[Photo: Flickr/qthrul]
According to Revolution, the big question brands will be asking agencies at this year's Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival is:
Do you really understand digital marketing?
Not without good reason, they say. The rise of social media platforms like Twitter has left brands exposed to consumer backlash, yet the risk of any brand-led digital campaign backfiring is enormous.
Faced with such risks, I think brands would do better asking agencies what they know about managing online reputation.
It's all very well creating an award-winning promotional campaign, but knowing how it might get perceived by non-target audiences, how to mitigate those risks, and how and when to engage if someone does take offence are equally important.
And that's what I'm hoping agencies can learn from the PR industry's presence at this year's awards.
I'm looking forward to seeing some of the mind-blowing creating coming out of the best advertising, digital, direct marketing and design agencies, but equally hoping in some small way that they - and their clients - might appreciate that digital marketing isn't just about creating something cool and making it go viral. It's about managing the risks and being able to respond quickly if a campaign looks like backfiring too.
