Intriguingly, Best Buy is putting Twelpforce at the center of its big communications initiative for the holiday season. Looking at data from the 125 companies that have taken the Council’s social media maturity diagnostic, we know that only 11% of marketers have built social media into their integrated communications planning processes. That got me to thinking…
Most B2C marketers take the “tonnage” approach to touchpoint planning. They work back from growth goals and volume targets to plan their touchpoint mix—their mix models tell them how much money they need to dump into broadcast, out-of-home, print, promotions and the like, to hit those volume targets. Social and experiential touchpoints play second fiddle, at best.
But, as many pundits suggest, if the true promise of social media lies in the relationship experiences that brands can create—and scale—for their target consumers, touchpoint planning should look very different.
Instead, planning should work back not from growth goals, but from a desired social experience we want consumers to have—ideally with one another, and of course around the brand. Marketers should start by identifying that critical experience, and then structure broader media to play specific roles around and in support of the social experience. In this approach, the role of broadcast media is to help scale that experience.
In fact, we’ve seen this idea at play in practice. Full credit here to Brad Santeler, now at Abbott Labs, who turned us onto this idea. While working as the head of media and relationship management with Kimberly-Clark several years ago, Brad structured an “inside-out” media planning approach that put digital media at the center of touchpoint planning (this was prior to the rise of social media these last few years).
Among the (several) open questions with this approach:
- How should marketers identify the social experience to put at the center?
- How should marketers assign roles to different touchpoints?
- How can marketers mitigate the risk of breaking from mix models?
I’ll offer my musings in upcoming posts.
MLC members, get an in-depth profile of the “Inside-Out” approach that Brad Santeler implemented. Or, take a look at the experience-driven touchpoint planning approach we’ve drawn up. Let us know what you think!
