Dr Jonathan Deacon, from the University of South Wales, asks whether businesses are really making the most of the marketing opportunities presented by new, online technologies...

On Thursday, April 21, I’ll be speaking at the Online Influence conference in Cardiff, where I’ll be alongside speakers from Google, Buzzfeed, Unilever and Hootsuite.

All of us will be sharing our ideas about the digital world of business and how businesses in Wales can use the digital landscape to reach new customers and develop new products and services.

However, for me, the digital world opens up so many new ways to use old marketing ideas.

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It strikes me that the digital world, and the warriors who lead most of it, have, to some extent, forgotten that not everyone is a ‘digital native’, completely at home with both the technology and the terminology.

I also know that not all firms are ready to embrace the digital world and indeed for some businesses it would be a disaster if they tried! Rather controversially, I’ll mention in my talk to the conference that in some ways, digital marketing has moved too far from the simple rules of business – that is - having a product or service which someone wants, which they are prepared to exchange hard cash for and, most of all, knowing who these people are.

As business becomes ever more automated, it becomes ever more reliant upon data of some sort, and I question whether we are in danger of losing our ability to be creative and instinctive.

There is a lot of chatter about that talks about ‘digital entrepreneurs’ and yes, there are some really smart people out there adapting and applying technology in very interesting ways…but are they creative in the true sense of the term? Have we become too reliant upon ‘Google search’ for ideas? I guess the question for marketers is: are the new technologies helping marketers to become more creative or can they sometimes get in the way? In reality, of course, technology should be an enabler for great marketing to take place, a catalyst for firms to create better relationships with customers and a conduit through which stories can be told.

So what will I be talking about at Oi 2016? Well, I’ll be talking about the secret ingredient for a prefect digital marketing formula…storytelling. More specifically; transmedia storytelling.

Stories appeal to everyone…and the ways in which we can tell our ‘brand story’ is continually morphing, embracing a wider range of digital media to enable even more richness and interaction with and around our brand. I’ll be mixing literature with ‘pop’ culture and adding a dash of marketing creativity to introduce and explore more fully the concept of transmedia storytelling. I’ll also explain how, as business or brand owners, we may have to relinquish control and let the audience interpret, modify and share our story via their social platforms. It’s an old marketing idea but enabled and energised by new technology.

For information and tickets to Online Influence 2016 visit www.onlineinfluence.net.