Joanne Davis
Trendsetters: Joanne Davis Discusses How C-Suite Leaders are Evaluating Media Today
Joanne Davis understands industry trends, advises marketing leaders, and shares best practices through a teaching role with the ANA. After 20 years in management positions at domestic and international ad agencies, as well as 15 years of running Joanne Davis Consulting, which specializes in helping marketers manage their agency relationships to achieve optimum results, she has seen dramatic change in media and its significance to marketing.
Now she’s noticing a new interest on the part of C-Suite executives to gauge how media can drive enhanced business value. In fact, she’s finding that CMOs and top corporate executives are also hoping to better understand media’s role in the future of marketing and learn how to work more effectively with a growing roster of specialist agencies that focus on media.
According to Joanne, one has to first recognize that the consumer, of course, is at the heart of the changing role of media. Today’s consumers no longer think about (or even care about) where they get a message. There is no division, for them, between traditional or digital media; the message is truly the medium, and its delivery is video, audio, mobile or text. As a result, media should no longer be planned or bought on a linear or “siloed” basis, but integrated to reflect consumer behavior and actions.
Plus, the significance of owned and earned media in our new Social Era raises questions about the planning and buying of paid media. Joanne often calls this another “chicken and egg syndrome” as many marketers wrestle with concerns about what should be tackled first-- planning paid media programs or focusing on driving earned media value.
As a result, the considerations for both marketers and C-Suite business leaders going forward are now increasingly complex. Joanne cites how media’s evolution is now affecting broader issues regarding overall marketing strategy, organizational structure, and managing for results.
Media and CRM
Marketers often wonder how to best bring together these two critical disciplines, and also eliminate duplication of effort while increasing effectiveness. Joanne suggests briefing agencies together, then electronically linking activities so that updated knowledge can be easily assessed.
Specialists, Generalists & Internal Organization
Agencies are often criticized for poor integration, but, in many cases, the marketer is not organized for integration and maintains “siloed” experts by medium (digital, media, social, website, etc.). The issue of how to organize internally, given the roles for specialists and generalists, is becoming paramount today. Joanne recommends that the industry identify the role and the appropriate training needed for a generalist, then decide where to place the specialists be they agency only, internal and agency, consultant and agency, etc.
Development of Better Media Briefs
Good briefs should drive inspiration, integration and creativity. Joanne believes that it is now mandatory for clients to understand how to write a creative, media-integrated brief that receives marketing-side approval and agency agreement. More training in this area could be a solution to undertaking so significant a brief process that also sets a standard for clarity, as well as goals.
Managing Social Media Newsrooms
Joanne admits that this is an aspect of media that is changing rapidly. One of the key considerations for marketers now is whether to insource or outsource this valuable role. Her advice is interesting in that she advocates duplicating internal and external efforts purposely to gather the best and fastest learning on how to manage the future. The result is that outsourced knowledge accrues internally, which then enables a marketer to outsource something else new to learn.
Which Agency Leads Media?
In Joanne’s experience, more marketers are requiring digital specialist agencies, but they generally do not want to manage a media agency, along with a digital, social or mobile agency, in companion media roles. She says, “How and who should lead is not easily decided, but we see several marketers trying different variations for their organization. The best idea is to test first for selective programs to see what works best.”
Joanne Davis founded Joanne Davis Consulting, Inc. in 2000. The consulting firm specializes in client/agency optimization, search and compensation management, and client internal integrated marketing communications. In early 2006, Joanne Davis Consulting became a shareholding partner in SCAN International, to better service multi-national clients. She is currently SCAN International’s co-President. Joanne’s consulting clients include and have included Exxon Mobil, JP Morgan Chase, Macy’s, Marriott International, Microsoft, Miller Coors, Pernod Ricard, Pfizer.
Prior to founding Joanne Davis Consulting, Joanne spent 20 years as either an agency owner, president, board member or in management in domestic and international advertising and marketing communications agencies. After she left the agency side, she served as acting CMO for the U.S. Department of Defense.
A popular speaker and writer, Joanne has spoken at industry events on four continents, and has been a member of the faculty of the ANA since 2004.
