The 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing

In this exercise, you will be asked to apply the knowledge you've learned in this section so far and determine how Pillar 1 (Content) relates to the other Pillars.

In this exercise, you will be asked to apply your knowledge of the 7 Pillars from completing the lectures above and create an effective mobile in-app advertising campaign for a company.

Based on everything you've learned on The 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, please answer the following questions. It is recommended to proceed to the next section, only after you've aced this part!

Comprehending Traditional Marketing requires a sense for the history of Marketing. Marketing Communications as an industry has gone through a number of Eras (see chapter discussion on Dimension 7). Marketing has been around in some form or another since essentially the beginning of time. The term – “Communications” – started as far back as the ancient Egyptians, who used hieroglyphic symbols to tell stories and record important data. Ever since human beings could speak, they gathered to hear clan leaders discuss new ideas or traveling merchants pitch their products. Town bazaars and the old Silk Road of the Middle East and Asia reflect the oldest forms of Traditional Pillars 5 (Sales) and 6 (Events).

Traditional Content covers creative writing (i.e. books, screenplays and editorials), promotional copywriting, art, photography (stock and original) for traditional Advertising, radio shows, television shows, movies, sports, music and other forms of live entertainment. In many ways, tP1 is the purest form of creative and artistic expression in the entire 7 Pillars model. Much of it is produced for its own sake, more so than as a marketing vehicle. In fact, the marketing industry has been built and shaped around this creative energy center. 

The Traditional Pillar 2 of Branding pervades all corners of Marketing, including Digital. It is one of the most misunderstood and simultaneously important areas of marketing to “get right” in order to achieve success. Some people view Branding as a straightforward creative process; design a logo, add some taglines and you’re done. While these are indeed elements of Branding, they represent only a small part of the picture. 

Advertising is Pillar 3 in the Traditional sphere and Pillar 4 in Digital. Traditional Advertising (TA) includes television, print, radio and Out of Home (OOH) advertising (i.e. outdoor billboards, bus signage, etc.) In spite of a strong movement towards Online Advertising, TA is far from dead, and in fact as of 2015, still gets a significantly larger slice of the media budget pie. tP3 is here to stay, and is undergoing a renaissance of its own.

Public Relations (PR) is almost a mirror image of its Digital counterpart, Social Media. Both of these monumentally important Pillars have to do with some type of earned media promotion, awareness building and reputation management.

Sales covers a broader array of tasks and specialty areas than what you might imagine. For example, in-store merchandising (i.e. how products are presented and displayed) is a Sales function, which also relates heavily to Branding (tP2). However, this is only the first step of the Sales process. Once a startup company convinces mass merchant buyers to place their new innovation in retail stores, the company then has to develop a Point of Sale (POS) strategy that includes ways to educate store patrons and call attention to the product amidst a sea of other brands. Even with top-notch branding, products rarely, if ever, sell themselves. 

Event Marketing is any pre-planned, live promotional or educational event, appearance or program. This includes trade shows, conferences, seminars, street fairs, concerts, performances, flash mobs and other forms of guerilla or grass roots marketing. Naturally, digital tech has greatly augmented the reach and impact of Event Marketing. This includes supporting features like mobile location-based promotions, live streaming, real- time social media imagery, web product demos, collaborative consumption (i.e. when a group of friends watches an event “together” from separate locations) and webinars. 

Direct Marketing is a low cost method of reaching a particular target audience, relative to most other Traditional Pillars. It is analogous to Email Marketing, which is a subset of CRM (P5) and in general, utilizes a non-media, database driven approach towards targeting potential customers.

Assessment number two... Test your knowledge against what you've learned so in relation to The 7 Pillars of Traditional Marketing. Let's see if you've been paying attention!

The 7 Modes (or Stages) of Marketing or Integrated Marketing represent the 2nd Dimension of the 7 Pillars System. The Modes apply to almost any consulting process or project, and certainly to all of Marketing, both digital and traditional. The Stages can still be referenced when it serves the purpose of a linear project progression, which is possible in very structured operations. The term “Modes” makes more sense as the official designation because “Stages” can (and often do) overlap, take place out of sequential order and be fairly continuous throughout projects.

