A historical perspective on how the balance of power in marketing has shifted away from the traditional advertising agencies to embrace a much more holistic and down-to-earth approach that is championed by customer relationship marketing and a non-traditional approach

1. The History of ‘Above the line’ vs. ‘Below the line ’
(not that it matters in the current marketplace,
except as a frame of reference
for today’s ‘unstrung’
digital universe)
Strategic Creativity

2. In the beginning, in that mindful mecca of marketing - P & G -
there was the . It was the bottom line of the brand manager's annual budget.
Those things 'above the line' were marketing activities considered essential to a brand's
success in the course of a year. Those things 'below the line' were non-
essential, discretionary activities that may or may not be required… depending on…
well, depending on a lot of things.
Let’s look at how the original laws were laid down,
and how they have changed with the
passing of time…

3. Strategy = smart
Tactics = necessary
Say no more
above the line
below the line
TACTICS

4. Marketing was far from
“integrated”. Different
specialties were separated
into different lines of business
above the line
below the line
TACTICS

5. Broadcast vs. Narrowcast?
Cluster bomb vs. sniper?
Collateral damage vs. precision?
above the line
NARROWCAST below the line
TACTICS

6. Hmm… different strokes for
different folks. Rather puts
the cat among the
pigeons, doesn’t it?
the prevailing attitude above the line
NARROWCAST
TACTICS
the prevailing attitude below the line

7. “Knowledge of the world is only
to be acquired in the world - not
in a closet.”
Lord Chesterfield
above the line
NARROWCAST below the line
TACTICS

8. Brands rule! But which
approach is more engaging?
(CLUE: great brands inspire
emotional commitment)
NARROWCAST
TACTICS

9. What has taken place over time is that 'above the line' initiatives have lost much of their
allure - for a lot of reasons, including cost, changing tastes in media, and lack of trust in big
business. Meanwhile, the resourceful folks ‘below the line’ have experimented with all kinds
of innovative, non-traditional ways of reaching customers. The balance of power has shifted.
Accordingly, the 'above the line' folks have become interested in extending business 'below
the line' . However, let's look at what has often happened
when they have tried
to do so...

10. What the *#@!?
You can’t get there
from here?
NARROWCAST
TACTICS

11. There is an unwritten rule that
it’s not possible to go from 'above the line' to 'below the line‘.
Why? Because 'below the line‘ initiatives require a different kind of attitude
- hands-on, project-based, results-focused -
it’s an attitude that’s difficult to embrace once one has tasted the delicious fruit
and agency-of-record budgets 'above the line‘.
However….

12. Movin’ on up. We finally
got a piece of the pie!
NARROWCAST
TACTICS

13. Ahah! It is possible to go
from 'below the line' to 'above the line'.
All it takes is starting from the bottom, letting your clients educate you about
the realities of running a marketing and sales organization, then building on that
educated foundation - broadening your horizons to encompass the larger
perspective that ‘above the line’ responsibilities open up to you.
And never forgetting where you came from.
Actually, in the end, we’re all meeting 'at the line'
today via the new line of communication that is
the . And who do you think is
going to have more skill and understanding to
(Even a monkey knows that!)

14. © Articulate[d] by
Andrew Crighton
127 Kingswood Road
Toronto, Ontario
m4e 3n4
CANADA
ac@iprimate.com