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![Social Media
Marketers need to think about relevancy. Nearly every brand offers a conversation space
now—listening just isn’t enough anymore. Neither is being funny. To stand out from the
crowd, the next wave of social media initiatives will have to offer a service or experience
customers can’t get elsewhere. In this section, Geary Group’s Andreas Roell makes the
point that “it does not matter if advertisers see value in a medium if customers do not.”
It’s about customers and what they want.
Over the past 12 months, social media has expanded to include location-based
services, apps, and mobile. Pleasing customers has become more challenging, but
also more exciting. As Mashable’s Jennifer Van Grove says, “The best brands are
even finding ways to tap [location-based] platforms to turn social media into a
currency customers can cash in on.” The possibilities—for brands, marketers, and
customers—are immense.
The challenge for marketers is moving from the old approach—where something was
created inside the marketing bubble and then released into the world, with data trickling
in several months later—to a new model of continued engagement. This often means a
massive rethink of the dynamics between agency, brand, and customer. Brave brands and
marketers must learn not just to listen to customers, but to respond with the content and
experience they ask for. It may not be easy, but the possible rewards—for all parties—
make it worth trying for with everything we’ve got.
By Sara Williams, DMO Section Editor, Head of Content, Made by Many
From Owned Media to Earned Media: Working with the Crowd
by Sara Williams, DMO Section Editor; Head of Content, Made by Many
The Next Big Trend in Social Media Is Social Rewards
by Jennifer Van Grove, Social Media Reporter, Mashable
Why Twitter and Foursquare Are Dying
by Andreas Roell, Chairman and CEO, Geary Group
Pulling the Trigger to Purchase: Insights on Marketing to Avid Gamers
by Ken Martin, Chief Creative Officer, BLITZ
Online and Offline, It’s All Real-Life Communication
by Irina Sheveleva, Editor, Grape
Focusing Your Facebook Strategy: 10 Tips Toward Better Status Updates
by Victor Piñeiro, Strategist, Big Spaceship
115](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/sodadmo2011-110207143556-phpapp01/75/Society-of-Digital-Agencies-SoDA-2011-Digital-Marketing-Outlook-115-2048.jpg)
![particular, managed to reach its tipping point when A recent Harvard Business Review report correctly
celebrities (Ashton Kutcher, among others) stepped points out that “showing up [via a LoSo] does not
up and brought millions upon millions of new Twitter equate to profit.” And while this may be true, brands
users into the fold. And now, given the increasing and their agency partners need to work together
prevalence of mobile usage, it’s safe to say that more to understand how LoSos can help not only drive
and more prominent figures and culture influencers revenue (for certain brands), but also build long-term,
will continue to select LoSos as their platform of sustainable brand equity. The more these programs
choice. As this happens, we believe LoSos will also can be tied to metrics such as the net promoter
become the platform that “early majority” and “late score and purchase intent, the more brands will want
majority” consumers turn to and that these platforms to become involved.
will reach much greater market penetration over the
coming year. So, whether it’s Foursquare, or the next in a new
generation of LoSos that follows in its place, one
Quantifying the “Check-In” thing is clear—location-based social networking, like
the smartphone itself, is here to stay...and growing.
As this happens, marketers will also increasingly
demand the ability to quantify the results generated
by programs on LoSos. “Clicks-to-bricks,” (a measure
of the symbiotic online-to-retail dynamic that LoSos
enable), is likely to become a more standard and
Just as in other media, there
relevant way to measure mobile programs’ success will be no one-size-fits-all success
for retailers, but for the thousands of nonretail brands
out there, it will be incumbent upon agencies and
metric, though brands are
the LoSos themselves to help generate meaningful certainly striving to find ways to
metrics that can help brands understand and quantify tie activity on LoSos to sales and
success. Just as in other media, there will be no
one-size-fits-all success metric, though brands are
revenue.
certainly striving to find ways to tie activity on LoSos
to sales and revenue.
152](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/sodadmo2011-110207143556-phpapp01/75/Society-of-Digital-Agencies-SoDA-2011-Digital-Marketing-Outlook-152-2048.jpg)
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Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA) 2011 Digital Marketing Outlook
The 2011 Digital Marketing Outlook report, edited by Angele Beausoleil, presents insights and case studies from global thought leaders on the intersection of marketing and technology. It highlights the transformation of digital marketing, the evolving role of consumers, and the necessity for brands to adapt through courage and innovation. The report stresses the importance of understanding digital consumers and explores emerging trends, including mobile technology and social media dynamics.
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Similar to Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA) 2011 Digital Marketing Outlook
Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA) 2011 Digital Marketing Outlook
- 1. 2011 digital marketing outlook 1
- 2. foreword By: Angele Beausoleil DMO Editor-in-Chief VP Strategy and Innovation, Dare SoDA’s 2011 Digital Marketing Outlook report embraces intersections, from where marketing meets technology to how CMOs and agencies are ushering in the era of integrated marketing communications. This year’s report is a collection of insights and story and knowledge sharing from agency, marketing, and academic thought leaders from around the globe. We hope it will inspire you, validate your thinking, and fuel action. Across six sections, our editors offer up key insights, visuals, and case studies with wow factor, designed to make you a rockstar at your next management presentation. Our interview-style “SoDA Chats” explore why brands can’t keep their promise, and how to observe humans in their natural, albeit virtual, habitats. And we look at why courage and innovation are required to transform a city. What’s on the CMO mind and in their budgets for 2011? From our extensive Digital Marketing Outlook (DMO) Survey conducted by our research partner AnswerLab, we find digital marketing at the crossroads of today’s consumers and brands. In an ironic twist, senior marketing executives now turn to the web to find information about trends, their consumers, and even their own brands. Radically transformed by technology, today’s consumer has a voracious appetite for information. Our Digital Consumer section shows the benefits of listening to and engaging online audiences and understanding their comfort with digital intimacy. We also revisit Marshall McLuhan’s prophetic prose and provide a job description for the digital CMO. Google TV is among the game changers redefining brand experiences. Our Modern Brand section explores what we can learn from agile development processes and what the new agency model really looks like. We discuss why sharing is key to the modern brand and how experiential marketing is driven by art and story. The Emerging Technology & Trends section provides an insider’s view of how close we are to a Minority Report world, where wearable digital technology is not just a fashion trend, and where location-based social networks (LoSos) intersect our physical and virtual identities. We make the argument that 2011 is the year for mobile and that Google Instant is the answer to SEO. As the Social Media Revolution unfolds, there are winners and losers. Mashing up peer-based marketing with games is a killer combo, but Twitter and Foursquare are headed for the virtual graveyard (alongside eBay). We also explore how the Internet imitates real life and why rewards are vital, and we’ve thrown in a few valuable tips on marketing in Facebook. Travel with us to Japan, China, Brazil—and back to North America—in our Innovation, Culture & Courage section. We make the case for embracing failure and investing in data visualization, while preparing you to become the ideal client of the future. And we look at how one courageous city’s decision to ban advertising has paid off in increased prosperity. Enjoy! 2
- 3. contents Foreword 2 by Angele Beausoleil, DMO Editor-in Chief and DMO Section Editor; VP Strategy and Innovation, Dare DMO Team & Guest Contributors 7 DMO Advisory Board 10 1 Digital Marketing Outlook Survey 14 Digital Marketing Outlook Survey DMO Key Findings 20 Contains Tables/Charts, Analysis of Survey Results, and Participant Quotes DMO Detailed Findings 42 Contains Tables/Charts and Detailed Analysis of Survey Results 2 Digital in the Physical World of Retail 71 by Guthrie Dolin, DMO Section Editor; Principal, Digital Consumer Director of Strategy, Odopod Pervasive Customer Experience and How Digitally 74 Focused CMOs Are Leading Our Revolution by Justin Wilden, Solutions Director, IE Media An Evolution in Car Sales: How Online Configuration 78 Technology May Change the Face of Dealerships as We Know Them by DJ Edgerton, CEO, Zemoga Designing Digital Intimacy 80 by Dr. Daniel Coffeen, Brand and Digital Strategist Digital Consumers Aren’t Just Regular Consumers 83 with Keyboards by Brian Chiger, Digital Strategist, AgencyNet Case Study: General Pants Co. Online Store 85 and Campaigns by Stephen Foxworthy, Strategy Director, Reactive SoDA Chat with Robert Kozinets, Professor of Marketing 87 at York University’s Schulich School of Business in Toronto, Canada
- 4. 3 Brands @ Play: Mastering the Art & Science of 92 Engagement Design Modern Brand by Sean MacPhedran, DMO Section Editor; Director, Creative Strategy, Fuel Industries Not Your Brand, Theirs! 95 by Andy Williams, Strategist, Resn The Revolution Will Be Televised: Google TV, the Death of 97 Digital as We Know It, and the Rebirth of the Big Idea by Joshua Baze, Director, Insights & Planning, Colossal Squid Industries and Matt Ballek, Digital Strategist/Optimization Specialist, Colossal Squid Industries Do You Really Need a Digital Agency? 101 by Tony Quin, CEO and Founder, IQ Why Modern Brands Need Artful Content Strategy to 103 Thrive Online by Ami Walsh, Senior Content Strategist, Enlighten The Future of Online Retail 105 by Stephen Foxworthy, Strategy Director, Reactive Case Study: Smoking Not Our Future’s—Kanvas 107 by Andy Williams, Strategist, Resn Case Study: El Tiempo Celebrates Its Past by Embracing 109 the Future by Alejandro Gomez, President, Zemoga SoDA Chat with Dr. Ginger Grant, Managing Partner of Creativity in 111 Business Canada Inc. and Adjunct Professor—Innovation at Mount Royal University 4 From Owned Media to Earned Media: Working with 117 the Crowd Social Media by Sara Williams, DMO Section Editor; Head of Content, Made by Many The Next Big Trend in Social Media Is Social Rewards 119 by Jennifer Van Grove, Social Media Reporter, Mashable Why Twitter and Foursquare Are Dying 121 by Andreas Roell, Chairman and CEO, Geary Group Pulling the Trigger to Purchase: Insights on Marketing 123 to Avid Gamers by Ken Martin, Chief Creative Officer, BLITZ Online and Offline, It’s All Real-Life Communication 127 by Irina Sheveleva, Editor, Grape Focusing Your Facebook Strategy: 10 Tips Toward 129 Better Status Updates by Victor Piñeiro, Strategist, Big Spaceship Case Study: Thierry Mugler/Starvibes 132 by Benjamin Laugel, CEO/Creative Director, Soleil Noir Case Study: Emma Watson Digital Strategy 134 by Rob Salmon, Director of Communications, Great Fridays Case Study: GuitarHero.com: Global Franchise Hub 136 and Community by Ken Martin, Chief Creative Officer, BLITZ
- 5. Case Study: ChromeFastball—Race Across the Internet 138 by Petter Westlund, Creative Director, B-Reel Case Study: SAP Friend Network Optimizer 140 by Sandhya Suryam, Client Partner, Dare Case Study: It Isn’t Lonely at the Top: What the Most 142 “Liked” Brands Are Doing on Facebook by Victor Piñeiro, Strategist, Big Spaceship 5 Next Generation Mobile Applications 147 Emerging Technology by Charles Duncan Jr., DMO Section Editor; Director of Technology, IQ & Trends Mobile Is a New Medium, Not Just an Extension of 149 Your Website by Brian Jeremy, Director of Technology, Exopolis Local, Social, and Brand Transcendence 151 by Richard Cruz, Digital Strategist, AgencyNet Mobile Apps for the B2B Marketer: It’s Not Just Fun and Games 153 by Kirsten Corbell, Account Director, Strategy & Planning Group, Fullhouse Interactive Wearable Digital Signage—The Modern Day Sandwich Board 155 by Jim Vaughn, Digital Strategy and Partner Development Manager, Fullhouse Interactive The Marketing Implications of Google Instant 157 by Geary Interactive How Lean and Agile Processes Can Deliver Killer Results 159 by Stuart Eccles, Founding Partner, Made by Many Mobile “Super App” Experiences: From Brand Extension 161 to Engaging Customers by Tyler Lessard, Vice President, Global Alliances and Developer Relations, Research in Motion (RIM) Case Study: The Wilderness Downtown 164 by Nicole Muniz, Producer, B-Reel Case Study: SoBe Reskin Yourself 166 by Anna Edwards, Associate Copywriter, Firstborn Case Study: DonQ Rum 168 by Guthrie Dolin, DMO Section Editor; Principal, Director of Strategy, Odopod 6 Innovate or Perish 172 Innovation, Culture by Angele Beausoleil, DMO Editor-in-Chief and DMO Section Editor; & Courage VP Strategy and Innovation, Dare China: An Exploration of Digital Diversity 174 by Mark St. Andrew, Editor, Cream Seeing Rich Visualization through the Data Forest 176 by Alejandro Gomez, President, Zemoga Client of the Future: In Six Easy Lessons 178 by Andre Matarazzo, CCO, Gringo Adopting the Kaizen Approach to Marketing 182 by Stephen Foxworthy, Strategy Director, Reactive Innovation from the Inside Out 184 by Dave Snyder, Associate Creative Director, Firstborn Case Study: Shrek 4 Happy Meal 187 by Glenn Bakie, Director, Client Services, Fuel Industries
- 6. Case Study: ThePepsi Refresh Project 189 by Kate Watts, Group Engagement Director, HUGE SoDA Chat with Marc Gobé, President, Emotional Branding LLC 191 Closing Digital Manifest Destiny; The Time for Building 193 a New Marketing Infrastructure Is Here by Chad Ciesil, DMO Chairperson, SoDA Board of Directors; CEO, Gravity Federation Sponsors 195 The Society of Digital Agencies 198 SoDA Memebership 2011 199
- 7. DMO Team & guestcontributors DMO/Content Development Chad Ciesil DMO Chairperson, SoDA Board of Directors; CEO, Gravity Federation As founder of Gravity Federation, Chad (@chadciesil) leads an alliance of creators from a range of disciplines to fundamentally realign clients’ infrastructures, communication channels, content and brand relationships to navigate the new frontier after the digital revolution. Prior to Gravity Federation, Chad spent seven years at Whittmanhart serving as president and a leader in strategy, marketing and client services to build the agency’s national reputation as well as drive significant growth across multiple offices. Through forums like SoDA, Chad has had great fun being a speaker, writer and contributor to the national dialogue around the marketing revolution driven by digital. Currently, he resides in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his wife, son and two dogs who resist the pull of gravity on a daily basis. Angele Beausoleil DMO Editor-in-Chief and DMO Section Editor Innovation, Culture & Courage; VP Strategy and Innovation, Dare Angele Beausoleil is a graduate of Canada’s first multimedia degree program from Ryerson University and a self-described “tradigital” marketer. A multi-award-winning designer, marketer, and entrepreneur, Angele wrote a design blog, developed the world’s first Internet hockey pool, worked with Disney Interactive on preschool products, and launched an animated mobile series in Japan—all before the dawn of the new millennium. She has the pleasure of working with clients like McDonald’s, Gap Inc., Best Buy/Future Shop, SAP Business Objects, Bell, Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), and Sony Ericsson. 7
