Something I often talk about on here is that while we promote digital marketing, it doesn’t have to replace ‘traditional’ or ‘physical’ marketing. In fact, I’d probably argue that a brand that goes out of their way to reward or interact with you in the physical world has a bigger chance of making an impact by bucking the trend. In his CIM Digital talk, Kieran Kilmartin compares this to an e-Christmas card versus a handwritten one: which one do you value more?

Having said that of course, the ideal situation is for the two to engage fluidly: they have to feed into each other and feel part of the same brand. With the rise of augmented reality I think we are going to see an increasing amount of interesting interactions between the digital and physical world of marketing that goes beyond games.

Kieran Kilmartin says that people are asking for more interactivity – but not just any kind. It has to be relevant, timely, and using the latest technologies. You can successfully do this by accruing enough contextual data to build a real view of your audience.

But really the key is effort. Effort is key to engagement. How can you go the extra mile for your customers?