Presentation given in Beijing and Shanghai in April 2010

1. Chief Meaning Officer
Tangible ways to create intangible value
Shanghai, April 2010

2. “Because the purpose of business is to
create a customer, the business enterprise
has two—and only two—basic functions:
marketing and innovation.”
Peter Drucker

3. MEANING

6. Macro-trends
FROM POST- TO ULTRA-MODERNITY:
“Man as the measure of all things”
Downshifting -> Simplicity
Value for money, price sensitivity, discounts
Transparency -> Clarity
Open communications, clear essence
Selfness -> Control
Self-governance, tangibility
Age of Less -> Substance
Long-term thinking, lightness

7. “The job of leadership today is not
just to make money. It is to make
meaning.” – John Hagel

8. The pyramid
is a cube

9. MEANING
FUTURE
GREEN Self- SOCIAL
actualization
SOCIAL SOCIAL
Self-esteem
Sense of belonging
Safety needs
Physiological needs
FUNCTIONALITY
PRESENT
EMOTIONAL UTILITARIAN
The pyramid
is a cube

10. MEANING
FUTURE
GREEN Self- SOCIAL
actualization
SOCIAL SOCIAL
Self-esteem
Sense of belonging
Safety needs
FUNCTIONALITY
Physiological needs
PRESENT
EMOTIONAL UTILITARIAN

11. Social
Meaning
Values Innovation

12. MEANING =
Unique event…
…that you can share with others
…that relates to a greater purpose

13. MEANING =
Unique event…
(DISRUPTIVE)
…that you can share with others
(SOCIAL)
…that relates to a greater purpose
(TRANSCENDENT)

14. PURPOSE
[Transcendence]
MEANING
Internal PRODUCT/SERVICE External
brandholders [Scarcity] brandholders
Real-time conversations
Micro-content
Open collaboration
COMMUNITY
[Sociality]

15. DATA is the bank…

16. MEANING is the currency…

17. CHIEF
MEANING
OFFICER

18. The Seven Rules of the Chief Meaning Officer
RULE #1
LISTEN AND CONVERSE (CONVERGE)

19. …but it is not dead…

20. …but it is not dead…
Everything has changed!

21. “In the old days, brands
wanted everybody to pay
attention to them.
Now brands need to pay
attention to everybody else.”
- Umair Haque

22. Your brand is what other
people say about you
when you’re not in the
room.

23. A brand is a small town
that never sleeps.

25. The conversation
is the message.

27. “Brands must have
an argument to win.”
– John Battelle

28. © Social Butterfly

29. Empathy vs.
knowledge

30. “B2B customers are consumers who have
the luxury of having a corporation pay for
what they want to buy.”

31. Authenticity
trumps image

32. “It has to be based on truth. Has to have a sense of wonder.
You must bring something to it that no one else has because of who you are.
What’s interesting about you is you.”
– Alonzo King

33. Creative
convergence

34. Media
Energy Entertainment
Banking Telco
CONSUMER
EXPERIENCE
Auto Retail
Wellness eCommerce

35. Mobile
Social Personal
BRAND
EXPERIENCE
Instant/
Gaming
Real-time
Location-
Augmented
based

37. CUSTOMER JOURNEY

38. BUSINESS
TECHNOLOGY
Mobile
Social Personal
BRAND
EXPERIENCE
Instant/
Gaming
Real-time
Location-
Augmented
based
DESIGN

39. BUSINESS
TECHNOLOGY
Media
Energy Entertainment
Banking Telco
CONSUMER
EXPERIENCE
Auto Retail
Wellness eCommerce
DESIGN

40. Advertising
Interactive Gaming
Social
media Marketing Apps
Publishing Brand
PR

41. PRODUCTS
Hardware, software,
services
INTERACTIONS
Web, blogs, social networks,
Twitter, forums, email…
MESSAGES
Brand, advertising,
collateral, packaging…
SETTINGS
Retail, events…
Everything is connected. 41

42. PRODUCTS
Hardware, software,
services
INTERACTIONS
Web, blogs, social networks,
Twitter, forums, email…
MESSAGES
Brand, advertising,
collateral, packaging…
SETTINGS
Retail, events…
All touchpoints must be integrated.
42

43. Company Partners
R&D Marketing Exec Retail ODM
PRODUCTS
Hardware, software,
services
Eng. Sales Strategy SW Dev Advert.
INTERACTIONS
Web, blogs, social networks,
Twitter, forums, email, cust
svc… Design Web
MESSAGES
Brand, advertising, Manuf.
collateral, packaging…
Brand
SETTINGS
Retail, events… SW Dev.
Marketing must be connected with everything else.
43

44. The Seven Rules of the Chief Meaning Officer
RULE #2
ATOMIZE!

45. The Shrinking Brand

46. Only 48 seats

47. Only 48 seats

48. Only 48 seats

51. 51

54. Shorter
Hyper-
attention
connectivity
spans
Economy of
micro-scale
Miniaturization of Hyper-
content, products, transparency
and services
Only 48 seats of
Fragmentation
demand and
supply

