The document outlines 8 provocations about the future of marketing and social brands: 1. Social equity will drive brand value as brands focus on inspiring favorable conversations. 2. Communities will have more value than platforms as people's choices are driven by social benefits not technology. 3. All marketing must add value through meaningful engagements instead of interruptions. 4. Mobile devices are already the most important technology and strategies must focus on mobile. 5. Brands will use recurring themes or "leitmotifs" instead of singular big ideas to tell their story over time. 6. Brands will practice active listening on social media to gain insights instead of just tracking mentions. 7. Experiences

1. SIMON KEMP • we are social• AUGUST 2013
SOCIAL BRANDSAND THE FUTURE OF MARKETING

2. 2

3. FIRST TO THE FUTURE
The most successful brands don’t just predict
the future; they define it on their own terms.
This document offers a series of provocations
to help you define your brand’s vision of the
future, and shares some suggestions on how
to start bringing that vision to life today.
3
CONTEXT

4. THE ‘3Ps’ THAT WILL DEFINE THE MARKETING OF TOMORROW:
4
A focus on communities
rather than technology
Connecting with people
when it matters most
PEOPLE PORTABLE
Adding value at every
possible opportunity
PRACTICAL

5. FUTURE PROVOCATIONS
1 Social equity drives brand value
2 Communities have more value than platforms
3 All marketing must add value
4 On the go is the way to go
5 From big ideas to leitmotivs
6 From selective hearing to active listening
7 Experiences are the new products
8 CSR evolves into civic engagement
5

6. OUR ‘PROVOCATIONS’ FORMAT
6
The realities, trends,
and observations that
inspired our thinking
Where we see these
developments taking
marketing in the future
TODAY TOMORROW
The implications for
brands, and what you
can do to harness them
TO DO

7. #01
SOCIAL EQUITY
DRIVES
BRAND VALUE
7

8. TODAY: THE BRANDS THAT ARE WORTH TALKING ABOUT
ARE THE BRANDS WE’RE WILLING TO PAY MORE FOR
8

9. THE SOCIAL EQUITY OF A BRAND
The more people talk about a brand, the
easier it is for us to predict how other people
will react if we choose that brand. As a
result, the brands that inspire the most
favourable conversations are the brands that
can command the greatest price premium.
9
CONTEXT

10. TOMORROW: BRANDS RECOGNISE THAT AN INCREASE IN
CONVERSATION DRIVES AN INCREASE IN COMPENSATION
10

11. TO ACHIEVE THIS, WE MUST EVOLVE BEYOND THE
CURRENT CHANNEL-BASED BROADCAST APPROACH
11
OUTDOOR
RADIO
PRINT
WEB
TELEVISION
SOCIAL MEDIA

12. SOCIAL MEDIA vs SOCIAL BRANDS
Brand conversations aren’t just driven by
social media activities. Everything the brand
does – from its advertising to its packaging,
and from its POS activities to its customer
service – should be designed to inspire as
much favourable conversation as possible.
12
DIGGING
DEEPER

13. IN ORDER TO SUCCEED, BRANDS MUST ADOPT
A HOLISTIC, CONVERSATION-BASED APPROACH
13
PRODUCTS
CUSTOMER
SERVICE
POS ACTIVITY
ADVERTISING
PACKAGING
RECRUITMENT

14. TO DO: BUILD SOCIAL EQUITY BY INSPIRING FREQUENT,
FAVOURABLE CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN COMMUNITIES
14

15. #02
COMMUNITIES HAVE
MORE VALUE
THAN PLATFORMS
15

16. THE (SOCIAL) NETWORK EFFECT
We naturally gravitate to the social media
platforms where we can interact with the
people we care about. If these people move
on to a different platform, we usually follow
them, because it’s social benefits we seek;
media and content are just means to an end.
16
CONTEXT

17. TODAY: PEOPLE’S PLATFORM CHOICES ARE DRIVEN BY
PERSONAL BENEFITS, NOT BY TECHNOLOGY FEATURES
17

18. HISTORY HAS SHOWN HOW DIFFICULT IT CAN BE TO
MOVE A BRAND’S AUDIENCE BETWEEN PLATFORMS
18
DIGGING
DEEPER

19. TOMORROW: BRANDS NURTURE COMMUNITIES
INSTEAD OF BUILDING PLATFORM-SPECIFIC AUDIENCES
19

20. TO DO: IDENTIFY WHAT BRINGS YOUR AUDIENCE(S)
TOGETHER AND BUILD YOUR STRATEGY AROUND THAT
20

21. #03
ALL MARKETING
MUST
ADD VALUE
21

22. RAZZLE DAZZLE MARKETING
Too much marketing relies on elaborate
spectacle to attract audiences’ attention.
The result is a brand relationship that never
progresses beyond an initial pick-up line,
with an over-emphasis on short-term gains
instead of longer-term mutual value.
22
CONTEXT

