Getting cross-media content right

Julia Hutchison, COO, APA, says that the key to getting cross-media content right is knowing where customers are interacting and how to translate a brand to the media they are using to do this.

The advent of digital has had a profound effect on consumer expectations when it comes to interactions with a brand. The online experience is constantly evolving, with new technologies and innovations introduced almost on a daily basis, opening up a huge opportunity for brands and businesses to engage customers.

There is no better time for brands to invest in these evolving platforms but, as more organisations realise the value of the online space, so it is becoming increasingly crowded and highly competitive. What this has created is on the one hand a huge opportunity that brands can’t afford to miss out on, balanced against the risk that making the wrong decisions can be as damaging as not investing at all.

Brands must be savvy in the way they communicate with existing and potential customers. Consumers are increasingly looking for content through a range of channels that suit their habits and are accessible whilst on the go. Subsequently, businesses would be wrong to merely provide them with content through one communication platform.

However targeting the right audience is by no means an easy task. The introduction of smartphones, iPads, netbooks and the development of social media has made the procedure of implementing digital projects both a complex and confusing task.

With so many channels now available to brands and publishers alike, choosing the right medium is no longer the straightforward task it once was and organisations are continually facing the risk of getting it wrong.

Consistent innovation in the digital arena means that there are now a huge number of platforms through which brands can engage with their consumers, but the challenge is knowing what is best for each brand and its consumers.

The key to success in this is to know where customers are interacting and how to translate a brand to the media that they are using to do this. This could mean through a magazine, a website, social media or, more likely, a well thought out mixture.

The key to making any channel a success for a brand is having the insight to be able to translate that brand effectively across different channels.

In the digital era, one of the most important things to remember is not that everyone is online, but that everyone is not just online; we all watch TV, read magazines and consume media in a variety of ways everyday. It is those that have this customer understanding and can transfer this knowledge into cross-media content who are in a prime position to lead their clients into uncharted territories, experiencing success in the long term.

There are many examples of brands that have engaged in a new technology or media because it has proved popular or successful for another company when they can’t replicate this themselves. Social media has afforded many of these examples. There are brands for which Facebook or Twitter will prove a valuable and effective addition to a marketing campaign but many marketers have fallen prey to believing that can be replicated across the board.

It is content that consumers want to engage with; content which delivers greater value and an enhanced experience and that can translate across any media effectively if it resonates with a brand and its consumers.

It may be that you can disseminate this across all social media channels for a brand but there is little point if none of your target audience are interacting in that space. In this way, it is not channel experts that are needed to decipher the best means of going about this but rather those with experience in delivering appropriate and effective content in any media to any audience.

With the imminent popularity of the iPad upon us and the continual advancement of smartphones, now is a crucial time for brands to innovate above and beyond their competitors. This means organisations need to work with the experts: editors and content providers who can translate a brand through the relevant channel. And this does not necessarily mean blowing huge budgets but instead providing consumers with relevant content through suitable channels.

To find out more about cross-media content and how to use it, the APA is holding the Content Summit 2010 on 24 November 2010.  For more information or to attend the event, please contact Julia Hutchison on julia.hutchison@apa.co.uk.