Multidimensional marketing expert and air and sea show executive producer Mickey Markoff weighs in.
The only constant in life is change. Business and industry is no exception, marketing included. As technology has advanced, so too have the ways we have approached business and marketing to prospective customers. But remaining competitive in a dynamic landscape comes with its challenges, and an ability to navigate uncertain waters. The pandemic provided a perfect example of the requirement for all to thrive during times of uncertainty. How do we stay connected when we quite literally cannot connect in the physical world?
For those industries which were more customer-facing by design, this posed an immediate problem. For those who may have already had a toe in the digital world, the pandemic threw them straight into the deep end and expected them to swim. Physical companies were expected to go digital, and digital to go even more digital. If it sounds easy, it wasn’t for many. The ‘new normal’ revealed gaps that desperately needed to be filled if companies were to remain competitive. Marketing to customers who were used to in-person promos simply wasn’t possible, at least for a time. Companies needed to adapt to the changes, and change their strategy. Thankfully, companies came to the rescue to bring new tools to the forefront, providing more digital accessibility. ‘Zoom’ took on a new definition and world of its own as the new way to interface in the post-pandemic world.
What Zoom was for connecting with friends and colleagues, businesses needed the same to connect with their customers. Although the concept had existed pre-COVID, the importance of multidimensional marketing had never been more relevant. Multidimensional marketing provided a ripe opportunity for integrating a company’s marketing strategy to not only include one area of focus, but many, to target different demographics. For industries that were 100% dependent upon live, in-person meetups, they were left without a viable model. They needed to change with the times in order to stay relevant. We saw examples of this when some companies, in the face of closures due to COVID, introduced new offerings to their market to include new products or services. When restaurants in many areas were closed to prevent the congregation of large groups in small spaces, some which had never previously offered takeout or delivery, added this to option to the roster. Some took to Uber Eats, Postmates, or other digital giants in the restaurant space to continue to provide value to their consumers, despite not being able to operate their business as usual.
How did they do this? They took a hybrid approach, and added the digital offerings to their pre-existing physical ones. This is in essence, the concept of multidimensional marketing. A company can’t typically survive in today’s modern world dependent on just one of the three dimensions of business. We have an opportunity to be physical, digital, and virtual, and each presents potential value to connect with our consumers.
Each one of these options merits attention in its own right, and certain aspects can be more relevant to one industry over another. At certain times, such as those all industries have encountered during the coronavirus pandemic, we are faced with the challenge to place perhaps less focus on one than another. But as with many challenges in the market, there are opportunities for innovation.
As a multidimensional marketing expert and Air and Sea Show Producer Mickey Markoff has learned this lesson firsthand. During the early days of the pandemic, Markoff was faced with the challenge of continuing to organize, market, and showcase an event that was originally designed to draw crowds of people. During the pandemic, bringing the event to bear as planned was simply not possible. The 2020, in-person, physical event was cancelled; however, the event pivoted with a flyover from the Blue Angels. The organization also worked with sponsor Hyundai to helping pay homage to the frontline workers and community heroes helping to combat the coronavirus. The event went from a physical one to a digital/virtual event, with advertised footage online and virtual coverage. Markoff took a multidimensional approach to pivoting the event despite the circumstances, and the subsequent years were a similar success.
Being able to take an integrated approach, incorporating the physical, digital, and virtual elements of marketing, is essential. We are living in a dynamic market, and being able to adapt quickly is important if you want to stay competitive. If you are used to physical marketing, consider adding a team of digital adopters to help fill in the gaps in your strategy. Pay attention to the importance of social media, and make sure you are actually reaching your audience where they are. If you know your target market (and if you don’t, you should), find out where they are, and meet them there. If they’re mostly on Facebook, make a page and dip your toe into the digital space. There are many tools for digital marketing on most social networks, as there should be. With most of them dependent upon advertising revenue, most major social networks offer a mixture of, or all of the above: templates for ads, a platform for A/B testing, and a dashboard for understanding your digital analytics.
If you’re new to digital marketing, some of the tools can be daunting; however, most of the user interfaces are intuitive, and there are plenty of resources which can walk you through adding digital into your marketing strategy.
The world is changing, and your marketing should, too. There may be learning curve at first, but changing up your strategy has the potential to introduce new customers to your product or service, adding more value to your bottom line. When you open Pandora’s box of new tools, you may be surprised at what is on offer. The digital world can introduce opportunities for affiliate marketing, sponsorships, and a myriad of new tools to bring your product to the people who need it.