In the past couple of years, a lot has been written about the evolution of media. If you haven’t been living under a rock, you know that social media has changed the way agencies conduct business. Traditional means of communicating a client’s message are no longer effective. In today’s new media landscape, where the consumer has more choices and more control, the days of pushing a sales message or talking at the consumer are over. And MTC has witnessed first-hand the effect this phenomenon has had on our clients and their businesses.

As an agency that specialized in real estate, we were highly effective at developing media solutions that met our clients’ needs. As with most niche categories, the industry dictated the media – in our case, primarily traditional real estate search publications and Internet Listing Sites (ILSs). The media plan just kind of wrote itself. However, with the current state of the economy and implosion of the real estate industry, it’s no longer “business as usual.” A complex purchase decision has become even more difficult, and the process has grown, longer and less linear. These changes in our target consumer’s mindset and behavior, as well as the agency’s pursuit of new business categories like education, energy and health care, have required us to re-evaluate not just our marketing process as an agency, but also the way we approach media planning and buying.

Once focused primarily on tactics and execution, we have shifted our perspective to concentrate on strategy. The evolution in how we approach our clients’ business led us to rethink how we view ourselves as a department, and “media” just didn’t seem to fully capture the depth and breadth of the role we play, not just in the agency but in the overall advertising process. We build relationships between consumers and brands. It’s about connecting, interacting and influencing. Simply, it’s about engagement, and the new Merrick Towle Engagement Department is fluent in all forms – from traditional awareness vehicles that ignite the conversation to digital and social platforms. We create an experience for the consumer and allow them to engage in dialogue with the brand, leading to the creation of brand advocates and ultimately, increased sales for our clients. We develop plans that are designed not only to deliver on the client’s goals, but also to provide value to the consumer when and where it will have the most impact. We don’t buy ads – we build relationships.

By Donna Hodge, Director of Engagement dhodge@merricktowle.com