Channel planning in the digital age seems to be becoming more complex by the year. There was a time when online was a single line item on a channel strategy and the media plan listed about four sites. Today the range of “channels” that digital offers extends from website, online ads, mobile apps, social media interactive outdoor, experiential and so much more.

The challenge, however is the integration of the user experience across all of these channels. Given the ability to interact and the user expectations of functionality and value, it is far more important than ever before to target the message and the experience for the medium. I mentioned in my recent post the need to consider the technology on which the message is delivered and indeed, the platform often influences the message.

It is no longer sufficient to resize your print ads to an animated 728 by 90 gif and stick it on the website of choice. For example, the tone and purpose of, a Facebook implementation is completely different to what you might stick on ninemsn. One is more informal, two way and fun while the banner campaign needs to catch people’s attention. What you deliver in a mobile environment needs to be relevant to people when they are out and about. The extent to which you differentiate between your customers and your targets on each platform may also vary. So the message needs to fit the environment in which it is delivered and the nuances of the audience.

But while the message and the intent may vary across platforms, how you weave the advertising message together across these platforms is also important. Not everyone will see your message in every channel however, if they do, it needs to reinforce the message by building on it rather than just representing the same idea over and over in different formats. Channel planning needs to consider how we can integrate the experience and in an ideal world, inspire prospects to seek out further experiences with a brand in alternate channels. This goes far beyond putting the URL in the last frame of the TVC.

With the diversity of channels the challenge many marketers face. As technology evolves and emerges, it is hard to find one supplier who really understands them all. Many clients have moved away from the “full service agency” idea and set up contracts with multiple suppliers and agencies to service their different needs but while this means you have experts in their field, it also means that you need a bigger board room table and the process of co-ordination becomes far more complex.
But whose role is it to manage the integration of the message across platforms that are being managed by multiple suppliers? Should this be the marketer, the media agency or the strategist? My guess is that this will vary from case to case and individual to individual however, if you don’t really understand a platform, you can’t leverage its full potential, nor can you appropriately consider its role in the communications mix. The amount of time people need to spend educating themself on the new technology in marketing has increased tenfold in the last 5 years will only continue to expand.

We’ll be hearing more about this at ad:tech on the session Channel Planning: How To Weave The Advertising Message Through Different Platforms (Monday 16th March, 11am). We’ve got a great panel of digital marketers who will be discussing this in depth and sharing their opinions:
Aisha Hillary, Senior Marketing and New Media Specialist, SBS - Special Broadcasting Service
Ruby Grennan, Marketing Manager, triple j
Dirk Freytag, CEO, ADTECH
Wolfgang Jaegel, Founder & Regional Managing Director, Syndacast