Some thoughts about concepts, executions and things like that

SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT CONCEPTS, EXECUTIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

LET„S BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING. (well, almost.) http://andruska.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/2001-the-dawn-of-man.jpg

Traditionally, TV COMMERCIALS WERE AT THE CENTER OF CAMPAIGN CONCEPTION AND PRODUCTION. (Nothing new so far.) http://www.flickr.com/photos/gbaku/2300379755/sizes/l/

Then it was integrated communication to the rescue. BUT MOST “INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION“ IS NOTHING ELSE BUT THE APPROACH TO MAKE EVERY EXECUTION RESEMBLE THE TV COMMERCIAL. (And that„s only true in those cases where there was an idea bigger than a TV commercial to begin with.) http://www.flickr.com/photos/87014138@N00/3093375954/sizes/o/

All this is based on a single assumption: TV COMMERCIALS PUSH HIGH-QUALITY CONTENT OUT TO A HUGE AND RECEPTIVE AUDIENCE. SO WE DO THAT A FEW TIMES A YEAR AND EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE FINE. http://www.flickr.com/photos/45409431@N00/3867466806/

This deserves SOME THOUGHT.

To begin with the true part of the assumption: THE TV AUDIENCE IS STILL HUGE. (And it is probably not going to be totally gone by tomorrow.) http://www.flickr.com/photos/papazimouris/3183558876/sizes/l/

However, while TV isn„t going to go away tomorrow MEDIA USAGE HAS ALREADY SHIFTED DRAMATICALLY AND MEDIA IS MORE AND MORE CONVERGING ONLINE. (This is probably also not a big surprise by now...) http://www.flickr.com/photos/20493464@N00/3428921418/

“ONLINE“ OR “DIGITAL“ CAN BE EVERY FORM OF CONTENT, EVERY MODE OF RECEPTION AND EVERY FORM OF SOCIAL INTERACTION. EVERYWHERE. http://www.flickr.com/photos/fredcavazza/3428921418/sizes/l/

Or, put differently: ALMOST EVERYTHING YOU KNOW CAN ALSO BE “DIGITAL“ AND “ONLINE“. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cfpereda/3604453260/sizes/l/

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AND INFLUENCE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL. (This doesn„t mean that suddenly it is all about conversations about our brands. People still have other things to care about: Their life, mostly.) http://www.flickr.com/photos/shannonkringen/267571087/sizes/l/

On to the next assumption: “hight quality content“. MOST TV COMMERCIALS ARE DEFINITELY NOT THE TYPE OF HIGH-QUALITY CONTENT PEOPLE LOVE TO WATCH.

You„ve most probably seen that drawing before... http://www.gapingvoid.com/

The inconvenient truth is: PEOPLE DON„T CARE ABOUT ADS, AND THEY ARE CERTAINLY NOT WAITING FOR ALL OF THEM. http://www.flickr.com/photos/xploded/287066320/sizes/o/

“PEOPLE LOOK AT WHAT INTERESTS THEM AND SOMETIMES IT‟S YOUR AD.” Howard Gossage (Most of the time however, it„s something else.) http://www.flickr.com/photos/26212498@N08/3021010201/

“OFTEN OUR BIGGEST MISTAKE AS MANAGERS IS BELIEVING THAT, IN GENERAL, CUSTOMERS CARE A LOT ABOUT YOUR BRAND. THEY DO NOT.” Patrick Barwise (Because they still have other things to care about.) http://www.flickr.com/photos/21678183@N03/3142962416/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16289690@N00/3147330903/ So what„s the status quo? IF PEOPLE TALK ABOUT “INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION“ YOU GET CAMPAIGNS THAT USUALLY FOCUS ON TV AS PRIMARY MEDIA. IF PEOPLE TALK ABOUT UNCONVENTIONAL THINGS, YOU GET [INSERT EXECUTIONAL TREND HERE]. Twitter and “viral“ videos are popular choices for filling that brackets.

HOWEVER , WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN„T ISN„T DEFINED BY THE MAGICAL POWER OF TECHNOLOGIES OR “NEW“ MEDIA OR PLAIN CREATIVE EXECUTIONS. http://www.flickr.com/photos/theartguy/2230484179/sizes/o/

IT IS DEFINED BY THE CONTEXT – PEOPLE„S LIFE IN RELATION TO MEDIA, CULTURE AND SOCIETY. (This doesn„t mean it is all about conversations. And it also doesn„t mean you have to abandon TV. Or outdoor, or print. What it means is that it depends.) http://www.flickr.com/photos/51035734296@N01/2575986601/

For example, while TVCs are still a great way to build up awarenss and evoke emotions, you can only say so much in 30 seconds anyways. SO WHY REDUCE RICH AND MULTI-FACETED CONCEPTS INTO 30„ OF TV WITH 16„FOR INFORMATION THAT SHOULD THEN BE CONCIOUSLY RECALLED – BUT MOSTLY AREN„T? http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeblogs/3101400087/sizes/o/

IF WE WANT TO PLAY ON THE MEDIA„S STRENGTHS WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CONTEXT IS CONSCIOUSLY CONSIDERED WHEN CONCEPTS ARE CREATED. http://www.flickr.com/photos/firutin/267739754/sizes/o/

WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT EXECUTIONAL ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATION IN RELATION TO PEOPLE AND MEDIA SIMULTANIOUSLY. (You have probably heard of this “the media is the message“ thing before...) http://www.flickr.com/photos/8660446@N07/3611570585/