- 8. Guthrie Dolin DMO DigitalConsumer Section Editor; Principal, Director of Strategy, Odopod Guthrie Dolin (@gee3) is a seasoned creative executive, an entrepreneur, and a connector of dots. He has founded two award-winning agencies and partnered to launch numerous enterprises. Currently, Guthrie is a Principal, and Director of Brand and Strategy at Odopod, a full-service digital agency that develops innovative experiences for top consumer brands. Sean MacPhedran DMO Modern Brand Section Editor; Director, Creative Strategy, Fuel Industries Sean MacPhedran is Director of Creative Strategy at Fuel Industries, and he has created engagement programs for brands including MTV, Entourage, Family Guy, Microsoft, and McDonald’s. Prior to Fuel, Sean lived in a motel in the Mojave Desert, launching people into space. Sara Williams DMO Social Media Section Editor; Head of Content, Made by Many A lover of words and a teller of stories, Sara Williams worked as a journalist, copywriter, and blogger before joining Made by Many to help develop the agency’s content offering. Sara writes a lot about international issues and the social development/social media crossover: how emerging technologies and corresponding cultural shifts can create lasting social change. Charles Duncan Jr. DMO Emerging Technology & Trends Section Editor; Director of Technology, IQ As Director of Technology, Charles Duncan, Jr. (@sirchauncy) leads the strategic direction of IQ’s Development and Analytics services. Charles has over 13 years of experience leading the development of award-winning work across the globe for brands such as Nike, Xbox, and Gap. His passion with the intersection between technology and creativity has resulted in innovative experiences across mobile, desktop, and digital signage. As a thought-leader, Charles has spoken at industry conferences such as Adobe Max and Microsoft Mix. Guest Contributors Dr. Daniel Coffeen Brand and Digital Strategist Daniel Coffeen has a PhD in Rhetoric from UC Berkeley. He served as adjunct faculty at UC Berkeley and the San Francisco Art Institute for over 10 years teaching courses in critical theory. He has written extensively about the relationship between new media and cinema, and he blogs about brand and digital issues. In addition, Daniel was a founder of the multi-award-winning ArtandCulture.com. He works as a brand and digital strategist in San Francisco. Robert Kozinets Professor of Marketing at York University Robert Kozinets is a Professor of Marketing at York University’s Schulich School of Business in Toronto, Canada. In the past, Robert was faculty at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Business. An anthropologist by training, Robert also has extensive consulting experience. 8
- 9. Dr. Ginger Grant ManagingPartner of Creativity in Business Canada Inc. and Adjunct Professor—Innovation at Mount Royal University Ginger Grant is the Managing Partner of Creativity in Business Canada Inc. and an Adjunct Professor—Innovation at Mount Royal University. She is the only Canadian in the teacher/trainer group for the famed Stanford Business School “Creativity in Business” program. Author of Re-Visioning the Way We Work, her latest book Finding Your Creative Core was published in April 2009. Jennifer Van Grove Social Media Reporter, Mashable Jennifer Van Grove is a Social Media Reporter with Mashable. She covers web news, start-ups, industry trends, and she writes about the implications of social sites for users and businesses. Jennifer has been featured in the San Diego Union Tribune and San Diego Magazine, participated as a guest expert on news programs such as BBC America and CNN Live, and is frequently quoted by local and national media outlets for tech-related news stories. Mark St. Andrew Editor, Cream Mark St. Andrew is the Editor and Curator of Cream (www.creamglobal.com), an online marketing resource that houses the best examples of marcomms innovation across different media channels around the world. Marc Gobé President, Emotional Branding LLC Designer, photographer, filmmaker, respected author, and sought-after public speaker, Marc Gobé focuses on connecting brands emotionally with people in a positive way. As President of Emotional Branding LLC, an experimental think tank, Marc and his daughter Gwenaelle Gobé, Creative Director, offer insight into the trends that move. Research Partner Design Agency answerlab.com struckaxiom.com Production SoDA Staff Steve Wages, Executive Director Paul Lewis, Director of Operations Kendyll Picard, Communications Coordinator societyofdigitalagencies.org Natalie Certo, Marketing Liaison 9
- 10. DMO Advisory Board It is an honor to have such a distinguished group as part of this year’s report. We thank them for their valuable contributions, support, and insights. DMO Advisory Board Members Ann Lewnes Senior Vice President, Global Marketing Adobe Systems Incorporated Jeff Jarrett Global Director, Digital Marketing Kimberly-Clark Jim Mollica Vice President, Digital Marketing and Creative MTVN, Kids and Family Kelly Semrau Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs, Communications and Sustainability S.C. Johnson & Son Victor Mehren Senior Marketing Director Wm Wrigley Jr. Company Patrice Dermody Vice President, Media, Digital and Social Networking Sears Holdings Corporation Jon Vanhala Senior Vice President, Digital & New Business Development Island Def Jam Music Group Scott McLaren Global Digital Marketing, CRM and Web Operations General Motors 10
- 11. Bios DMO AdvisoryBoard Ann Lewnes Senior Vice President, Global Marketing Adobe Systems Incorporated As Senior Vice President of Global Marketing, Ann Lewnes is responsible for Adobe’s corporate brand and integrated marketing efforts worldwide. She drives the company’s corporate positioning, branding and identity, public relations, marketing campaigns, field marketing, and education segment marketing to ensure strong connections with customers and constituents. Prior to joining Adobe in November 2006, Ann served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Intel Corporation. Ann holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations and journalism from Lehigh University. She serves on the boards of the Advertising Council and the Adobe Foundation. Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information—anytime, anywhere, and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com. Jeff Jarrett Global Director, Digital Marketing Kimberly-Clark As Global Director of Digital Marketing for Kimberly-Clark, Jeff Jarrett oversees the Digital Center of Excellence, responsible for driving digital strategy, thought leadership, and best practices across the enterprise. In his role, Jeff works closely with Kimberly-Clark brands and business units globally to drive mission critical digital initiatives and create best-in-class commercial programs. Known for his expertise in digital marketing, CRM, and strategic planning, Jeff brings 20 years of experience building brands and customer relationships for some of the most successful companies in the world. His work experience includes leadership roles at several large agency networks in North America and Europe including Sapient Interactive, Grey, Leo Burnett, and Euro, where he led the digital and integrated marketing practice. 11
- 12. Jim Mollica Vice President,Digital Marketing and Creative MTVN, Kids and Family Jim Mollica serves as Vice President of Digital Marketing and Creative for MTV Networks Kids and Family Group where his responsibilities include extending Nickelodeon’s entertainment experiences to all digital platforms and creating innovative interactions for the company and its advertisers. Prior to his work at MTVN, Jim was the Global Director of New Media for the Walt Disney Company. He has held a variety of marketing and advertising management positions with Nissan North America/Infiniti and Internet start-ups. In addition to his client-side work, Jim has managed agency relationships with AOL, Heinz, and PNC. Kelly Semrau Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs, Communication and Sustainability S.C. Johnson & Son Kelly Semrau is Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs, Communication and Sustainability for SC Johnson, bringing to the role more than 20 years of experience. Kelly leads all global corporate affairs for the company including public affairs, media relations, government relations, community leadership and philanthropy, sustainability, and NGO engagement. In addition, Kelly also served as Director of Public Affairs and Press Secretary to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture during President George H. Bush’s administration, as well as Director of Public Affairs and Press Secretary to the U.S. Trade Representative during President Ronald Reagan’s administration. She was also Press Secretary to Congressman Joe McDade of Pennsylvania. Kelly earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Bradley University. Victor Mehren Senior Marketing Director Wm Wrigley Jr. Company As a Senior Marketing Director at Wrigley, Victor Mehren oversees all aspects of marketing on the Orbit, Eclipse, Juicy Fruit, Doublemint, and Big Red Brands. He has also held various consumer marketing and sales leadership positions during his nine years at Wrigley including overseeing the launch of the 5 Brand and Director of National Customer Marketing. Prior to joining Wrigley, Victor had over nine years of CPG experience at Imagicast, Inc., PowerBar, and E&J Gallo in sales and marketing positions. He has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BS from Eastern Illinois University. 12
- 13. Patrice (Pat) Dermody VicePresident, Media Digital and Social Networking Sears Holdings Corporation Having begun her career at DDB Worldwide, Pat Dermody worked her way up through the traditional media track working on beverages, packaged goods, and quick service restaurants. Pat spent time in New York doing program development and global syndication working for clients such as Xerox, and then she shifted to account management running the Hasbro business. After a short while at the Leo Burnett Company, Pat brought both her expertise and passion to Sears Holdings. Having successfully made the transition from agency to client, as Vice President of Media, Digital and Social Networking, Pat pushes her agencies to do their best work, and she tries hard to make sure that the best people always want to work on her business. Jon Vanhala Senior Vice President, Digital & New Business Development Island Def Jam Music Group Jon Vanhala is Senior Vice President of Digital and New Business Development at Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJ) directing all digital strategy, e-commerce, digital marketing, and new business initiatives. IDJ is one of the world’s largest record companies with a rich and diverse roster of artists that spans from Kanye West, Justin Bieber, and Rihanna to Bon Jovi, The Killers, Mariah Carey, and many others. IDJ is a wholly owned business unit of Universal Music Group (UMG). A former working musician, songwriter, and bandleader, Jon attended Columbia College in Chicago for Arts Entertainment Media Management and Millikin University in Decatur for Music Performance. He served on the Advisory Board of the IAJE (International Association For Jazz Education) from 1997 to 2006, is active in arts education, and is on the Advisory Board of Blue Haze, a San Francisco-based app development shop. Scott McLaren Global Digital Marketing, CRM and Web Operations General Motors Scott McLaren is a graduate from The University of Michigan. He began his career with General Motors in 1988 and has spent the majority of his career with Saturn where he developed a passion for the customer and marketing. He believes strongly in a brand delivering on it’s brand promise to a consumer and is a big believer in utilizing digital marketing to do so. He has a passion for measurable media and the convergence taking place within current marketing and advertising. He has served in several roles within Saturn and GM including vehicle launch roles, traditional advertising roles, media roles and digital marketing. His current role is Director of Global Digital Marketing, CRM and Web Operations, General Motors. 13
- 14. Digital Marketing Outlook Survey 14
- 15. DMO survey Introduction Respondents Key Findings Detailed Findings • 2011 Digital Plans • Measurement + Performance • Tools + Technologies • Getting Smart 15
- 16. introduction ABOUTSODA AND ANSWERLAB COLLABORATION ON THE 2011 DMO The Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA) selected AnswerLab to be its trusted research partner to deliver insights from the hundreds of brand marketers, agencies, and technologists surveyed for the 2011 Digital Marketing Outlook (DMO). SoDA required a third-party firm known for research integrity, deep experience with executive-level surveys, and rigorous reporting practices. The SoDA and AnswerLab teams collaborated closely to craft a questionnaire that would shed light on digital marketers’ priorities for 2011. SoDA provided access to executives from major global brands, representatives from traditional and digital agencies, and digital vendors and service providers who participated in the survey. AnswerLab executed the survey online and delivered all of the research findings that support the 2011 DMO. ABOUT ANSWERLAB AnswerLab delivers customer insights that help the world’s leading brands build outstanding digital products and services. The company focuses exclusively on user experience research to understand what people see, do, think, and feel when using websites, mobile applications, and other digital products. AnswerLab’s clients depend on its recommendations about product concepts, features, design, and messaging to create more engaging customer experiences that drive results. Global market leaders select AnswerLab as their user experience research partner, including Amazon.com, PayPal, Walmart, Honda, ING DIRECT, FedEx, Genentech, eBay, Salesforce.com, ESPN, Amgen, Intuit, and Harley Davidson. For more information about AnswerLab, please visit www.answerlab.com. ABOUT THE 2011 DIGITAL MARKETING OUTLOOK SURVEY AnswerLab conducted an online survey among 667 participants representing 199 brand marketers, 235 agency representatives, and 233 technologists and other roles in the digital space. Survey participants were recruited from an online business panel and through SoDA outreach to its member agencies, partners, blogs, promotions, and other media. The survey was conducted from late August through mid-October 2010. 16
- 17. Respondents Respondent Overview Organization Type 3% 9% Which of the following best describes the organization you work for? 10% 35% Respondents were split roughly evenly between 12% the three target groups: agencies, brand marketers, and technologists/other roles. 15 % % 15 Organization Type (n=667) 35% Advertising agency 10% Other 15% B2C brand marketing 9% Freelance or consultant 15% B2B brand marketing 3% Digital publisher 12% Vendor/service provider 3% 3% 9% 9% Respondent Overview 10% 0 1 % 35%5% 3 Brand Marketers3% 12%2% 1 11% 16 15 15 % % % Which of the following best describes your organization’s 2marketing efforts? 6% % 18 % 15 15 Which of the following best describes your title? 17% 7% - Two-thirds of brand marketer respondents had titles in the range of CMO to director. 1 - Brand marketer respondents come from companies with9an average marketing budget of more than $800k. % 7% 1 5% 9% 10% 6% 9% 3% 3% 11% 16 16 11% % % % % % % 18 18 26 26 17% 7%7% 9%9% 17% 19 19 % % 7%7% 14 14 % % 5% 5% 9% 9% 10% 10% 6% 9% 6% 9% Title (n=199) 28 Marketing Budget (n=199) % 26% C-level executive 6% Director of marketing 18% Less than $100,000 7% $3,000,001 - $5M 19% Manager of marketing 5% Director of channel 9% $101,000 - $250,000 43% 7% $5,000,001 - $7.5M services and operations 3% Individual contributor 14% $250,001 - $750,000 16% $7,500,001 - $1B 19% VP of marketing 1% Manager of market research 9% $750,001 - $1.5M 2% More than $1B 11% Other 9% $1,500,001 - $3M 10% VP of channel % 28 17 2 28%8% 43% % 43
- 18. Respondents Brand Marketers Type OfMarketing 3% 3% 11% 11% 16 16 % % % % % % 18 18 26 26 Which of the following ranges includes your 7% 28% 7% 9%9% 17% 17% organization’s annual budget for marketing activities 19 19 43% (in US dollars)? % % 7%7% 14 14 % % 5% 5% 9% 9% 10% 10% 6% 6% 9% 9% While the largest portion of brand marketer % respondents market a mix of products and 28 services, more than one-quarter market only products or only services. Type of Marketing (n=199) 43% We market a mix of products and services 28% We primarily market products 28% We primarily market services 1% Other 28%8% 2 43% % 43 Agencies 3% 7% % 16 6% % % 17 Type of Agency and Annual Revenue % 28 28 Which of the following best describes21%type of advertising agency that you work for? the 63 23% Which of the following ranges includes your organization’s % annual revenues (in US dollars)? 17% 3% 3% 7% 7% % % 16 16 6% 6% 17 17 % % 21% 21% 63 63 23% % 23 26%6% 2 % % 17% 17% 5% 6% Type of Agency (n=235) 11% Annual Revenue (n=235) 63% Digital or interactive agency 17% Less than $1M 6% $100M - $499.9M 21% Traditional agency 26% $1M - $4,999,999 3% $500M - $1B 16% Other 5% 17% $5M - $9,999,999 63% 1% More than $1B 23% $10M 1 $99.9M - 7% I’m not sure 5% 6% 5% 6% 18 11%1% 1
- 19. Respondents Global Business Reach ByContinent 5% 6% From which continent do the majority of your business 11% revenues come? While nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents’ 15% 63% businesses focus on North America, 6% have revenues coming from multiple continents. Revenue Location 63% North America 6% Global* 15% Europe 5% South America 11% Asia-Pacific 1% Africa *Less than half of our revenues come from any one continent. Global Business Reach By Segment From which continent do the majority of your business revenues come? % 54 Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Revenue Location (n=199) (n=235) (n=233) North America 66% 15% 60% 62% Europe 12% 15% 18% Asia-Pacific 9% 4% 13% 12% 26% South America 2% 9% 2% Africa 1% 1% 1% Global* 11% 3% 5% *Less than half of our revenues come from any one continent. 30 % 46% 19 3% % 21
- 20. DMO Key Findings key finding ChangingConsumer Behavior Drives Marketers to Increase Digital Investment 1 20
