In the early days of Wheel of Fortune there were some letters that were preferred more than others. Why? They occur a lot more in the English language. No place was that more evident than the final round. The contestant was asked to select five consonants and one vowel to help them solve the puzzle. 99% of the time, it was RSTLN E. The producers finally took care of that dilemma. They now provide the letters: RSTLNE, for free. Once those letters are revealed, players then choose three more consonants and one more vowel. At least now the game is a little more challenging and interesting.

What are the most common objectives of a website or interactive strategy or implementation?

R.) It needs to look professional

S.) It needs to be clean.

T.) It needs to be usable.

L.) It needs to reflect our brand.

N.) It needs to be relevant.

E.) It needs to help us generate more revenue.

So, as the producer of your marketing campaign, we're going to assume these objectives to always be true.  So, now we need you to help discover some other objectives that will help us develop a much more interesting, challenging and useful strategy. If you have certain variables that are a "given" you will have a much better chance at producing a final product that has a little more zest and really tugs at the objectives that you're actually trying to reach.

If one thing is lacking above any other in interactive strategy, I would have to say accountability is number one. When the web was in its infancy, interactive agencies took advantage of the mentality that you just needed a site and people would come and you would instantly increase your revenue. Anyone could see this prevalent attitude, however, for whatever reason, these agencies were not held accountable. Ironically, the internet is the one medium where accountability is most easily measured.

But now, the problem is not that we're not measuring. Nor is it that businesses don't try to hold interactive agencies accountable based on those statistics. The problem today is that companies don't want to do what it takes to change business process that will let the web do its job most effectively. The mentality of "if you build it they will come" that was so prevalent in the early years is even stronger now. The only difference is, companies are demanding measurable results while they stifle their agencies ability to reach them.

Interactive agencies are asked to be accountable for measurements that have little to do with their strategy.  The problem is there are so many cool techniques and tools out there, and many companies want it. The internet instigates brainstorming. When you witness a well executed strategy online, visions of grandeur are certain to bubble up inside. You think of how you could have done that better with your company. So you start to plan it out in your head. Soon, you have this well-crafted concept that you just need your agency to implement. The problem is that idea may not fit exactly into the strategy that is already in progress.

Wait. Test it out through time. Write the idea down and forget about it for a couple weeks. Read the concept again and see if you still feel as strongly about it. Pitch ideas to your account rep. Let them take it through their creative channels and see what comes out. Most importantly, don't do something just because everyone else is. Hold on to it. Develop a creative brief that not only keeps your marketing team focused, but one that also keeps you and your agency accountable. Help them help you.

"I'm sorry, we have no mid-size available."
"I don't understand. I made a reservation. Do you have my reservation?"
"Yes we do. Unfortunately, we ran out of cars."
"But the reservation keeps the car here. That's why you have the reservation."
"I know why we have reservations."
"I don't think you do. If you did, I'd have a car. See, you know how to take the reservation. You just don't know how to hold the reservation. Which is really the most important part of the reservation. The holding. Anyone can just take 'em."

Strategy is a lot like a reservation. Strategies are a commodity that everyone touts around selling from company to company. There is great profit in developing a solution over just developing what you're asked. And there is value in that as well. The problem is that we've fallen in love with the strategy so much, that once it's been sold to us, we don't put any accountability in place that allows us to hold on to it.

Creative implementations and witty nuggets of copy and cool new technologies all dance around in our heads, but many companies don't continue to let the strategy they originally developed be the filter for creative concepts that come down the pike.