From Michael Boggs, Account Director, Palio

From nature’s perspective, the crow is one of the most intelligent birds. Part of what makes the crow unique is that they are known to employ tools in order to help forage for food – they use almost anything they come across in the wild. What’s more is that they will take what they find and tailor it to suit their needs – be it sticks, leaves, wires or other things that modern life has put at their disposal. They aren’t born with this skill set, they learn how to use tools over time. The crow’s problem-solving skills are what set them apart from other birds.

And therein lays the correlation to our everyday agency lives. As marketing experts, we also use all of the tools at our disposal to solve problems. But the challenge becomes how to incorporate all of the new tools that technology has put at our disposal.

Take for example some of the new technologies that have been recently developed. Quick Response (QR) codes. Ever hear of them? I’m sure you’ve seen them. They’re little matrix bar codes that can be used for a variety of applications.

In places such as Asia and Europe where they’re more widely used, you might see one on a movie poster. If you thought the movie looked interesting, you could scan the QR code with your Smartphone, which would then direct you to a web site where you could buy a ticket for the next show. Keep an eye out for an upcoming post from our own Chau Ho on this new technology being used as a flexible marketing tool.

The lesson here isn’t that the US is behind the times (which we are when it comes to QR codes), the lesson is that this is an example of a tool that is underutilized and can be put to use for our clients. Could drug reps have QR codes on their business cards that automatically dial the rep’s phone number? Could we provide doctors with a QR code for ordering more co-pay coupons or samples? Scan a QR code on a physician detail piece to visit a microsite for more information?

Here’s another one: How about the ability to serve information to Web site visitors based on where they live? Let’s say you’re promoting a flu drug. The flu and flu season are different if you live in Florida vs. Chicago. In Chicago, flu season could be in full swing in November – accompanied by snow and winter conditions, whereas in the South, flu season might be a bit later in the year while it’s still sunny and warm. The more relevant the content you serve consumers, the more likely they are to think that you can relate to their version of the flu.

The point of all this is that while it’s difficult to keep up with the rapid pace that technology is evolving, we all have a responsibility to both ourselves and our clients to use the tools at our disposal – and to use them in new and innovative ways. Not only will doing so help you do better work for your clients, but it will also help reinforce your agency’s USP. Having said that, I’d be willing to bet that with all of the focus and energy that we’re putting behind technology, we’ll continue to see plenty of educational seminars to learn more about the latest tools.

So be the crow. Look for any opportunity to wisely use the tools around you to help make your clients’ campaigns more effective.