is changing. Agencies are embracing the contextual and technical initiative of bringing advertisers to the customer. It takes time, but I believe 2009 will show a big leap by agencies into the personal social media network that consumers carry with them.

Now more than ever, this collaboration for the perfect story must be open source. The power is shifting to the local locations where the advertisers want to be. This is where all three need to sit at the table and figure out the best approach.

This is what brings the story to the customer.

What point of interest do you see?