Is it the end for the media communications strategist?
Many of us aspire to be a media comms strategist, but is the role of a strategist starting to become obsolete? If we were to remove strategists in media agencies we could potentially foster creative right brain thinking among everyone rather than a few select visionaries. This would empower and challenge people, bringing the industry to a new level.
In a world of media fragmentation, cross-platform integration and branded content, consumer engagement is now the cost of entry and it is playing an increasingly significant role in media planning. Brought about by demand, media integration arms such as PBL’s Powered and SMG Red have been set up to facilitate integrated media activations.
Branded content has become more crucial than ever, but are we just reinventing ourselves? It seems we have gone full circle from Procter & Gamble's creation of the world’s first soap operas in the 1930s to the recent success of content driven campaigns such as Tourism Australia's ‘No Life No Leave’ campaign and ‘Land Rover’s Road To The Pro’. Is there anything really original? The only thing that has changed is the vehicle - technology.
Linear TV viewing is fast becoming catch up TV and/or appointment viewing controlled by the consumer. IPTV will become increasingly important as we start to seek content to be played along with our catch up TV on our flat screens in our lounge rooms. We are already seeing the importance in the provision of content and apps to cater for the increasing penetration of smartphones and tablets.
The three screens of mobile, PC and TV we currently have will eventually converge into a single home entertainment storage and download unit device that will combine interaction with free-to-air, subscription TV, music, gaming, and video access. This convergence will increase the demand for content and increase the opportunity for media activation and integration. Everyone in media agencies will need to be developed to think simply and strategically.
You could argue that we do need strategists. Strategists give direction, are up date with current trends, case studies, consumer insights and challenge clients to head into the unknown. But can’t we all do that? Most strategists work with no boundaries and were originally designed to push clients beyond spots and dots. In the days of traditional media, communications strategists needed to have an understanding of a few channels, today there are thousands. We have reached an age where new media has pushed clients into a world where channels know no bounds. We seem to be moving away from strategic insight led solutions to channel planning and activation-based solutions.
In order to be prepared for what is to come, we all need become strategic media activators. Is this the end of media communications strategists or is this just the beginning?
Aydin Huseyin
Foundation