- 21. 6% 11% DMO Key Findings % 6 Marketers Plan to Increase Digital Work 15 3% Plans for Digital Projects: 2011 Compared to 2010 are you projecting an increase or decrease in the amount of digital projects your organization will undertake in 2011? - In total, 80% of marketers plan to increase the volume of digital projects in 2011. - Only 5% are planning a decrease in their digital work in the next year. % 54 15% 4% 26% Plans for Digital Projects: 2011 54% Slight increase 4% Slight decrease 26% Significant increase 1% Significant decrease 15% Same amount “Nearly every metric we use to measure online behavior—things like time spent online, money spent online, etc.—is projected 30 to grow at a tremendous rate. And as more people take their traditionally PC-bound experiences mobile via smartphones and % tablets, these numbers will grow even faster. “Digital” is where the eyeballs and the money are headed. Adobe made a right- hand turn decision several years ago to double-down on digital. Nearly 75% of our marketing is now digital.” – Ann Lewnes, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing Adobe Systems Incorporated 46% 3% “If built and used correctly a sound digital strategy allows a marketer to “fish where the fish are”—it is truly the only medium that allows one to map marketing to consumer behavior in a measurable way. It can constantly be tested and refined all the time. % If used and monitored for efficiencies in targeting, digital production, etc. a digital strategy/work should increase year over year 21 in double-digit percentages with no incremental investment.” – Scott McLaren, Global Digital Marketing, CRM and Web Operations, General Motors 21
- 22. DMO Key Findings ConsumerBehavior Drives Changing Investment What is the primary reason that your marketing investments are changing? (select all that apply) Reasons for Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Changing Investment Changing consumer behavior 57% 77% 77% 64% 64% Competitive forces 29% 29% 28% Organizational efficiencies 24% 20% 25% Top-down directive 17% 9% 12% None of the above* 6% 6% 10% Other 2% 5% 4% I’m not sure 1% 3% 5% *Our marketing investments are not changing. “Considering the overwhelming data that supports consumers engaging with brands more than ever through digital touchpoints, it is very surprising to see 69% of marketers suggesting a similar or small increase to their digital marketing efforts. Does this reflect the need to further validate spending through better digital ROI models, media buying agency influence or simply disinterest or fear of changing their own marketing planning habits? I certainly hope it’s a desire to explore new ROI models—the ones that truly match communication program and/or marketing campaign objectives to outcomes. If it’s media agency influence or fear of change, we as digital and integrated agencies must continue to invest heavily in educating our clients on more effective strategies to reach and engage their consumers.” – Angele Beausoleil, DMO Editor-in-Chief, VP Strategy and Innovation, Dare 22
- 23. DMO Key Findings key finding DigitalInvestment Planned in Six Areas 2 23
- 24. DMO Key Findings DigitalInvestment Plans Trend toward Creating Experiences In which of the following, if any, does your organization plan to invest in 2011? (select all that apply) - Marketers plan to invest resources in, on average, 5.5 digital technologies/tools in 2011. - Top areas include social networks/applications, brand experiences, and digital infrastructure—blogger outreach and games are lower priorities. Planned Investments Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other in Digital Social networks/applications 69% 77% 76% Digital brand experiences 67% 71% 58% Digital Infrastructure 70% 61% 64% Mobile 51% 70% 56% Search optimization 60% 59% 57% Email marketing 70% 47% 60% Digital advertising 61% 56% 52% Viral/social media campaigns 43% 52% 46% Blogger outreach 35% 44% 40% Games 18% 35% 26% Other 2% 4% 6% None of the above 2% 3% 3% “As the pace of digital change continues to increase, digital infrastructure in all forms (IT, organizational structure, culture, process, talent, etc) will become even more critical. It will either provide a path to or barrier from opportunity in the days to come. For those not looking at infrastructure holistically today, those barriers will grow and the opportunity to leverage the other items on this list will be limited with every day that passes. The time for real change in your marketing organization’s foundation is here.” – Chad Ciesil, DMO Chairperson, SoDA Board of Directors; CEO, Gravity Federation “We have made some major investments over the past years in digital infrastructure. Our company is all about digital brand experiences so we invested in this area early. We are also seeing great returns from increased investments in email marketing and digital advertising. Most recently, we are concentrating on building out our customer database, SEO and upgrading our social media infrastructure. We will continue to invest in optimizing our website/e-commerce infrastructure as well as our social networking infrastructure.” – Ann Lewnes, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing Adobe Systems Incorporated 24
- 25. DMO Key Findings “Connectingall the data together in a relevant way tells the story of the “path of the consumer.” I would also argue that because digital is so measurable and accountable analyzing the data can many times get over complicated. It is really important to identify the desired business objectives, the key indicators of success along the path of the consumer and measure those. Far too often a team focuses on several different “cuts” of the data looking for insight when it should only be 5 or 6 relevant things.” – Scott McLaren, Global Digital Marketing, CRM and Web Operations, General Motors 25
- 26. DMO Key Findings key finding Marketers’Own Corporate Sites Still Considered Most Important Digital Media Channel—Social Is 3 a Close Second 26
- 27. DMO Key Findings MarketersFocus on Own Site Still a First Priority, but Social Is a Close Second Which of the following digital media channels, if any, will you or your organization use in 2011? (select all that apply) - Overall, 95% of respondents plan to use some form of social media in 2011. Planned Investments Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other in Digital Facebook 76% 96% 87% Twitter 69% 89% 79% Corporate website/microsite 80% 81% 74% Consumer website/microsite 63% 81% 66% Blogs 57% 75% 65% Mobile application 46% 72% 52% Mobile web 42% 73% 55% Other social networking site 29% 40% 36% Digital screen/environment 21% 44% 32% Foursquare 17% 49% 28% Other location-based service 9% 35% 18% MySpace 5% 9% 6% Orkut 3% 7% 2% Other 4% 2% 4% None of the above 1% 0% 0% “Our website is still our most important digital media channel, with over 300 million unique visitors per month. Study after study shows it is the number one place our customers consult before purchase. That’s why our digital strategy (email, display, etc.) to date has hinged upon bringing our customers to our site. In a couple of years, more people will be using mobile devices to access the Web than PCs. We recently optimized Adobe.com for mobile devices and are starting to experiment more with mobile media. Social has become incredibly important to us. You need to go where people are as well as bring them to you and so we’ve made some major investments in social media. Measuring all this has become quite challenging but we have done some fantastic work in the past year to better understand the effectiveness of each element of our mix, using both econometric modeling as well as customer tracking studies.” – Ann Lewnes, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing Adobe Systems Incorporated 27
- 28. DMO Key Findings “It’sreally easy for marketers to get lost in the marketing world fishbowl we all live in. In our world mobile is the talk of the town. But in the real world brands are still worrying about stuff that we consider old news, like their corporate website and getting a page up on Facebook. Most brand executives are still trying to get buy-in for the shift to digital, let alone trying to get dollars for mobile apps, coupons, tag readers and the like. The truth is that a brand’s dot.com still remains a very important piece of the digital puzzle and many of those sites are just not ready for prime-time. However, just getting the funding to move a corporate or consumer dot.com into the 21st century can require a corporate act of congress so we have to be sensitive to their struggles. The bottom line is that brands need to get the basics in place before they dive into all the new opportunities. Job one is developing a strategy that prioritizes which tactics in the digital toolbox to invest in, when. It always amazes me that despite the complexity of connecting with the digital consumer throughout the sales cycle, brands often have not done the strategy work that sets out the roadmap.” – Tony Quin, SoDA Board Member, CEO, IQ “Integration is critical—across channels as well as between online and offline. Just as critical is the way it is done. Assets should be leveraged, the message needs to be the same, yet the consumer experience and objective needs to be tailored to the particular medium. This is achieved best when online and offline are considered and detailed out in a singular creative brief for a messaging campaign. I am also not surprised mobile applications/web rank 6th. I don’t believe a true paradigm shift has occurred that frames mobile as an experience on any “un-tethered” device and continues to be thought of as simply cell phones and smart phones. The same strong discipline needs to be applied to this area as is currently applied to corporate sites.” – Scott McLaren, Global Digital Marketing, CRM and Web Operations, General Motors 28
- 29. DMO Key Findings key finding 67%of Marketers Are 4 Increasing Investment to Focus on Unpaid/Earned Media 29
- 30. % 54 DMO Key Findings 15% Marketers Plan to Increase Investment in Unpaid/Earned Media 4% 26% Change in Investments: Unpaid/Earned Media How do you expect your investments to change this year in regard to unpaid/earned media? 30 % 46% 3% % 21 Change in Investments: Unpaid/Earned Media 46% Somewhat increasing 30% Staying the same 21% Significantly increasing 3% Somewhat decreasing 1% Significantly decreasing “Unpaid media provides real opportunities to impact how consumers experience a brand. The upside stems from the role of the brand messenger, and its potential to drive awareness. Consumers are more likely to tune into messages from friends, 36% family, colleagues, or social networks. Moreover, they may be more likely to trust these messengers than the brand itself. The downside is the potential loss of control over the brand’s message and its volume. Overexposure, particularly of off- 62% brand messages, is a risk to consider.” – Amy Buckner, Managing Partner and Founder, AnswerLab “Over the past few years we have experimented and learned a lot. While not everything has been a success, along the way we have produced some hard working branded content for Orbit and Juicy Fruit that has driven consumer engagement levels with these brands. We have learned that generating earned media comes from the right combination of strategic clarity, consistency of brand story and highly disruptive creative. But if you can only have one, it’s always about the creative. In other mediums, average copy can at least deliver average returns...in the digital world, the creative has to work harder to rise above the clutter and gain traction.” – Victor Mehren, Sr. Marketing Director, Wm Wrigley Jr. Company 30
- 31. DMO Key Findings PlannedInvestment Changes: By Segment How do you expect your investments to change in 2011? - Plans to increase investment in paid digital media is consistent across respondents, though technologists/other roles lag slightly behind agencies and brand marketers. - While the majority of respondents plan to maintain levels of spending on paid traditional media, a steadfast 14% of brand marketers and agencies plan increased investment. - Agencies lead the charge toward growing investment for unpaid/earned media: 76% plan an increase. Planned Investment: Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Paid Digital Media Significantly decreasing 4% 2% 3% Somewhat decreasing 4% 3% 6% Staying the same 34% 30% 42% Somewhat increasing 50% 52% 41% Significantly increasing 8% 14% 9% Planned Investment: Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Paid Traditional Media Significantly decreasing 11% 8% 15% Somewhat decreasing 32% 29% 19% Staying the same 44% 50% 58% Somewhat increasing 12% 12% 6% Significantly increasing 2% 2% 1% Planned Investment: Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Unpaid/Earned Media Significantly decreasing 2% 0% 1% Somewhat decreasing 3% 1% 4% Staying the same 34% 23% 32% Somewhat increasing 46% 52% 41% Significantly increasing 15% 24% 22% 31
- 32. DMO Key Findings key finding Hiringfor Social Media Marketing Professionals Tops the List 5 32
- 33. DMO Key Findings SocialMedia Strategy Is the HOT Skill Set Marketers Are Hiring This Year Which of the following digital marketing skill sets, if any, will you look to acquire in 2011? (select all that apply) Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Headcount Growth: Hire Social media marketing 31% 50% 34% Website design & dev. 18% 52% 32% Research & strategic planning 27% 42% 32% Digital advertising creative dev. 16% 55% 29% Social community site mgmt. 19% 49% 32% Digital brand mgmt./measurement 24% 50% 23% Social media monitoring 22% 39% 22% Blog writing & editing 19% 36% 25% Mobile application dev. 13% 37% 25% Video production 11% 24% 14% Website hosting & maintenance 10% 13% 11% Other 3% 4% 3% None of the above 2% 2% 1% “Brands and agencies are working increasingly hard at knitting new campaigns, products and services into an already crowded digital ecosystem. We’re seeing a lot of agencies create roles around social media and propagation. By far, the greatest successes come when the social media role is integrated into the creative, planning and production processes. Those charged with social media activity need to really know the thing they are promoting and the audience they are conversing with. Social media isn’t a fix that can be developed in isolation and bolted on. It’s a process that involves finding and priming an audience and using its needs and wants to shape a better campaign, product or service.” – Sara Williams, DMO Section Editor, Head of Content, Made by Many “It is critical for companies to understand the growth and development of social media and its impact on business and consumers. As a family company committed to our consumer families we must be forward thinking and understand how consumers function. Armed with that knowledge, marketing and communication efforts can be channeled directly to the consumer giving them the messages and information they need.” – Kelly M. Semrau, Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs, Communication & Sustainability at SC Johnson. 33
- 34. DMO Key Findings 30 % Social Media 46% Strategy Is the HOT Skill Set Marketers Are Hiring This Year 3% Dedicated Social Media Resource 21 % Does your organization have a role or resource dedicated to social media? (n=634)* *Question triggered only for respondents who indicated that their organizations plan to use social media tools/technologies in 2011. 36% 62% Dedicated Social Media Resource 62% Yes 36% No 2% I’m not sure “We view social media as vital and a highly effective channel to foster conversation with our customers, communities and other key audiences. We use social media to both get the word out about company and product news and as an important listening post for customer feedback and behavior. We actively cultivate and participate in the passionate social communities which have developed around our products and brands. A dedicated social media team, along with individual Adobe employees (from C-level executives to employees in the field) contribute to our social communities with fresh content and news on a regular basis. According to Mashable, Adobe is one of the top 4 employers for social media professionals, something we’re pretty proud of. Adobe leverages both “established” social networks such as Twitter and Facebook—and actively experiments with up-and-coming social networks like Gowalla—to reach a “social universe” of more than 1.5 million members. % With the integration of Omniture technology, we’re also able to look beyond just social audience size—followers, friends, 54 updates and tweets—to measure the impact our social media activities have on concrete business goals including product trials, customer sentiment and revenue. Using social media in marketing is not just a box you check to say “we did that.” It’s a vital and valuable tool in digital marketing.” 15% – Ann Lewnes, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, Adobe Systems Incorporated “Social has caused a true convergence of PR, marketing and customer messaging. The marketing aspect needs to be well 4% thought out and objective based. The PR aspect of it has to be in house and “owned.” It is the true voice of the brand and 26% consumer brand promise.” – Scott McLaren, Global Digital Marketing, CRM and Web Operations, General Motors 34
- 35. DMO Key Findings key finding 6 Marketers Embrace Importance of “Engagement” Metrics over Traditional Site Metrics 35
