Media in B2B Marketing

What do you think of when someone mentions "Media"?  Billboards? Print ads? TV/Radio spots?  Media today includes these traditional mediums but has launched into the realm of digital. Think made-for-internet brand and product vignettes and interactive assets that follow you wherever you go online and offline.

Traditionally, Media has been synonymous with "Advertising" - high level brand and product awareness at the tippy-top of the funnel and ostensibly that which first grabs consumers' attention. But brands aren't seeking to just drive awareness, they want sales.  Enter the traditional role of "Marketing" which is more honed in on specific value propositions and target consumer segments to drive brand and product evaluation and conversion.

Data is Driving the (R)evolution

B2B offers, far moreso than consumer-direct, are going after niche audiences with highly targeted messages. But, even so, B2B brands need to first generate awareness of the offer and value prop in order to facilitate consumer movement along the journey to product evaluation and conversion to sales. Enter Media and Advertising. Today, Media leans heavily into digital advertising, as Millennials continue to cut-the-cord and move entertainment consumption into the online space. Whereas Media and Advertising once referred to general awareness and engagement, Media consumption and it's influence on purchases can now be tracked from start to finish.

Within the digital realm comes greatly enhanced ability to measure, monitor and track consumer behavior like never before.  With Content Management and Personalization tools like Optimizely, Salesforce and Pardot, we can get deep into the weeds of customer journey analysis and determine not only who it is that is interacting with our media but what content will be most helpful and move them closer to conversion.  It is this increased ability to measure and optimize that is the driving force blurring the lines between Media and Marketing.

As our ability to monitor, measure, adapt and engage consumers with the right Media at the right time, in the right place with the right offer continues to evolve, it is likely that one day in the not-too-distant future, we will no longer refer to Media and Marketing as separate disciplines.  Instead, they will merge into a single function where the focus is on end-to-end facilitation and support of consumers in their search to find products and services that satisfy their business needs.

Whether you agree or disagree with the emerging role of Media in Marketing, data is without a doubt making a huge transformation of our industry. Thanks and please leave a note in the comments to keep the conversation going!