IA Hearts DM

IA Tim Ostler Drawing on DM Digital Marketing

IA “ DM \"Advertising isn't a science, it's persuasion. Text Text And persuasion is an art.\" Text - Bill Bernbach Digital marketing sites tend to be overlooked at IA conferences. Given that their sole purpose is promotion, it's easy to see why many people might not consider them a suitable object of interest for serious IAs. I disagree. In this talk I am going to look at what makes digital marketing sites different from other sites, why theyʼre interesting, and how IAs can help. I believe that we have as much to contribute to these as to more traditional sites, although the rules are different - and we might have to extend our concept of what an IA does.

IA DM Site Map IA Hear(t)s DM Introduction What is Digital Marketing? Text What’s different about DM? Text Text What can IA do for DM? A more strategic view Conclusion This talk is called IA Hearts DM in homage to Milton Glaserʼs celebrated campaign for New York, commonly pronounced I Heart NY. Glaserʼs work demonstrated how marketing can be high art, and can be memorable. But as Heart is not an English verb it was understandably misinterpreted by the organizers as IA Hears DM, and this is not totally inappropriate, as may become clear later on.

1 /7 IA Introduction DM

IA DM An IA? In an ad agency? Promotional image Text Text Text Lorem Instructional Instructional Instructional text A text B text C logo But ﬁrst, something about myself. I work as a Senior IA for Tribal DDB London. Although our identity as a company is very separate, we are part of DDB, one of the largest advertising networks in the world. Our major clients in the UK include Philips, VW and the Guardian. Most of our work can be described as digital marketing. I still sometimes ﬁnd it hard to believe I work there, because my life leading up to this point has been explicitly hostile to advertising. My browser is packed with the best adblocking technology in the business. I have trained my children to skip through commercial breaks. When I was originally choosing a career I had a sneaking fascination for advertising but it clashed with my hippy values. I dismissed it as being solely to do with selling things to people that they didn't need and getting very rich in the process. So I switched to architecture -- doing it, writing about and teaching about it.

IA DM Think Bernbach Text Text Text But now Iʼm an IA. Iʼve always identiﬁed myself as a specialist in functional, style-free IA but in 2005 I inadvertently took a contract at a digital marketing agency and was amazed to ﬁnd that I immediately felt at home. The people were friendly, creative and intellectually curious. I discovered that Tribalʼs parent DDB is the advertising agency for those who hate advertising agencies. Thanks to its founder Bill Bernbach it made its name on Madison Avenue in the late 50s/ early 60s, with the \"Think Small\" campaign for the VW Beetle. This was a new kind of advertising - it was dubbed “The Creative Revolution” - that was radical because it aimed for elegance and restraint and did not insult its audience's intelligence. The revolution had its roots back in 1949 when Bernbach wrote a manifesto arguing that “good taste, good art, good writing can be good selling.” The VW campaign was later described as “the day when the new advertising agency was really born.” AdAge placed it No. 1 in their list of the most outstanding advertising campaigns of the century.

IA DM VW1959 Text Text Text In retrospect it was actually the kind of ads that DDB originated for VW - single object in a minimalist white space combined with snappy copy - that created my fascination with advertising in the ﬁrst place. And 45 years later, DDB and Tribal are still working for Volkswagen, and the brand values are still the same.

IA DM VW1959 VW 2009 Text Text Text In retrospect it was actually the kind of ads that DDB originated for VW - single object in a minimalist white space combined with snappy copy - that created my fascination with advertising in the ﬁrst place. And 45 years later, DDB and Tribal are still working for Volkswagen, and the brand values are still the same.

IA DM Doing the IA Bx Rx Banners Rich media URL 0.1 Hello 0.2.1 0.2 0.2.2 Conﬁrm view/ Turn on Yes No Take name take name webcam 0.2.3 0.2.4 Search Search Facebook Facebook Photos found No photos 0.3 Choose from 0.3.1 photos Upload image? Text 0.4 0.3.2 0.3.3 Existing shaving Text Upload dialog Yes No I can help you régime? Text 0.4.3.1 a child? Go to disney 0.4.1 0.4.2 0.4.3 1.1.1 Analyse skin None? Are a female? Analyse skin Video you... Just don't shave? 0.4.1.1 0.4.2.1 0.4.3.2 0.4.3.3 Buy for a Assesses Assesses Find out more friend against wet against dry Upgrade now 1.0 The Shaver 1.1 NIVEA Skin Register Tell a friend Care Buy now Club 1.3 Product 1.1.1 The NIVEA Philips Choose 1.5 1.4.1 1.4.2 shaving Not a CP Register vendor About Robot About Shaver experience member product into CP member 1.1.2 1.3.1 1.5.1 1.5.2 All you need to Choose know Join product Enter details Club Philips philips.com account page I later started working on a series of microsites for another big client, Philips. I found that project and account managers working for different clients had varying ideas about what an IA was and what part he/she played in a project. For Philips my job was “doing the IA” for a series of microsites. Each consisted of more or less the same components, only in different arrangements for no apparent reason. It struck me that a proper IA approach would be to focus not on the microsites themselves, but the regularities I observed across them all and propose a global approach that attempted to systematize decision-making about what would go in to a particular site and why. I proposed a matrix of site components, but the exercise was almost too successful -- since Philips have taken a more systematic approach to their microsites I hardly see the Philip PMs any more! Not so much “Doing the IA”, as “Doing without the IA”...! I began to think seriously about how what I was doing differed from what would normally be asked of an IA, and whether IA really had a role in digital marketing.