- 36. DMO Key Findings MarketersDetermine Performance Using Several Metrics Key Metrics for Determining Performance Please rate the importance of the following advertising performance metrics for you (or your clients): *Metrics reflect respondent ratings of 6 or 7 on a 1-7 scale where 7 = Extremely important. - Brand and product awareness, leads, and web analytics—”engagement” metrics—have surpassed traditional metrics like page views and CPM for measuring performance. - On average, marketers rated 3.6 metrics as important for evaluating ad performance. Key Metrics for Determining Performance from All Survey Respondents Branding or product awareness 61% Lead generation activity 60% Web analytics 58% Time on site 44% Immediate ROI calculated from tracked sales 51% Click-through rate 38% Page views 34% CPM 20% “Marketers are becoming sophisticated analysts and are demanding more from the quantifiable metrics that the web has offered for the past 16 years. Incorporating the rich value of qualitative data is critical to establishing and further understanding the new Return on Engagement (ROE) model. An effective success measurement of any and all web-based activities should combine the quantifiable data of # of unique visitors, duration, pages, etc with behaviourial data such as most pages viewed, downloads, comments, etc.” – Angele Beausoleil, DMO Editor-in-Chief, VP Strategy and Innovation, Dare “We are big into measurement. We are fortunate to be able to have access to all the latest online marketing optimization technology because of our acquisition of Omniture last year. And, boy, do we take advantage of that. One of the biggest metrics we track and emphasize is product trials driven through Adobe.com and our other sites. We know that there’s a significant positive correlation between product trial and product purchase on our sites. So we put quite a bit of effort into reducing barriers to trial and driving trial-to-purchase. We are also very focused on site-to-store conversion, i.e., how many people who come to our site actually purchase something. I’m a bit of a nut when it comes to measurement and dashboarding. I just think it’s amazing what we can do today!” – Ann Lewnes, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, Adobe Systems Incorporated “The most important site performance metrics to me are time on the site, path of consumer on the site, links in and out of the site and conversions/sales. They truly tell the engagement or online relationship you have or have not created with the customer. It is a measure of whether an online strategy/content/tools is delivering relevant messages and appropriate consumer interactions.” – Scott McLaren, Global Digital Marketing, CRM and Web Operations, General Motors 36
- 37. DMO Key Findings key finding Influenceof Blogs 7 Growing for Understanding Target Behavior 37
- 38. DMO Key Findings ForCustomer Intelligence, In-House Research Still Reigns How do you learn about your customers’ online profiles and behavior? (select all that apply) While marketers continue to look to in-house research for information about customers’ online profiles and behavior, blogs are growing in influence, especially at agencies. Sources for Customer Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Behavior In-house research division 52% 53% 44% Blogs 32% 54% 45% Industry analyst report 31% 49% 33% Digital research company 30% 44% 36% Digital mktg. agency partner 38% 37% 31% Traditional research company 30% 29% 16% Online panel 20% 26% 12% Traditional ad agency partner 20% 19% 14% Research community 16% 19% 11% Other 3% 5% 8% None of the above 8% 4% 12% “Blogs have grown up from being a basic self-publishing tool into a critical business communications vehicle. Blogs truly offer an open line of communication with your existing and potential customers as well as employees, and offer you 24/7 access to consumer research. Unlike other marketing communication methods (like e-newsletters, banner ads or your corporate website), blogs allow your customers to have a voice: the comment feature allows them to learn more about your business, ask questions, share reviews and interact with each other. They are the hard working “underdog” for building brand ambassadors from within and outside your organization. So, what is your blog strategy for 2011?” – Angele Beausoleil, DMO Editor-in-Chief, VP Strategy and Innovation, Dare 38
- 39. DMO Key Findings key finding DigitalAgencies Too Low on List as Trends Source for Marketers 8 39
- 40. DMO Key Findings TraditionalPrint Media and Blogs Inform Marketers How do you learn about emerging digital marketing technology and trends? (select all that apply) Marketers rely on a number of sources for emerging technologies and trends for digital: industry publications and marketing blogs are the most popular. Sources for Emerging Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Technologies and Trends Industry publications 69% 83% 77% Marketing blogs 61% 83% 76% Marketing peers 56% 65% 64% Conferences 58% 60% 56% Industry analysts reports 50% 62% 56% Digital agency partners 42% 63% 43% Top-selling books 24% 24% 24% Other 4% 5% 5% None of the above 3% 0% 1% “Marketers looking to their digital agency partners last as compared other channels is an indication of the shear amount of emerging technologies being created as well as the diversity of sources creating them. Marketers no longer need to wait on their agency to get an education on what’s new and possible. It’s not enough for agencies to simply be knowledgeable of the trends, they need to strive to be owners of innovation while developing solutions for their client’s business problems. As a partner, agencies should think of themselves as trusted thought-leaders whom marketers trust for strategic information. Agencies need multi-tiered communication strategies for sharing work and ideas. These strategies need to range from daily messaging through social channels as well as messaging through quarterly newsletters and annual marketing projections for the next year. Unless agencies can play a role in the sharing of new ideas they can’t be considered for the execution of ideas.” – Charles Duncan, DMO Section Editor, Director of Technology, IQ “For digital agency partners to move up this list they need to gain a stronger voice/direct relationship with the marketer/client. I believe these numbers may be skewed a bit as many of the creative ideas relative to emerging trends and technology are still born out of a creative idea and in many cases presented by a traditional creative agency of record. Often times without the digital agency getting a voice in the process. It is my belief that true digital agencies start with the business objective, then the best technology or medium to achieve that objective and then finally the creative presentation. This is a shift to the traditional creative process. The more prominence or further “up-stream” a digital agency can be included will increase the ability to inform and enhance a creative idea. I also think digital agencies should push their ability to facilitate and generate dialogue within their clients’ organizations through a formalized blog or ideation process that pushes thinking relative to digital marketing and its ability to map to consumer behavior.” – Scott McLaren, Global Digital Marketing, CRM and Web Operations, General Motors 40
- 41. Additional Insight Jeff Jarrett, Global Director Digital Marketing, Kimberly-Clark The survey provides a great lens into strategic priorities across the digital landscape. Several themes jump out: 1. Increasing investments in social and earned media are forcing new planning models and organizational structures to manage these investments properly. Clients are experimenting with various models but haven’t yet cracked the code. 2. Digital measurement, especially in social media and mobile, will drive future investment shifts. While engagement metrics are getting better, it is still an area ripe for development. 3. Clients are increasingly hungry for digital thought leadership—this is both an opportunity and a warning to digital agencies to start leading strategically, or clients will find it elsewhere. Patrice Dermody, Vice President, Media, Digital and Social Networking, Sears Holdings Corporation The forces at work in the digital marketplace are the result of shifting consumer dynamics, a still fragile economy, and the movement of both traditional and digital agencies to a different center. The same is true for marketers—some of whom have moved from being wary of digital, to knowing they need to do something in the space, to understanding that digital technology is changing almost everything that they have ever known about how to reach and motivate their target prospects. It is no surprise that the majority of marketers are planning to increase their investment in digital, especially as they get more and more comfortable with online video. What marketers haven’t admitted to yet, is that they still harbor hopes of digital and social being able to lower the cost of their overall marketing investments. This is the reason why 67% plan to increase their investment in the social and unpaid channels. Veteran marketers, held hostage for years by the broadcast content creators, hold on to the hope that digital media (not necessarily digital technology) can be a more efficient way to target their best customers, finally reducing their dependence on mass media. 41
- 42. Detailed Findings detailed 201 findings 1 42
- 43. Detailed Findings Digital asa Portion of Marketing 3% 7% % 16 6% 17 % Budget: By Segment 21% 3% 6 23% 26% What percentage of your overall 2010 marketing budget is invested in digital channels? 17% - Fully 47% of agencies spend at least half of their budget on digital. - For brand marketers, the proportion is significantly less—only 26% of respondents in this group spend half or more of their marketing budget on digital. Digital as a Portion of Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Marketing Budget 5% 0 – 9% 20% 12% 12% 6% 10 – 19% 20% 16% 11 12% % 20 – 29% 16% 11% 11% 15% 63% 30 – 39% 10% 10% 8% 40 – 49% 8% 4% 6% 50 – 59% 5% 7% 7% 60% or more 21% 40% 44% Marketers Plan To Increase Digital Work % Plans for Digital 54 Projects: 2011 15% 4% Compared to 2010, are you projecting an increase or 26% decrease in the amount of digital projects your organization will undertake in 2011? Plans for Digital Projects: 2011 - In total, 80% of marketers plan to increase the volume 54% Slight increase 4% Slight decrease of digital projects in 2011. 26% Significant increase 1% Significant decrease - Only 5% are planning a decrease in their digital work 15% Same amount in the next year. 30 % 43 46% 3%
- 44. Detailed Findings Planned Changein Digital: By Segment Compared to 2010, are you projecting an increase or decrease in the amount of digital projects your organization will undertake in 2011? Fully 86% of agencies, 83% of technologists/other roles, and 71% of brand marketers are looking to grow their number of digital projects for 2011. Technologists/ Digital as a Portion of Marketing Budget Brand Marketers Agencies Other We are projecting a significant decrease 3% 0% 0% We are projecting a slight decrease 7% 3% 3% We are projecting roughly the same amount 20% 10% 15% We are projecting a slight increase 55% 58% 49% We are projecting a significant increase 16% 28% 34% 44
- 45. Detailed Findings % % 54 54 Digital Headcount Growth Will Continue through 2011 15% 15% In 2010, how has your organization’s headcount changed in the areas that support digital marketing 4% 4% 26% 26% and/or communications initiatives? Thinking about 2011, how do you expect your organization’s headcount to change in the areas that support digital marketing and/or communications initiatives? 8% 8% % % 30 30 34% 34% 57% 57% % % 68 68 Headcount: 2010 Plans for Headcount: 2011 57% Increase 68% Increase 34% Stayed the same 30% Stayed the same 8% Decrease 1% Decrease % % 26 26 % % 72 72 45
- 46. Detailed Findings Changes inDigital Headcount: By Segment In 2010, how has your organization’s headcount changed in the areas that support digital marketing and/or communications initiatives? Thinking about 2011, how do you expect your organization’s headcount to change in the areas that support digital marketing and/or communications initiatives? Agencies, in particular, saw headcount supporting digital efforts grow in 2010 and expect the growth to continue. Changes in Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Headcount: 2010 Decreased 11% 6% 8% Stayed the same 47% 19% 39% Increased 42% 75% 53% Changes in Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Headcount: 2011 Plans Decreased 4% 0% 0% Stayed the same 43% 13% 37% Increased 54% 86% 63% 46
- 47. Detailed Findings Social MediaStrategy Is the HOT Skill Set Marketers Are Hiring This Year Which of the following digital marketing skill sets, if any, will you look to acquire in 2011? (select all that apply) Headcount Growth: Hire Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Social media marketing 31% 50% 34% Website design & dev. 18% 52% 32% Research & strategic planning 27% 42% 32% Digital advertising creative dev. 16% 55% 29% Social community site mgmt. 19% 49% 32% Digital brand mgmt./measurement 24% 50% 23% Social media monitoring 22% 39% 22% Blog writing & editing 19% 36% 25% Mobile application dev. 13% 37% 25% Video production 11% 24% 14% Website hosting & maintenance 10% 13% 11% Other 3% 4% 3% None of the above 2% 2% 1% 47
- 48. Detailed Findings Marketers Planto Outsource Mobile Resources Which of the following digital marketing skill sets, if any, will you look to acquire in 2011? Rather than hire full-time headcount, marketers will look outside of their organizations for mobile–focused, video production, and site hosting roles. Headcount Growth: Outsource Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Mobile application dev. 20% 38% 26% Video production 21% 37% 26% Website hosting & maintenance 18% 38% 24% Social media monitoring 15% 23% 18% Blog writing & editing 16% 22% 15% Website design & development 21% 15% 13% Digital adv. creative dev. 19% 7% 13% Social community site mgmt. 8% 14% 13% Digital brand mgmt./measurement 9% 9% 14% Social media marketing 10% 7% 10% Research & strategic planning 7% 6% 9% Other 0% 2% 2% None of the above 1% 1% 1% 48
- 49. 8% Detailed Findings Funds Will Shift from Traditional 30 % to Digital Media in 2011 34% Shifting Funds toward8% 6 Digital Projects Compared to 2010, are you (or your clients) planning to shift marketing funds from traditional to digital media? The majority of brand marketers are planning to pour increasing funds into digital media in 2011, continuing a trend from 2010. % 26 % 72 Shifting Funds toward Digital Projects 72% Yes, we are planning to shift funds from traditional to digital media 26% No, we are not planning any shift in the funds allocated to digital media 3% No, we are planning to shift funds from digital to traditional media 35% 48% 4% 4% 10% 49
- 50. Detailed Findings Digital InvestmentPlans Trend Toward Creating Experiences In which of the following, if any, does your organization plan to invest in 2011? (select all that apply) - Marketers plan to invest resources in, on average, 5.5 digital technologies/tools in 2011. - Top areas include social networks/applications, brand experiences, and digital infrastructure—blogger outreach and games are lower priorities. Planned Investments Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other in Digital Social networks/applications 69% 77% 76% Digital brand experiences 67% 71% 58% Digital Infrastructure 70% 61% 64% Mobile 51% 70% 56% Search optimization 60% 59% 57% Email marketing 70% 47% 60% Digital advertising 61% 56% 52% Viral/social media campaigns 43% 52% 46% Blogger outreach 35% 44% 40% Games 18% 35% 26% Other 2% 4% 6% None of the above 2% 3% 3% 50
- 51. 2 Detailed Findings % 72 Marketers Plan to Increase Paid Digital Media Investment 35% Change in Investments: 48% Paid Digital Media 4% 4% 10% How do you expect your investments to change in 2011? 35% - Fully 93% of marketers plan to increase or Paid Digital Media Investments 48% maintain 2010’s level of investment in paid digital 48% Somewhat increasing 4% Somewhat decreasing media in 2011. 35% Staying the same % 4% Significantly decreasing 10% Significantly4increasing - Less than 10% of respondents plan a decrease 4% 10% in paid digital media investment. 11% 10 % 26% Marketers Plan to % 51 Maintain Paid 11% 10 Traditional Media % Investment 26% % 51 How do you expect your investments to change in 2011? 30% 3% - Roughly half of respondents will maintain 2010’s level of investment on paid traditional Paid Traditional Media Investments media in 2011. 21% 51% Staying the same 10% Somewhat increasing - More than one-third of marketers plan to 26% Somewhat decreasing 2% Significantly increasing 46 decrease spending on paid traditional media 11% Significantly decreasing % in 2011. 30% 3% 21% 46 % 51 36%
- 52. Detailed Findings % 54 Marketers Plan to Increase Investment in Unpaid/Earned Media 15% Change in Investments: Unpaid/Earned Media 4% 26% How do you expect your investments to change in 2011 in regard to unpaid/earned media? Overall, more than two-thirds of respondents plan an increase in investment for unpaid/earned media. 30 % 46% 3% % 21 Change In Investments: Unpaid/Earned Media 46% Somewhat increasing 30% Staying the same 21% Significantly increasing 3% Somewhat decreasing 1% Significantly decreasing 36% 62% 52
