New media allows agencies to get specific

Likewise, advertising and marketing companies can no longer rely solely on traditional mediums media to get their clients' messages across, and they must embrace new media and technologies if they are to say the right things to the right people at the right time and in the right way - and get results.

Convergence

As with other sectors, advertising has experienced, and continues to experience, the convergence of a number of new technologies, and this convergence has changed the industry dramatically.

These are exciting times. New technology such as the Internet and SMS has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for communicating with specific target markets. And, because advertisers and their agencies are no longer limited to traditional media, the effectiveness of communication campaigns can be markedly enhanced through the use of a combination of channels.

New media allows for further reinforcement of brand messages at different points of contact, funnelling interested individuals into a deeper interaction with a brand and giving people access to more meaningful information at relevant moments in their lives.

Clients expect ROI

Clients nowadays also expect to see a return on their marketing investment and demand that their campaigns' results are measurable. A major disadvantage of traditional media is its inability to close the feedback loop so companies have to rely on sales responses or expensive research to determine the success or progress of a branding campaign, methods which are not always relevant to the objectives of the campaign.

New media and technology are able to provide instant feedback on the effectiveness of a campaign, enabling companies to further refine their marketing efforts or even change their strategy if necessary. The opportunities to fine-tune are endless.

So clearly, any agency that still relies solely on traditional mediums, without incorporating the web, SMS or other new media, is doing its clients, and their campaigns, a great disservice.

Recognising this, MGM Brand Construction & Advertising has broadened its approach, incorporating new technology and media into almost all of its strategies. This has significantly enhanced the effectiveness of our clients' campaigns and enabled MGM to influence so many more aspects of its clients' interactions with their customers.

The relationship between MGM and its clients has also been elevated to another level, as our clients rely on us for far more than just advertising. We are seen as value-adding strategic consultants and form an integral part of their business success because our team is able to provide them with effective, all-encompassing solutions that produce real results.

Recently MGM developed a strategy for a client targeting a niche market that could not be reached using traditional media.

After deep investigation into the target market and the various channels available to reach them, we found that using traditional media would simply not work. MGM thus changed the playing field totally, embarking on a new path of not just trying to develop a communications plan for the client, but of actually restructuring his business and then incorporating new media in a way that would ensure that his 'campaign' would get results. And, we are proud to say that final product was far more than just a communications programme.

Still a place

While new media and technology present exciting opportunities for meaningful brand-building and sales generation, there is still a place for traditional media such as print, radio and television. People consume different media in different circumstances and the popularity of radio and television does not seem to be waning in the face of the development of new technology. And for some, print is still king.

Rather than making traditional communications media obsolete, new media channels fulfil a complementary role in helping marketers to reach deeper into their markets with more specific messages.