2 /7 IA What is digital DM marketing? Wikipedia defines digital marketing as \"the practice of promoting products and services using digital distribution channels.\" The classic digital marketing artefact is a microsite, a site consisting of a small cluster of pages with a custom domain name or simple URL that operates in conjunction with a banner, rich media or offline campaign - and more often than not these days, a Facebook application and a Google Maps mashup. For the purposes of this talk I will however concentrate on the issues raised by microsites. Microsites gained a lot of momentum from their perceived usefulness as a SEO tactic. They were also seen as the main destination point of a digital campaign, where the creative idea represented in the banners and rich media linking to it could be co-ordinated and translated into a specific marketing message or experience, often with a direct route to Buy Now.

IA DM Small but perfectly formed Text Text Text Tribal DDB Like other forms of advertising, digital marketing lives or dies on its ability to distract its audience for a short time from whatever else that theyʼre doing, and in the world of microsites itʼs an article of faith that rich media interfaces will prove engaging and encourage users to linger and discover more about a product. Equally, the sites will probably have only a brief lifecycle. As a result IAs and designers enjoy considerable freedom in the range of structures and experiences they can create. The best microsites have a unity to them that a full website can never achieve. CLICK TO VISIT MICROSITE <http://www.night-driving.com/> The site combined elegant use of bookmarked Flash video, a Google maps mashup to which 1788 people contributed their own favourite drives and a JumpCut feature inviting people to remix their own nightdriving movies.

IA DM Section analysis Visitors to: Homepage 221,158 100% Philosophy 17,692 8% Great Night Drives (maps) Text 48,654 22% Text Valley section Text 90,674 41% Bridge section 170,291 77% Edit films – Jumpcut 17,940 8% Watch TV Ad 50,866 23% More on Golf 28,750 13% Skipped the intro 17,084 9% But these days microsites are falling out of favour. On the one hand they are seen as watering down a company's brand; on the other they derive no benefit from the credibility that a brand may have been laboriously establishing over several years. Others argue that there a creation of internal company politics, and that nobody actually visits them. This argument is contradicted by the experience of the Night Driving site, which received more than 106,000 unique visitors (60,000 of which arrived via online ads) in its first 12 weeks. It also won a Best in Show for Night Driving in the Video or Motion Graphics category and a Gold in the Automotive category at the 2007 W3 Awards. More importantly for the client, it attracted 413 test drive requests and contributed to the Golfʼs best sales year ever, even though it was a 3-year-old model. Itʼs also interesting to see that only 9% skipped the intro... There are other issues - how long should the site stay up? If youʼve managed to get a group of users to register for an activity, what do you do with that community when the site goes down? For this and other reasons, VW's new UK site, launched in February, will in future incorporate the microsite function to specific model areas within the main site, each with its own creative idea and interactive animation. Philips too have brought their range of microsites more closely within the fold of the corporate site.

IA DM Why microsites will survive Text Text Text Source: NetImperative.com Microsites are not however going to go away any time soon. They are still universally used as a focus for speciﬁc marketing campaigns where product identity is seen as more important than the parent brand, notably in media products such as ﬁlms, albums or video games. In an uncertain world there it clearly makes sense to pay attention to digital marketing. Although I canʼt offer stats on the balance of IA work accounted for by digital marketing versus more conventional sites, digital is booming compared with other advertising channels. This survey by the Internet Advertising Bureau and PwC found that the main digital ad formats grew by 45% in a single year, accelerating nine times faster than the advertising sector as a whole. These banners, skyscrapers and embedded rich media need somewhere to link to, and much of the time this will be a microsite, or the equivalent within a larger corporate site. So we can expect microsites and their counterparts to provide a source of work for IA for a while yet. But whatʼs so different?

Oppositions 3 /7 IA What’s different about DM DM sites? So whatʼs different about digital marketing sites? The key difference is navigation.

IA DM Experience not orientation Text Text Text To gain a foothold in a user's consciousness, we need to create an experience that has emotional resonance, where the user is not a dispassionate observer but is in the centre of the action. Digital marketing IA is to traditional IA as Google Earth is to Google Maps.

IA DM Journey not destination Text Text Text Redurban Tribal DDB Traditional IA values near-instantaneous navigation to your goal; digital marketing is all about creating a journey. SHOW BLUE MOTION SITE <http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/bluemotion/> And if the user is not himself passing ﬁguratively along a journey, animated page elements move smoothly from one point to another. SHOW GUINNESS.COM <http://www2.guinness.com/en-row/Pages/Home.aspx> The result is slick and seductive, but animation also makes sense in cognitive terms as it allows the user to maintain orientation.

