30/05/2020
In this moment, when planned campaigns have been shelved, we’re gaining a renewed appreciation for following our users’ lead.
The typical launch playbook for capturing and creating demand has been thrown out
At Google, we’re quite accustomed to user-first thinking. In fact, “Know the user. Know the magic. Connect the two,” is a mantra that runs deep among our marketing teams. But in this moment, when planned campaigns have been shelved, we’re gaining a renewed appreciation for following our users’ lead.
Like most large marketing organizations, we typically focus on multimedia campaigns built around key moments that define our calendar year. We plan campaigns in support of those moments with a beginning, a middle, and an end in mind. The sequence roughly looks like this: You have a prelaunch period, led by PR; you manufacture an “epic” kickoff, sustained by ongoing (often expensive) high-impact media across paid and owned channels; and you deploy scaled direct-response media to capture demand throughout.