The constant need to innovate

Ian Milner, of Iris, was recently quoted in Marketing Week as saying that the direct marketing industry is “stuck in a rut doing paper-based direct mail”, while digital has been “going through the roof”.

He adds: “The direct marketing industry is so conservative and that has stopped it innovating. In theory, direct should be leading the evolution of digital. If practitioners could just apply some of their skills to more areas and be more entrepreneurial then direct marketing would be the key player in making integration work. But their attitude doesn’t allow that to happen.”

There’s alot of truth in this. The usual excuses are that time and budgets are now so limited that agencies are sticking to formulaic solutions. But these are now dated and not generating the levels of response they used to.

Digital marketing is direct marketing using a different channel. But so many agencies haven’t invested in bringing in the talent they need to create new innovative digital solutions. Those of us that have are the ones that are going to succeed and prosper in the next decade.