Digital Marketing or Marketing in a Digital Era?

In an interview with Michael Aidan, head of digital & VP digital brand platforms (mission of leveraging the digital opportunity in some divisions of the Group) at Group Danone S.A., he argues that what they do is marketing in a Digital Era, not Digital marketing:

For Danone marketing has not changed because they continue with the basics of understanding a consumer and developing and conveying the right offer at the right time. Then for them it is not digital marketing, is marketing in a digital era.

But it is also true that the digital era has introduced several opportunities and a need of change:

• For them the digital era has offered greater precision. In the past they were, through surveys to groups of customers, developing an idea about what the average person wanted and then, they focused the marketing (advertising, design, channels…) to serve this average person. Now, with technology, they are able to isolate customers and they can develop the individual targeted offer or message and reach the customer through their chosen media.
• For them it has also changed the way they create ads. In the past, they advertised to a captive audience that was watching tv or listening radio. Nowadays, with internet, the customers decides if he wants to watch the add or not, and therefore, they need to develop more emotional stories to attract the customer interest, being the content more important than in the past. He states that now is more about seduction, not repetition.

In conclusion, for Michael Aidan the Digital era has not changed the essence of marketing but it has offered several opportunities that must be leveraged.

Source: Forbes.com,  Group Danone: Not Digital Marketing, but Marketin in a Digital Era