Looking to build a winning digital strategy for your campaign? It begins and ends with consistency and a comprehensive approach, regardless of the platform.
A group of digital strategists and communications pros tackled the question during a Thursday afternoon session at C&E’s CampaignTech conference. Whether it’s TV, radio, print or online, keeping your message consistent across all platforms is just as important as finding the right media mix.
“It’s wasteful to use a shotgun approach in communication,” argued VOX Global’s David Payne. “You have a limited time to get it right and convince people you’re right.”
Payne spoke alongside Megan Whittemore, deputy press secretary for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.); Stephen Freitas of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America and National Media’s Jaime Bowers.
Among the most critical aspects, all agreed, is efficiency and finding a way to make use of different platforms at different times to spread your message.
Cantor’s office has focused on using Twitter to drive its message to specific audiences, noted Whittemore. The Majority Leader’s office, for example, uses a specific handle on Twitter to push stories out to the press and it’s Twitter feed amplifies the message Cantor is driving using other platforms.
“People are going to tune out and tune in whenever they have time,” said Whittemore, emphasizing the premium on message discipline. “Have a narrative and develop it over time and no matter what platform you use, make sure that narrative is consistent.”
In the majority leader’s Capitol Hill office, there is a Twitter wall that allows visitors to follow online conversations while waiting in the office’s common area.
“It has encouraged a lot of people to follow us,” said Whittemore.
Traditional media is also becoming more of a two-way conversation between advertisers and consumers, said OAAA’s Stephen Frietas.
A relative newcomer to the space, he said, is digital outdoor advertising, which has the added benefit of connecting advertisers with consumers where they meet and congregate. Seeing a digital message and being able to react to it with a group of peers in real time, acts an amplifier and helps facilitate a dialogue.
“All media need to figure out how to have that true dialogue,” said Frietas.