The Brainstorming Mode involves gathering and generating all types of ideas and information about whatever the vision at hand is, and how this can be attained. This covers research and data gathering from various sources, such as news and industry relevant websites.

Mode 2 is where we develop and lock-in our forward- looking goals and associated budgets. It is closely related to the Financial Angle (see Chapter on Dimension 3, Angles, for details), although it is not at all a purely financial function. Goal-setting can and should be an inspiring and creative process. 

This Mode comes into play when a project is underway. Here, ideas are more well-formed and organized plus areas such as budget and goals are nearly finalized. Now it’s time for more focused research and planning of tactics for the campaign. Some tough decisions need to be made here, as many of the “nice to have” features and ideas are put on the chopping block due to budgetary constraints and/or strategic decisions to focus on more fruitful areas. 

Mode 4 involves HR issues and decisions related to roles within marketing projects and specifically within each Pillar. Mode 4 represents the recruiting, team building, analysis, assignment, incentivizing, management and evaluation of the people involved in the project. From these areas, many questions abound. Who can execute the Strategy? What’s the right mix of people by skill level, location, etc.? How do people and team dynamics impact timelines and ROI? 

Mode 5 refers to the tools and technology that may be utilized to organize, manage and analyze various types of marketing and web development (i.e. Salesforce. com for CRM, Mailchimp for Email, WordPress for website Content Management and Google Adwords for Online Advertising). Picking the right tools, based on project budgets (Mode 2) and the people involved (Mode 4), can save a team hundreds of hours of “wasted,” manual effort, and play a huge role in a campaign’s success.

Execution refers to the actual doing of the tactical work. With people, budgets, tools and strategies in place, Mode 6 is where the rubber meets the road. If Digital Marketing was a sports league, this would be actual game day.

The final Mode, which can take place to some degree throughout the whole marketing process, refers to campaign analysis and recommendation generation for optimization purposes. Analytics can be likened to the human brain, as it is the memory and analytical mind within us. Analytics involve taking an objective look at all of the data and signals throughout the marketing process and across whatever Pillars have been utilized. This Mode is critical to making judgments, revisions and other critical decisions about campaigns. 

When it comes to The 7 Modes, do you know your stuff? Let's see! Dive right in and take the next assessment.

Take the 49er Matrix Assessment to see if you've mastered the concepts that underpin this innovative, 7-dimensional Marketing chess board.

Envision a large Pyramid laying on top of the 49er Matrix grid, the pinnacles of which represents the culmination of digital marketing knowledge. The Angles represent the sides or ways up the Pyramids. Individuals choose to ascend the Pyramid (developing their skills) up one of the main sides or one of the corners. 

Angle 1 is the most popular and diverse within the 7 Pillars ecosystem, naturally because this is a marketing system after all! People who take this primary track generally aren’t programmers or designers. Their value comes through having more of a promotional sense of what needs to be done to build brands and generate leads. They are pure marketers (i.e. strategic thinkers, researchers, media buyers, copywriters and general doers of non-technical marketing tasks). 

The Creative Angle (A2) is represented by the right brain artists amongst us. While creativity is certainly a quality that can permeate all Angles, this area is focused primarily on the audio-visual content that dominates our senses. Certain skills, like writing, bisect, falling under A2 for creative content like fiction and storytelling, and A1 (Marketing Angles) for ad and product description focused copy.

Angle 3 includes programmers, technologists and the overall technical backbone of the Internet. This covers the Internet as well as advanced infrastructure required to support apps (i.e. the cloud and mobile technology). Non-technical marketers should remember and respect the fact that Digital Marketing is made possible by the capabilities of A3s, who built all of the software tools that they use. 

Management (A4), the first of four Sharp Angles, keeps projects together and gives direction to them. It is essential, both as a skill and an overall function in any company, and it is something that needs to be developed throughout a person’s career. It can also be a slippery slope, especially if not developed alongside some “hard” skills (i.e. those of the Flat Angles). Digital Marketing is an open field where many resources are accessible and interchangeable.

