When digital advertising feels like a complex recipe, bake in the essentials and keep your goal in sight

Just like a fiddly recipe with lots of ingredients - looking at you Ottolenghi - digital advertising can feel pretty complex. There’s a lot to weigh up when it comes to the choice of online channels, measurement options, programmatic capabilities, personalisation and… the list goes on. It’s no wonder that advertisers sometimes feel overwhelmed by it all.  

When that happens, remember that the core principles of marketing apply just as much online as they do offline. If you bake in the essentials and remember to keep your campaign goals in sight, you’re halfway there.

So what exactly do we mean when we say ‘the essentials’? Putting the 4 Ps of marketing at the heart of your planning; remembering the brand building wisdom of Byron Sharp; defining and leaning into your USPs; and ensuring your KPIs are clear and measurable from the get-go are all fundamental for any advertising - regardless of the platform on which it runs.

To put it simply, digital advertising just gives you a broader array of tools to bring your brand message to life. Whether you’re harnessing video display ads, tapping into a podcast partnership, or going large with digital out-of-home, keep the core principles of good marketing at the heart of your work in order to deliver.
Just look at some of the campaigns that have achieved Joy of Digital Awards over the past year (think Star Baker but for digital advertising). Cadbury utilised AI and a range of eye-catching digital ad formats to involve its audience in 200th anniversary celebrations, but the campaign remained rooted in its core principle - sharing joy.

Or OVO Energy, which worked with Amazon Alexa on an actionable audio campaign that drew on live National Grid data to communicate when devices should take a power nap. It was a really clever and engaging campaign that utlised real-time data to stand out, but it was fundamentally an extension of OVO’s values - providing useful, clear and timely advice on how to save energy.

By baking in the essentials of marketing, defining your campaign goals at the outset and keeping them in sight throughout the process, you can utilise digital advertising to bring your brand message to life in attention-grabbing and meaningful ways. Now that deserves a Hollywood handshake.