How to create value from digital

Though "tipping point" was the most repeated phrase on the day, no-one suggested this involved digital replacing traditional media. Not even Sony Ericsson’s marketing director, David Hilton, who wants digital to be 40 per cent of his budget and whose talk of "traditional digital media" was not as contradictory as it first sounded. "We’ve got to stop talking about iPads and iPhones, because next year there will be so much better technology out there," Hilton said.

Grant Millar: I worked at BT on the pre-launch of broadband ten years ago and knew it would have transformational power. People thought I was mad but here we are and high-speed broadband has transformed every aspect of the industry. We as an agency have completely re-engineered the way we operate – there are no walls or departments. If you don’t operate like that, you won’t survive.

Daren Rubins: The reason people thought you were mad was nothing to do with broadband! The way digital impacts me most is in talent management – in the old days, you were either a planner or a buyer. Now I talk to digital technicians and social media experts.

David Hilton: For someone who sells mobile phone hardware, digital really is at the heart of our business now. Thirty per cent of all mobile users access the mobile internet, so it’s a massive part of what we do. In 2011, we’re planning to put 40 per cent of our media investment into digital.

DH: Some of our trade customers won’t take your new phones seriously unless we’re spending money on TV. It’s really important that consumers understand what our handsets can offer and digital is the only medium that can do that. I’d love to believe that digital media has a more direct link into sales. But until we can better manage the flow of understanding from offline to online, that’s still a hypothesis.

SH: It depends on the business model, the consumer and the service given. Starbucks has 16 million fans on its Facebook page – if you speak to its global marketing team, that’s the single most important channel it has globally.

DH: The challenge is not thinking it’s another media for placing display banners and MPUs, because even on our greatest smartphone they are insignificant and not something that anyone is going to want to click on. A more immersive media with apps is the way to go.

AH: The big issue is user acceptance. Mobile research asked whether you would be willing to accept advertising on your handset and the answer was uniformly "no", but when asked if it was relevant and timely, the response was positive. Very interesting things are happening in this space. If you look at what Apple did with the launch of iAd – it is taking the creative challenge to advertisers.?SH: It makes me laugh all the times I’ve heard "this is the year of mobile". But we are at a point of massive change. Someone asked me the other day what is Facebook doing for the Olympics and I said, I don’t even know what Facebook is doing next week. Technology is driving change. Ten million people use Facebook on their mobiles in the UK, compared with the 28 million that use the site.

SP: Five years ago Burger King did a test with mobile phones, which sent consumers offers as they walked by our restaurants. We were inundated with complaints – people didn’t want the offers. Look how much has changed. People are now logging on and giving us their inner leg measurements to get vouchers on their iPads. But the whole geo-location thing will change as soon as Facebook launches Places – so, Stephen, when are you launching it?

DR: I hate to agree with Grant but he’s right about Connected TV. If you look where Apple and Google TV are going – the most interesting thing is the relationship between the mobile and the TV screen, both for programme-makers and for advertisers.

Claire Myerscough, business intelligence director at News International Commercial, asks: What kind of digital research is going to be most relevant?

GM: I’d like to see the end of proxy data, where we’re making assumptions based on samples. But consumer data direct from media owners – actual behavioural data that sits around Connected TV and most digital media right now, will allow us to be far more targeted, and make communications far more personalised.

SP: I get these weekly reports from my digital guys. Do I take hours to understand the intricacies of them? No, I don’t. I’d rather see more qualitative data, because the problem with digital is that people are reverting to tick-box research that turns into graphs and percentages but doesn’t give you anything about the consumer. And my job is to be the champion of the consumer in the business and if all I’m getting from agencies is graphs and charts and click-through rates… it means nothing.

DH: We’ve got to stop talking about iPads and iPhones because next year there is will be so much better technology out there.