Every industry has a strong need for Financial folks. In Digital Marketing, they get to have even stronger powers because of the vast toolbox available to them. This Sharp Angle belongs to the Number Cruncher (MPT1), who spend time mostly in Budgeting (M2) and Analytics (M7) Modes. Beyond pure finance jobs (i.e. Accountants and Financial Analysts) the Financial skill set helps guide projects, and keeps them on track and on budget. 

Yes, lawyers have a place in the 7 Pillars ecosystem, as defenders, interpreters and creators of the laws that govern media and the Internet. It is a vast space, which has confounded governments and legal systems that have been, and largely still are, ill-equipped to deal with such a powerful force of inter-connection and cross-border trade. Think back to Napster and other piracy issues, which are difficult to police and raise all types of ethical questions. How about the NSA, Facebook, Google vs. China and Internet privacy? This is another field of debate that A6 specialists moderate for organizations.

A7 is the realm of the entrepreneurs and venture capitalists seeking to create and control how the Internet runs. New ventures, from players who seek to influence and improve web tools, pop up daily within each Pillar.

Now that you've learned all about Dimension 3: Angles, it's time to take the assessment. Dive right in and see if you've absorbed all the core concepts in this section.

Your career - in business and marketing - is analogous to the journey that aspiring Samurai warriors embark upon as they seek personal truth and mastery of their craft. True progress is not easy. It is elusive, which represent the Levels are symbolized by Pyramids (or Temples), which represent the uphill battle required to raise oneself up. Only the most skillful and perseverant digital martial artist ascends to the top and achieves the vaunted Blue Samurai status.

In general, a newcomer enters the dojo (i.e. the marketing realm) with some core skills (i.e. writing, quantitative, research). However, in marketing terms, he or she is still a pure beginner. The teacher or Sensei’s job, assuming the novice is not being purely self-taught, is to assess these skills and then determine what types of basic building blocks they need to learn in order to complement their transferrable skills.

Yellow Belts are on the cusp between Beginner and Intermediate levels of knowledge. They’ve learned something and have minimal experience of at least 3-6 months. A fast learner without a long track record but who has a knack for Digital Marketing could make the jump to Yellow Belt very quickly.

Orange Belts are marketers with solid experience, typically having been in “the game” for at least two years. As individuals progress in their marketing journey, what they know goes beyond theoretical and has the taste of practical experience and real knowledge. This is the most crowded Level in the industry, along with Green Belt. 

Green Belts are on the verge of being true domain experts, and relative to some, may already be considered as experts. They have enough experience (generally 3-4 years) to manage campaigns independently. At the agency level, Green Belts typically project manage (PM) smaller projects and even do some training for clients or entry level staff (White, Yellow and Orange Belts).

An individual can become a Brown belt in anywhere from 2-5 years, depending on the level of real experience they get on a particular track. Brown belts must have authored at least two tangible ‘successes’ that can be clearly demonstrated and potentially replicated by them.

Black belts are typically sought after industry experts, who frequent conference circuits and lead agencies, as well as digital marketing departments. Anyone truly at this level is more than qualified for some kind of leadership role. Most black belts focus largely on Modes 1-4 (Ideation, ROI, Strategy and People).

Blue Samurais are rare beings. These game-changing entrepreneurs and executives are pure geniuses, proven at the highest levels. Think Bruce Lee, Steve Jobs, Michael Jordan - masters of their craft. Blue belts are the creators of the tech and marketing industries, who understand how to navigate and excel in these worlds better than anyone. 

The Pyramids of Knowledge represent the Samurai’s ascension through the various skill levels of the multi-dimensional, digital marketing universe. This is another dynamic infographic-like tool which can be applied in a number of ways, for example to evaluate individuals, teams, products and campaigns.

In the 7 Levels Quiz, you'll be tested on the knowledge you've learned so far in relation to the different levels of difficulty and skill that relate to both marketers themselves and the tasks associated with their roles. Let's get started!

Markets (D5) include the vast field of the segmentation and targeting of various audiences amidst the global marketplace (i.e. essentially the 7+ billion people that we currently have on Planet Earth). Unless you are Coca-Cola, you cannot target the whole world. 

