The multi-screen generation needs a better advertising model

The days of traditional advertising being separated from digital advertising are behind us… at least they should be. Today and into the future, the right message format should include a combination model between traditional and digital.

More people everyday are embracing a multi-screen entertainment model. They aren’t just watching television. They’re posting about it in real time on social media. They’re on the show’s website, often interacting with others on the site while the show is playing on television.

The same thing is happening with advertisements. The internet was once considered the television-killer, but it survived. Now, the combination of television and digital advertising can work wonders to enhance both.

According to WorldDealer, an automotive advertising firm, the premise going forward surrounds the concept of “One Voice”. Rather than having a set of ads that go out on digital advertising and another set of messages going on through traditional means, the new model has them working together, pointing to each other, and consolidating the message to give a unified voice between the different message venues.

For big brands, this is easier because of budgets. It can be costly to build interactive websites or to have the type of constant social media coverage that’s often required for a successful campaign. There have been as many failures as successes from those trying this type of model. Even the biggest brands with the largest budgets have challenges that pop up.

For smaller brands or local companies, the biggest challenge is volume. A consolidated message can be worthless if it’s not reaching enough people. This is where it becomes an “all in” endeavor. Either you’re going to make it happen or you won’t. Tiptoeing will not work with this type of strategy.

Here are some things that small or local businesses can do to take advantage of the multi-screen trend:

• Mailers with Digital Interface: The death of direct mail may be coming, but it’s not there yet. Today’s consumers are less likely to act on mailers that they open, but there’s good news. The rise of email has made open rates on traditional mail pieces higher now than just a couple of years ago. If you are sending out direct mail pieces, make sure there is a matching and complimentary landing page that they can get to easily. If it has to be on a long URL, make sure that you use a custom URL shortener. Remember, they can’t click on a link through direct mail.
• Codes on Television to Plug Into Websites: This is possibly premature since the multi-screen generation is still growing, but sometime soon, now or in the near future, you’ll be able to get instant interaction on your website by giving people incentives to go there and plug something in from a television commercial. Every commercial mentions a website or social profile, so it’s not effective to simply tell people to go there. Give them a reason. Give them some sort of code that they can use to claim something so that they’ll act immediately while they’re on television break.
• Hashtags: Be careful. The only thing worse than a hashtag that gets no action is a hashtag that gets negative sentiment. Many of the biggest debacles in social media marketing have surrounded hashtags that were hijacked by negative comments.

This is definitely not an exhaustive study but rather a set of concepts that will hopefully inspire action and ideas. Separating out your traditional and digital advertising is not a proactive strategy. Start getting your message consolidated now before your competitors are doing it better.

“Multi-Screen Advertising” image courtesy op Shutterstock.