Hitviews Pro: You're Right, Digital Marketing Is Confusing and Murky. Five Steps to Clarity - Walter Sabo - MediaBizBloggers
You've been in the meetings with the men in black, the women with Blackberrys who speak in terms that are confusing, and often daunting. The meetings are very long and over-populated. People come and go, they are needed at other over-populated meetings. Everyone drinks bottled water, never coffee, and there is the illusion of group think. At the end of the meeting, whew, everyone appeared smart, no one made a decision.
The true problem with these meetings is not that they are time wasters but that they are dangerous. New ideas don't get vetted, they get talked to death. Truly innovative thinkers are discouraged and quit. If you want to put your company and ideas in a position to PROFIT from innovative actions (not thinking, but actions) there are five easy steps that work:
Think analog.
1. The reason ancient media such as television, radio and print still capture 99% (correct) of P&G's worldwide advertising budget is that dealing with those companies is direct and simple. There is no silly talk. You want a page? You buy a page. You want a show? You buy a show. You want a thousand? You buy a thousand. Done. Have lunch.
(Oh, and they do go to lunch, it's not a bad thing.)
2. If no one is taking charge of the process of decision-making, take charge. Most open floor creative shop staffs respond to some form of a messiah. This gives you a great chance to say, "This is what we're going to do." Try it, you'll be stunned that everyone starts working for you. Delay, not discouragement, is the true enemy of new ideas.
3. There are many terms that should cause fear: "Strategic overview." "Targeted return on investment." "Multiplatform buy." "Social media component." "Sea change." "At the end of the day." "Pre-roll." "Interruption advertising." If you never hear how an action is going to increase sales, then it is not going to increase sales.
True targeting and strategic planning is a very valuable and a very long process. After 30 years in Manhattan media I can honestly say I have never witnessed a strategic plan proposed and implemented. No, never once. Usually the key players are fired before such a plan comes to fruition.
4. Do not call a meeting. Announce that a decision has been made and these are the steps that are going to be made.
5. Package it smart. Many good ideas die because when they get to the CEO level they are not tidy. There are obvious, unanswered issues that erode confidence. Here's a good check list:
• Does the initial paragraph state exactly how the idea benefits the company?
• Is there a person named who will be responsible for the idea being completed?
• What are the hard dates of completion?
• Exact costs.
• Exact benefits that will result from the investment.
Oddly, most presentations do not contain those essential ingredients.
In this time of economic depression, buyers do need innovation and new ideas. What they don't need are meetings that obscure and presentations that are barren of details.
Walter Sabo is the Founder and Creator of the business concept. He is an experienced leader of new organizations and is currently CEO of Hitviews. Walter can be reached at walter@hitviews.com.
Walter Sabo
Walter Sabo is a Westwood One network talk show host aka Walter M Sterling. His show, Sterling on Sunday, is aired live Sunday nights at 10 PM-1AM Eastern. Walter Sabo is the Chairman of Sabo Media, a company that offers executive-on-demand services. He has …
