Creating a positive customer experience and translating it into a solid optimization strategy is more attainable than ever -- if you have an open mind and a forward-looking strategy on hand.

It was with some reluctance that I decided to start yet another segment of an article about media planning by saying, "the medium is the message." Still, this incredibly prescient adage graces my daily musings on the current state of media planning and strategy.

This statement has become so relevant that at the iBreakfast in NYC this past summer, I made the claim, "the media department is the new creative department" (I am going to pay for that one). The various channels with which a media strategist can deploy communications have become so great, and the visceral connections that can be created between human beings so powerful, I feel we need a new name for the media planner. The interactive industry has become mature to the point that we need to begin calling media planners what they have become: experience planners.

You may say to yourself, "The title, Experience Planner, sounds like it's suited for an interface developer or another competency not typically found in the media department of an agency." I would strongly disagree with this sentiment and ask you to consider the following scenario:

Your client comes to you with the usual two goals for an upcoming initiative

• increase sales
• build brand awareness and loyalty

For the media planner who does not take all media vehicles into consideration, this is almost impossible. The Experience Planner, on the other hand, will be ready and armed to conquer this task.

Let's say your client is Sears and they have goals of providing superior customer service while improving their multichannel retail capabilities. A typical banner buy alone may not accomplish all of these goals (even if rich media is used).

While the Media Planner sits sweating in his cubicle trying to solve this puzzle, our hero the Experience Planner emerges from his office with the following idea:

"Let's create an in-banner virtual world that is only served when the local Sears in the area is open. Strict geo-targeting will be necessary, but that is a cinch. Let's create our virtual world to be a replica of an actual Sears and populate the virtual store with images of products that are derived from a live XML feed based on the store's inventory. Let's then ask Sears' employees to login to that same virtual world and be prepared to answer questions when they are not helping customers in the real world. Coupon information can be sent via SMS to a consumer's mobile phone with further incentive to buy."

I admit it -- this type of experience is complex and will be painstakingly difficult to execute, but ask yourself, "how important is a positive consumer experience?"

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