David Trewern

I’m discovering the digital universe is a big place where advertisers and users interests can clash.

The expansive digital universe

In July this year the business I founded 11 years ago, DTDigital, moved in with and formalised a partnership with a global digital marketing powerhouse, Ogilvy Interactive Worldwide.

This has given me a unique opportunity to survey the digital landscape and to better integrate the disciplines practised by each business, which include:

DTDigital: Web presence (strategy, design and build of sophisticated websites).

Ogilvy Interactive: Broader digital marketing (including email, mobile, viral, point of sale, online media, etc).

The two businesses overlap but each has a very different skill-set and focus. It has been interesting to see just how different (but equally valuable) the two worlds are.

Web presence is the specialty of DTDigital. By its very nature this work is sometimes the antithesis of advertising.

For websites to be most effective they need to first and foremost empower the end user. Sometimes this means marketing objectives need to take a back seat.

More than a billion Google searches each day suggest there are a lot of people actively seeking products and services online. The first objective of many websites should be to be easily found, accessible and to provide the content and functionality that users are seeking.

In contrast, digital marketing is about taking messages to consumers and creating demand for products and services. Sometimes marketing is perfectly aligned with the goals of consumers, and sometimes it is not.

It is my belief that marketing is substantially responsible for the economic success of our modern world. Rightly or wrongly, much of our goals and dreams are connected to lifestyle ideals, brands, and products that have been created and reinforced by marketing. These dreams inspire us to work hard and produce; demand for goods and services creates and sustains businesses that employ the population.

Digital marketing is an art form unto itself. And it is a complicated and ever-changing business. It encompasses email marketing, viral campaigns, SEO and SEM, digital media, sponsorship, affiliate programs and content syndication. Rapidly rising up through the ranks we have mobile, social network and online video marketing. Traditional advertising and media is changing at a rapid pace.

The digital universe and all that it entails is a big place, and it will continue to expand for decades to come. Within this universe are many different disciplines and the opportunity for brands is to harness all aspects, driven by a true ‘360 degree’ communications and IT strategy.

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