23. TODAY: MARKETING IS TOO FOCUSED
ON SHOUTING FOR ATTENTION
23

24. THE EVOLVING PARADIGM
24
Buying media space
to interrupt people as
efficiently as possible
Harnessing contexts in
which to engage people
as effectively as possible
INTERRUPTION INTERACTION
VSVS
!

25. TOMORROW: MARKETING DELIVERS ENDURING VALUE
THROUGH EVERY INTERACTION, OR IS TOTALLY IGNORED
25

26. FROM ADS TO ADDED VALUE
As marketing evolves to this added-value
model, so media must evolve too. The ad-
funded model will become irrelevant, and
publishers and content platforms will need
to rethink their business models in order to
deliver a more integral value proposition.
26
DIGGING
DEEPER

27. TO DO: ENGAGE PEOPLE AROUND THE THINGS THEY
CARE ABOUT – THINK PASSIONS, NOT PRODUCTS
27

28. #04
ON THE GO
IS THE
WAY TO GO
28

29. TODAY: MOBILE DEVICES ARE ALREADY MOST
PEOPLE’S ‘MOST IMPORTANT’ GADGETS
29

30. GLOBALLY, MORE PEOPLE
OWN A MOBILE PHONE
THAN OWN A TOOTHBRUSH
SOURCE: MOBILE MARKETING ASSOCIATION OF ASIA 30
(
)

31. TOMORROW: STRATEGIES THAT DON’T COME TO LIFE
ON MOBILE DEVICES NEVER COME TO LIFE AT ALL
31

32. TO DO: UNDERSTAND HOW AUDIENCES USE SOCIAL ON
MOBILE, AND PLAN AROUND THEIR ACTUAL BEHAVIOUR
32

33. ADOPT A DEVICE-INDEPENDENT APPROACH THAT HELPS
PEOPLE TO CONNECT ACROSS ALL MOBILE PLATFORMS
33
VS

34. #05
FROM BIG
IDEAS TO
LEITMOTIFS
34

35. TODAY: SOCIAL MEDIA ALLOW MARKETERS TO MOVE
FROM SOUNDBITES TO ON-GOING CONVERSATIONS
35

36. A NEW APPROACH TO THE ‘BIG IDEA’
As we embrace brand conversations, the
repetition of a single brand message becomes
increasingly less effective. Instead, brands
should harness ‘leitmotifs’: recurring themes
that evolve over time to tell the brand’s story
in various different ways in different contexts.
36
DIGGING
DEEPER

37. ALTERNATIVES TO ‘HOMOGENOUS CAMPAIGNS’
37
Sharing a wide variety of
disparate content that
appeals to people in different
ways at different times
Bringing a variety of
approaches and themes
together at the same time to
deliver diverse engagement
DANDELION TAPAS
A test-and-learn approach
where the brand constantly
tweaks variations on themes
to build deeper connections
KAIZEN

38. TOMORROW: BRAND COMMS BUILD AROUND FLUID
‘BRAND AGENDAS’ RATHER THAN SINGULAR BIG IDEAS
38

39. TO DO: FOCUS MORE ON WHAT YOU WANT AUDIENCES
TO UNDERSTAND, NOT WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO SAY
39

40. #06
FROM SELECTIVE
HEARING TO
ACTIVE LISTENING
40

41. ACTIVE LISTENING, ACTIVE LEARNING
Every day, people share billions of public
posts in social media. Each of these posts
offers potential value for brands, but most
marketers miss this value by only tracking
direct mentions of their brands or activities.
41
CONTEXT

42. TODAY: BRANDS ARE MISSING POWERFUL INSIGHTS AND
OPPORTUNITIES DUE TO EGOCENTRIC SOCIAL LISTENING
42

43. A DIALOGUE OF DISCOVERY
Just as search engines help consumers find
answers to brand queries, so social media
listening can help brands answer questions
about consumers. Marketers can identify a
wealth of new brand opportunities by actively
listening to what people are saying, rather
than just tracking what they want to hear.
43
DIGGING
DEEPER