IA DM States not pages Text Text Text R/GA Tribal DDB Maintaining seamless focus on a single product or experience with the assistance of rich media technologies such as Flash and Flex encourages a state-based rather than page-based organization. This allows the product or main content to remain the centre of attention within a three-dimensional space while its environment changes around it. SHOW VW EXPLORE <http://tinyurl.com/4gfewx> Alternatively the metaphor may be two-dimensional, as in a stage where animated activity takes place within a proscenium surround that itself remain persistent. SHOW NIKE <http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/?locale=en_gb>

PATHOS IA DM Dynamic not static Text Text Text KMF TM Advertising The ﬂip side of a site being state-based is that it is also dynamic rather than static. Wherever possible transitions between one state and another are animated. SHOW C@N DO <http://cando.live.kmf-port.de/cando/> This animation can itself be used to reinforce the product's identity, creating a kind of leitmotif or theme tune announcing the product's arrival. Bill Bernbach was referring to something similar when he said, \"Execution can become content. It can be just as important as what you say.\" Sometimes however it can be all that you say. SHOW AMERICAN AIRLINES <http://www.theﬂagshipexperience.com/default_UK.html>

IA DM Seduction not usability Text Text Text agency.com Seduction here refers not to seducing the user into believing something, but into engaging with the site to the fullest possible extent, via the use of rich media technologies such as Flex or Papervision. SHOW IKEA KITCHENS <http://demo.fb.se/e/ikea/dreamkitchen/site/default.html> There is no reason that a seductive interface canʼt be usable. The point is that it is seduction that drives the creative direction, not usability. Weʼve all had sites sent round as virals that work on our friendsʼ computer but crash our browser. So this is a high risk issue.

IA DM Wizards and user journeys Text Text Text Probably the most important distinction between digital marketing and other sites is the fact that navigation is not objective, but directional - \"navigation with attitude.\" It matters to us where the user chooses to go. So navigation is less about providing straightforward menus than about orchestrating a series of calls to action. Ultimately navigation in digital marketing tends to the status of a wizard.

IA DM Guidance not navigation Splash page Interactive Landing page/hub Buy experience now Text Text Text For a microsite it typically takes the form of Banner/Rich Media - Splash page - Interactive experience - Landing page/hub - Buy now. Hereʼs an example from a site by SimpleScott with a very important product to sell. <http://www.barackobama.com/>

IA DM Active navigation Text Text Text For Obamaʼs site although the emphasis is on the essential need to register, there is a pile of other secondary routes. But every one of them is presented as not just a navigational choice, but a call to action. I counted 16 of them.

4 /7 IA What can IA do DM for DM? So what can IAs do for digital marketing? The simple answer is to do what we do for conventional sites. Normal IA deliverables map perfectly well on to digital marketing.

IA DM IA role perceptions Text Text Text User journeys Site maps Scoping advice Present to clients Wireframes Essential Monitoring Important usability Interaction Not important concept Site Not relevant strategy Documentation As part of my research while doing the IA for Philips I did a survey of perceptions different people in the team had about what an IA actually does. Gratifyingly I found that all of the possible roles I picked out were viewed as being either “essential” or “important”! All of the activities considered essential are perfectly relevant in the digital marketing domain, if likely to be limited in scope.

IA DM User journeys No webcam No results Intro Ask for webcam Ask for name Scan social networks Upload image? 0.1 0.2 0.2.2 0.2.4 0.3.1 No OK I can't see you. Proﬁle not found. Intro/connect What is your name? Search social networks Please turn on your webcam. Do you want to upload? OK No OK Online banner Online Intro: robot engages with A broken image of the robot You indicate that you do not You discover she is not just She draws a blank and asks banner you appears. She asks you to have or want to use a asking to be polite. She is you if you want to upload a turn on your webcam so she webcam. looking for you on the social picture. You say yes. Visitor selects link on online banner can see you. web. She fades into view and Text asks you for your name (this should be phrased to ENTER SITE Text prompt your full name -- perhaps if you enter only Text one word she says \"I need Explore SR Watch your full name\") the site 1 the tv ad Visitor is invited to choose between viewing TV ad and exploring site Get Select Select Closer Object Perform- Back ance Vendor Arcitec Arcitec Obj Obj Obj Design Performance Obj Arcitec Obj Obj Obj Object Object Vendor Vendor Feature nav emerges on load, Examples of performance/design Visitor selects one object, which Screen transitions to show Visitor selects Close panel to Buy now screen is displayed. floating alongside shaver. hover in background until rolled prompts zoom in to Design view performance implications of return to product page. Footer menu slides up to over, when full colour image and with copy describing object design characteristics Visitor makes selection and highlight menu calls to action preview description appears design features. clicks through to vendor Visitor selects Get Closer button Select feature Visitor selects Get Closer button to show close-up of Perform- to show close-up of Design view ance view Visitor selects Performance link Visitor selects Design link to to show Performance view return to Design view Selecting a feature causes feature carousel to appear Visitor can select any of the features from this screen by Footer menu rolls up to At any time visitor can roll over tab to using the rotating carousel highlight menu calls to action display footer menu with Buy Now option including Buy Now Visitor can return to Product Visitor selects Buy Now in Page using a close link footer menu. We can draw up user journeys to document the userʼs path from ﬁrst encounter to Buy Now.

