I’ve debated creating a blog for a long time.  Pretty embarrassing considering I’m in ‘digital’ marketing, however, even though we have the tools for us all to be content creators, doesn’t mean we all should 🙂   Why Digi Darwin you may ask?  Well, over the past few years I’ve come to realize that marketing and ultimately our entire business landscape has been consistently shaken by evolutions in technology and the ‘digital’ world, and yet so many choose not to evolve or don’t know how or why they should. Individuals, companies, products, brands, etc.    Ultimately in the midst of this constant and quick changing world, we must evolve in many aspects and be open to looking through new lenses, which is the heart of this blog.  How to remain relevant, inspired and informed.  Granted, no one can know everything in these times, so if someone tells you they know everything – run 🙂 !

The irony of ‘digidarwin’ is that my pet peeve is the silo that ‘digital’ has currently been placed in across marketing, product development, strategy and management.  It begs the question… what isn’t ‘digital’ or going ‘digital’ in today’s world? Do we separate it out to check a box or is separation necessary during these transitional times?

So as we continue on our journey, I urge you not to consider ‘digital’ a department, an extension or a new version of IT, but to consider it your entire surroundings.  Digital is not a destination, it’s not a tactic, that word is a generalization we use instead of diving deep into what we are truly trying to solve.

What could be considered digital or digital marketing?  Lets start a list:   SEO, SEM, CRM, Email marketing, Social media, mobile apps, mobile websites, interactive ads/banners, websites, QR codes, RFID tags/receivers, blogs, videos, billboards, podcasts, content distribution, mapping & projections, photo marketing, smartphones, tablets, app TV, streaming services, APIs, SDKs, etc, etc…

That’s a lot of elements.  Some are tactics and destinations, some are strategies or long term programs and could be entire departments. Basically my point is that we cannot focus on the destination, aka:  “We need a mobile app”,  we must focus on the core elements of successful consumer marketing:  Strategy, insights, defined goals and metrics, clear target  and understanding of consumer behaviors.  You would not go to your media department and demand a full page ad in Time magazine in June and September.  You’d likely (hopefully) provide a target, a strategy, a creative/media brief and some goals you’re aiming for….

“Digital” is a deep toolbox we can leverage.  It’s a critical one today, but we cannot abandon the importance of asking the ‘why’, providing clear direction and strategy to ensure our execution is right.