- 53. Detailed Findings Planned InvestmentChanges: By Segment How do you expect your investments to change in 2011? - Plans to increase investment in paid digital media is consistent across respondents, though technologists/other roles lag slightly behind agencies and brand marketers. - While the majority of respondents plan to maintain levels of spending on paid traditional media, a steadfast 14% of brand marketers and agencies plan increased investment. - Agencies lead the charge toward growing investment for unpaid/earned media: 76% plan an increase. Planned Investment: Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Paid Digital Media Significantly decreasing 4% 2% 3% Somewhat decreasing 4% 3% 6% Staying the same 34% 30% 42% Somewhat increasing 50% 52% 41% Significantly increasing 8% 14% 9% Planned Investment: Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Paid Traditional Media Significantly decreasing 11% 8% 15% Somewhat decreasing 32% 29% 19% Staying the same 44% 50% 58% Somewhat increasing 12% 12% 6% Significantly increasing 2% 2% 1% Planned Investment: Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Unpaid/Earned Media Significantly decreasing 2% 0% 1% Somewhat decreasing 3% 1% 4% Staying the same 34% 23% 32% Somewhat increasing 46% 52% 41% Significantly increasing 15% 24% 22% 53
- 54. Detailed Findings Consumer BehaviorDrives Changing Investment What is the primary reason that your marketing investments are changing? (select all that apply) Reasons for Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Changing Investment Changing consumer behavior 57% 77% 77% 64% 64% Competitive forces 29% 29% 28% Organizational efficiencies 24% 20% 25% Top-down directive 17% 9% 12% I’m not sure 1% 3% 5% Other 2% 5% 4% None of the above* 6% 6% 10% *Our marketing investments are not changing. 54
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- 56. Detailed Findings Marketers DeterminePerformance Using Several Metrics Key Metrics for Determining Performance Please rate the importance of the following advertising performance metrics for you (or your clients) *Metrics reflect respondent ratings of 6 or 7 on a 1-7 scale where 7 = Extremely important. - Brand and product awareness, leads, and web analytics—”engagement” metrics—have surpassed traditional metrics like page views and CPM for measuring performance. - On average, marketers rated 3.6 metrics as important for evaluating ad performance. Key Metrics for Determining Performance from All Survey Respondents Branding or product awareness 61% Lead generation activity 60% Web analytics 58% Immediate ROI calculated from tracked sales 51% Time on site 44% Click-through rate 38% Page views 34% CPM 20% 56
- 57. Detailed Findings Key PerformanceMetrics: By Segment (1) Please rate the importance of the following advertising performance metrics for you (or your clients): *Metrics reflect respondent ratings of 6 or 7 on a 1-7 scale where 7 = Extremely important. Agencies love metrics: They are more likely to view key digital measures like lead-gen activity and web analytics as important to gauging performance of their campaigns. Reasons for Changing Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Investment Branding or product awareness 58% 61% 62% Lead generation activity 55% 65% 58% Web analytics 54% 64% 54% Immediate ROI calculated* 45% 60% 47% *Immediate ROI calculated from tracked sales. Key Performance Metrics: By Segment (2) Please rate the importance of the following advertising performance metrics for you (or your clients): *Metrics reflect respondent ratings of 6 or 7 on a 1-7 Technologists and other roles are more likely to focus on traditional measures like click-throughs and page views than brand marketers and agencies. Reasons for Changing Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Investment Time on site 38% 48% 47% Click-through rate 32% 39% 42% Page views 32% 30% 38% CPM 18% 22% 20% 57
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- 59. Detailed Findings Marketers Planfor Social Web Channels in 2011 Which of the following digital media channels, if any, will you or your organization use in 2011? (select all that apply) - Overall, 95% of respondents plan to use some form of social media in 2011. Planned Investments Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other in Digital Facebook 76% 96% 87% Twitter 69% 89% 79% Corporate website/microsite 80% 81% 74% Consumer website/microsite 63% 81% 66% Blogs 57% 75% 65% Mobile application 46% 72% 52% Mobile web 42% 73% 55% Other social networking site 29% 40% 36% Digital screen/environment 21% 44% 32% Foursquare 17% 49% 28% Other location-based service 9% 35% 18% MySpace 5% 9% 6% Orkut 3% 7% 2% Other 4% 2% 4% None of the above 1% 0% 0% 59
- 60. Detailed Findings Marketers UseSocial Media for Outbound Communication In which of the following ways, if any, does your organization use social media tools? (select all that apply) While outbound communication with customers is today’s norm for social media, product/messaging innovation, inbound feedback, and research are catching up. Technologists/ Use of Social Media Tools Brand Marketers Agencies Other Outbound communication w/ our customers 77% 81% 78% To drive product or messaging innovation 54% 69% 62% Inbound feedback from our customers 53% 67% 60% To help us better understand our customers 48% 70% 52% None of the above 3% 3% 6% Other 2% 2% 3% 60
- 61. Detailed Findings Marketing OrganizationsBring Social Media 30 % In-House 46% Dedicated Social Media Resource 3% % Does your organization have a role or resource dedicated to social media? (n=634)* 21 *Question triggered only for respondents who indicated that their organizations plan to use social media tools/technologies in 2011. 36% 62% Dedicated Social Media Resource 62% Yes 36% No 2% I’m not sure % 54 15% 4% 26% 61
- 62. Detailed Findings Outsourcing SocialMedia Efforts Has Yet to Take Hold Outsource Social Media Efforts 3 6% Does your organization outsource social media efforts? (n=228)* 62% *Question triggered only for respondents who indicated that their organizations plan to use social media tools/technologies in 2011 but did not have a dedicated social media role or resource. - Among respondents who do not have an in-house social media resource, the majority do not outsource social media efforts either. - These marketers may forgo social media altogether or have a decentralized approach to social media within their organization. - Only 29% of those without a dedicated social media role outsource these efforts. This implies a distributed or ad hoc social media effort/strategy from these respondents. % 14 14% 71% Outsource Social Media Efforts 71% No, we do not outsource social media efforts 14% Yes, we outsource to an independent contractor 14% Yes, we outsource to an agency 1% Yes, we outsource to another entity % 23 62
- 63. Detailed Findings 36% Outsourcing Social Media Efforts: 62% By Segment Does your organization outsource social media efforts? *Question triggered only for respondents who indicated that their organizations plan to use social media tools/technologies in 2011 but did not have a dedicated social media role or resource. - Amongst brand marketers who plan to use social media in 2011 but don’t have in-house dedicated resources, more than one-quarter outsource efforts to an agency. - Agencies that outsource social media efforts look to independent contractors for support. % 14 Technologists/ Brand Marketers Agencies Other Outsource Social Media Efforts (n=65)* (n=68)* 14% (n=95)* 71% No, we do not outsource social media efforts 65% 69% 76% Yes, we outsource to an agency 26% 10% 6% Yes, we outsource to an ind. contractor 9% 19% 17% Yes, we outsource to another entity 0% 1% 1% Investment in Social Media Will Grow in 2011 % 23 Change in Social Media Investment % 75 Compared to 2010, how do you expect your organization’s investment in social media marketing initiatives to change in 2011? Change in Social Media Investment Three-in-four marketers are planning to invest more 75% We will invest more in 2011 in social media in 2011. 23% We will invest about the same amount in 2011 2% We will invest less in 2011 63
- 64. Detailed Findings Planned Investmentin Social Media: By Segment Compared to 2010, how do you expect your organization’s investment in social media marketing initiatives to change in 2011? - Agencies will drive an increase in social media in 2011, with 85% planning to spend more than in 2010. - Brand marketers trail the agency experts, with 65% planning to grow their social media investment in 2011. Planned Social Media Investment Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/ in 2011 Other We will invest less in social media mktg. 2% 1% 2% We will invest the same 33% 14% 25% We will invest more in social medial mktg. 65% 85% 73% 64
- 65. Detailed Findings Mobile Appsand Supporting Tools Will Be Important in 2011 and 2012 Which of the following, if any, do you perceive to be the important technologies for digital marketing for 2011 and 2012? (select all that apply) - Marketers look to mobile applications and technologies that tie into mobile apps—location-based technology and HTML5—for digital marketing in 2011 and 2012. Important Digital Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Technologies iPhone applications 77% 89% 85% Android applications 52% 70% 67% Location-based technology 42% 72% 59% HTML5 50% 69% 55% Web platforms (CMS) 50% 47% 46% E-coupon (mobile and web) 42% 48% 42% Social gaming applications 25% 56% 39% BlackBerry applications 44% 36% 38% Flash 10+ 25% 34% 31% Micro-Transaction 17% 21% 23% Silverlight 9% 9% 10% Other 2% 2% 5% None of the above 4% 0% 1% 65
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- 67. Detailed Findings Traditional PrintMedia and Blogs Inform Marketers How do you learn about emerging digital marketing technology and trends? (select all that apply) Marketers rely on a number of sources for emerging technologies and trends for digital: industry publications and marketing blogs are the most popular. Sources for Emerging Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Technologies and Trends Industry publications 69% 83% 77% Marketing blogs 61% 83% 76% Marketing peers 56% 65% 64% Conferences 58% 60% 56% Industry analysts reports 50% 62% 56% Digital agency partners 42% 63% 43% Top-selling books 24% 24% 24% Other 4% 5% 5% None of the above 3% 0% 1% 67
- 68. Detailed Findings For CustomerIntelligence, In-House Research Still Reigns How do you learn about your customers’ online profiles and behavior? (select all that apply) While marketers continue to look to in-house research for information about customers’ online profiles and behavior, blogs are growing in influence, especially at agencies. Sources for Customer Brand Marketers Agencies Technologists/Other Behavior In-house research division 52% 53% 44% Blogs 32% 54% 45% Industry analyst report 31% 49% 33% Digital research company 30% 44% 36% Digital mktg. agency partner 38% 37% 31% Traditional research company 30% 29% 16% Online panel 20% 26% 12% Traditional ad agency partner 20% 19% 14% Research community 16% 19% 11% Other 3% 5% 8% None of the above 8% 4% 12% 68
- 69. Digital Consumer 69
- 70. Digital Consumer The digital landscape is transforming consumers’ behaviors at a blistering speed and expectations have never been higher. Not only are consumers more informed and vocal, they’re also demanding value, instant results, and a level of customization with even the most basic commodities. The proliferation of mobile web, splintering communication channels, and mass adoption of social media has introduced a new level of complexity to marketing and brand building. Marketers now must navigate an elaborate landscape. While challenging, it also offers robust opportunities for a deeper understanding of, and connection to, the people who consume there. Consumers’ actions are being captured and amplified on this network—creating a pervasive social fabric that’s growing richer with knowledge, and influence, every day. In the following section, we explore the rapidly evolving world of digital consumers, and their relationship with brands. We call out trends, innovations, and emerging best practices across the consumer lifecycle. We explore the behaviors, attitudes, and aspirations of those that transact and consume across the digital landscape. We examine their patterns and preferences to better understand what makes them tick. And, we venture where these evolving consumer predilections could lead the marketing industry. By Guthrie Dolin, DMO Section Editor; Principal, Director of Strategy, Odopod Digital in the Physical World of Retail by Guthrie Dolin, DMO Section Editor; Principal, Director of Strategy, Odopod Pervasive Customer Experience and How Digitally Focused CMOs Are Leading Our Revolution by Justin Wilden, Solutions Director, IE Media An Evolution in Car Sales: How Online Configuration Technology May Change the Face of Dealerships as We Know Them by DJ Edgerton, CEO, Zemoga Designing Digital Intimacy by Dr. Daniel Coffeen, Brand and Digital Strategist Digital Consumers Aren’t Just Regular Consumers with Keyboards by Brian Chiger, Digital Strategist, AgencyNet Case Study: General Pants Co. Online Store and Campaigns by Stephen Foxworthy, Strategy Director, Reactive SoDA Chat with Robert Kozinets, Professor of Marketing at York University’s Schulich School of Business in Toronto, Canada. 70
- 71. Digital Consumer 2 opinion Digital in the Physical World of Retail So, this guy walks into a store with the Internet in his pocket… With shoppers, stores, and merchandise all perpetually connected to a dynamic cloud of information and services, it’s clear that retailing in the physical world is undergoing a seismic shift. In fact, the digital landscape has overlaid just By: Guthrie Dolin about every aspect and touchpoint of the consumer shopping DMO Section Editor Principal, Director of Strategy experience, from previsit research and in-store consideration Odopod through the purchase process and beyond. Moreover, the shifting landscape is also promoting entirely new behaviors in the world of physical retailing. The Last Mile Guthrie Dolin (@gee3) is a seasoned For well over a decade, e-commerce has been a cornerstone in the growth and creative executive, development of the Internet. In that time, e-tailing has matured, the experience has an entrepreneur, and been refined, and consumer usage has grown rapidly. In fact, online sales in the US connector of dots. He has founded are projected to be over $170 billion in 2010. Nonetheless, while online retailing has two award-winning experienced phenomenal growth, the lion’s share of consumer transactions still take agencies and place out in the physical world. In 2009, that share was 72%. partnered to launch numerous enterprises. Currently, Guthrie E-commerce is now ubiquitous and new digital technologies have shifted consumer is a principal, and behaviors and attitudes, encouraging the brick-and-mortar retailers to find digital Director of Brand and Strategy at means to enhance and augment the customer’s in-store experience. Odopod, a full-service digital agency that We’ve seen a great deal of experimentation in this arena in the last two years, develops innovative experiences for top much of it in the form of conceptual prototypes. But now, with the proliferation of consumer brands. web-enabled, geo-aware mobile devices and state-of-the-art display technology, many new concepts are starting to take shape that are directly applicable to physical retail experiences. 71
- 72. So, this guywalks into a store with the Internet Foursquare and Gowalla. And now, with Google in his pocket… and Facebook Places in the mix, the idea of “checking-in” is even more commonplace. However, With shoppers, stores, and merchandise all the Promised Land for the category is far beyond perpetually connected to a dynamic cloud of users gaining check-in supremacy—it’s about information and services, it’s clear that retailing in the delivering contextually relevant services. physical world is undergoing a seismic shift. In fact, the digital landscape has overlaid just about every There are three key ways location-based systems aspect and touchpoint of the consumer shopping are shifting the retail experience. First, they connect experience, from previsit research and in-store consumers to products and locations available in consideration through the purchase process and their immediate vicinity. Second, products themselves beyond. Moreover, the shifting landscape is also can deliver detailed information, as well as opinions promoting entirely new behaviors in the world of and reviews from trusted sources. Third, these physical retailing. applications give retailers the ability to deliver highly tailored incentives when consumers are most likely to Shopping with the Network redeem them: at the point of decision. Shopping with friends and soliciting opinions about Similar to SEM, location-based marketing delivers potential purchases is nothing new. However, with consumers highly relevant and timely incentives, over 150 million people accessing Facebook on which significantly increase response and drive mobile devices, they’re not just shopping with a conversion. Additionally, because it is a dynamic select few, they’re shopping with their entire platform, it can be measured and optimized in near network. And, new social-shopping experiences, real-time. such as GoTryItOn.com, are giving people the opportunity to socialize purchases beyond their immediate networks. Some retailers are leveraging these new behaviors Creating helpful applications for by installing connected screens in dressing rooms discovery and decision-making, and at cosmetic counters so that sharing with their social networks is baked into the in-store experience. as well as delivering delightful Implementations such as Macy’s “Magic Mirror,” interactions and unique BP Photobooth for Nordstrom’s juniors, and the environments, will certainly help Diesel Cam, have the ability to both influence and amplify the individual consumer decisions made at foster loyalty from the increasingly point-of-sale. fickle shopper. While sharing images of oneself trying out products to a massive network for feedback may be fun for some, surely it would be mortifying for others. That said, it Dynamic Environments appears social retailing is here to stay. The advancement of digital signage and touch screen Location, Location, Location monitors has enabled retailers to serve up targeted interactive content. But more importantly, they can 2010 saw a tremendous uptick in the usage and dynamically adjust displays and messaging based on proliferation of location-based social platforms, like who is in the store. 72