IA DM Flowcharts Satinelle website Links to Hero webisode (TBD) 0.0 SR1 Site Type Home page Menu accessible from all pages URL Footer utilities menu 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 On-site videos 5.0 0.5 0.6 FAQs Buy now I want it! Register Video landing FAQs Register Vignettes 0.6.2 0.6.3 R1 1.0 Rich media: Webisode: Product Join Club Philips 1.1 Beauty Beauty Watch TV Ad Type URL 2.1 1.0 2.0 SRI R2 2.0 philips.comText Loading transition Product page Get closer A Design B Performance Viral: what is it? Rich media: Webisode: Grooming Grooming Text Banners Videos 2.2 1.2 Racing car Text A B R3 Note: 0.0 Product page is linked to from all other pages Lift & Cut Rich media: 3.0 Webisode: System Design Performance (link points to 0.2 Buy now on 0.0 Product Page itself) Gentleness Gentleness 1.3 Flex and Pivot 0.1D Action 2.3 Feature display D 0.1C 1.4 Track bike Feature display C A B B2.x 4.0 0.1B Tube Trimmer Design Performance Feature display B Character-based 0.1A TV ad interstitial Feature display A 1.5 banners 0.1 The Complete 2.4 Shaving System Hubble telescope 1.6 A B B1.x 0.2 0.2.1 Triple Track Design Performance Buy now: Buy now: Shaving Heads Product-based Product showroom banners select vendor select product 1.7 Power Pod 0.4 Local promo: moneyback Off-site videos guarantee W1 0.3 0.3.1 Webisode: Beauty Beauty tips Demo video W2 Webisode: Grooming W3 Webisode: Gentleness We can develop logical user ﬂows documenting the same process at a higher level. Even where the site organization is very simple it is striking how much just putting the structure down is valued by account and project managers as a way to crystallize what previously may have been felt to be a vague creative idea into something solid.

IA DM Blueprints Online ads FFP page inks Offline ads Airline channels 1.0 Landing page 2.0 Golf course information English | English | Back Logo Star Alliance site Logo Star Alliance site Note: Preselected language depends upon Country Choose... link from ads, otherwise defaults to English Image State Choose... Golf course Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet Links to 18 carrier homes Carrier sites Name Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet View golf courses Description Welcome Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet Image Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet Stats Intro Intro Select carrier Carrier FFP Golf course selectable list Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet Golf course site Join FFP Course website Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet Registration requirements Ticket sales Carrier Ticket sales Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet Text Sign up now Text Text Ts & Cs Disclaimer Contact Q&A Help Ts & Cs Disclaimer Contact Q&A Help 0.1 Ts & Cs Logo Star Alliance site Star Alliance site Star Alliance site Star Alliance site Ts & Cs Back 3.0 Data capture page 3.1 Review data capture page 4.0 Thank you 0.2 Legal disclaimer English | English | Logo Logo Logo Thank you/next steps Logo Star Alliance site Register another fl flight Disclaimer Instructional text Please review your details Back Close Buy another flight Personal details 0.3 Contact details Logo Star Alliance site Carrier Ticket sales Star Alliance site Specify FFP Personal details Intro Back Flight details 5.0 Registration confirmation email 0.4 Q&A Logo Star Alliance site Accept Ts & Cs FFP Intro Logo FAQ Back What happens next Flight details 0.5 Help Image Logo Star Alliance site Submit Confirm Cancel Back Cancel Help text Back Wireframes are a bit more of an issue. Because of the pivotal importance of design in developing the creative direction, and the reduced level of practical functionality, conventional wireframes can kind of miss the point. The designer may feel their style is being cramped if we go too far in specifying the positioning or nature of page elements. At Tribal weʼve developed a technique called Blueprints which are best explained as an intermediate point between wireframes and site maps. They are in effect very low resolution wireframes that map out the basic functionality of a page, and specify which other pages are linked to by specific elements on the page. They become a reference point for discussion that does not dictate the interface design in detail.

5 /7 IA A more strategic view DM All of these forms of documentation are a rational response to the requirements presented by building any website. Theyʼre what we might propose if we were mainly interested in the IAʼs function as a wireframe and site map monkey. BUT what they donʼt address is the point that primarily distinguishes digital marketing from a conceptual point of view. Digital marketingʼs range extends from marketing-centred areas of otherwise conventional sites, to integrated off and online campaigns that blur the boundaries between consumersʼ online and ofﬂine existence. The ideal digital marketing campaign is one that temporarily becomes part of the infrastructure of peopleʼs social lives. The microsites that support these campaigns are not therefore neutral artifacts that merely make information ﬁndable for strongly motivated users. A good digital marketing campaign creates motivation where it previously did not exist. In other words, digital marketing is a branch of rhetoric.

5 /7 IA Digital marketing is DM digital rhetoric All of these forms of documentation are a rational response to the requirements presented by building any website. Theyʼre what we might propose if we were mainly interested in the IAʼs function as a wireframe and site map monkey. BUT what they donʼt address is the point that primarily distinguishes digital marketing from a conceptual point of view. Digital marketingʼs range extends from marketing-centred areas of otherwise conventional sites, to integrated off and online campaigns that blur the boundaries between consumersʼ online and ofﬂine existence. The ideal digital marketing campaign is one that temporarily becomes part of the infrastructure of peopleʼs social lives. The microsites that support these campaigns are not therefore neutral artifacts that merely make information ﬁndable for strongly motivated users. A good digital marketing campaign creates motivation where it previously did not exist. In other words, digital marketing is a branch of rhetoric.

