What Grand Theft Auto
can teach us about connecting
with consumers.
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Forward ’09 Brandologie
June 2009
Tim Stock, Managing Director/Partner
timstock@scenariodna.com

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in
seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”
- Marcel Proust
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A few things you should know about me...
I’m American, but I grew up in the UK in the
late 60s and 70s.
I went to film school.
My first work with digital was with mobile
(well...the Apple Newton).
I run a planning and research company that
focuses on connecting brands to the culture.
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pardon the drama but...
Welcome to zero year marketing.
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2009
a realignment of...
power
perspective
influence
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2009 therapy moments...
Those who don’t know...
...and those who don’t know
they don’t know.
power
i’m not in control anymore.
perspective
i don’t understand my consumer anymore.
influence
i can’t tell people to like me anymore.
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stop.
It’s not about tools.
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stop.
The future is less about building
than it is about transforming
what is already there.
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Getting beyond Mad Men
The future is not about advertising.
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The future is about behavior.
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programmed her own DVR viewing in pre-K
all content has a pause button
stays in touch with gramma via txt
The future is about her.
about what I want to do - not how I do it
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Networks explain the shift.
The key to understanding how we got
here is first realizing how the network
that shapes culture has changed.
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Why are networks important?
networks generate
cultural connections.
they shape how the
consumer story evolves.
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Networks shape meaning
power
who’s in control.
perspective
the point of view.
influence
how messages move through
the market.
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Old Network
The road as culture network
about generating destinations
currency = where we go suburbia
take-out
road trip
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Old Network
TV as culture network
getting everyone on the same channel
currency = must see tv
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Old Network Interface
Seeking preset modes of interaction
push button culture
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Old Network
Brand choice as destination
push button brands
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Old Network
Brand attributes as destination
new is a destination
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Old Network Insight
A vs. B research & planning
data as destination
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Network Shift
GEOGRAPHY CULTURE
zip code playlist
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Virtual Lower East Side
New Network
Discovering layers of meaning
currency = what we know
NARRATIVE LAYERS
place Real/ Virtual / Local / Global
time Past / Present / Future /
tag Meaning
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#brandologie
New Network
currency = what we know
tags layering on locations
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brandtags.net
New Network
It doesn’t matter who you say you are
meaning = process of discovery
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New Network
Time & space are compressed
culture transcends zip
Suburb City
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Kid Robot
New Network
Time & space are compressed
local gets global reach
West East
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New Network
Influence is altered by open access
the distance between early and late adopters is eroding
we need to rethink how the flow of influence works
KNOWLEDGE PERSUASION DECISION IMPLEMENTATION CONFIRMATION
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Minority Report (2002)
interface by OOOii
New Network Interface
The new expressive interface is gestural
moving beyond push button models
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Iron Man (2008)
New Network Interface
Technology fuses with behavior
i am the device
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New Network Interface Bauhaus University Media Department
students Martin Lihs and Frank Matuse
WiiSpray
“Is it possible to create a tool that allows one or more people to
interact creatively independent of space and time?”
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New Network
Supermarket Flashmob (2008)
RITES OF
PASSAGE
Old Network
Easy Rider (1969)
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Welcome to The Transformer Generation
where we go > what we know
SHIFT
destination > transformation
video
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So what clues can Grand Theft Auto offer on how the
new network plays out?
GTA IV sold 3.6 million units on its first day
an ecosystem of new network interaction
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1. Environment is the narrative.
the environment (Liberty City) is the main character
aligning our perspective to what people want to do
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1. Environment is the narrative.
Reality Check
The consumer isn’t a captive
audience anymore.
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1. Environment is the narrative.
GTA is sandbox gaming
the goal: suspension of disbelief
understanding interactions within environments
understanding context that drives behavior and make
experiences authentic
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1. Environment is the narrative.
marketing must learn to realign perspective
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1. Environment is the narrative.
the participation effect of media moves from
individual to group cultivating passion hives
brands should curate their relationship and
participation with these consumer hives
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1. Environment is the narrative.
seek out passions that drive behavior
map the culture and visualize connections and opportunities
tribe
tribe tribe
persona
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1. Environment is the narrative.
Brand language cultivated around experiential concepts
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1. Environment is the narrative.
leverage the grid
Citysense leverages
aggregate anonymous location
data in real-time
technology offers the
opportunity to visualize
behavior
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1. Environment is the narrative.
leverage the grid
In 2008, Cambridge, UK researchers (in the MESSAGE project) have
teamed with bicycle couriers to measure and transmit air
pollution indicators as they travel the city.