Great marketing transcends industry-specific nuances. If you are a strong media buyer or copywriter in Healthcare for example, you should be able to port that skill set over to a Financial Services account. 7 Pillars best practices are generally agnostic and hold their value across the board.

In simplest terms, D7 (Time) can be broken down into Past, Present and Future. It’s easy to forget that today’s most indispensable tools didn’t exist until fairly recently. Before 2010, most people didn’t have smartphones and mobile apps. The Internet itself is less than 25 years old! Every 5 years is like an entirely new Era, with new players, rules and requisite survival skills. Change is constant and the pace of it is ever-increasing. As marketers, D7 helps us organize our goals, teams, campaigns and knowledge base around specific periods of time, be it quarterly, annually or multi-yearly.

In this assessment, we'll take a look at Dimension 5: Markets, Dimension 6: Industries and Dimension 7: Time (Eras) and test you against what you've been thought in this section. Good luck!

One of the keys to success in life, and for one to achieve happiness, is knowing who you are. The same goes for your marketing career. The Marketing Personality Types (MPTs) represent a subset of Mode 4 (People). From over twenty years of working with all types of characters, I have distilled the archetypes down to, you guessed it, 7 distinct MPTs. 

A close relative of ROI (Mode 2) and Financial (Angle 6), the Number Cruncher (NC) views the business world through the lens of Excel spreadsheets. Every marketing team needs at least one math and/or coding whiz to bring a quantitative perspective to the table. NCs bring an unbiased, scientific mentality to the evaluation of marketing campaigns, evaluating tactics on their ROI and not their cool factor. 

As a close relative of Brainstorming (Mode 1), Strategy (Mode 3), Business Intelligence (Core Principle 5) and Research (Angle 4), the Information Gatherer (IG) believes in the power of data. They are the fastest and most dynamic web crawlers around, and seem to know how to find information that the rest of us didn’t think was possible to locate. 

The Hunter is actually rooted in one of the Traditional Pillars (tP5 Sales) and reflects a character that is aggressive, proactive and interactive. Good hunters know how to go out and engage decision makers, and convince them to decide in their favor. 

While Hunters bring in the catch of the day, Farmers have to prepare it for the feast. Closely related to the Management Angle (A5), Farmers do just that, manage projects. Good Farmers are generally well-grounded, low key, detail oriented and risk averse.

The Idea Man or Woman (IM or IW) is a spark plug and source of creative energy that shines in the early stages of a project, and Mode 1 (Brainstorming). They can be zany, charismatic characters and potentially company leaders (i.e. aspiring visionaries).

Nike’s “Just Do It” is the motto of the Doer, an action- oriented character who likes to live in Mode 6 (Execution). This type is the most resourceful and is not afraid to learn new things. The Doer is a workhorse, who is not particularly fond of meetings, hierarchy and bureaucracy. They just want to know their tasks, and be given the space to do them in peace. They are not satisfied until things are done and done well. 

The Visionary is the most evolved of all MPTs. They always seem one step ahead of the game. Their clear-sighted comprehension of particular business problems and optimal solutions, when matched by an ability to articulate that vision, yields unparalleled potential. They see the big picture better than anyone, and while well aware of their necessity, rarely fret about the details.

While identifying your major and minor MPT, it is also important to know if you are an “Early Bird” or a “Night Owl.” If you are the type of person who wakes up at the crack of dawn to attack the day, you’re probably an Early Bird. You’re most productive and at your sharpest in the beginning of the day.

In this final assessment, see if you can get a perfect score and finish strong while we examine you on your Marketing Personality Type (MPT) knowledge. Let's go!

As we conclude the 7 Pillars course, it’s time to put what you’ve learned into practice! This is not a theoretical framework, but an actionable, practical guide to marketing that can be applied by and for individuals, companies, campaigns, websites, marketing plans and budgets. I leave you with four quick tips, to aid your path towards marketing excellence. 

Learn more about Arman Rousta, Blueliner CEO and creator of The 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing.