Gareth Kay discusses strategy in the post-digital world. Some key points include: 1) Strategies need to be interesting, not just right, and trigger desired responses simply and entertainingly. 2) Strategies should be interested in what interests people and have a cultural mission rather than just commercial goals. 3) Companies should create useful experiences and media, not just communicate products. They should experiment with storytelling across screens and make everyday life playful and useful.

1. Gareth Kay: Associate Partner, Director of Brand Strategy

2. I H AT E D I G I TA L S T R AT E G Y

3. S T R AT E G Y F O R T H E P O S T- D I G I TA L W O R L D

4. P O S T- D I G I TA L?

5. 1992

7. A G O O D S T R AT E G Y
1. Will the message trigger the desired response?
2. Is it simple? (“-er” good, “-est” best)
3. Is it entertaining? (what’s the sugar coating for the message ‘pill’)?

8. N E W T E C H N O LO G Y

15. “This stuff is as mainstream as it can be.
Google, the iPhone - these move the
culture more than The Beatles did in the
’60’s. It’s shaping the human race.”
- Andy Hertzfeld

16. N E W T E C H N O LO G Y, D I F F E R E N T C U LT U R E

19. “Nobody comes out of a movie saying,
“that was a really good movie. I really
enjoyed it. It was really clear.”
- Russell Davies

20. $77 million
$220 million
$310 million

21. “We’ve moved from a downloading culture
to an uploading culture.”
- Charles Vallance

24. Pre-digital Post-digital
Narcissistic Interesting
Messaging Actions
Perception Behavior
One way Participatory
Big Long

25. W H AT M A K E S A G O O D S T R AT E G Y N O W A D AY S ?

26. 1 . B E I N T E R E S T E D I N W H AT
PEOPLE AR E I NTE R ESTE D I N

27. H A V E A C U LT U R A L M I S S I O N ,
N O T S I M P LY A C O M M E R C I A L P R O P O S I T I O N

28. BUILD A BRIDGE

29. 2. B E I N T E R E ST I N G N OT J U ST R I G H T

30. Q: “If you had to choose, would you
rather be interesting or right?”
—Malcolm Gladwell, GQ Magazine

31. “If I were President of the United States, I would rather
A: be right than interesting. If I were a CEO of a company, I
would rather be right than interesting. But I am a journalist—
what journalist would rather be right than interesting?”
—Malcolm Gladwell, GQ Magazine

32. I NTE R ESTI NG & RIGHT

33. I F YO U A R E I N T E R E ST I N G ,
I NTE R ESTI NG TH I NGS HAPPE N

35. L E AV E G A P S

37. 3. D O S T U F F, D O N ’ T J U S T S AY S T U F F

38. W E N O W L I V E I N T H E A G E I F I D E A S T H AT D O

40. S TO P C O M M U N I C AT I N G P R O D U C T S A N D
S TA R T M A K I N G C O M M U N I C AT I O N P R O D U C T S
U S E F U L , E N T E R TA I N I N G , M E M O R A B L E
N OT I N T E R R U P T I V E E X P E R I E N C E S
C R E AT E , D O N ’ T J U S T F I L L , M E D I A S PA C E

41. D O N ’ T J U S T C O M M U N I C AT E A P R O D U C T
M A K E C O M M U N I C AT I O N P R O D U C T S

48. 4. E X P E R I M E N T W I T H S TO R Y T E L L I N G

53. T E L L S TO R I E S A C R O S S S C R E E N S

57. 5 . M A K E T H E E V E R Y D AY
P L AY F U L A N D U S E F U L

60. R E DUCE FR ICTION

64. 6. WOR K SMARTE R

68. HIRE D I F F E R E N T LY

69. 7. B R EAK TH E TYRAN NY OF PE R FECTION

70. “The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready;
it goes on because it’s eleven thirty.”
- Lorne Michaels

71. E X P E R I M E N TS N OT R E S E A R C H

72. M I N I M U M VIAB LE PRODUCT

73. C O M M U N I C AT I O N R & D

74. I N S U M M A RY

75. Pre-digital Post-digital
Narcissistic Interesting
Messaging Actions
Perception Behavior
One way Participatory
Big Long

77. “Creative firms of all kinds (including ours)
know that they must evolve at LEAST
as fast as the world is changing around them.”
—Tom Kelley,
General Manager, IDEO