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1. Environment is the narrative.
Marketers seeking authenticity...
first explore point of view.
If your brand can be anywhere...
dig deep to know the difference
between delight and noise.
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1. Environment is the narrative.
If your brand asks “follow me”
will I be reassured that you are
going to make it worth it?
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A Christmas Story (1983)
a crummy
commercial?
son of a bitch!
1. Environment is the narrative.
resist the urge to tell me stuff that doesn’t matter
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1. Environment is the narrative.
make the process the story - open up the environment
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1. Environment is the narrative.
what about research?
how we generate insights should reflect
the reality of the new network.
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1. Environment is the narrative.
point of view requires we rethink the focus group
what data matters in a new network world?
is our alignment right to leverage the data we are gathering?
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1. Environment is the narrative.
Innovation as surveillance
Innovation is not
about you....
...it’s about the
breakfast table.
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2. Interaction shapes meaning.
Relevance must draw on what
the consumer engages in naturally.
Cultivate strategies that leverage
consumer involvement (tags).
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2. Interaction shapes meaning.
Cows with names produce 3.4 percent more milk than nameless cows
engage involvement and empathy

2. Interaction shapes meaning.
why should we be friends?
does it enrich or add noise?
consider how tactics like this can incite
participation - is it worth it being
your friend?
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YellowArrow.net
2. Interaction shapes meaning.
layers of narrative and opportunities for interaction
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2. Interaction shapes meaning.
research must leverage natural language in context
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Laser Graffiti By the Graffiti Research Lab
2. Interaction shapes meaning.
empower interaction and transform environments
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2. Interaction shapes meaning.
everything can join the conversation
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Michael Phelps can have multiple
simultaneous meanings that evolve
understand that meaning is a process not a destination
2. Interaction shapes meaning.
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2. Interaction shapes meaning.
you can’t tell people what the story is
b the white noise noob strategy
a this is real (and disgusting)
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2. Interaction shapes meaning.
KFC falls into the same trap
we aren’t in the telling business - we are in the catalyst business
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3. Embrace the glitch.
glitch exploiting faults in the system.
mod adding new content to the underlying game.
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3. Embrace the glitch.
glitch mod
... about involvement
... about process
... about transparency
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3. Embrace the glitch.
glitch mod
... about maximizing the
“What if...”
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3. Embrace the glitch.
consumers expect to interact with everything
“What if... I had cooler gloves”
Fingerless Gloves Tweak
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3. Embrace the glitch.
Dr. Goldfoot’s Bikini Machine Mod
“What if... I had an army of bikini girls with
automatic weapons looking out for me?”
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3. Embrace the glitch.
“What if... I had an army of bikini girls with
automatic weapons looking out for me?”
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3. Embrace the glitch.
“What if..” =
“There’s an app for that”
the app strategy is about
embracing the opportunities in
context
realigning our
perspective is the best way
of producing effective app
strategies
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3. Embrace the glitch.
what people discover about your brand is important
coke & mentos
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3. Embrace the glitch.
build an authentic market organically
Twilight crew sourced props locally. Designers made their offerings
available to fans via Etsy, giving new meaning to authenticity.
The leather tote Bella carries is a $175
creation by Stitch & Swash in Seattle.
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3. Embrace the glitch.
DJ Danger Mouse
liberate the process
DJ Danger Mouse’s latest CD responds to litigation with EMI by releasing his latest
album as a blank CD-R in a jewel case with art and liner notes. Fans can just download
the music off a P2P site and burn it to the CD-R.
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3. Embrace the glitch.
leverage transparency iCarly (Nickelodeon)
Fred Figglehorn (Lucas Cruikshank)
Real swear-word using online character Fred from a homegrown YouTube series
gets picked up and featured by iCarly, after he trashes the Nick show online.
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3. Embrace the glitch.
Embrace failure -
consumers do.
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3. Embrace the glitch.
Embrace failure -
consumers do.
Spaghetti Cat
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3. Embrace the glitch.
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So what does this all
mean to me?
realign your thinking...
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power relax, don’t over communicate
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perspective stop stalking, see what they see
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influence invest in behavior.
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Stop trying to create
brand destinations...
Be transformative.
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Thank you.
email: timstock@scenariodna.com
twitter: timstock