Digital vs Direct

After "Digital vs Direct" article in campaign and the numerous letters it has spawned, I am still wondering "Is everyone missing the point?"

Yes both are competing and complementary 'channels' depending on use (although the two or three addressable media of traditional DM ill compare with the multitude of possibilities offered by digital). But this is still too comfy an approach: it suggests we all can relax, content that it's just "marketing as usual".

In fact Digital media are more than just a channel choice. Having become an integral part of people's lives, they have changed people's expectations of how they acquire and use information - and how they relate to brands. This affects far more than channel choice - it changes strategic marketing thinking.

This means marketing must be about thinking digitally, not just doing it. Having made this leap, you can then use any channels that serve your end. The work for Dove appears mostly in conventional media. Yet it is, at heart, an interactive campaign. A campaign for a world where messages are debated, not merely consumed.