IA DM The IA Brand Text Text Text This is where IAs have an opportunity to extend their role in digital marketing to a more strategic one than just doing the deliverables. As a profession, we possess one brand value above all that can help any digital marketing project: we are analytical about bodies of information and know how to organize them into coherent structures. This equips us to advise not just on ways of organizing information but also how to communicate it. NEXT Itʼs also something we've been doing for the last 2350 years..

IA DM The IA Brand 2,350 years in the making Text Text Text This is where IAs have an opportunity to extend their role in digital marketing to a more strategic one than just doing the deliverables. As a profession, we possess one brand value above all that can help any digital marketing project: we are analytical about bodies of information and know how to organize them into coherent structures. This equips us to advise not just on ways of organizing information but also how to communicate it. NEXT Itʼs also something we've been doing for the last 2350 years..

IA Classical rhetoric DM Classical rhetoric ETHOS - the character of the speaker Text Text Text PATHOS - the listener’s emotional state Aristotle LOGOS (384-322 BC) - the argument itself Hereʼs why. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion through the use of oral, written, or visual language - a deﬁnition that could also be applied to advertising. For the Romans it was one of three essential liberal arts - alongside logic and grammar. These days, we tend to associate it with slippery politicians, where it is closely associated with the concept of “spin”. In fact it has been controversial right from its beginnings. Plato condemned it as immoral, dangerous, and unworthy of serious study. However he later became convinced of its value in the hands of a true philosopher for \"winning the soul through discourse.\" This spurred his pupil Aristotle to treat it as an art worthy of systematic, scientiﬁc study, forming insights that underpin the subject even today. Far from being a means to obscure the truth, it became seen as essential to its discovery, as it provided the means to order and clarify an argument.

IA Classical rhetoric DM Aristotle “Aristotle’s map of learning is the ultimate ancestor of Text library catalogues and the Text Text organization of the modern university in departments of arts and sciences” - G.A. Kennedy Aristotle was the first person to draw up a map of learning and define the relationship between the various disciplines of the arts and sciences. In his writings on rhetoric he introduced the idea of topics - a term he invented to refer to a heuristic tool for categorizing, retaining and applying frequently used types of argument. These days we would call them patterns. In effect, it was Aristotle who invented information architecture. NEXT Topics are basic categories of relationships among ideas, each of which can serve as a template or heuristic for discovering things to say about a subject. Topics derive from topos, the Greek word for place, literally, \"places to find things.\" Taken together they provide a primer for those learning how to argue convincingly in public. If Aristotle were designing a site map about rhetoric, one silo would be allocated to common topics, which are used with any form of knowledge, and another to special topics, which refer to branches of rhetoric more closely associated with government.

IA Classical rhetoric DM Aristotle the IA CT00 Common Topics Text Text Circumstance Possibility Comparison Text CT01 CT02 CT03 CT04 Possible/ Past Fact Future fact Greater/Lesser Impossible Aristotle was the first person to draw up a map of learning and define the relationship between the various disciplines of the arts and sciences. In his writings on rhetoric he introduced the idea of topics - a term he invented to refer to a heuristic tool for categorizing, retaining and applying frequently used types of argument. These days we would call them patterns. In effect, it was Aristotle who invented information architecture. NEXT Topics are basic categories of relationships among ideas, each of which can serve as a template or heuristic for discovering things to say about a subject. Topics derive from topos, the Greek word for place, literally, \"places to find things.\" Taken together they provide a primer for those learning how to argue convincingly in public. If Aristotle were designing a site map about rhetoric, one silo would be allocated to common topics, which are used with any form of knowledge, and another to special topics, which refer to branches of rhetoric more closely associated with government.

IA DM Digital rhetoric 101 Text Text Text For us latter-day IAs, I suggest that the task is to become rhetorically literate. That means becoming aware of the rhetorical structures that underpin digital marketing campaigns. I donʼt profess to be an expert on rhetoric, but my exploration of the subject suggest four strands to explore: two associated with classical rhetoric, two corresponding with the application of rhetoric to visual media. The ﬁrst comprises Aristotleʼs Persuasive Appeals referred to above -- Ethos, Pathos and Logos; NEXT The Common Topics NEXT Rhetorical ﬁgures, the kind of devices that can be used to enhance and sustain an audienceʼs interest in a message NEXT and Visual grammar, an attempt to distinguish the rhetorical functions of imagery

IA DM Digital rhetoric 101 Classical rhetoric Persuasive appeals Text Text Text For us latter-day IAs, I suggest that the task is to become rhetorically literate. That means becoming aware of the rhetorical structures that underpin digital marketing campaigns. I donʼt profess to be an expert on rhetoric, but my exploration of the subject suggest four strands to explore: two associated with classical rhetoric, two corresponding with the application of rhetoric to visual media. The ﬁrst comprises Aristotleʼs Persuasive Appeals referred to above -- Ethos, Pathos and Logos; NEXT The Common Topics NEXT Rhetorical ﬁgures, the kind of devices that can be used to enhance and sustain an audienceʼs interest in a message NEXT and Visual grammar, an attempt to distinguish the rhetorical functions of imagery

