Distribution Channels Are Changing, Pt. 2
Patrick, our designer, touched on the changing landscape of distribution last week. I think this topic is on a lot of people’s minds today. End users are becoming less ‘users’ and more creators, and much savvier. Since many marketing and advertising efforts piggy-back onto media streams to reach their audience, this changing landscape has them scrambling.
Vendors and agencies are fighting to position themselves in a new world of marketing. Companies, from global mega-conglomerates to mom-and-pop shops, fear being left behind AND diving into outlets that are still not solidified. The entire channel is shifting, which is a lot for everyone to deal with, even if you don’t factor in the economic instability we are all adjusting to.
Patrick, being young and artistic, can’t help but see all the possibilities in this new world order. He has entire suite of applications at his disposal, giving him access to any medium in existence today, at no cost to him. Even for our company, our entire Final Cut system, software and licenses for Creative Suite is dwarfed by the costs that we paid a couple of decades ago for freelance editors and avid suites. Patrick’s canvass is your computer screen, TV, billboard, iPod, or something really cool that I don’t even know about. He isn’t limited by money, tools or broadcast limitations. He is only limited by his creativity.
My goal as a producer is to have Patrick’s outlook, but marry it with traditional ideals. Clients have a rare opportunity to connect with potential consumers at an intimate level never before possible. We can craft an endless supply of campaigns across the entire spectrum of media. Most importantly, we can do it for a fraction of the cost of a traditional national campaign. Each piece of the campaign is minuscule in cost compared to a Super Bowl ad. We can flood any number of markets with dozens of posts, tweets and comments.
But clients and I face the same same limit that Patrick does: Creativity. Poorly crafted messages will still fail, regardless of the outlet. Does this mean we just port Super Bowl commercials to YouTube, or take out full page ads on ESPN.com? Things become tried and true for a reason. Sometimes it is because they work. However, sometimes things become the norm because they are supported by enough money or clout, or simply there is no alternative (see: the recording industry.) Flooding Digg, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube with a message crafted for a press release or blatant product schilling can actually do much more harm than good. This is magnified when if you key demographic also happens to be the most technologically savvy (and cynical) to ever have walked the earth. Further, as Facebook reminded us recently, when you rely on third-party platforms, you are at their mercy.
I think producers and clients should be as excited as Patrick; we are witnessing a period of great innovation. Economics are on our side. Even though money is tight, costs for social market are tiny compared to traditional outlets. Embrace innovation, but do it with creativity and sincerity.