- 73. Facial recognition technologyhas made it possible Slippery Slope to Loyalty to identify a shopper’s demographic makeup, allowing retailers to tune the shopping environment Many digital technologies at retail are extremely accordingly. One step more, and it’s possible to track well suited for customer relationships and driving and measure what shoppers are looking at and even loyalty. In fact, something as simple as delivering a gauge their reaction. paperless receipt after a device-based transaction, or offering rewards based on previous purchases, While targeted content is an expectation online, can be a natural first step in establishing an bringing these practices into real-world environments ongoing conversation. Additionally, creating helpful has to be done with sensitivity, as there is a fine line applications for discovery and decision-making, as between being smart and being a smartass. well as delivering delightful interactions and unique environments, will certainly help foster loyalty from the Device-Based Currency increasingly fickle shopper. There are a host of new products and services New Frontier, New Questions that are fundamentally recasting how people are making purchases in the physical world. In fact, all These digital trends at retail do beg questions. For web-enabled devices are now ports for conducting example, how do you bring the digital functionality all aspects of any monetary transaction. back into the physical world in a way that is meaningful for an empowered consumer? And, how This means that for vendors and customers alike, do retailers capitalize on consumers’ multimodal making and accepting payments will be easier than behavior and offer a more differentiated experience? ever before. For example, products like Venmo Perhaps most importantly, with all that’s possible in (venmo.com), allow an individual to text money to the wired retail landscapes, what’s really going to anyone from their phone. Additionally, services like move the needle? Subports (subports.com) have made it possible for independent vendors to sell goods and services by text message. Products like Square (squareup.com) turn smartphones into credit card swipers. And others, like Visa’s payWave, turn phones into credit cards. Services like these will surely drive ideas like “the cash wrap counter” into extinction. 73
- 74. Digital Consumer 2 opinion Pervasive Customer Experience and How Digitally Focused CMOs Are Leading Our Revolution A massive shift is happening, and in 2011 we will witness how the digitally focused CMO (dCMO) will replace the specialist digital executive fraternity. The dCMOs are leading the charge to draft and own a company’s strategic initiatives in the digital landscape–they are a new category of digital strategists. These By: Justin Wilden Solutions Director, digerati have lived with “always on” connectivity every day and IE Media developed their careers within the digital arena. They know that digital touchpoints are not websites and applications, favoring to echo their customer’s viewpoint that “digital tools” are simply products and services delivered via a digital experience. Pervasive Customer Experience and How Digitally Focused CMOs Are Leading Justin Wilden (@justinwilden) has Our Revolution dedicated 15 years to the digital industry The dCMO set realizes that the focus of a company’s digital strategy is to inject as an online product core business processes and a set of optimal customer behavioral attributes into a entrepreneur and user experience design “proprietary” digital platform (N.B. proprietary does not mean to build the platform (UXD) specialist. from scratch). His passion is creating innovative Building the right digital platform means delivering consistent customer experiences and compelling user-centered solutions. in any channel or on any device to ensure that customers are engaged with brands anywhere and at anytime. This is the pervasive customer experience. Start Thinking Like a dCMO The ubiquitous nature of digital means people consume information on their platform of choice. For brands this means start creating a 2015 Digital Roadmap with a vision on how a digital platform will engage with customers in a multiplatform world. 74
- 75. A dCMO’s thinkingis powered by a deep to aid in defining the pervasive behaviors that will understanding that customers live in a connected have an impact on the mobile offer. world, and they expect a consistent product experience to be delivered across mobile, desktop, The goal is to identify customer behaviors that and other digital touchpoints. need to be satisfied to deliver a compelling product experience. The next step is to link the best The act of defining the customer behaviors that behavioral attributes with specific product features to are critical to the success of delivering a product maximize the customer experience offer. This sets up experience means determining the optimal the foundation for redefining the mobile product as a intersection of customer behavior with the company’s pervasive solution. customer experience offer. Uniting Client and Vendor Strategy Consider a cinema chain selling movie tickets: a dCMO would take a few steps back and recognize that the most basic step in getting people into the cinema is the ticket purchase process. That means the strategy is not to brief a vendor about building a “mobile website that will facilitate ticket sales for customers on the run,” in its place is the need for a digital platform that can manage and deliver the core pervasive customer experience attributes related to a ticket purchase. Fundamentally, to be considered pervasive, the On the flip side, the vendor’s project is twofold: behavioral attributes need to be transferrable between first, to design a technical layer (API) to deliver the the various channels and devices that customers pervasive ticket purchase experience so that it can are using. The optimal attributes are captured in the be consumed in any platform. Second, to build a behavioral rules (engine) of the digital platform. compelling mobile ticket buying experience that can be seamlessly delivered to any device, not just a “mobi” site, native iPhone app, or other solution left to Rethink the Next Digital Project drift in its own experience-vacuum. Before embarking on the next CRM, CMS, or app project, brands should rethink their digital strategy. Bonus Points for Figuring Out the Next Step Instead of thinking about the next website or online campaign, a business needs to analyze its digital With insight into the cinema group’s evolution over landscape to uncover digital assets that can be the next five years as it strategically navigates towards transformed into customer-facing, connected successfully achieving its 2015 Digital Roadmap, the products or services. dCMO will have outlined strategies to exploit the fact that movies are already a digital asset and can be And as an alternative to simply writing a brief to transformed into a digital product. transform a website into a mobile website, strip the mobile offer down to the core customer behaviors Using the pervasive customer experience approach, to see how it works from a customer’s perspective. the dCMO isolates specific customer behaviors to Commence by creating customer experience models architect an innovative movie-viewing experience, 75
- 76. uncovers new audiencesegments, and builds a plan shelf, pick up a CD from your library, and take it with to launch a new digital service to satisfy at least one you on a road trip. of the segments. Apple realized that the killer pervasive customer experience attribute was the convenience in “picking Archetype the Future Competitive Differentiator it up and taking it somewhere.” When people could The pervasive customer experience approach is sync the iPod with their computer and easily transfer essential where competitors have exactly the same music between the two, Apple had nailed the process. pervasive customer experience by closely mirroring closely the customer’s existing behavior. Investing in the development of unique brand and user experiences is impossible when the digital foundations The icing on the cake was ensuring that the are formed from a standard set of business rules built same product experience that started on the Mac on top of the same industry-compliant, technical flavor was made available on the Windows PC. Apple of the month. The results are entire industries with uncovered a pervasive experience attribute that feature-bloated, copycat websites that achieve zilch provided a blueprint for designing a brand and user for customer engagement. experience that was transferable and could be delivered on any platform and device. The dCMO needs to run an agenda to determine which customer behaviors are pervasive and then The core reason for the success of Apple’s music embed these attributes in the digital platform. strategy is the ecosystem that borrows all the best Unique brand experiences will be easier to produce parts of what people were already doing in the because the digital products are intrinsically based real world. Every project must give credit to what on customer behaviors and inherently speak directly customers actually do, and then embed the aligned to the audience. behavior-experience attributes in the digital platform Furthermore, competitors will not be in a position to Real World 2: Platforms and Devices creatively swipe the integrated interface and experience offers because their underlying digital platform will not Apple’s modus operandi is not a result of its be built on the same pervasive attributes. supersized cash reserves. A far smaller start-up in San Francisco is also pushing the pervasive model Real World 1: Mirror Existing Behavior in the word-processing space. The digital music distribution business model was Evernote is an online note service, where a user can not solved by a particular file format, definitely not store and retrieve notes via both Mac and Windows by digital rights management technology, or the desktop software, and mobile devices such as shininess of a portable mp3 player. It was pervasive smartphones and tablets. This is the essence of a customer experience, and in particular, understanding great pervasive customer experience—knowing that and defining the behavioral attributes that are coded “people want their notes now”—Evernote designed in music consumption that redefined this industry in its product to solve this problem. the digital era. Evernote didn’t build better software; it developed While CDs, cassettes, and vinyl are cumbersome, a digital platform for customers to save notes to a and inferior in many ways, they offer one very cloud-based server, supported by a user interface pervasive experience: you can walk over to your that is consistent on every device. 76
- 77. As a brandlaunched in the digital era, Evernote 3. Customer experience is the only factor that is gets the pervasive opportunity by interacting in a inimitable. Therefore, build digital products and services multiplatform world and connecting with its customers around pervasive customer experience attributes. at the exact point in time when they need to access 4. Determine which customer behaviors and their notes, and access them now! processes are pervasive and embed the attributes in the digital platform. 5. Create a technical layer (API) that will help Building the right digital to deliver consistency and familiarity across every platform means delivering digital touchpoint. 6. Reduce the ongoing focus of trying to achieve consistent customer experiences in personalization and customization of user experiences. any channel or on any device to 7. Shift the focus to creating unique brand ensure that customers are engaged experiences and compelling product experiences that allow customers to connect with brands. with brands anywhere and at anytime. New Audiences and New Opportunities Customers demand that brands interact with them on a myriad of platforms and devices, and they look for Persuasive Points to Think Pervasive digital tools that aspire to be a proactive part of their everyday life. Discovering the fundamental behavioral patterns of an audience segment is at the heart of defining optimal Whether a massive consumer brand or a start-up pervasive customer experiences. To help guide the offering one product, digitally focused dCMOs formation of digital strategies relevant to the pervasive need to drive the development of digital platforms. customer experience, use the following points as Launching pervasive products and services that kick starters: are accessible anywhere, at anytime, and on any 1. Create a 2015 Digital Roadmap with a vision to channel, will uncover new audiences and create create a digital platform that aligns customer behavior new opportunities. and customer experience. 2. Review the company’s current digital landscape to uncover digital assets that can be transformed into “digitized” products and services. 77
- 78. Digital Consumer 2 opinion An Evolution in Car Sales: How Online Configuration Technology May Change the Face of Dealerships as We Know Them Car shoppers today enjoy a wide range of online configuration technologies that allow them to build the car of their dreams, including custom options, color, and accessories, all without ever leaving their home. By the time they arrive at the dealership, By: DJ Edgerton CEO buyers know exactly what they want and how much they should Zemoga expect to pay, creating empowered consumers and streamlining the sales process for both the buyer and the dealer. But what if we could take the process one step further and deliver that new car right to the buyer’s driveway? An industry An Evolution in Car Sales: How Online Configuration Technology May Change recognized pioneer the Face of Dealerships as We Know Them with over 18 years of experience in Today’s savvy car shopper knows that the first place to start looking for their new ride interactive marketing, is online. In addition to having all the information they need to make a smart purchase DJ Edgerton is co-founder of Zemoga, decision, from industry review sites to peer ratings, consumers also have the chance leading the digital to create their dream car. Many auto brands offer online configuration tools that allow agency’s growth and the shopper to choose the model and options—down to the specific color and trim strategy initiatives. package—and walk into the dealership knowing exactly what they want. Meet the new, empowered consumer: the consumer who, for instance, used one of the online configurators that Zemoga created for Toyota to design that perfect product and were prepared to negotiate the best price based on their printed summary sheet and MSRP. This powerful connection that happens online can be a strong motivator for such a major purchase, with the consumer falling in love with the vehicle before even taking it out for a test drive. It’s no secret that dealerships are the most expensive component of the car business. Last year, as the economy spiraled into a recession, virtually all of the major auto manufacturers shuttered dealerships to put a stop to the capital hemorrhage of 78
