Planning for networks

1. Planning For Networks Graeme Wood

2. What are Media? MIT Exec: “you can call it anything you like, as long as you don’t use ‘computers’ or ‘communications’” Negroponte: “how about ‘Media’” MIT Exec: “You mean like newspapers and Madison Avenue? Yuck, all yours” Nicholas Negroponte on naming MIT MediaLab, 1981

3. What are Media? The MIT Media Lab applies an unorthodox research approach to envision the impact of emerging technologies on everyday life—technologies that promise to fundamentally transform our most basic notions of human capabilities. Unconstrained by traditional disciplines, Lab designers, engineers, artists, and scientists work atelier-style, conducting more than 350 projects that range from neuroengineering, to how children learn, to developing the city car of the future. Lab researchers foster a unique culture of learning by doing, developing technologies that empower people of all ages, from all walks of life, in all societies, to design and invent new possibilities for themselves and their communities.

4. What are Media? From To

5. But why stop there……. "Mixed Media: Oil on Canvas" So the media used are oil and canvas. And by looking at what is left when you remove the oil and the canvas, you can see what they were intermediating In this case, nothing physical They are intermediating a person's view of the world and place in a culture Michael Faraday discovered the theory of electromagnetism His discoveries were of little practical use at the time, as they were just theories He gave them practical application by building the first electric motor He intermediated them This gave people access to his work, without having to understand his theory The electric motor is a medium for his knowledge NB. These analogies borrowed from Dr Cesar Hidalgo, MIT Media Lab

6. Media = Content + Community Idea + People = Transmission

7. Advertising is the last thing you should do Brands promote stories Ideas that solve problems Brands promote stories Communities that tell stories Brands promote stories

8. Content is a medium, not a message Apes don’t groom to look pretty, they do it to bond Humans don’t tell stories for aesthetic reasons We do it to bond

9. Content is a means, not an end Content’s not king. If you were going to a desert island & you had the choice of taking your friends or your DVDs, you’d take your friends. If you didn’t, we’d call you a sociopath. Content isn’t king, content is just something to talk about Cory Doctorow Social networks are about people, not content The opportunity is to create something to talk about

10. Ideas are spread by people through networks Strong ties Weak ties

11. Collaboration is our evolutionary advantage

12. How Networks of People Make Decisions

13. We are super social apes We form tribes around shared interests We change our behaviour by copying others We rely on other opinions to guide our own

14. Mapping: Different directions for different decisions Copying System 1 (subconscious) System 2 (conscious) Individual

15. System 1 vs System 2

16. Individual vs Social

17. How Networks of People Make Decisions Copying Is Human (adult) Does Is People I know People like me Human (Infant) System 1 (subconscious) Behavioural Economics Does People I want to be like System 2 (conscious) Nudging and UX Design NeoClassical Economics Individual AIDA Marketing

18. How Networks of People Make Decisions Copying Is Human (adult) Does Is People I know People like me Human (Infant) System 1 (subconscious) Behavioural Economics Does People I want to be like System 2 (conscious) Nudging and UX Design NeoClassical Economics Individual AIDA Marketing

19. Pulling apart social decision-making Copying Unconscious copying Conscious copying System 1 (subconscious) System 2 (conscious) Unconscious thinking Conscious thinking Individual

20. Different models for different categories Copying Fashion Cars System 1 (subconscious) System 2 (conscious) FMCG Insurance Individual

21. Mapping categories by social behaviour “This is a brand for me” (Category average) Fashion Music Car Shoes House Holiday Mobile Newspaper Jewelry PC Coffee Cosmetics Flights Wine Purchase Frequency Beer Supermarket Cereal Deodorant Credit Card Milk Bank Acct Detergent Insurance Mortgage

22. Marketing paradigms by category Copying Highly visible social cues Low level of rational thought Social cues linked to value. Rational processing linked to cost System 1 System 2 Low social cues Branding offers a substitute for actual popularity No social cues Begrudging rational thought Individual

23. Role of friends, acquaintances and experts Copying Weak tie network copying 1.  People I know 2.  People like me 3. People I would like to be like System 1 Classical purchase funnel decision making. Social at awareness level (eg aspiring to status symbols). Strong tie networks an inﬂuence on purchase System 2 Low interest in product, so network spread requires aligning brand to a related category that people do care about Inﬂuence by experts and people we don’t know (eg review sites). Individual

24. Navigating by the map – Media imperatives Copying Media Creation Media Distribution The brand is a part of the cultural category it operates in, so product news is inherently spreadable. Friends are a key source of influence Eg: ASOS, Burberry, Converse High value purchases that define how a user portrays herself to the world. Media dramatises the brand lifestyle, and product fans are a media channel. Eg. Audi, Xperia, KLM Conscious Unconscious High frequency, low value, habitual purchases. Few category cues to copy, so advertising is a proxy for actual popularity. Low product interest/high category interest means media should be made in partnership with the things people do care about. Eg; Peroni, Cravendale, Coke Media Partnership Low frequency purchase, but in market for short time: hence begrudging rational thought. Low product differentiation. Experts are a key source of influence, therefore are the media that should be optimised. Eg. AMEX, Money Supermarket Media Optimisation Learning

25. Navigating the Map – role of media and community Copying Product focus Entertainment Brand already has a role in consumers’ interest Unconscious Brand offers social value Existing Community Created Community Brand ﬁnds a role in consumer interest via partners Inherent in culture Lifestyle/ Aspiration focus Utility Learning Brand offers rational/price value Inherent in product Conscious

26. Implications for marketing Advertising Strong Ties Weak Ties Experts PR Reviews Price Conscious Copying Aspirational emotive cues – lower weights required to maintain popularity Practical rather than social impact (more relevant inmarket) Purchase and usage help define personal brand People like me > actual expertise Limited role in generating awareness or trust without greater personalization Reading reviews: practical > social. Leaving reviews, social > practical (Audi, VW, Skoda are the same car/ different badge) Conscious Thinking Low levels of category awareness give ads a key role in shortlisting – but awareness ! = trust Actively request information from known experts Social stigma attached to seeking information personally: limited role of Twitter Huge importance – either genuine experts or forums Primary role in awareness and shortlisting preresearch Key in defining perception of post-purchase. Importance dependent on category Low level of category interest makes pricing the default discriminator Unconscious Copying Largely used for speed of spread, or to create stories for catalysts Belonging to a tribe, and projecting a personal brand (as part of that tribe) The source of cues to copy May be tribe catalysts - May be tribe catalysts May be tribe catalysts n/a Unconscious Thinking Lack of other social cues means advertising is a powerful but expensive proxy for popularity Post-purchase Potential to generate low level loss aversion by switching Almost entirely media-based – eg celeb chef Journalist and blogger impact limited to category fans, with limited potential to spread further n/a The default for this sector n/a

27. Role of media/communications Media creation (using talent and experience to create ripples from fans to mass) Helping personal brand curation Media distribution (stimulating and distributing mass advocacy) – splits down by in or out of market Media Partnership (ﬁnding areas of association with things people do care about) Media optimisation In market: (ensuring the right experts are heard). Out of market: NPD to turn usage into comms

28. Ambition: what are we trying to do Copying Tell stories outside of the purchase cycle Create culture System 1 System 2 Find the thing people care about (react to culture) Individual Create products to turn usage into media