So yesterday I went to the presentation of Hall & Partners’ ‘The Big Digital Experiment’, which promised to “get under the skin of what consumers really think” about digital.

Except that it didn’t quite do that. They did a shedload of in-depth research all about consumer perceptions of online advertising (banners, MPUs & microsites), which is all well and good, except that it’s a very small piece of the digital pie. So to then say that the vast majority of digital communication is focused on direct response and lacking in creativity, is a bit like only trying plain biscuits and saying that all confectionary is crap.

And a slightly sweeping conclusion to observe that digital communication isn’t being used very effectively for brand-building, without having looked beyond straightforward advertising to see how brands are using digital to engage with consumers.

You would have thought that a research piece called ‘The Big Digital Experiment’ would have drawn out the fairly obvious point that online advertising ≠ digital communication, no?