WE HAVE TO WORK ON CONCEPTS THAT DON„T NECESSARILY BRING OUT ADVERTISING, BUT EXPERIENCES IN PEOPLE„S (SOCIAL) LIFE. (Rephrasing the question „What can we say to people?“ into „What can we make for people?“ helps a lot.) http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidking/3305880093/sizes/l/

GARETH KAY CALLS THIS SHIFT “PLANNING FOR UNCERTAINTY“ From a linear process to a continuous process of creation. From presenting to clients to co-creating with clients. From “one size fits all campaign” to frequent micro-initiatives. From big stuff to small stuff. From “strategy to execution” to “strategy in execution”. http://www.flickr.com/photos/maldiviandude/3505149064/sizes/l/ http://www.slideshare.net/garethk/seven-deadly-sins

FARIS YAKOB POINTS OUT THAT MEDIA NEUTRAL LEADS TO MEDIA NEUTERED. “Seeing the same thing executed across a bunch of channels isn't really the most interesting use of each medium, and the best ideas are often built to really leverage the strengths of a particular channel […]. SO TALKING ABOUT IDEAS AS SEPARATE FROM THE MEDIA THEY WILL EXIST IN IS A BIT SILLY AND CAN MISS OUT ON THE MOST CREATIVE OPPORTUNITIES.” Faris Yakob http://farisyakob.typepad.com/blog/2006/10/transmedia_plan.htm http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbengineer/510142003/sizes/l/

INTRODUCING TRANSMEDIA PLANNING “The gist of it is that rather than using different media channels to communicate the same idea, you can use each channel to communicate different things. Everything is still tied together by the same brand strategy or narrative, but each channel does what it does best, rather than bending to fit an idea that's not really built with any particular channel in mind. Each channel is strong and self-contained enough to live on its own, but can then be pulled together into a greater brand narrative.” Faris Yakob http://farisyakob.typepad.com/blog/2006/10/transmedia_plan.html

EXECUTION UNDER THE TRANSMEDIA LENSE “This might be small details, things going on in the background, music, metaphors, or references. And we, Russell, and others have talked about the power of complexity in communication - that people generally find complex, nuanced, layered things more interesting than simple straightforward things. But when we talk about this stuff, we still usually talk about people processing it individually - so each one person is rewarded for spending more time or if they see it again. But what if we looked at it through the lens of a brand community? Each different layer or detail could appeal to a different group of people, who could compare stories, and thus continually be getting new perspectives on the same thing.” Jason Oke http://lbtoronto.typepad.com/lbto/2006/10/transmedia_plan.html

If the idea of shifting FROM CAMPAIGNS THAT PUSH OUT THE SAME IDEA VIA DIFFERENT CHANNELS TO CONTINUOUSLY CREATING AND COMMUNICATING IN DIFFERENT MEDIA is is giving you a headache, consider one truth: people don„t think in campaigns, but in days - 365 of them. http://www.flickr.com/photos/photos_by_chrystal/2964874774/sizes/o/

So what does that mean for CONCEPTS, EXECUTIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT? http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigpinkcookie/22716359/sizes/l/

Cultural Branding (long-term connection: strong cultural concepts) It means that we have Context defining Monitoring and to make sure that concepts evaluation “media, culture and Strategic concepts (long term) (brand relationships and society“ is being culture overall) Tactical concepts thought about at (short term) every single step of a permanent process of creation and communication. Connections Continuous, small through and big executions experiences (services, NPD, interactive experiences, advertising, ...) http://www.flickr.com/photos/toby_maloy/102413554/sizes/o/

FROM CONCEPTS Context: brand vs. people vs. media, culture, society.  What are the brand„s meanings and roles in people„s life?  What is the purpose and the resulting the narrative of the brand?  What are current connections between the brand and culture?  Can we derive anything from the relation between the overall brand concept and emerging patterns in culture, to build more connections?

TO EXECUTIONS Context: experiences.  Why, how and where are the people we want to connect the brand to using which media?  Which parts of the overall concept fit with how the media works in these contexts?  Remember the difference between media exposure, media effect and media usage.

Derived from Douglas B. Holts filters for judging creative. http://harvardbusiness.org/product/mountain-dew-selecting-new-creative/an/502040-PDF-ENG TO EVALUATION Brand Filter  Does it frame the brand in a compelling manner?  Does it make me feel/know what the brand stands for?  Will it resonate with the target markets‟ culture(s)? Experience Filter  Is it engaging, simple, original, and creative?  Is the brand integrated into the story/service/tool/experience?  Is it doing anything for the people?  Would somebody talk about it? If so, why? Long-term Filter  Is it an effective extension of the brand‟s narrative?  Is it helping to weave the brand into the culture long-term?

INSPIRED BY AND STOLEN FROM gareth kay (garethkay.typepad.com) russell davies (russelldavies.typepad.com) faris yakob (farisyakob.typepad.com) douglas b. holt (www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/faculty/Holt+Douglas/) michael zorn (@boyrobot3000) joanna bakas (@jo_vanna) stefan erschwendner (@eranium) helge tennø (@congbo) martin oetting (@oetting) sam ismail (@samismail) petar vujosevic (@NikoHerzeg) david armano (@armano) simon law (www.simon-law.com/) andrew (joymachine.typepad.com/) stephanie urbanski (@sturbi) the “internet“ (mostly all the great people I„m following on twitter)

THANK YOU. THOMAS WAGNER STUDENT AND STRATEGIST “ON THE INSIGHT ROAD (AND NOT HALFWAY THERE)“ WHAT DO YOU THINK? http://www.twitter.com/thomas_wagner

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Some thoughts about concepts, executions and things like that

by Thomas Wagner on Sep 11, 2009

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Some thoughts about concepts, executions and things like that — Presentation Transcript