We need broadcast media such as TV, press, outdoor etc to get our brands/products onto consumers’ radar, which is why it will always have a role in communications, but too many of us treat it like the proverbial “Field of Dreams” – If we build it they (consumers) will come. Except they won’t necessarily and this is when the hard work should really begin.

Mass-media can create a foundation but now we should be building upon it, working to garner these fledgling relationships into something deeper, richer and more mutually beneficial. However, too often, clients aren’t willing to commit the time & money into something beyond their shiny above-the-line campaign, and too few agencies are willing to try and persuade them or are lacking in confidence. Plus it’s much harder to brag about in the pub at the weekend!

You’re absolutely right though, we should be trying everything we can to start meaningful conversations with our consumers. Like the annoyingly aggressive and uninformed Chugger on Grafton Street, brands will be snubbed more and more frequently if they don’t make themselves relevant and engage properly. And rightly so.

The tide is turning though, as more & more of us push for change from within the industry and continue to challenge our clients to converse WITH consumers, rather than simply talking AT them. Inch by inch we’re getting there… here’s hoping anyway.

Face-to-face isn’t always the easiest method, though it’s the best; and with a bit of effort on our part, the technological equivalents of face-to-face – from telephone to twitter – can be more or less full synonyms of meeting people in the flesh. Without the bit of effort, they tend towards euphemism.

If you have a website, make your email address clear on it. For many of our markets, that will be the preferable medium for interaction.

2 Examples:
First. My brother’s new business website, complete brochure-ware, led to two very strong enquiries from Singapore and Oslo via email within a month of go-live. Instant responses have led to positive developments.

Second: An Irish company that many of us respect and look to as a role-model have not responded to my email to their sales@ address 7 days ago. They have a blog and a twitter account, but no follow up on my email.

Inches lost.