IA DM Digital rhetoric 101 Classical rhetoric Persuasive appeals Text Text Common topics Text For us latter-day IAs, I suggest that the task is to become rhetorically literate. That means becoming aware of the rhetorical structures that underpin digital marketing campaigns. I donʼt profess to be an expert on rhetoric, but my exploration of the subject suggest four strands to explore: two associated with classical rhetoric, two corresponding with the application of rhetoric to visual media. The ﬁrst comprises Aristotleʼs Persuasive Appeals referred to above -- Ethos, Pathos and Logos; NEXT The Common Topics NEXT Rhetorical ﬁgures, the kind of devices that can be used to enhance and sustain an audienceʼs interest in a message NEXT and Visual grammar, an attempt to distinguish the rhetorical functions of imagery

IA DM Digital rhetoric 101 Classical rhetoric Persuasive appeals Text Text Common topics Text Visual rhetoric Rhetorical figures For us latter-day IAs, I suggest that the task is to become rhetorically literate. That means becoming aware of the rhetorical structures that underpin digital marketing campaigns. I donʼt profess to be an expert on rhetoric, but my exploration of the subject suggest four strands to explore: two associated with classical rhetoric, two corresponding with the application of rhetoric to visual media. The first comprises Aristotleʼs Persuasive Appeals referred to above -- Ethos, Pathos and Logos; NEXT The Common Topics NEXT Rhetorical figures, the kind of devices that can be used to enhance and sustain an audienceʼs interest in a message NEXT and Visual grammar, an attempt to distinguish the rhetorical functions of imagery

IA DM Digital rhetoric 101 Classical rhetoric Persuasive appeals Text Text Common topics Text Visual rhetoric Rhetorical figures Visual grammar For us latter-day IAs, I suggest that the task is to become rhetorically literate. That means becoming aware of the rhetorical structures that underpin digital marketing campaigns. I donʼt profess to be an expert on rhetoric, but my exploration of the subject suggest four strands to explore: two associated with classical rhetoric, two corresponding with the application of rhetoric to visual media. The first comprises Aristotleʼs Persuasive Appeals referred to above -- Ethos, Pathos and Logos; NEXT The Common Topics NEXT Rhetorical figures, the kind of devices that can be used to enhance and sustain an audienceʼs interest in a message NEXT and Visual grammar, an attempt to distinguish the rhetorical functions of imagery

IA DM 1: Persuasive appeals: Ethos Text Text Text Ethos is all about whether you feel the person whoʼs trying to persuade you is someone you can believe -- at least for the purposes of the subject at hand. Your decision will be largely determined by previous experience of the individual, and your estimation of how likely the person is to have an ulterior motive for making you believe something. It works for people and brands. For each of those represented on the screen I expect you will have a pretty good idea whether it is worth listening to anything they have to say. NEXT And it can work for websites too, according to B J Fogg, whose book \"Persuasive Technology\" explained why it's important, and how to convey it.

IA DM 1: Persuasive appeals: Ethos Text Text Text credibility.stanford.edu Ethos is all about whether you feel the person whoʼs trying to persuade you is someone you can believe -- at least for the purposes of the subject at hand. Your decision will be largely determined by previous experience of the individual, and your estimation of how likely the person is to have an ulterior motive for making you believe something. It works for people and brands. For each of those represented on the screen I expect you will have a pretty good idea whether it is worth listening to anything they have to say. NEXT And it can work for websites too, according to B J Fogg, whose book \"Persuasive Technology\" explained why it's important, and how to convey it.

IA DM 1: Persuasive appeals: Pathos WAR CAN NEVER BE JUSTIFIED Text Text Text Pathos is about the effect you can have on peopleʼs emotions, the effect that can have on what they believe, and their openness to becoming emotionally involved Example: consider this statement. It seems reasonable enough, although we may all be able to think of wars that are an exception to the rule. NEXT (Image loads behind statement) Now reconsider. Your feelings on the statement may have shifted. NEXT (Barnerʼs Adagio fades in) Now consider again. How could you disagree with this statement?

IA DM 1: Persuasive appeals: Pathos Text Text Text This, believe it or not, is also pathos. In the world of digital marketing it is pathos -- a.k.a passion, or emotional involvement -- that everyone is trying to achieve. The reason is that while we like to think we are most likely to choose a product or a service on the basis of a rational argument, the only way we are going to overcome our indifference and buy or sign up to something is if we want to. Involvement is one of DDBʼs brand values. The idea is that being involved is more than being engaged as it includes people actually doing and feeling something. One way to generate involvement is to encourage people to take a stake in a competition or a social activity, as in Tribalʼs campaign for Monopoly Live in 2005. Although the home page was perhaps not a landmark in simplicity or elegance, we used GPS-enabled cabs to create a real world version of the board game using the actual streets of London. Users went online to play the game in real time with real cabs, feeding back their location and routes via GPS, earning or losing players money. This campaign ran for 28 days in the summer of 2005. During that time over a million people visited the site, and 189,000 of them played almost half a million games. The Monopoly ʻHere and Nowʼ Limited Edition board game became one of the best selling games of 2005.

