CIA creates Communications Channel Planning with sister agency Added Value

CIA is claiming a first among media specialists; it has combined its expertise with that of sister brand consultancy agency Added Value to create Communications Channel Planning (CCP) which it said would "revolutionise the industry norm". It is the first time that media and brand resources have been pooled in such a way. CCP regional director Julia Singleton said, "The complimentary skills of a leading brand-growth agency and a leading media channel specialist is a powerful combination and one which no other communications group has harnessed. "The result is a process which forms the essential link from high-ground brand positioning through to communicating the brand using all possible brand contact points - traditional advertising only being one part of the total mix." At the core of CCP is its usage of proprietary tools, systems and processes to give clients a stronger, more impactful campaign than was possible before. Such a complex strategic solution was not needed just five or 10 years ago when media was basically made up of television and print. Today, however, its existence can be justified many times over because of the fragmentation of media and the explosion of brand choice, which engender the need for greater media specialisation. "CIA's Communications Channel Planning is a process that is founded upon compelling consumer insights and involves innovative mechanisms for generating differentiated and positive 'consumer meeting points', which in turn dictate channel priority, tasks and objectives. "This allows each channel to deliver greater consumer and marketplace impact as each element is required to contribute to, and be supported by every other - thereby weeding out inconsistency and inefficiency," Ms Singleton said. Because CCP covers traditional communications channels as well as the new ones thrown up by the New Economy, it allows for more logical channel mix and usage recommendations. One of the lynchpins of CCP is research and CIA is commissioning a major proprietary research study within Asia-Pacific, with the objective of providing a knowledge bank of key insights into channel usage, impact, relevance and brand contact within and across the channels. The research serves to underpin CCP's knowledge and expertise, and represents a more than USdollars 1 million investment in the region. Many might argue that other agencies do this anyway, but Ms Singleton said there was a difference. "All MNC agencies have their own planning processes, but they concentrate upon the message and achieving creative impact and not upon the brand-consumer contact points, which is now the key issue for marketers," he said. "Having impactful and relevant creative work is still important - but if it is delivered in the wrong channel at the wrong time, it really doesn't matter."

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