CHICAGO – The transformation of the media marketplace from analog to digital is bringing advertisers a few steps closer to the goal of unifying the omnichannel universe.
Out-of-home advertising and experiential marketing are the remaining outliers in the analog world, though they increasingly are being integrated with digital platforms through mobile devices and social media, despite the disruptions of the coronavirus pandemic.
“In the analog world, it’s becoming primarily place or event-based — once placed events come back — but placed events by their very nature are built around social media,” Rishad Tobaccowala, senior advisor at Publicis and author of “Restoring the Soul of Business,” said. “The electronic world is bringing all forms of television and online together, and they’re connecting to what remains in the analog world. There’s very little space for newspapers and magazines in analog form.”
For this episode of “Delivering on the Promise of Omnichannel Advertising,” a Beet.TV series presented by Mediaocean, Tobaccowala discussed how marketers are seeking to break down barriers that stand in the way of creating a seamless, omnichannel world.
Breaking Down ‘Walled Gardens’
So-called “walled gardens” including social media and search companies that have direct relationships with consumers and vast troves of data about their behaviors have positioned themselves as gatekeepers. However, marketers want to be higher in the value chain instead of mere makers of commoditized goods with little brand differentiation.
“Marketers have become open to the fact that their future cannot be determined by Google, Facebook, Amazon, et cetera,” he said. “They know in the near term it might be, but they’ve begun to realize they don’t want to be reduced to nothing but manufacturers.”
He also referred to recent news reports of how companies are lobbying the Federal Trade Commission to take action against the digital ad giants. The FTC is preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook by the end of the year, The Wall Street Journal reported this week, citing people familiar with the matter. The Justice Department, another key antitrust authority in the U.S., is planning to file a separate antitrust suit against Google, the newspaper reported earlier.
‘Future Is Omnichannel’
To take on the tech giants, marketers are thinking about how to develop omnichannel alternatives and to create their own sources of consumer data, Tobaccowala said.
“People want a seamless interaction with companies and media,” he said. “The good news is: the future is omnichannel.”
That transformation is influencing how advertisers work internally, with many brands unifying media and marketing strategies that used to be more specialized among media outlets, planning and buying and measurement and financing, he said.
“You’re going to have this unique combination of one team working with different specialists but all with a united consumer in perspective,” Tobaccowala said. “It’s much easier to get to that model when digital becomes dominant than when digital was dominant.”
You are watching “Delivering on the Promise of Omnichannel Advertising,” a Beet.TV series presented by Mediaocean. Please click here for more videos.