55. DISTRIBUTION
TIMING
TIMING DISTRIBUTION
Widgets
Lean into the Social media
frame
SHRINK YOUR
Take advantage of
the new prime BRAND!
times
Democratic
exclusivity
Adjust your
marketing cycle
CONTENT/FORMAT
Micro-blogging Video/audio-snacking “Small” amateur stories
Only 48 seats
CONTENT/FORMAT

56. The Seven Rules of the Chief Meaning Officer
RULE #3
ACTIVATE YOUR CUSTOMERS

57. “Brands aren’t defined by campaigns
anymore, but by the consumer ecosystems
we nurture to support them.”
-Mike Mendenhall, CMO, Hewlett-Packard

58. “Open it up and it will design itself.”
Norman Lewis
Top innovators are 19% more likely to have an open approach to
innovation compared to the average company. They are especially likely to
open up their business intelligence and idea development to third parties
- Arthur D. Little innovation report 2009
58

61. If you have something to show, hide it!

63. Create a new reality

65. Activate dormant networks

66. The Seven Rules of the Chief Meaning Officer
RULE #4
THINK AND ACT LIKE
A MEDIA COMPANY

67. “The first rule of the Fight Club: Don’t talk about the Fight Club.”

68. Marketing is like a newsroom

69. Print magazine
Speaker series
Social media touch points
Weekly frog news
Newsletter
Video
Blogs

70. Marketing Hardware Marketing Software
Brand architecture Live brands
Messages Conversations
Sales brochures Endorsements
Feature lists Expertise
Destination sites Distributed/social web
Tradeshows Mobile applications
Trademarks Goodwill
Pull Push
Packaging Revelations
Out-of-the-box Insights
Status Experience
Point-of-sale Point-of-views
Closed Open-source
Look and feel Interaction
Direct mailing Connections
Billboards/ads Customer service
Print collateral Widgets
………. ……….

71. The Seven Rules of the Chief Meaning Officer
RULE #5
GIVE MORE THAN YOU TAKE

72. “You are what you share.”
- Charles Leadbeater

73. “Giving is the New Taking, and Sharing is the New Giving.”
– Trendwatching

74. “You make a living by what you get.
You make a life by what you give.”
– Winston Churchill

75. Radical Transparency

76. Democratic Exclusivity

77. Democratic Exclusivity

78. Free sharing of
abundance vs.
monetizing
scarcity

79. “Create more value than you capture.”
Tim O’Reilly

80. “Media is inherently social.
It provides an idea pathway between people.”
- Faris Yacob

81. Social media will be THE media
Social Media is here to stay.
The influence of the masses will only continue to grow as
Social Media tools improve and more and older consumers
climb the Social Technographics Ladder, moving from in-
actives, spectators, and joiners to collectors, critics, and
creators.

82. Social marketing will be THE marketing

83. All products and services will be SOCIAL
Where?
Social networks
What?
Social content
How?
Social publishing Social search
Social gaming Social shopping
What for?
Social impact Social currency

84. Business
must be
social

85. The Seven Rules of the Chief Meaning Officer
RULE #6
Be the change

90. The Seven Rules of the Chief Meaning Officer
RULE #7
Interrupt Disrupt!

93. Disrupt schemata

94. The product is the story.
The story is the product.

100. The desire to connect

101. The Seven Rules of the Chief Meaning Officer
1. LISTEN AND CONVERSE (CONVERGE)
2. ATOMIZE!
3. ACTIVATE YOUR CUSTOMERS
4. THINK AND ACT LIKE A MEDIA
COMPANY
5. GIVE MORE THAN YOU TAKE
6. BE THE CHANGE
7. DISRUPT!

102. PURPOSE
[Transcendence]
MEANING
Internal PRODUCT/SERVICE External
brandholders [Scarcity] brandholders
Real-time conversations
Micro-content
Open collaboration
COMMUNITY
[Sociality]

103. Chief Meaning Officer checklist
SMALL DRAMATIC SOCIAL CONVERSATIONAL DISRUPTIVE RESPONSIBLE
Micro Making sense Connecting Listening Making you think Doing good
Customizable Cohesion Community Empathy Disruption Political
Relevant Convergence Belonging Adaptive Divergence Socially responsible
Actionable Morale Identity Changing messages Deconstruction Eco-friendly
Eye-to-eye Consistency Like-minded Two-way Surprise Ethical
Direct Imagination Affinity Let go of control Shock Human rights
Instant Entertainment New people Open Unexpected Values
Accessible Cultural relevance Status Respect Unlikely Family
Sharable Characters Compassion Flow Challenging Nation
Atomized Suspense Fun Topical status quo Common Good
Comedy Love Point-of-view Unique Earth
Tragedy Friendship Attention-grabbing
Identification Hobbies Different
Fans In your face