Digital is an ideas-rich, sales-generating medium and I can prove it to Steve Harrison

re: Digital is an ideas-rich, sales-generating medium and I can prove it to Steve Harrison

Cordell Burke — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:38:06 GMT

‘Advertising is dead, long live Digital?’

Surely we should be having the more positive debate hinted at by Steve and Dan about how we can encourage younger creatives to learn from advertising’s past and how experienced creatives can effectively add digital knowledge to their skill set.

As far as Jo and Joanna Public are concerned, it’s all advertising and marketing and they obviously don’t give a toss whether brands are on or offline as long as they’re interested and engaged.

Therefore, creatives of all ages should be continually looking at how they can broaden their overall skills to influence the multitude of touchpoints that people of all ages are now engaged with.

It’s like studying history. We have to learn from the past (both good and bad) but we also have to continually add to that experience by embracing the ever expanding digital ways of doing business.

We already know that the Man In The Street enjoys both the traditional and digital elements of campaigns like Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ and Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ whether they interrupt or gently persuade and the creators of those campaigns have also been fortunate enough to pick up many industry awards.

So let’s stop arguing about ‘traditional versus digital’ and just acknowledge that we have at our disposal more online, offline, traditional and new methods than ever before to play with.

Then we can enjoy and concentrate on producing the best possible creative solutions for everyone’s benefit both inside and outside of our business.

re: Digital is an ideas-rich, sales-generating medium and I can prove it to Steve Harrison

Cordell Burke — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:19:42 GMT

‘Advertising is dead, long live Digital?’

As far as Jo and Joanna Public are concerned, it’s all advertising and marketing and they obviously don’t give a toss whether brands are on or offline as long as they’re interested and engaged.

Therefore, creatives of all ages should be continually looking at how they can broaden their overall skills to influence the multitude of touchpoints that people of all ages are now engaged with.

It’s like studying history. We have to learn from the past (both good and bad) but we also have to continually add to that experience by embracing the ever expanding digital ways of doing business.

So let’s stop arguing about ‘traditional versus digital’ and just acknowledge that we have at our disposal more online, offline, traditional and new methods than ever before to play with.

Then we can enjoy and concentrate on producing the best possible creative solutions for everyone’s benefit both inside and outside of our business.

re: Digital is an ideas-rich, sales-generating medium and I can prove it to Steve Harrison

Rory Sutherland — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:16:51 GMT

I think Steve is being very narrow here in the part of digital he chooses to attack – but that he is right to attack what he sees as a slightly self-indulgent strain in a lot of digital work.

The distinction I choose to make is between those large and valuable audiences who use the internet as a means to an end and that much smaller group of people for whom digital is an art-form, an end in itself. Far too much award-seeking digital work seems to be addressed at the latter group, who are a not very lucrative curiosity, frankly. Steve is right to make this criticism, but completely wrong to conflate a few self-indulgent ideas with the wider economic and behavioural significance of the internet - which already drives something like 10% of world GDP.

I might also add that Steve has a more puritanical approach to the value of time than anyone I have ever met. So certain aspects of digital, such as gaming or social networking, are probably disproportionately hateful to him. Don’t expect to see a Steve Harrison Twitterfeed any day soon!

re: Digital is an ideas-rich, sales-generating medium and I can prove it to Steve Harrison

Simon S. Kershaw — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 13:52:47 GMT

I am afraid that Mr Douglas will have to do better if he aims to rubbish Mr Harrison's arguments. The Argos case history - while admirable in its own little way - hardly demonstrates a fresh insight into the human condition, the power of a big idea, or the craft skills associated with surprising executions. Further, as a piece of flag-waving for the brave new world of all things digi, the numbers for the Argos competition would only be impressive if set in the context of the company's total customer base and turnover/sales. As with all promotions, unless testing and/or research shows otherwise, all that's been achieved is engaging with a great many people who were already brand loyal and bringing forward a purchase they would have happily made anyway.

re: Digital is an ideas-rich, sales-generating medium and I can prove it to Steve Harrison

Dean Turney — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:52:54 GMT

Thank you. I'm from a traditional media background, and I'm sick of traditionalists rubbishing this wonderful new media landscape.