Throw the Rules Out the Window!

Everyone in business school is taught the “P’s” of marketing.  Notice I didn’t put a number to them.  I was originally taught there are four: product, price, promotion, and place, however the marketing world has evolved to a point where not only is four an insufficient number of “P’s”, P is insufficient as the sole letter.  The extended marketing mix also includes people, process, and physical evidence.  Then there are the other P’s that don’t belong to a coined learning tool: positioning, packaging, publicity, purple cow (for the Seth Godin fans)…the list goes on.  Then there are the C’s of marketing: consumer, competition, cost, communication, convenience, channel, the D’s: distribution, design, differentiation, etc.

All this alphabet soup is certainly important, but the ability to reach consumers has become increasingly difficult, and marketers can’t rely on the set rules of educational word play anymore.  I wouldn’t even suggest an expanded set of rules applies anymore, because some of the best programs out there have broken the rules altogether.

Marketers can no longer use traditional methods to reach consumers.  Todd Buffum from Modernista! explains in his blog post, Digiraditional: Lessons from the Making Digital Work Conference, that marketers need to create “experiences that encourage participation, transparency, value, play, and conversation (social)”.  I agree with Buffum’s ideology that modern programs can’t exclude the old methods, but cannot rely on them either.  There needs to be a balance and it needs to include both traditional media and modern methods.

Buffum uses the term, “digiraditional” coined by Michael Tabtabai.  “What does it mean?” asks Buffum.  I agree with him that the literal meaning is irrelevant, but its figurative meaning is super important.  “No longer will brands be able to shout at consumers.”  I love it!  It’s so true.  The old rules are a great place to start and build a strong foundation, however the combination with modern methods and digital media are what will take any brand to the next level.

Brands need to create an environment for consumers that’s clear with nothing hidden about it, provides rich, useful, and appreciated information, has personality, encourages open dialogue, and actually listens.  There are many ways to do this, some accomplished and some yet to be discovered, but the successful brands that will thrive into the next generation will be the ones that encompass some combination of these features and the successful marketers that carry these brands will be the discoverers and the innovators.