- 79. maintaining each location.And frankly, the visit to the What about the showrooms that lure in local buyers? dealership is often one of the most unsavory aspects With this new model, Main Street becomes the of the car buying process—consumers tend to dread showroom. Shopping in general has become the negotiating process. Additionally, minimizing increasingly social—people posting haul videos the dealership’s role, or even removing it from the online, for example, or sharing items they “like” with equation, would result in a drastic cut in operating friends on Facebook. In terms of cars, consumers expenses and could actually reduce car prices, will be observing what their friends are driving, and making a new car more affordable for more people, the notion of brand affinity will be more important generating a surge in sales. than ever. Since there is less preliminary interaction between the consumer and the actual product in this new model, car makers with strong brand identities and messaging that resonates with their target audience will thrive. While there is the risk that some cars would be returned, in all likelihood, the moment that customer slips into the seat and breathes in that alluring new car smell, they’d be hooked knowing they had a hand in creating that vehicle. Meet the new, empowered What digital has done is taken out the middleman, or redefined the dealership’s role in the purchase consumer: the consumer who, for process, and introduced a potential revolutionary new instance, used one of the online way to buy a car that can benefit both the consumers configurators that Zemoga created and the maker. Imagine going online and using the configurator to design that dream car—then having it for Toyota to design that perfect delivered right to your door after entering your credit product and were prepared to card information and allowing a small deposit to be negotiate the best price based on charged to your account. You get to inspect the car for five days, drive it around, and then decide whether their printed summary sheet or not to keep it. After your trial period, the financing and MSRP. option chosen during the online buying process kicks in. On the other hand, if the car isn’t exactly what you expected, you can arrange for a pickup and a prorated refund of your security deposit. The brick-and-mortar dealerships then become flagship locations from which car delivery is coordinated and a small number of models are available for consumers who prefer the more traditional route. 79
- 80. Digital Consumer 2 opinion Designing Digital Intimacy The new digital platform is intimately entwined with our lives. It’s with us in the morning when we rise and by our side as we drive and stroll and lounge. It tells us where our friends are and converses with us when waiting for a bus. Even when silent, it is always navigating the ether as we dine, socialize, work, sleep. It By: Dr. Daniel Coffeen Brand and Digital Strategist is an active participant in our daily lives. Designing Digital Intimacy Daniel Coffeen has a PhD in Computing has become more than a screen we look at. It is tactile experience ripe Rhetoric from with vibration and a plethora of telling signals. And it demands to be touched. Our UC Berkeley. He served fingers play across it with a knowing feel, much as we scratch an itch. as adjunct faculty at UC Berkeley and the San Francisco Art In The Medium is the Message, Marshall McLuhan argues that technology is an Institute for over 10 extension of the human body—the book an extension of the eye; the wheel an years teaching courses in critical theory. He extension of the foot; electric circuitry an extension of the central nervous system. has written extensively The mobile computer is at once a neural and physical appendage scanning the about the relationship environment for signs much as our eyes and ears scan for sights and sounds. It is between new media always on, always “looking,” pulling in data, making sense of it, and sending signals to and cinema and blogs and about brand and the brain via sound and vibration. It is quite literally an extension of ourselves. digital issues. The promise of the Internet has hence shifted from being an exhaustive archive of media to being alive, immediate, proactive. While we may still go to websites to survey media, computing has become an encounter, a conversation, an event. As computing entwines itself into our most private spaces, it forges, foments, and facilitates intimacy. Consider FaceTime and the casual ease with which a traveling parent shares his or her journey with their children—“Look, this is my hotel. Isn’t it cool? And look: you lost a tooth.” And the parent can actually look into the anxious eyes of his or her child, providing comfort from across the country. 80
- 81. Or Chatroulette (http://chatroulette.com)and the way face-to-face with each other, the brand silent in the strangers put themselves into immediate conversation background (think: fan sites). with each other. It creates what McLuhan calls the global village, the world folded onto itself as a mother in Milan sits face-to-face with a banker in Bangkok, The promise of the Internet has an investor in Ireland stares into the living room of a developer in Dubai. The hesitation some of us feel hence shifted from being an towards Chatroulette stems precisely from the power exhaustive archive of media to and palpability of this disappearance of boundaries, being alive, immediate, proactive. this sudden intimacy. While we may still go to websites Or consider a dinner party, guests enjoying wine, to survey media, computing cheese, crackers while the host, still cooking, chats and prepares, the iPad proffering the recipe and has become an encounter, a dj-ing the music, a glimmering participant in the conversation, an event. gathering. Now that’s social media. Or all the uses in telemedicine as a dermatologist Go to Them... in San Francisco examines the rash on a woman in Don’t make consumers come to you. Go to them. Eureka. Now that’s intimate. Push content—relevant content, that is. Which means knowing what they want, and as importantly, This digital intimacy shifts the very terms of how when and how they want it. Which leads us to the we engage people. We are no longer creating next point. experiences off in the distance, on some website sitting on a server somewhere. We are now creating ...But Don’t Overdo It experiences that live in people’s pockets, in their beds, in their hands and always top of mind. Use good manners. No one likes telemarketers interrupting their dinner. The question is: How can we create relevant, engaging, experiences? How can we create intimacy Engage the Body between our brand and our consumers? Here are some things to consider: Move past eyes to engage faces, fingers, and voices. Digital kiosks in public spaces can use face recognition For Whom Is This Intimacy? software to engage people smartly, delivering utility and/or delight. See the SapientNitro/Unilever ice cream Is the interaction between your brand and an machine in which people are invited to smile, and if individual? EZface Virtual Mirror application, for their smile is big enough, they “win” an ice cream: instance, lets a person see what she’d look like with http://www.sapient.com/en-us/SapientNitro/Work. certain beauty products applied, certainly an intimate html#/?project=157. relationship between a brand and a consumer. Make It Live Your brand and a group? Think of flash mobs that mobilize a group in a way that remains quite intimate. The new digital environment is immediate, live, turning on the promise of the dings, rings, and vibrations Or between individuals via your brand? Applications of smartphones. Design for the now. The entire as simple as video chat rooms let people connect interaction with the ice cream vending machine is 81
- 82. live, sensing whensomeone is close, inviting the perhaps what’s most tasty on that menu. Or how the person closer, and using face recognition software food one’s eating fits with his diet or health needs. to determine gender, age, emotion. The point is this: Or perhaps tell them a joke, a quote, a story. The engage people, start a conversation, create events question is: How can you fit into the living moment? here and now. Serve the Now—with Utility, Whimsy, and Delight The digital has moved from the archive to the now. So what can you do for your customers right now? Suggest a place to eat in the neighborhood. Or 82
- 83. Digital Consumer 2 opinion Digital Consumers Aren’t Just Regular Consumers with Keyboards With all due respect to the producers of ABC’s My Generation, I could have told you the show wasn’t going to work. I graduated with that class—the class of 2000—and it was pretty obvious, By: Brian Chiger even then, that we were not going to be America’s greatest generation. And why should we? We were first. And first is Digital Strategist AgencyNet bound to make a few mistakes along the way. But really guys, you didn’t need to rub it in with an assault of punchy, yet demoralizing, billboards. That was gratuitous. Digital Consumers Aren’t Just Regular Consumers with Keyboards Building upon his psychology degree from The Class of 2000 was not just the first class of the new millennium, but also the first University of Rochester, generation of digital consumers. Many of us began using computers at age five; right Brian Chiger began his career in advertising around the time we began to read. at Saatchi & Saatchi. As AgencyNet’s Digital Books and screens coexisted happily in those days, but even then it was clear that Strategist and Editor- in-Chief of ANidea. digital wasn’t just another screen in our already media saturated homes. It was (and is) com, Brian applies his a cultural phenomenon that changed our expectations about everything: music, art, passion for consumer culture, connection, friendship...About the way we buy things. About what things are insights, ethnographic research, and sociology (and aren’t) worth. to the digital ecosystem. For example, this year is my 10-year high school reunion. Should I go? The standard reasons are out the window. I already know what my classmates look like. I know what jobs they have, where they live, who got married, and who has kids. I know who got fat and who’s going bald (hint: this guy). I can catch up and organize drinks with anyone at anytime. Essentially, Facebook has made the high school reunion obsolete—tough break if you’re in the business of helping people lose a decade of Hot Pocket dinners and Budweiser babies in time for a rendezvous with old frenemies. 83
- 84. Digital is aboutunderstanding and facilitating a new, The fact is technology drives culture. It’s the digital more connected way of living. It’s about catering to marketer’s job to stay abreast of that culture and the expectations of a progressive and demanding produce the tools that facilitate it. multiscreen consumer. And you know what? I think I will go to my reunion— So Where Are Consumers Heading Next? that obnoxiously retro, hipster thing is in this year. If 2010 was the year of the integrated web, when platforms like Facebook Connect and Twitter allowed web applications to break outside their domains Digital is about understanding by passing data and identities between them, then and facilitating a new, more 2011 will be the year of the integrated world: the year when technologies like mobile, QR, geo-location, connected way of living. It’s RFID, tablets, and Internet-enabled appliances allow about catering to the expectations everything to talk to everything. of a progressive and demanding The beginning is already here. GoogleTV and multiscreen consumer. Samsung are bringing Internet apps to television. Location-based start-ups like Shopkick and Pushkart are changing the retail experience. Meanwhile, Macy’s just launched a dressing room experience that lets shoppers find clothing on an iPad, and then virtually try it on using an augmented-reality mirror before soliciting real-time feedback from their friends using SMS, e-mail, and their social networks. The culture of over-share meets real-time shopping. 84
- 85. Digital Consumer 2 case study General Pants Co. Online Store and Campaigns General Pants Co. required an online platform that could evolve over multiple seasonal campaigns, from year to year, without the need for costly redesign or redevelopment. CHALLENGE Author: Stephen Foxworthy Strategy Director, Reactive General Pants Co. required an online platform that could evolve over multiple seasonal campaigns, from year to year, without the need for costly redesign Reactive Team: Carl Panczak or redevelopment. General Manager, Sydney Tim Kotsiakos General Pants Co. wanted a design system that would appeal to their broad Creative Director market, was flexible enough to allow for regular content and product updates, Kellie Strongman tactical promotions, and an evolving look and feel. Senior Project Manager Laura Bell Art Director In addition, General Pants Co. wanted to create an online community—The Bubble—aimed at uncovering creative talent and giving them the opportunity Ben Whyte Developer to promote themselves and kick-start their career. RESEARCH/ACTIVITY/INSIGHT Key to the solution was collaboration with General Pants Co. store staff and head office personnel to ensure a deep understanding of the creative drive of Stephen Foxworthy is General Pants Co. customers. Many staff are artists, musicians, or designers Strategy Director at Reactive. in their own right, and this creative endeavour was to be reflected in all aspects Stephen has over 15 years of of the online marketing, campaign material, and e-commerce experience. experience in digital, with a focus on high performance SOLUTION online retail, customer experience management, Recognizing that the most influential General Pants customer is someone who and multichannel marketing. loves being creative and expressing themselves, Reactive developed 85
- 86. The Bubble: anonline community aimed at IMPACT uncovering creative talent and giving them the The campaign was a huge success, managing to opportunity to enter their work, across multiple drive almost a 1,000% increase in referral traffic, as categories such as design, film, and writing, and be kids promoted their entries using our integrated social discovered. Launched as a competition, it ran over media tools across MySpace and Facebook. three, six-week seasons, with winners being selected Overall, our campaign delivered a 326% increase in by state. Six creative industry “mentors” were unique visitors to the General Pants Co. website, a selected to represent each creative category. These 442% increase in page views, and a 963% increase mentors were leveraged in press and online PR to in referral traffic. Demonstrating our social media promote the campaign and provide guidance to each strategy worked, 30% of referral traffic was from of the categories by selecting their top picks. Facebook and 26% from MySpace. Key to the solution was collaboration with General Pants Co. store staff and head office personnel to ensure a deep understanding of the creative drive of General Pants Co. customers. We also delivered a 24% increase in the customer database. Importantly, the base traffic to www. generalpants.com.au doubled from precampaign levels, therefore providing approximately a 200% increase in revenue for the new online store. 86
- 87. Digital Consumer 2 Interview with Robert Kozinets Netnography—Consumers Research in the Online Environment An Interview with Robert Kozinets Guthrie: Briefly, what is netnography and how does it differ from traditional Guthrie Dolin ethnographic research? DMO Section Editor Principal, Director of Strategy Odopod Robert: Netnography is cultural research adapted to the unique contingencies of the online environment. It is a cultural look at social media. Online, there is surely culture and community, but lots of things about culture change. Conversations are archived, for instance. Bodies are not present. “Location” becomes rather malleable. Identity is in flux. That means we need new techniques specifically adapted to this altered state of reality, a new state of culture. Netnography was devised for this purpose. Guthrie: What are the primary collection tools and techniques employed in Robert Kozinets Professor of Marketing netnographic research? York University Robert: Netnographic data comes in three flavors. There is archival data that is Robert Kozinets already present on the social web, such as the many forums that are going on right is Professor of now talking about Angelina’s hair and lips. There is archival data that the researcher Marketing at can elicit from people online, such as having an interview, or posting on a Brangelina York University’s Schulich School of forum. Finally, there is reflective data, field notes, that the researcher creates as she Business in Toronto, reflects on her own online experiences in a relevant way. Each is important. And each Canada. In the can take place across multiple domains, such as wikis, forums, newsgroups, in virtual past, he was faculty worlds, blogs, microblogs, social networking sites, mobile, and so on. at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Guthrie: What unique consumer insights can be gleaned by tapping into the social Management and media channels? the University of Wisconsin- Madison’s School of Robert: Consumers discuss things differently when their discussions are unelicited. Business. Netnography allows us to see what consumers find important enough to discuss with one another without prompting. The same is true of other high-quality social media monitoring methods. The different in netnography is that the cultural and social nature of those interactions is respected, and treated as an inherently important part of the data. Unobstrusively derived, naturally occurring data are what we are after. 87
