Integrating Emerging Media Opportunities

Marketing and media outlets often tout the rapidly expanding variety of paid media channels, but more choice doesn’t always mean better results. 

“As more channels emerge, we find ourselves navigating a more complex media ecosystem,” says Katelyn Thompson, RDW Group Media Director and agency principal. “Our solutions and best results come from carefully aligning media channels and creative executions with how the audience is thinking and feeling at that moment.”

Here’s a simple three-step framework to help you evaluate and integrate emerging media options.

1. Align media opportunities with audience cognition

Paid media does not reach people in a neutral setting. It targets them in specific environments and moments, such as when they scroll, search, watch, or listen. Each channel activates a distinct cognitive mode and can achieve a specific outcome.

Consider the following examples: 

When you’re weighing emerging media options, ask yourself

• How will the audience receive and respond to messaging via this channel?
• Does this channel complement others in the media mix?
• What does it add?

As you create your media plan, make sure each channel has a purpose and that all channels work together.

2. Align media opportunities with audience context

Your audience’s intention and involvement change over the course of their decision-making journey, and shape how they process information. When the financial or psychological stakes are high, people devote more attention and effort. When the stakes are low, they rely more heavily on shortcuts. The better you understand where your audience is in their decision-making journey, the more accurately and effectively you can deploy your paid media campaigns.

The growing media landscape enables you to reach audiences at every stage of their journey; guiding someone from awareness to purchase requires coordinated touchpoints. Look at the full decision pathway, so you can select channels that fill strategic gaps and align with how and what your audience is thinking at each moment.

3. Align media channel and creative execution

Effective creative is not one-size-fits-all. It must be designed specifically for how people use each medium.

“Just as we ‘transcreate’ unique creative concepts for multicultural audiences, we need to do the same for different types of media,” says Katelyn. “The right channel carrying the wrong creative will underperform, as will the right creative in the wrong channel.”

When developing your media strategy, consider how the following rules of thumb can impact where you’ll deliver your core messages.

• Whether your audience is distracted or focused, your creative must immediately be perceived as relevant to their mindset.
• Most paid media is processed quickly and intuitively, not through deep analysis. Make your message easy to grasp. Simplicity improves recall and performance.
• Emotion drives memory. Neutral ads fade into the background. Choose a tone that fits both the channel and the decision stage.
• Most ad-influenced decisions rely on heuristics (short cuts) rather than careful comparison. Reinforce social proof, authority, trust cues, and risk reduction to help people decide quickly.
• Familiarity builds trust and is processed faster. At the same time, a distinctive execution can capture attention in crowded environments.
• People learn and remember through repeated exposure. Look for creative ways to refresh executions while reinforcing the same core brand cues.

Conclusion

We hope this framework helps you evaluate and integrate the always-expanding and ever-evolving array of paid media options. The key is to understand how a given media channel will impact how and what your audience thinks. Reach out to us if you want to discuss the latest emerging media options and how they may fit into your marketing strategy.