Digital marketing has four distinct marketing objectives. Failing to recognize these differences will lead to ineffective and sub-optimal digital effort.
The four digital program types vary in terms of how connected they are to the offeringfrom augmenting the offering, to supporting the offering, to amplifying marketing programs for the offering to being unconnected to the offering. They also will vary in terms of what aspects of digital are being employed. Ill explore each objective.
1. Augmenting or enabling the offering by extending its value proposition.
Starbucks has an app that allows a speedy purchase, the ability to tip, earn stars to redeem rewards, find stores, find personalized offers and more. Competitors without such an augmentation will be at a disadvantage. When the augmentation is significant, a new subcategory can be created that renders competitors who lack that augmentation irrelevant.
Offering augmentation can create unique must haves that define new subcategories. The result can be strategic, proving a sustainable advantage in the future that will need to be nurtured through ongoing innovation and an aggressive branding strategy with supporting brand-building programs. Augmentation can also be defensive, responding to the innovation of competitors to keep the offering relevant. In either case the staff involved in creating and improving the offeringfrom R&D, design, manufacturing and marketingwill need to partner with the digital team.
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David Aaker is the vice chairman of Prophet and professor emeritus at the Berkeley Haas School of Business. Called the Father of Modern Branding by Phil Kotler, he has published over 120 articles and 18 books, was named one of the top five most important marketing/business gurus in 2007, and has won awards for the best article in the California Management Review and the Journal of Marketing (twice).