For the last decade, the main thinking behind multi-channel marketing has been ‘Be (almost) everywhere. Be consistent. Track everything.’

But we’re in a new era with fragmented attention spans, AI-generated content, frequent and unpredictable algorithmic changes, and where audiences move in less predictable paths.

It’s time to rethink multi-channel marketing taking a smarter, 'content intelligence' based approach:

More channels don't mean better reach

You don’t have to be everywhere your audience is.

Presence doesn’t equate with performance. Just because you’re on a channel doesn’t mean its users will engage or interact with you. Spreading content thinly across multiple platforms often leads to bland, ‘one-size-fits-none’ messaging.

Don’t dilute your relevance. Go deep instead of wide. Focus on channels where you’re most likely to get engagement, and tailor your storytelling to best suit the environment.
 

You must harmonise messaging across all channels

You don’t need identical messaging across all platforms.

Consistency can easily become creative laziness. Copying and pasting content across channels strips it of the nuances that makes each space come alive. Don’t use identical voices everywhere, have adaptable ones.

Tap into the different cultures, expectations, languages, and rhythms of each platform.
 

You only need to use attribution to measure ROI per channel

Measuring success through attribution models give us clarity - but often at the cost of truth.

Attribution models make data look ‘clean’, but often give us a false sense of clarity. They tell you what was clicked, not what was felt. Emotional resonance is at least as important as attribution metrics when it comes to the impact of your marketing activity.

So, the ‘attribution’ questions we should be asking should be more along the lines of:

• Where are we shaping opinion?
• Where are we becoming unforgettable?

Because that’s where the real, longer term influence lives (even though it’s often the least trackable)

Don’t just be driven by the ‘numbers’. People still rely heavily on emotions when making decisions.
 

You must optimise content for each channel

AI is blurring the lines between channels.

The idea of rigid channel-specific strategies is starting to fade as AI gets better at repurposing content across formats (e.g. text to video, long-form to short-form, blog to social post). What matters much more now is the core idea behind your content. It’s less about platform management, and more about 'content intelligence'.

Develop strong, adaptable ideas that support your brand and engage with your target audience rather than trying to ‘manage platforms’.
 

You should unify your message and experience across your whole audience

Don’t be frightened of embracing audience fragmentation.

Don’t try to enforce cohesion when audience fragmentation is a feature of our digital lives. Strong engaging ideas that underpin your values can be adapted to suit different audiences. Develop a flexible brand personality rather than creating one brand voice. A bit like having different ‘skins’ in a video game - all part of the same character, just adapted for different players.
 

Rethink your multi-channel marketing

Take a smarter, 'content intelligence' based approach which takes into account the behaviours and technologies that are shaping attention today.

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