1.
Relevance
M A R K C U R T I S
AIXA 2019 - Milano

2.
Relevance
isn’t a
new word And how we can
make our clients
relevant to their
users.
We talk about
how can we be
relevant to
clients…
But maybe we’re
looking at it from
the wrong
angle…

3.
So, what
do we
mean by
relevance?
WIKIPEDIA
CAMBRIDGE
The quality or state of being closely
connected or appropriate.
The degree to which something is related or
useful to what is happening or being talked
about.
In information science and information retrieval,
relevance denotes how well a retrieved document
or set of documents meets the information need
of the user. Relevance may include concerns
such as timeliness, authority or novelty of the
result.

4.
Personal relevance is at the core
of the human condition.

5.
Globalization
“Culture represents not only
difference but the elimination of
difference.”
Climate change
A huge and complex challenge,
how can a single individual feel
they can make a difference?
The changing world of work
Factors such as the deterioration of
“jobs for life” and emerging
technology are leading individuals
to question their relevance within
the workplace.
Irrelevance?
Why?
(Kwame Anthony Appiah)

6.
What else
is playing
a role in
the
decline of
personal
relevance?
Social Media
The asymmetry of glamour.
But high relevance for some.
Loss of religion
According to the American Family
survey - only 43% see it as part of
core ID, even lower in younger
Americans where “none” is heading
to half. May well vary by religion.
Loss of community
Aggregate loss in membership and
number of volunteers in many
existing civic organizations

7.
And
there’s
more
A seismic shift in politics
….leading to the new politics
of “Open vs Closed”. Brexit:
Anywheres (25%) and
Somewheres (50%). Rise of
social conservatism as a fix.
Divergence of life
outcomes as a result of
education
Accelerating divergence of life
chances for college educated vs
non college educated children. 22%
of graduates live within 15
minutes of their mother, 47% with
high school grades only.
Fluid identities
We have gained much but self
definition may have a price of
making it harder for many to
define who they are as we
loosen previous social anchors
and float free.

8.
Technology is
accelerating
the decline in
personal
relevance
Artificial intelligence
Big data
New dimensions
Synthetic reality

9.
Symptoms

10.
So, what are we going
to do about it?
“Who gets to do the imagining matters”. OLIVER MORTON

11.
The rise of
Purpose
WIKIPEDIA
Employees are asking for meaning.
Corporate leaders (e.g.: American Business
Roundtable) are waking up.
Some are questioning capitalism as we know it or
worrying openly about climate change..cf Ray
Dalio, Mark Benioff, Mark Carney.

12.
YOUR USERS’
PURPOSE
YOUR BRAND’S
PURPOSE
We need to start by
acknowledging the
role brands can have
in users’ lives
Humans have an innate desire to
improve themselves and their lives.
With this in mind, people don’t want
what you make, they want what it will do
for them.
It’s the role of brands to align with their
audiences innate desires, and provide
products and services to help progress
towards them.

13.
Where? Brands
can deliver on
their purpose
through customer
and employee
experience
CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE
EMPLOYEE
EXPERIENCE
Products Services
Culture Processes
PURPOSE
RELEVANCE-DRIVEN

14.
A human
framework for
finding relevance
Contribution
Providing opportunities for people to invest
their time, money and effort into a purpose
greater than themselves.
Belonging
Bringing people together around a common
cause, belief, goal, or desire
Recognition
Taking the opportunity to acknowledge and
reward an individual for having a positive
impact.
Belonging
RELEVANCE
Recognition
Contribution

15.
Relevance
design is not
everything It is not about
being famous.
That approach
does not scale
well.
A door handle is
unlikely to be
designed to make
me feel relevant.
But in many
cases it should
inform our
thinking.

16.
Eight starters to design
for relevance

17.
Bring people
together
Provide opportunities for customers and
employees who connect with your
brand purpose to come together and
feel part of something greater than
themselves. Connection is what drives
people. (Brene Brown)
WeWork
With their mission to "Create a world where people work
to make a life, not just a living" they're bringing together
a global network of people who are challenging the
traditional approaches to working and living through
space.

