What is Responsive Marketing?

Learn the fundamentals that underpin a cutting-edge marketing technique.

4 minute read.
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Table of Contents
  1. What is responsive marketing
  2. Advantages and disadvantages of responsive marketing
  3. Channels for responsive marketing

What is responsive marketing?

Responsive marketing is often done through digital channels.
Responsive marketing is often done through digital channels. Image source


Responsive marketing aims to combine the strengths of traditional, planned marketing with real-time marketing. Responsive marketing involves planning future marketing campaigns around events expected to occur in the future, while simultaneously being attentive to current consumer trends as they change towards the selected future event.

Responsive marketing sacrifices the short-term agility of real-time marketing for long-term gains that you can attain from incorporating planning into your marketing campaigns. Content Marketing Institute, however, notes that high proficiency in responsive marketing can be a prerequisite to a successful real-time marketing campaign. 

Advantages and disadvantages of responsive marketing

Here are some of the advantages of responsive marketing, including how you can maximize these advantages:

  1. Higher quality campaign - since the campaign is developed long in advance, there is more time to gather data about the real-time context of the market. The real-time context can only shape your campaign if you have enough time formulating your marketing campaign.

Gathering a real-time context of your target market involves using an integrated system that processes the data and gives you the important metrics and KPIs. There are several sources of data that you can use:

You can learn more about it by reviewing one of our previous articles about data analysis: Data Analysis 101: Steps in Conducting Data Analysis 

  1. Fiascos are prevented or minimized - since there is more time to polish the campaign, there is also more time to ensure that it won’t be in bad taste nor run afoul of a significant portion of the population. To do so, the opinion of a diverse group of people would be helpful. However, note that if your marketing team has enough diversity, it may suffice in ensuring these fiascos are prevented or minimized.

When we say diversity, it simply refers to a diversity in perspectives. A diversity of perspectives can see what’s wrong with this hastily-prepared campaign during Hurricane Sandy:

Imagine a company trying to entice you with a sale while trying to evacuate during a strong hurricane.
Imagine a company trying to entice you with a sale while trying to evacuate during a strong hurricane. Image source


  1. Longevity - planned marketing campaigns can be primed for longevity that lasts beyond the immediate target event. Real-time marketing campaigns are primed for immediate returns, so they are often designed for the target event only. Campaigns designed through responsive marketing can also be designed to “ripple” through the media after the event - whether through traditional media or through social media. It is not necessarily uncommon to see old ads resurfacing years after the event has occurred.

Responsive marketing has disadvantages:

Channels for responsive marketing

Social media is especially powerful in growing and killing trends.
Social media is especially powerful in growing and killing trends. Image source


The digital channels used for real-time marketing are also employed for responsive marketing, as they allow quick deployment of marketing materials during a campaign. The main channel for responsive marketing is social media. There are several advantages to using social media with respect to responsive marketing. As it can include a length discussion worthy of another article, we will highlight the most important ones below:

Summary

Responsive marketing aims to combine the strengths of traditional, planned marketing with real-time marketing. Responsive marketing involves planning future marketing campaigns around events expected to occur in the future, while simultaneously being attentive to current consumer trends as they gear towards the selected future event.

The advantages of responsive online marketing are as follows:

While the disadvantages are as follows:

The main channel for responsive marketing is social media. Some of the advantages are as follows:

Resources

https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/marketing-whats-the-difference-between-real-time-responsive-marketing/

https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/04/real-time-marketing-wont-work

https://www.rocket-creative.com/responsive-marketing/

https://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2013/05/responsive.html

https://www.capgemini.com/2020/06/responsive-marketing/

https://glean.info/how-responsive-marketing-can-outperform-real-time-marketing/

https://www.digitaldoughnut.com/articles/2016/october/emptydesk-why-a-responsive-marketing-campaign-w

https://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2014/07/responsive-realtime.html