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The last thing I want is for a local business to close its doors. Seeing my community’s economy thrive is my number one goal as an advertising account executive. By working directly with businesses to grow web traffic, foot traffic and overall brand awareness, I do just that.

I’ve been doing this for a solid decade (and then some), and I’ve seen the advertising channels and tactics grow, shift and change – but that doesn’t change my main goal. It shouldn’t change yours, either. The key to an ever-evolving advertising landscape isn’t to switch from one tactic to the next, but to find ways to fit all the puzzle pieces together to have them coexist to make one big picture. Trust me – it can be done! Here’s how.

People are everywhere – all at once. They’re online. They’re watching TV. They’re watching online TV. They’re online while they’re watching TV.

We live in a multichannel world where people aren’t choosing one option over another, they’re just finding ways to adapt and become multichannel, cord-stacking households. To prove it, my colleagues have been sharing stats in various blog posts such as:

• 65% of households with over-the-top viewing devices still have pay TV subscriptions.
• Households with kids are 38% more likely to stream via connected TV compared to households without children.
• Video dominates across all demographics, with live TV making up two-thirds of daily video consumption.
• More than 91% of internet users are expected to use a second screen while watching TV this year.

People are finding ways to make all their media channels coexist – and businesses can do the same. By examining your current media mix and determining how to best reallocate or grow your ad spend to reach your target audience, you’ll create a strategy where all of your ads work together in one ecosystem.

For example, I always like to sit down with my customers and compare their connected TV network placement with their TV ad network placement. Connected TV (CTV) advertising provides us with exact completion rates based on networks, so by leveraging that measurable data, we can make better TV ad placement decisions.

So, if CTV numbers show that ESPN streaming is favoring your ad, then we should be hooking you up with advertising during live sports on network TV, as well.

When it comes to messaging across platforms or channels, advertisers need to think about how the audience is digesting each message – and how they should feel after seeing the ad. During your creative discovery ask questions such as:

• Do we want people to redeem an offer?
• Do we want people to request more information?
• Do we want them to call?
• Do we want them to simply know that we exist?

Asking these questions will give you answers about what exactly you want to accomplish piece by piece – and help you tailor your call to action to reach your desired outcome for the big picture.