18.
Create living
services
Get this right and the personalisation
makes the service relevant and makes me
feel more relevant - if the effort taken is
apparent.
Carnival/Disney

19.
Design for
inclusion
Design products, services, recruitment
processes and cultures that cater to a
diverse range of backgrounds, beliefs, and
expertise. Don’t make people feel
irrelevant. Examine the data - People are
hidden……Find them and build services
accordingly.

20.
Place me
Help me see myself in context, in time and
space.
Monzo
From spending forecasts and budgeting advice to your
annual spend summary, Monzo use the data they have of
their customers that provides a personalized experience to
help you feel in control of your money.

21.
Help people
shine
Support customers and employees to
progress towards long-term goals - instead
of shorter-term desires - equipping them
with the tools, opportunities and space to
do so. Cede control.
Unilever

22.
Take people
on the journey
Be transparent about what you're setting out
to achieve, and how you plan to achieve it.
And provide the opportunity for customers
and employees to contribute to the journey.
Monzo
A big contributor to the success of Monzo, is the
strength of the community they’ve built. Publishing their
product roadmap and providing transparent updates on
how the business is progressing takes people on the
journey and gives them the opportunity to contribute
new ideas and provide feedback through their
community forum.

23.
Reward
people
Recognize when customers and
employees take meaningful action that
helps you progress towards your
purpose. Orientate towards long term
goals and reflect progress.
Hilton
They provide managers an annual Recognition Calendar
that features 365 no- and low-cost, easy-to-implement
ideas to thank employees. The calendar includes
reminders and tips for enterprise-wide, brand, and
department recognition programs, appreciation best
practices, important dates like International
Housekeeping Week, and recognition quotes to share
with employees. It's no coincidence they've been voted
the number 1 on the 2019 Fortune 100 Best Companies
to Work For.

24.
Create
Centaurs
New tech is not going away. Examine how we can use
tech with people to create better outcomes that enhance
the individual human. “This is a race with the machines”.
See/Read/Hear/Touch/Recommend/Create (Connor &
Gemma @The Dock)
AR/Computer Vision/Machine Learning
Fjord created an AR system for Airbus engineers to
service planes.
Sandwich Artist Trainer is a VR experience designed for
Subway to provide an immersive environment for
training new and current employees on food preparation.
Stitchfix: AI augmented fashion stylists.

25.
1. Bring people together
2. Create living services
3. Design for inclusion
4. Place me
5. Help people shine
6. Take people on the journey
7. Reward people
8. Create centaurs

26.
What does it look like?

27.
Airbnb identity
When Airbnb set out to update their
brand identity, they wanted an identity
that represented their mission of
belonging anywhere.
The result was a brand marque that
transcended language and anyone
could draw. The marque was
designed to encompass values of
belonging and is imbued with four
meanings of people, places, love and
Airbnb.
READ MORE HERE.
Contribution
Belonging
Recognition

28.
Music for everyone
In line with their mission, Spotify didn’t
want to exclude people who weren’t able
to pay for the premium version of Spotify.
So in early 2018, they released their new
and improved free version of their service,
available to everyone.
“At Spotify, we believe in music for
everyone—and today, we are one step
closer to making that a reality as we unveil
a new, improved, and more personalized
way to discover music and listen to what
you love on Spotify, for free.”
READ MORE HERE.
Contribution
Belonging
Recognition

29.
Saving the
home planet
Patagonia’s mission is centered around
“saving the home planet”. Through the
products they sell, and the messages they
communicate, they reinforce this to their
target audience. To the extent of
discouraging consumers from buying their
products.
Contribution
Belonging
Recognition

30.
Eliminate
rules
Netflix operate on the basis that the way to get the
most out of their employees is to eliminate as many
rules and processes as possible, providing the
autonomy to follow their intuition and expertise. Their
model is summarized by: “Focus on hiring the best.
Set guidelines, not rules. Reward great performance.
Do this right, and you're no longer managing your
people. You're inspiring them.”
Contribution
Belonging
Recognition

31.
Space to
contribute
Brands must serve as beacons for people,
inviting them to align with their value
systems. They must create a place for
their customers and audiences to feel
relevant.
Contribution
Belonging
Recognition

32.
Dependent
Independent
Interdependence
Women and men(both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain
anyone lived in a pretty how town - e cummings