It’s actually not a whole lot of fun being a CMO these days.

Trust me it was far easier in the Mad Man days. That was in the ‘pre digital’ media world when you only had to make a short series of decisions to support your brand like how much TV to buy and when to use Print, Radio or Outdoor.

And it was still not that complicated when the era of ‘integrated marketing’ ushered in the idea of creating a powerful and coordinated brand appeal not just via adverting but across all marketing mediums including, Promotions, PR, Direct Marketing and Event Marketing.

Digital media certainly changed all that. Now for the first time the end user controls what brand message they want, when and in what way. This was tough enough when the medium was a web site but how the heck do you evaluate the real worth of social mediums and returns on apps and mobile investments? You are a click or swipe away from being an instant success or easily forgotten.

Well I have some advice. The change of control of marketing to the end user is such a major sea change in this whole discussion that now is the time to really stop and work on a blank sheet. It really is of no use to continue to measure and evaluate everything based on the previous disciplines.

Three tips of how to best start to navigate through the decisions…

1. Put all the media and execution decisions aside for now.

It is not about which media or what vehicle…video etc. That comes later

2. Think strategically not executionally.

Sit back, clear your mind of tactics and ponder the basic strategic questions… What do I have to do to what people and when to get your brand to take off fast? It maybe as simple as getting my current base of brand users to buy twice as often over the next year or as complicated as creating a brand appeal that will ‘open the door’ of the CEO of the Fortune 100 prospects for our company sales folk. Whatever it is, the more real and clear it is the better.

3. Disregard convention

Now that you have a clear and simple statement of what it is you need to do to whom and when then, seek out and find the very best means to achieve your brand goals. DO NOT fall into the trap of going back to marketing convention and trying to fit your goals into a medium. Now you can fit the medium to your goals.