44. TOMORROW: SOCIAL MEDIA BECOME THE ‘DISCOVERY
ENGINES’ THAT POWER ALL ASPECTS OF MARKETING
44

45. SOCIAL LISTENING CAN ADD VALUE EVERYWHERE
45
PRODUCTS
CUSTOMER
SERVICE
POS ACTIVITY
ADVERTISING
PACKAGING
RECRUITMENT

46. TO DO: USE SOCIAL LISTENING TO INFORM MARKETING
DECISIONS, NOT JUST TO MEASURE YOUR RESULTS
46

47. #07
EXPERIENCES
ARE THE NEW
PRODUCTS
47

48. TODAY: PRODUCT FEATURES NO LONGER OFFER
SUFFICIENT DIFFERENTIATION IN MANY CATEGORIES
48

49. TOMORROW: ADDED-VALUE EXPERIENCES
BECOME THE CORE OF BRANDS’ OFFERINGS
49

50. TO DO: IDENTIFY THE BRAND’S VALUE BEYOND ITS
PRODUCTS, AND BUILD EXPERIENCES AROUND THAT
50
VS

51. SOCIAL ‘BAKED IN’
The most compelling experiences are
inherently social. As a result, brands
that can integrate shared experiences
into the heart of their offering will be
able to command a greater premium.
51
DIGGING
DEEPER

52. #08
CSR EVOLVES
INTO
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
52

53. TODAY: SOCIETY INCREASINGLY EXPECTS BRANDS
TO GIVE BACK AT LEAST AS MUCH AS THEY TAKE
53

54. CSR SHOULD BE ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT,
NOT ABOUT RELIEVING THE CORPORATE CONSCIENCE
54
VS

55. RETHINKING THE CONCEPT OF BRAND VALUE
55
Activities focused
solely on maximising
short-term profits
Activities designed to
maximise returns for
employees and partners
SHAREHOLDER STAKEHOLDER
Activities designed
to contribute to the
greater good of all
SOCIETAL
VSVS VSVS

56. INSTEAD OF ASKING PEOPLE TO ‘LIKE’ THEM, BRANDS
SHOULD DELIVER IRRESISTIBLE REASONS TO LOVE THEM
56
VS

57. TOMORROW: BRANDS EMBRACE COMMUNITY SERVICE,
MAKING IT A CORE PART OF THEIR OVERALL OFFERING
57

58. THE RETURN OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN
Corporate philanthropy is not new, but its
popularity faded in the age of mass marketing.
However, as society becomes less tolerant of
corporate greed, civic-minded brands will
return to the fore as marketers rediscover the
enduring value of doing ‘good business’.
58
DIGGING
DEEPER

59. TO DO: IDENTIFY WAYS TO PARTNER WITH COMMUNITIES
AND ADD LASTING VALUE FOR THE BENEFIT OF SOCIETY
59

60. PARTING
THOUGHT
60

61. THE FUTURE WON’T WAIT
You will only succeed if you put your plans
into action. The sooner you start testing your
hypotheses, the sooner you will know what
works and what doesn’t, and the greater your
chances of getting to the future first. Go do.
61

62. 62
FIND OUT MORE AT
WEARESOCIAL.SG

63. WE ARE SOCIAL IS A GLOBAL CONVERSATION AGENCY.
WE HELP BRANDS TO LISTEN TO, UNDERSTAND,
AND ENGAGE IN CONVERSATIONS IN SOCIAL MEDIA.
WE’RE ALREADY HELPING MANY OF THE WORLD’S
TOP BRANDS, INCLUDING UNILEVER, ADIDAS, INTEL,
DIAGEO, NESTLÉ, HEINZ, AND LOUIS VUITTON.
IF YOU’D LIKE TO CHAT ABOUT US HELPING YOU
TOO, CALL SIMON KEMP ON +65 9146 5356, OR
EMAIL US AT SAYHELLO@WEARESOCIAL.SG.
FIND OUT MORE AT WEARESOCIAL.SG.

64. SIMON KEMP
@ESKIMON
+65 9146 5356
SIMON.KEMP@WEARESOCIAL.SG
WEARESOCIAL.SG