If you’re a part of the Cincinnati business community, you might have seen an article in the Business Courier a couple weeks ago titled, “Digital marketing is dead, P&G branding boss declares.”  In it, Procter & Gamble’s global brand-building officer, Marc Pritchard, has this to say about the present day and age:

“The era of digital marketing is over. It’s almost dead. Now, it’s just brand building.”

*insert record scratch sound here*

Say what?  Maybe he’s just kidding.  Maybe I’ve misunderstood.

 “Fresh, creative ideas that are powered by insights – that are powered by the way people think and feel, and are inspired by creativity – always have and always will create great campaigns. Digital tools just give us a new way to spread those ideas in ways that we’ve never imagined before...

...try and resist thinking about digital in terms of the tools, the platforms, the QR codes and all of the technology coming next…let’s celebrate the end — the death — of digital marketing, and let’s focus on celebrating the great idea of these brands.”

Or not.

It sounds like Mr. Pritchard is essentially saying that all we have to do in this day and age is come up with great creative (like we did in the era of TV advertisements), put it online, and let it do its magic like it did in the days gone by– only its magic will be way better because now we have things like Facebook that let us spread our ads farther than we did before.

I’m sorry, Mr. Pritchard, but I think you’re mistaken.  That might work for a long-established consumer packaged goods brand with a big budget behind it, but not for most of us doing digital marketing today.

Digital Marketing is More Than Just Advertising Online

See, in the digital era, consumers don’t want to be interrupted with ads on their YouTube or Hulu videos, and they don’t have to be. Back in the day people muted commercials. Now, they install adblockers or DVR their shows so they can skip commercials at will.

Consumers have more control over what they see, when they see it, and what information they consume than they ever have in the past.  It’s not enough anymore to blast out good creative.

 I understand that you scored a viral hit with the Old Spice campaign, and that may be what’s got you confused, but the reality for most marketers today is that we do actually have to market digitally. Digital tools don’t “just” give us a new way to spread our ideas. 

Digital tools give us a way to better connect with our customers.

Digital Marketing Can Offer Customers a Better Experience

In the digital era, customers are used to personalization. Their web experience is tailored around their interests and their browsing patterns.  As marketers, we can’t just think about our brand and its personality.

We need to think about our customer personas: –

• their demographics,
• biggest struggles,
• where they hang out online,
• their likes and dislikes

When we know these things, we can speak in a way that suits their situations.

We have to work to be helpful to customers.

Companies who are there when and where their customers need them are the companies who win in the digital era. Those are the organizations who earn brand advocates and loyalty. Those brands don’t have to play catch-up when their competitors come out with a new, cheeky ad campaign. Their sales charts look less like mountains and valleys and more like gentle upward slopes because they don’t rely on having “a big hit” with their creative.

 No, those companies know their customers wants and needs. Those companies make it easy for their customers to solve their problems.

I know you want us to stop thinking about the tools and the platforms, Mr. Pritchard, but the problem is that our consumers think about them and use them every day.  So if we don’t figure out how to use them in a way that meshes well with the way our customers use them, they’ll ignore us.  Or worse, flame us for annoying them.

I think you get what I’m saying here. 

While it would make our lives a whole lot simpler if we could stop doing digital marketing, that’s just not what our customers want.  Our customers want us to treat them like humans— humans who use the web. But don't just take my word for it.  Here are some statistics from HubSpot's 2013 State of Inbound Marketing Report:

• Inbound marketing delivers 54% more leads into the marketing funnel than traditional outbound marketing.
• Traditional methods to source leads and customers generate just 22% of all leads in 2013.
• Top lead generation sources include social media and SEO, each contributing 14% of marketers’ total pipeline in 2013.
• Twice as many marketers say inbound delivers a below average cost per lead vs. outbound strategies (8% vs. 4%)
• 25% of marketers report that SEO provides a below average cost per lead.
• 27% of marketers report that email marketing produces a below average total cost per lead.
• U.S. inbound marketers spending more than $25K per year saved an average of 13% in overall cost per lead (CPL) in 2013, for an average CPL of $36 vs. $41.
• U.S. inbound marketers spending more than $25K per year saved $14 dollars for every new customer acquired vs. those relying on outbound strategies -- $254 vs. $268.
  

If we can figure out how to meet our customers’ needs in the online world as well as we do the offline world, we’ll be a lot further ahead than if we spent our time coming up with a fantastic ad campaign.