Marketing has its roots in the 4 P’s (product, price, promotion, place) with a historical focus on product marketing. Then there was a shift to service marketing where features of products alone were not enough but the intangible services behind them or the service itself was important. Experiential marketing or the experience of the service, place, product, atmosphere soon became the element marketers (and the consumer) focused on.  This is also known as marketing aesthetics where the feeling produced because of design is brought to the forefront (Source: Philip Kotler, bvo.com).

This marketing evolution expanded the 4P’s by 3 to include process, physical evidence, and people and included an introduction of the 4C’s into the mix which include commodity, cost, channel, and communication (Source: Wikipedia). The consumer, channel and communication have all become important elements to consider online which leads us to the media evolution and the huge revolution social media is having on the field of marketing today. The evolution of media is hard to ignore in an age where digital marketing no longer means the traditional pull and push channels like website updates and email marketing. Digital marketers today need to be well versed in the latest technology channels and communication tools which include mobile, tablets, internet TV and of course social media outlets. This is also the point at which paid, owned, and earned media becomes an important strategy or prioritization tool for digital marketers. As indicated in a previous post entitled The Role of Brands as Media Companies, owned media includes things like a company website or blog. Paid media includes any sponsorships or advertising campaigns, and earned media in the traditional sense is PR and quickly evolving into viral word of mouth promotion made by customers predominately on social media networks like Facebook and Twitter.

An eye on consumer behavior and marketing messaging is critical when multiple communication channels or platforms are available which means if any one of those channels is out of sync, a different message could be received by the consumer. This is particularly important considering research shows that consumers aren’t using just one platform at a time anymore. They are multitasking, or watching TV and using their iPad, or surfing the web on their laptop and texting a friend. This provides both a challenge and opportunity for marketers (Source: eMarketer). However, “a brand that’s prepared to meet the consumer on multiple platforms—with useful things to say in each venue—can engage its audience more deeply than ever” (eMarketer). This is where utilizing a content marketing platform like brandcast comes into play, allowing the management of all digital marketing assets in one place with the ability to externally publish to the appropriate channels, allowing marketers not only to be efficient but in control of their marketing strategies and messages.

Learn more about the Evolution of Marketing & Media at the Festival of Media on April 15-17. If you can’t attend, you can still catch all the great presentations by checking out their YouTube Channel after the event.

About Preview Networks

Preview Networks is a content marketing platform for brands and content aggregation and syndication platform for publishers. We provide the tools for brands to centrally distribute and manage marketing and PR content across media destinations, devices, and commerce platforms; allowing media partners to automate content acquisition delivering audience and advertising revenue growth.