InteracTiVoty: What is Digital? Asking for Permission. - Mark Risis - MediaBizBlogger

With each passing day in the articles I read or panels I attend the same word is used more pervasively but with increasingly greater abandon Digital The word is hotFor some Digital stands for all things that are good optimistic futurethinking and en vogue For others it is a reason to get excited about numbers data processes technology and general techiness And for many creatives it is the new rightofpassage to coolness a permission to flex those dormant art school muscles with youthful abandonThe word39s mere presence in the title of an article is an instant raison de l39attention its placement in discussions around revenue is a license to think positively about growth and expansion and if you put quotDigitalquot in the title of a conference fuhgettaboutit you39re going to sell out since no one wants to miss the actionBut what does Digital talking about it thinking about it embracing it mean for the media industry and more importantly what does it mean for all of us that are actually tying to make a living by delivering tangible value to our clients Alas I don39t make a living writing this blog postOn one hand it is certainly about Data If you really think about it though the nature of the data itself is not being altered by Digital Rather its quantity is increasing and so is our ability to generate it store it and analyze it to yield more interesting nuances or at least die tryingOn the other hand it is about Speed and Portability Digital makes things smaller and more selfcontained It allows media to travel from place to place and from person to person all the while maintaining quality through a permanence rivaled only by the PyramidsThere are plenty of other things that Digital is all about Tools Processes Efficiencies Interactions Conversations Activations Engagement and Commerce We39ve all heard and read much about these and yet I can go through each and every one and show you over and over that none of these are fundamentally altered from their previous preDigital form Yes they39re better and faster and there are more of them but we39re talking expansion and augmentation within the same fundamental conceptual and procedural frameworkIf we drill down further to the core of what makes Digital different at the very basic level of how media and communications are experienced within the context of our culture an society what it all boils down to is that Digital is forcing all brands no matter the budget or the category or product to start asking for permissionAs Ed Castillo aptly summized in his last week39s posting quotThe move from 39passive media39 to 39customized media39 requires the participation of the viewer and in choosing whenwherehow to receive their content viewers can avoid the kind of messaging that typifies the era of passive media most notably the 30 spotquotIn turn it is now the job of marketers and their agencies to figure out all the places without bias where they can ask the consumer or viewer or user to choose to engage with their brand messaging And in turn agencies need to figure out all they ways in which they need to say quotExcuse me here39s something you may be interested in and here39s whyquot It39s scary and daunting not to mention a huge blow to the ego but asking for permission is the only way to get a Digital consumer39s time with brand messaging and contentThe good news is that ultimately consumers will respond after all they like to know what all the brands are up to It keeps them informed and thus empowered connected to each other and part of something greater than just themselves and their lives They want to be invited to the party and they will feel special for it And as with any relationship founded on mutual respect consumers will bestow rewards unto those brands that politely ask for permission with a passion and vigor heretofore unheard of in our industryThis is the revolutionary aspect of Digital where and how to ask consumers to spend time with Brands As Digital continues its fertilization of media touchpoints and communications planning takes a stab at assembling the full picture brands will need to keep pace with all the different means and ways to ask for permissionCreative and media briefs will need to be augmented because in addition to the core message and RTBs the message of the permission request needs to be defined tested optimized adapted deployed and ultimately made effective If you39re not asking the consumer in the right way they won39t give you the time of dayBeing in the right place at the right time is of critical importance but luckily with Digital there are infinitely more places to be and getting there at the right time is a function of the brand39s nimbleness and ability to embrace the tools made available And if the consumer doesn39t respond to this request there will be plenty of places and opportunities to ask again maybe this time in a different wayHowever the Digital permission request takes form in the immediate future it39s mostly short text a small graphic maybe an audiocon it has to travel light fast and be everywhere the consumer may show up Whether it be through display search interactive TV video mobile digital books you name it Digital is forcing all of us to stand up and find a way to ask for the consumers39 permission to be soldMark Risis is Director of Interactive Advertising Sales for TiVo Inc

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