IA DM 1: Persuasive appeals: Logos Structure/Message The US government should guarantee health insurance to every American Claim Text Text Text Current provisions are inadequate and unaffordable Evidence 46 million Americans — including over 8 million children — lack health insurance Logos is about the argument itself. It comprises the facts, or in political terms “the issues” that your opponent refuses to discuss, choosing instead to focus on “character” and “values” Shown here is a simple verbal political argument (although notice that little bit of pathos there in the statistic about 8 million children) However in digital marketing terms we could also describe a tool such as VWʼs Product selection page as a form of visual or functional logos NEXT As I have explained, however, logos is ineffective on its own, as much of the audience will not be motivated to change their position by the argument alone. It does however play an important role in helping people to feel more comfortable by allowing them to justify a decision they have already made on emotional grounds. This is illustrated by the common practice of people poring over the brochure for a car after they have already put in their order.

IA DM 1: Persuasive appeals: Logos Text Text Text Logos is about the argument itself. It comprises the facts, or in political terms “the issues” that your opponent refuses to discuss, choosing instead to focus on “character” and “values” Shown here is a simple verbal political argument (although notice that little bit of pathos there in the statistic about 8 million children) However in digital marketing terms we could also describe a tool such as VWʼs Product selection page as a form of visual or functional logos NEXT As I have explained, however, logos is ineffective on its own, as much of the audience will not be motivated to change their position by the argument alone. It does however play an important role in helping people to feel more comfortable by allowing them to justify a decision they have already made on emotional grounds. This is illustrated by the common practice of people poring over the brochure for a car after they have already put in their order.

IA DM 2: Common topics 15. From hypocritical 1. From opposites 8. From varied meanings 22. From contradictions deception 16. From consequences by 23. From the cause of a false 2. From grammatical form 9. From division analogy impression 3. From correlatives 10. From induction 17. From results to causes Text 24. From cause and effect Text Text 4. From the more and the 11. From authority 18. From contrasted choices 25. From a better plan less 19. From identifying purpose 26. From comparison of 5. Time-related 12. From subordinate parts with cause contraries 6. From turning argument 20. From reasons for and 27. From what would have 13. From the consequence on the opponent against been a mistake 14. From contrasting 28. From the meaning of a 7. From deﬁnition 21. From the implausible opposites name Logos itself can be broken down into component parts. Aristotle proposed 28 valid topics, which at ﬁrst sight seem a little arcane, but for several of them it is easy to think of examples from marketing.

IA DM 2: Common topics 8. From varied meanings Text Text Text 11. From authority 7. From deﬁnition Logos itself can be broken down into component parts. Aristotle proposed 28 valid topics, which at ﬁrst sight seem a little arcane, but for several of them it is easy to think of examples from marketing.

IA DM 2: Common topics: Examples 8. From varied meanings Things go better with Coke As seen on Text television Text Text 11. From authority Lincoln - What a luxury car should be 7. From deﬁnition Examples include 7. From deﬁnition: “Lincoln - What a luxury car should be” 8. From varied meanings of a word in different contexts: “Things Go Better With Coke”” 11. From authority: citing experts or authorities to bring credibility to your argument

IA 2: Common topics: Invalid Classical rhetoric DM 8. From omission of when 1. From verbal style and how 2. From combination or 9. From confusing the division particular with the general 3. From exaggeration Text Text Text 4. From a non-necessary sign 5. From an accidental result 6. From afﬁrming the consequent 7. From post hoc, ergo propter hoc Aristotle also proposed 9 invalid topics, or fallacies. Itʼs the common use of invalid topics under the guise of plausible argument that we have to thank for rhetoricʼs poor reputation.

IA DM 3: Visual grammar “What in language is Conceptual: Narrative: realized by words of static, timeless essence a component of action the category ‘action verbs’ is visually realized by elements Text Text that can be formally Text deﬁned as vectors”. - Kress and van Leeuwen, Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design Much of the emotional impact of digital marketing comes from imagery and this can also be described in rhetorical terms. In their book Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design, Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen suggest that all images fall into one of two categories: narrative and conceptual: those images that have a component of action and those that possess a static, timeless essence. In digital marketing terms we can identify the conceptual images as product shots, often with rollovers or pointers picking out the key functions, and the narrative images as pictures of the product in action. For a marketing site conceptual images will be insufﬁcient on their own to engage the user.

