“The higher the level of engagement, the more valuable this is for a brand“, says Robert van Geenhuizen. He is working at the Dutch agency Rogenica. I find out about Robert’s marketing blog thanks to the valuable infographic “Engagement vs. Interruption Marketing” created by him. I agree with his statements on engagement marketing (it’s the future of the brand communications) and that’s why I was curious to invite him for an interview.

Here is our conversation:

Petya: Although some companies have embraced social media, they are still acting antisocially. What’s the key of engagement marketing?

Robert: Most companies still think in the old traditional communication and marketing patterns. For years, the key to a successful business was interrupting with your message as many people as possible. The more people you asked for attention, the more got interested in the product, the more people desired to take action and buy the product. The AIDA model was the only model that worked and many brands where build with it. It worked great because there where only a few media channels. Reaching the right people was just about who had the biggest bag of money to buy the most media space (TV or Radio commercials, Magazine or newspaper ads). The biggest mistake that companies made these days is that they just see social media as another way to interrupt as many people as possible. They use it as just another channel.

That’s why engagement is important and will be even more important for the success of the brands in the future. But engagement isn’t a replacement of interruption. For some things it is still fine to interrupt people with your messages. But the main rule is to never undermine the long-term strategy. Marketing is a sufficient condition for success, but engagement marketing has become a prerequisite condition for success. But engagement starts with interacting with just a few people (not reaching as many people as possible), getting them involved, getting intimate with them and making them influential. And then you end up  engaging with a large group of people. This is where the value starts. With interruption it stops at this point, because the action (a sale) has been achieved. To successfully create engagement you need to understand the goals, to work multidisciplinary, to understand the behavior economics and to measure your goals in a completely different way.

Petya: How brands can change their marketing behavior?

Robert: Brands should start to believe in the fact that ‘creation power’ is your greatest asset. Traditionally, power was about having more money. It bought you the most media space, distribution channels and contracts. Now this isn’t enough anymore. You nee to be creative to stay in the game. Make innovation an important part of your business. Not only innovate your products, but innovate the way you design them, they way you work etc. Innovate everything all the time. Charles Darwin ones said: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” So you better innovate and be a leader in your field or you have to follow. In the end, it’s just not enough anymore to believe that money can buy you success.

Petya: What are the characteristics of an engaging brand?

Robert: An engaged brand is more innovative, is more focused on the long-term, is more transparent and is more sustainable. You can measure the level of engagement by the 4 i’s: Involvement, Interaction, Intimacy and Influence.

Petya: What marketing tip can be given to the brands of 21st century?