You are the room you are in

This week in Marketing Matters, we take a lesson from the Mad Men of Madison Avenue, exploring a theme that comes up several times throughout the seasons and is applicable today for marketing practitioners. I hope you enjoy it. If you find this valuable, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a note with your thoughts.

Growing up as a student of marketing and spending so much time working in and around the advertising field, the show Mad Men immediately drew me in. There was so much nostalgia, superb writing, acting, directing, and scenes that you can never forget. (Mind you, plenty of behaviors and norms were far from ideal; fortunately, some progress has been made with a lot more needed).

Those scenes that stick with you?often?do so because of the built-up drama and conflict that suddenly comes to a head between characters. In?later seasons, after you've formed more profound connections with characters, some of the most?powerful?scenes come from personal moments and deep reflections where you see characters evolve and become more complex.?

Lately, I've been thinking about two of those scenes that tie to a similar theme but from two very different?perspectives—almost?opposite perspectives.?Not only were they powerful moments in the show, but I've been thinking of them because they play out in today's advertising and marketing worlds in so many different aspects, ranging from the more philosophical to quite tactical.?

Secrets Revealed

The first scene that comes to mind is?of?the conflict coming to a head variety. It takes place towards the end of season one when Pete Campbell tries to leverage information he has learned about Don's past to extort a promotion from him. Don calls his bluff, and they both walk into Bert Cooper's office (of course, after taking off their shoes).? After a brief conversation, Pete shares that Don is actually Dick Whitman and that he may be a war deserter or even worse.?

Unphased, Bert responds,

"Mr. Campbell, who cares…. The Japanese have a saying: A man is whatever room he is in.?And right now, Donald Draper is in this room. I assure you. There is no profit in forgetting this!"

Thinking evolved

Several seasons later, another critical moment plays on this same theme but with some evolved thinking. This one is much more reflective, with Don contemplating his life and all his choices. During this voiceover, we hear Don say,

"When a man walks into a room, he brings his whole life?with him. He has a million reasons for being there. Just ask him. If you listen, he will tell you how he got there."

This begs the question, are you the room?that?you are in here and now, or are you the sum of all those experiences?that brought?you?into that room?

Parallels with the ad world today

These two competing life philosophies also parallel differing strategies and tactics in today's advertising world, which is far more complex, fragmented, and data-driven than what existed during the?heyday?of Mad Men's Madison Avenue.?

For example:

Knowing your customers:?Effective marketing begins with having a deep understanding of your customers and prospects so that you can deliver products and services to meet their needs and communicate in authentic, relevant ways to capture attention.? If you are in Bert's school of thought, what's most important is who that customer is now and what they are thinking about. ?These insights can be derived by knowing where those customers are physically or digitally. Questions they may be asking live or via search. ?Or if you have a direct relationship with that customer, how?they have?interacted with you in the past.

While Don's point of view is that a person is the sum of all their experiences, not just who they are when?they are?interacting with you as a brand. This perspective requires a deeper understanding of your customers, how they engage and shop with you as a brand, and how they engage with your competitors, extending beyond even the categories or channels in which you compete.? This more holistic view leverages direct insights complemented by 3rd party insights and data collaboration.??

Reaching your customer:?Similar to knowing your customer, Bert's philosophy can be achieved using targeting tools such as contextual intelligence to reach your customers based on the room they are in?at the moment. This can be achieved in the physical world by engaging in OOH or in-store merchandising and advertising.?It can also be?achieved?digitally using contextual targeting to understand and place ads based on the?content consumed at the moment.??

Bert's approach to targeting and ad delivery?also plays?out in the exploding world of retail media.? The room you are in is inside the walls of the retailer, the retailer's websites, and apps, or leveraging insights that the retailer knows about you offsite out in the broader ad ecosystem. This approach taps into the here and now of a customer. It can be invaluable to the retailer but not always as helpful to the advertised brand because it's not a comprehensive representation of the customer.? ??

For that broader view of a customer and ability to target and reach consumers based on all those past experiences and purchase behaviors, and that more holistic view, we look towards audience targeting built with data from multiple sources that have all the applicable permissions and use rights.? For example, it can be derived from purchases across hundreds of retailers rather than using purchase behaviors to determine relevance from a single retailer. This resembles Don's view of having "a million reasons for being there."? Consumers shop across various channels and retailers for many categories, particularly fast-moving goods and frequently purchased categories.? Without that cross-retailer lens, it's easy to misinterpret behaviors and miss relevant consumers, oversaturate your audience, or deliver creative that does not resonate.

So, what approach is better?? Is it the room you are in or the sum of all the experiences?

Earlier this year, during the Brand Innovators Future of Commerce Summit in NYC, I explored this topic, among many others, with a true expert in the field, Beth Ann Kaminkow ,?Global Chief Commerce?Officer, CEO New?York, VML

I'd encourage you to watch the entire conversation, but I suspect you will come to the same conclusion:?both approaches have unique values and benefits. The trick is finding the right balance for your particular needs and leveraging the best tools to help you achieve those goals.