IA DM 4: Rhetorical figures “If consumers do not have to read an ad, (artful deviations) then one had best motivate that reading. Text “...Rhetoric integrates Text and explains stylistic Text devices that may be used to accomplish these and related goals.” - McQuarrie and Mick, Figures of Rhetoric in Advertising Language Lastly because consumers are under no compulsion to visit a digital marketing site or finish viewing it, or continue on to buy the product, one of the most important functions of the site is to motivate the potential visitor. Like the facade of the Tuschinski, the first requirement is to make passers-by into customers. This will typically be archived by prompting their curiosity through some kind of incongruous statement or imagery. McQuarrie and Mick refer to this as an artful deviation. Artful deviations can occur in any sensory or textual form. They can range from a simple pun to an extremely incongruous juxtaposition. NEXT The original Think Small campaign included this ad which in its context was extremely incongruous. No other car manufacturer would have dared to suggest that any of their cars might be less than perfect (this one was apparently due to a blemish on the glove box trim) while the clean clear design would itself have stood out amongst the fussy style of other print ads at the time. EF McQuarrie, DG Mick - \"Figures of Rhetoric in Advertising Language\" Chicago: Journal of Consumer Research, 1996

IA DM Case study Text Text Text We can for example analyse microsites in rhetorical terms, identifying the elements corresponding with ethos, pathos and logos. The Stay Sharp microsite we designed for Philips, and built by Lukkien here in Holland, promotes the Philips Grooming Kit, a beard and facial hair trimmer system, under the rubric “Are You Sharp Enough? It is incidentally ideal for cultivating an authentic IA goatee. The user journey consists of a rich media ads linking to a landing page where a trio of cool characters, an American stockbroker, a Belgian football manager and a Russian poker player stand waiting to challenge you by setting you a task that is appropriate to their situation.

IA DM Artful deviation Text Text Text We can for example analyse microsites in rhetorical terms, identifying the elements corresponding with ethos, pathos and logos. The Stay Sharp microsite we designed for Philips, and built by Lukkien here in Holland, promotes the Philips Grooming Kit, a beard and facial hair trimmer system, under the rubric “Are You Sharp Enough? It is incidentally ideal for cultivating an authentic IA goatee. The user journey consists of a rich media ads linking to a landing page where a trio of cool characters, an American stockbroker, a Belgian football manager and a Russian poker player stand waiting to challenge you by setting you a task that is appropriate to their situation.

IA DM Conceptual/narrative imagery Narrative: a component of action Text Text Text As you roll over the product a video of the product in action appears, demonstrating a neat juxtaposition of conceptual and narrative images of the product.

IA DM Conceptual/narrative imagery Narrative: a component of action Text Text Text Conceptual: Narrative: product shot product in action As you roll over the product a video of the product in action appears, demonstrating a neat juxtaposition of conceptual and narrative images of the product.

IA DM Pathos - emotion Text Text Text Choose Jack Thompson and he will challenge you to beat his timing instincts in buying a stock. You are almost certain to fail - the only way to beat him is to try a bit of sharp practice that is not obvious at ﬁrst. If this works as intended your reaction to your success, or more likely failure, increases your emotional involvement with the product (pathos).

IA DM Ethos - character Text Text Text Similar challenges are available from the other two characters. Meanwhile select the option to view the product and Roman Carlovich introduces it in a Russian voiceover with subtitles. The emotions provoked by the sinister James Bond-like music connote Pathos, while the worldly-wise manner in which Carlovich delivers his advice connote Ethos, which is somewhat eroded by the suspicion that he doesnʼt really exist. This mythical Ethos is overriden by the fact that the product is made by Philips, a good Dutch brand thatʼs trusted enough to convey a degree of credibility on any product it produces.

IA DM Logos Text Text Text Finally the product information showing the range of attachments available make the case for the product in practical terms.

6 /7 IA Conclusion DM

IA DM IA for the next 2,500 years Digital marketing is a distinct genre whose task is persuasion Rhetoric is about knowing Text Text how persuasion works Text Learning about rhetoric will equip IAs for a more strategic role in a major field of online work Aristotle defined rhetoric as the ability to see what is possibly persuasive in every given case, and what I am arguing is that this is a skill we need to cultivate. We need to be able to talk articulately about rhetoric. Understanding how rhetoric works in the digital marketing context will help us to spot situations where a marketing message is not being clearly or effectively communicated, and help us to suggest structural and tactical ways in which it can be improved. It is disingenuous to claim that a genre such as digital marketing can ever be truly user-centred. But within digital marketing, for a profession that has always identified itself with the team as user advocate. this is the true equivalent role. I havenʼt mentioned psychology, and I think itʼs an interesting question to consider how the findings of cognitive psychology and digital rhetoric can inform each other. What I have shown you also does not yet represent how we operate as IAs at Tribal - itʼs not yet part of our methodology. Rather, itʼs a suggestion of a research direction I think we could all benefit from as IAs working in a commercial world. It's our job not just to organize information, but also to marshal arguments. We need to ensure that the arguments put forward in a digital marketing campaign actually make sense and - above all -

7 /7 IA References DM Aristotle and George J Kennedy - “On Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse”. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1991 Fogg, B. J. - “Persuasive Technology”. San Francisco: Morgan-Kaufmann 2003 Kress, Gunther and van Leeuwen, Theo - “Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design” (2nd Edition). London: Routledge 2006 McQuarrie, E.F. and Mick, D.G. - “Figures of Rhetoric in Advertising Language”. Chicago: Journal of Consumer Research, 1996 tim.ostler@tribalddb.co.uk

IA Hearts DM

0 comments

Notes on slide 1

3 Favorites

IA Hearts DM - Presentation Transcript

More by user

More info about this document

Categories

Tags

IA Hearts DM

0 comments

Notes on slide 1

3 Favorites

IA Hearts DM - Presentation Transcript

Related Presentations

More by user

More info about this document

Categories

Tags