Digital media are completely reshaping the world in which we live and particularly the marketing industry within which we, here at Madhouse, work. We often get asked by clients what the differences are between this “new” digital realm and the traditional one that everyone knows and understands. In response, we thought we’d bring you a series of short blog posts about what digital means for the different areas of our business. To kick us off, planning director Clare Briscall talks about what digital means for planning.

Digital planning vs. traditional planning

It’s time to demystify the planning process, and for agencies to start accepting that the techniques for planning are exactly the same whether for a digital or traditional campaign. The key thing to remember is that digital simply provides another medium through which information can be garnered and transferred.

Thus it’s as important as ever to follow the key principal of planning – understanding your client’s business –which we do by looking at three areas:

• Product/brand
• Target audience
• Competitive environment.

Once each of these attributes is understood, it’s time for the research arm of the planning team to drill deeper into them. Understanding simply isn’t enough for your target audience; you need to know more than just their behavioral traits, also the types of media they consume and for what purposes.

In the same way, you have to immerse yourself in the competitive environment in which the product or brand exists, while studying how the audience perceive the brand/product. It’s through this immersion that a tailored strategy can be conceived in order to best deliver the results the client wants, via either a traditional or digital campaign.

In summary, digital planning isn't something new or separate from traditional planning; it simply takes the traditional kit and throws a few more tools into the box – which ultimately leads to more interesting, exciting and targeted campaigns.

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More enlightenment and opinion from Madhouse, Manchester’s leading integrated marketing communications agency