1. It’s all in the game...
fireworks, bonfires,
ice cube, the wire...
and sid meier
john v willshire, head of innovation @phd
measurement camp - december 2009
42. It’s all in the game
thank you
john v willshire
head of innovation
phd
http://feedingthepuppy.typepad.com / @willsh
Editor's Notes
Measurement Camp is a fantastic initiative hosted by Will McInnes of Nixon McInnes... it brings together a diverse group of folks interested in the effectiveness & proof of social projects in media, pr etc etc
given it’s such a diverse mix of folk, I thought I’d take an eclectic, diverse tour through the subject matter
First of all, the principle from the IPA Social project I was part of earlier this year; if advertising is a firework, then social media and other social projects are more like bonfires
Advertising is big, showy, flash, and sometimes jaw droppingly wondrous
The thing about advertising is that it has, as a discipline, been around so long that there are many establish patterns, departments, agencies, schools of thought... it’s embedded in almost every company’s practice. So everyone is doing it
But what goes up must come down... advertising campaigns burn brightly, but die quickly. Whcih makes continually grabbing people’s attention with fireworks a costly business.
On the bright side, it does make advertising fireworks extremely easy to measure
there’s a fixed start, and a fixed end (when you stop paying for it, advertising goes away. And because you’re paying in fixed amounts, there’s a pre-defined size of the firework; you know how big the bang will be.
social projects are completely different. totally, utterly different. as different as setting off fireworks and building bonfires are.
It is such a different discipline that all the skills you need to do it well are very different from creating noisy advertising fireworks... and measuring the effects are different too.
Building social bonfires takes time...
...and you have to take time to get better at building them too
Unlike advertising, you don’t get that quick fix of ‘popularity’ straight away... social projects start small, and can stay small and a bit lonely for a while...
But then people gather
...and start helping out; because that’s what happens at social bonfires... people take turns helping out, gathering materials to feed the fire, sharing the experience of building something together
this way, bonfires get bigger... over time, with perseverance, patience, and openness
but it does make them hard to measure, particularly when you compare it to measuring advertising fireworks
there is no real ‘pre’... and you don’t actually want there to be a ‘post’... and no-one has any idea at the beginning how big it’s going to be.
We need to think differently about how we decide what’s good or not.
We need to take some inspiration from this man
Now, that Nike SB video is part of a bonfire itself... a very niche section of Nike’s range, and full of interesting, compelling content that will appeal greatly to that niche who understand all the nuances held within.
but that’s not why I’m interested in the song; the song sets out all the little things that, on one particular day, have contributed to making it a good day. Pager blowin’ up, being drunk and not throwing up, and not having to use an AK.
but that’s not why I’m interested in the song; the song sets out all the little things that, on one particular day, have contributed to making it a good day. Pager blowin’ up, being drunk and not throwing up, and not having to use an AK.
but that’s not why I’m interested in the song; the song sets out all the little things that, on one particular day, have contributed to making it a good day. Pager blowin’ up, being drunk and not throwing up, and not having to use an AK.
the little things, taken one day at a time, make up a good day.
And as Omar Little said in The Wire, it’s how to live... just one day at a time. Some days are good, some are bad. And you try and do the best you can to have a better day.
And as Omar Little said in The Wire, it’s how to live... just one day at a time. Some days are good, some are bad. And you try and do the best you can to have a better day.
And as Omar Little said in The Wire, it’s how to live... just one day at a time. Some days are good, some are bad. And you try and do the best you can to have a better day.
And as Omar Little said in The Wire, it’s how to live... just one day at a time. Some days are good, some are bad. And you try and do the best you can to have a better day.
And as Omar Little said in The Wire, it’s how to live... just one day at a time. Some days are good, some are bad. And you try and do the best you can to have a better day.
And as Omar Little said in The Wire, it’s how to live... just one day at a time. Some days are good, some are bad. And you try and do the best you can to have a better day.
And as Omar Little said in The Wire, it’s how to live... just one day at a time. Some days are good, some are bad. And you try and do the best you can to have a better day.
And as Omar Little said in The Wire, it’s how to live... just one day at a time. Some days are good, some are bad. And you try and do the best you can to have a better day.
And as Omar Little said in The Wire, it’s how to live... just one day at a time. Some days are good, some are bad. And you try and do the best you can to have a better day.
And as Omar Little said in The Wire, it’s how to live... just one day at a time. Some days are good, some are bad. And you try and do the best you can to have a better day.
And as Omar Little said in The Wire, it’s how to live... just one day at a time. Some days are good, some are bad. And you try and do the best you can to have a better day.
And as Omar Little said in The Wire, it’s how to live... just one day at a time. Some days are good, some are bad. And you try and do the best you can to have a better day.
If you subscribe to that philosophy, then the goal for creating effective social bonfires is a very simple; just make today better than yesterday, however best you see fit.
which is all very well... but how? living on a day to day basis in fine if you’re Omar Little, but what if you work in marketing?