• by May 2, 2002

I spent the weekend in Miami. The weather was glorious, however the New York thunderstorms dampened things somewhat with a 6-hour delay returning home.

On Sunday I took a stroll along the famous South Beach promenade. As I walked by the myriad of restaurants, I was intrigued by the unique personal selling technique used by the string of eateries. Each dining facility employed the services of an attractive hostess who enticed passers-by with a laundry list of the specials on offer. If that wasn’t enough, some of the delectable dishes were on display like Objects d’Art.

Sounds like a pretty foolproof selling technique, so where’s the catch? First of all, each restaurant used the same technique, so in this case, it was all about Location, Location, Location. But perhaps more important was the fact that I’d already eaten. I just wasn’t hungry.

I guess this reveals how warped I am in terms of taking a beautiful holiday moment and bastardizing it with a media analogy. Nevertheless, I think you can see the comparison with messaging hitting the right people at the wrong time, or worse still, the wrong people at the wrong time.

The revelation that not all people are in the market right now for whatever it is you’re selling is nothing new for interactive folk. It’s the old story of building an entire industry on the flawed premise of guaranteed short-term sales. What is new, however, is that right now we’re witnessing the rest of media applying this way of thinking.

The first application of this insight manifests itself in the implicit understanding that the same consumer uses different forms of media at different times. Think of your typical day. It begins with the alarm radio blaring a few bars from your local radio station (until you hit snooze!) It continues with the a capella tones of Matt, Katie, Al and Ann wafting in and out as you pass from room to room. Next up is the daily newspaper in the subway or on the bus, joined by the rallying cry of out-of-home signage. Enter the wonderful World Wide Web during the hours of 9 and 5. A magazine accompanies you on your way home, where finally you sink into the sofa and reward yourself with must-see TV.

Follow-through media planning recognizes that consumers are a moving target (audience) and reaches them accordingly through an optimized mix of strategically selected media.

The second trend plugs directly into both consumer behavior and the accompanying stage of the purchase cycle.

Ever notice how acutely aware you are of messaging coming from an advertiser when the brand involved is at the top of your mind? And how quickly the utility derived from this can disappear based on the very action it was designed to inspire – the purchase!

Take the example of purchasing a car. From APR to ABS, you’re multitasking by absorbing tons of information, comparison shopping on one side of your brain, and visualizing your enhanced sex appeal in the driving seat of your new convertible on the other side.

When the forces of “ration” and “emote” subside and the purchase is made, the automotive serenading can instantly turn into vehicular noise pollution – in the form of possible cognitive dissonance (i.e. “Exactly how did I think the 5 of us would fit into my new BMW M3?”)I or simply irrelevant messaging (i.e. ”Thanks, but I already have one.”)

This is not to say that “going dark” is the solution at all. There is clearly merit in reinforcing the decision (“See that guy in the “driving” seat? That’s me!”), maintaining satisfaction, countering competitive inroads and potential defection, as well as priming the pump when the purchase cycle renews.

At each stage in the process – from Awareness, Interest, Desire, Evaluation, Action, Feedback to Repeat Purchase, the role of communication is going to differ. At times it will assume the character of the persuasive child, whilst at other times it will play the part of the reassuring parent.

Follow-through media planning recognizes that not all consumers are at the same stage of consideration and makes contact with the different segments at the various decision nodes accordingly.

As to the conclusion of the Miami tale, there is a happy ending. Awareness, recall, association and intent to purchase indicators are all way up. Word-of-mouth has weaved its wonderful way into our (or should I say, your) viral hearts. And I’m hungry (I wonder if they deliver?)

- Joseph Jaffe is Director of Interactive Media at TBWA\Chiat\Day in New York, where he works with clients including Kmart, ABSOLUT Vodka, Samsonite, Embassy Suites and Cunard. His primary focus is to highlight interactive's value and benefit in meeting his clients' integrated business and branding objectives.