- 88. Guthrie: Identify afew fundamental shifts in consumer behaviors and/or expectations in the last two years. Robert: Consumers are increasingly aware that the world of business is becoming a place that wants to integrate with their many social worlds. This is a gradual change, but it seems to have leaped forward in the Facebook age. So much of some people’s social lives is conducted not only online, but online and within a business arrangement, that people are alarmed. They are alarmed and also resigned to it. Guthrie: What new consumer and/or sociocultural trends have emerged in the Consumers are last year? increasingly aware that the world of business Robert: Laughing at the death of privacy. People sometimes realize that they have is becoming a no privacy, but they deny it. If they realize it, then they laugh it away. We are becoming place that wants used to living under a corporate microscope. No one likes it, but most people will to integrate with acknowledge that it is true and that they cannot do much about it. their many social worlds. This is a gradual change, Guthrie: How do you see those trends evolving over the following 12-18 months? but it seems to have leaped forward in Robert: I think we will see companies like Facebook continue to make mistakes in the Facebook age. how they use consumers’ private data. And I think that through those mistakes the boundary between what is a community and what is corporate property will continue to shift and move. I think a major legal case will emerge in the USA to test some of those boundary assumptions. I think the role of some of these online tools in cyberbullying, online suicides, and such will require people to rethink some of these changes. But I also think that the trend will continue and intensify. Guthrie: What impact might those trends have on the way that brands market their products and services? Robert: The opportunities to engage with people in a meaningful way through their online social networks has never been greater. But the frustrating, ham-fistedness of businesses in dealing with this new reality is seriously undermining the potential of the medium. Seriously, sometimes I think that the people who are running many of the social media marketing campaigns are the least in touch not only with social media itself, but with their own social sides. If privacy invasions continue with no sensitivity to the consumer, a number of brands will be individually burned. If they become more rampant and their infringements more egregious, the whole industry may be taken to task, as with the recent FTC guidelines that hit word-of-mouth marketers and marketing. It’s still the Wild West in social media marketing. I think we’re going to see more sheriffs coming to town. 88
- 89. Modern Brand 89
- 90. Modern Brand The articles in this section reflect the broad array of challenges facing brands in 2011, from the importance of aligning internal culture with brand communications, to emerging models for communications budgets. The variety of topics is indicative of the large number of issues that brands need to address to stay competitive. Since our contributors are SoDA members, I asked several brand marketers for their perspective on what’s important for 2011. And the answer is about using the technologies at our disposal to reach consumers where they are. Maria Mandel – VP, Marketing & Advanced Ad Solutions, AT&T “In the coming year, we’ll see multiscreen marketing become a reality. With advances in digital ad serving technology and audience targeting, it will be possible to target consumers across multiple screens. Advertisers will be looking to reach their specific audience wherever they spend their time, rather than concentrating on specific devices or channels. “To execute a successful multi screen campaign, marketers will need to understand how their audience segment uses each medium and develop a strategy that ensures the brand message is being delivered in a relevant and engaging way that provides value to the consumer. For example, offering a coupon to a consumer’s mobile phone after they perform a search or visit the brand’s website, or using 2D codes on traditional billboards to offer exclusive content on the go. Multiscreen marketing is all about effectively reaching your audience at the right time with the right message wherever they are regardless of screen or device.” David Luner – SVP Interactive & Consumer Products, FremantleMedia Enterprises “Digital extensions for traditional entertainment and corporate brands were only recently considered groundbreaking and innovative thinking. In 2010, a digital awareness and consumer interactive element is a critical piece of most brand building plans, as IP owners and brand builders are seeking to both go where the consumers are and give a voice to that same consumer. “The concept of “going where the consumers are” is the most significant shift in the marketplace, as brands are abandoning the concept of simply building a website with the hopes that consumers will find them. The new mantra is to bring your brand to where the consumers already are and find new and innovative ways to allow that consumer to interact with your brand and help to virally create awareness. “And it’s important to remember that while technology is critical, and the symbols and stories of our brands are core to how our messages are expressed, at the end of the day, brands are about the people who create them—not just the “brand builders,” but the people who the brand has been built for and without whom it could not exist.” 90
- 91. Modern Brand George Whitesides – CEO, Virgin Galactic “Virgin Galactic’s brand is ultimately built around individuals—Richard Branson, who saw the opportunity to revolutionize space access, Burt Rutan, who built the first private spaceship, and the hundreds of customers who have made the decision to put their own money down to demonstrate their commitment to space travel. “Virgin Galactic brings together the travel/service excellence of Virgin with the adventure spirit of Branson to open the possibility and wonder of spaceflight for us all.” We hope that in the following articles, you find tools and insights that will impact your bottom line and make 2011 a profitable—and exciting—year to be a marketer. By Sean MacPhedran, DMO Section Editor; Director, Creative Strategy, Fuel Industries Brands @ Play: Mastering the Art & Science of Engagement Design by Sean MacPhedran, DMO Section Editor; Director, Creative Strategy, Fuel Industries Not Your Brand, Theirs! by Andy Williams, Strategist, Resn The Revolution Will Be Televised: Google TV, the Death of Digital as We Know It, and the Rebirth of the Big Idea by Joshua Baze, Director, Insights & Planning, Colossal Squid Industries and Matt Ballek, Digital Strategist/Optimization Specialist, Colossal Squid Industries. Do You Really Need a Digital Agency? by Tony Quin, CEO and Founder, IQ Why Modern Brands Need Artful Content Strategy to Thrive Online by Ami Walsh, Senior Content Strategist, Enlighten The Future of Online Retail by Stephen Foxworthy, Strategy Director, Reactive Case Study: Smoking Not Our Future’s—Kanvas by Andy Williams, Senior Strategist, Resn Case Study: El Tiempo Celebrates Its Past by Embracing the Future by Alejandro Gomez, President, Zemoga SoDA Chat with Dr. Ginger Grant, Managing Partner of Creativity in Business Canada Inc. and Adjunct Professor —Innovation at Mount Royal University 91
- 92. Modern Brand 3 opinion Brands @ Play: Mastering the Art & Science of Engagement Design “The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention.” – Thich Nhat Hanh Brands @ Play: Mastering the Art and Science of Engagement Design By: Sean MacPhedran DMO Section Editor Engagement design will be the critical field of thought in 2011. While the notions of Director, Creative Strategy Fuel Industries branded entertainment and “immersive brand experiences” have been around for some time, in practice there is still too much form over function, rich design and high technology over actual, purposefully designed engagement. Advertising is still driven by breadth (impressions) not depth, so we’ve yet to see the disruption in creative that will occur when calls begin for total engagement optimization. In other words, if you can’t capture someone for 15 minutes, you’re going to slip behind the curve. Sean MacPhedran is Director of Because the traditional advertising model has been about interruption—ads carried Creative Strategy at Fuel Industries, in content—many still hold the perspective that consumers have no interest in and he has created engaging deeply with a brand. That is not true. What they don’t want to engage engagement with is poorly designed content that doesn’t offer them real value. The 80 million programs for brands including MTV, active players of FarmVille are demonstrable proof that anything—even a dusty Entourage, Family asparagus field—can be translated into a compelling, interesting, rewarding, and Guy, Microsoft and FUN experience. There are strong lessons to be carried from social gaming into McDonald’s. how brands are digitally articulated. What will a consumer spend time with? For some, it’s creativity; for others, it’s competition. Many of us love debate, or the process of winning intellectually. Many of us love the challenge of a difficult work problem, cleverly solved—a puzzle. Fun isn’t a trivial activity; consider the neurosurgeon who really enjoys her job. A better term for us to use as engagement designers comes from Psychologist Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi to describe optimal experience. It’s called “flow.” 92
- 93. So, How Doesa Brand Design Flow States for Their Customers? 1. Dig deep into their overall motivations, not just ones related to how they look to your brand. · It’s about understanding what they enjoy and WHY. Study what consumes their attention, not what media they consume. · You’re competing for their share of attention against everything from 30 Rock to BrickBreaker on their BlackBerry, not other products. · Think like a game designer or an entertainment mogul first, then think about your brand afterward— In an interview from WIRED, he describes the flow even just for a minute. state as “being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing Jazz. Your whole being The 80 million active players is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.” of FarmVille are demonstrable Our job as engagement designers is to create proof that anything—even a experiences that deliver these states. Flow and play are in many ways interchangeable, in fact the “easy dusty asparagus field—can be to learn; hard to master” mantra of game design is translated into a compelling, identical to the above Flow diagram above. interesting, rewarding, and But play isn’t just the competition of gaming. Flow FUN experience. could be found in a really good kiss (come on, you did get better with time, and you do lose yourself in it). It’s also the collaborative satisfaction of a puzzle. 2. Explode your brand attributes and Play is escaping into a story, or imagining Cobra campaigns into their smallest components Commander trying to attack your GI Joe guys. Play and threads, then play with each of them from is the accomplishment of creativity. It’s even found every angle. in the amusement of one-upping a friend with a joke · The engagement element doesn’t need to on Facebook. Play is an intrinsically enjoyable mental represent every brand attribute or product feature. state that can be induced by the brand. · Failure in content design often comes from attempting to over-brand the experience; less is more. · Think more about the emotions and stories that Engagement Design Is about Creating a Flow State your brand embodies than literal translations. in Your Consumer 3. Remember that the experience needs an We keep girls in our virtual world for 26 minutes at a objective in the mind of the user. time because we know what they like to do (dress · Branded utilities always keep this at the forefront, up! fashion shows! decorating! my own puppy!), and but often it’s lost in creating play states. we continually optimize the experience. · The objective can, and should, be somewhat of a 93
- 94. challenge—top entertainment programssuch as The last thing to consider is that execution is as Lost and 24 are a challenge, they have layers important as concept in engagement design. Social of complexity and mystery—this is how they dole gaming companies, for example, employ analysts to out rewards. developers at a ratio of about 1:4 to maximize every · It doesn’t need to pay off in one experience, aspect of seemingly simple experiences. Just as delayed gratification is a key success component e-commerce is driven by hard thinking, so should of social gaming’s ability to capture attention. engagement design. The results can easily triple or quadruple the amount of time your consumers spend 4. Ask yourself “is this really fun?” with you in the digital space, and they’ll remember · Apps and experiences are often created for the you for it. sake of checking it off the campaign checklist. (We need an “X”! Done? OK!) How many 30-second conversations do you remember? · Is your consumer really going to spend 5 to 15 minutes with it? 94
- 95. Modern Brand 3 opinion Not Your Brand, Theirs! Digital has given the modern brand the opportunity to create utilities for consumers to own brands. Is doing this unpredictable, dangerous...maybe? Might your brand need a little of that? By: Andy Williams Strategist Resn Not Your Brand, Theirs! An exciting time is upon the modern marketer. Digital platforms brands now have the ability to engage with the audiences in more intimate ways than ever before. With this intimate communication comes an expectation from the consumer that the brand is actually listening. If the brand is listening, then the brand becomes more the consumer’s own brand than the CMO’s...Scary? No! If utilized correctly, this exciting Andy means level of consumer engagement is an opportunity to push ahead of the competition. warrior, manly. Andy Williams lives by the meaning of The power of consumer brand advocates today is that they aren’t proclaiming the his name. Often benefits of brands to their neighbor over the fence but are using digital technologies you will find Andy bronzing himself to clearly scream at the top of their lungs to the wider consumerverse. Facebook, and bathing in Twitter...I won’t bore you. For few brands there is little gained from trying to market to Nubian goat milk everyone and this is something that sits at the academic root of marketing. Instead of to invigorate his supple skin. traditional target marketing, we should look deeper inside our target audiences and find the “lovers” and “haters” of our brands. Once these people are identified, the modern marketer can empower lovers with digital tools to assist their proclamations, and strategically reassess the marketing efforts required to maintain haters as customers. Maybe you just don’t need them. It’s difficult for any product to claim a true uniqueness in the selling proposition. It is now a common strategy for CMOs to differentiate their products using the values their brand reinforces in consumers. To create brand advocates, we need to develop personified brands that people can align their opinions, passions, and feelings with. Obviously people don’t relate to a brand’s product attributes, they relate to its 95
- 96. personality. Having abrand that has likes and dislikes, Reactively trying to change consumers’ opinions with that supports and protests, is more critical than ever. marketing initiatives is wasted energy as the speed The modern brand must have a real voice. of peoples’ social communication through digital has mostly outrun the ability of the marketer to counteract Creating a brand that polarizes its consumers is them. Giving consumers the opportunity to own your not for every CMO; it’s a strategy for the brave. The brand—and love it as their own—but will help improve rewards of building a brand that is polarizing, bold, your digital marketing efficiency. As to the haters, let and different can provide incredible benefits. Brands them hate. with less-vanilla personalities will find loyal consumers attracted to the unique character of what they stand for. A lot of time and energy can be saved by having loyal followers who promote your brand in good faith, The power of consumer brand and will defend it to the death. advocates today is that they aren’t And what about the haters you might create? Haters, proclaiming the benefits of brands more than any other consumer segment, absorb to their neighbor over the fence but a huge amount of marketing resources to keep are using digital technologies to satisfied. Being more opinionated and controversial as a brand allows brands to shake-off these types clearly scream at the top of their of deadwood consumers. Having a bolder brand lungs to the wider consumerverse. personality will draw the haters out from hiding as they respond to a brand’s activities. This allows the modern marketer to begin to analyze who the haters are, and why they don’t like your brand. People need to be able to form their own valid opinion about whether or not they like a brand. 96
- 97. Modern Brand 3 opinion The Revolution Will Be Televised: Google TV, the Death of Digital as We Know It, and the Rebirth of the Big Idea Everything you’ve done in digital the last seven years won’t matter within a matter of months. By: Joshua Baze Director, Insights & Planning Colossal Squid Industries The Revolution Will Be Televised: Google TV, the Death of Digital as We Know It, and the Rebirth of the Big Idea Before starting the planning discipline at We hate to be the ones to tell you this. We really do. But, like so many times before, Squid, Joshua Baze had a successful research and everything you thought you knew about the digital space and how to tell your brand’s strategy consulting career, story within it is only a few months away from changing. Again. working in and with agencies like Ogilvy and BBDO. The culprit has a familiar name: Google. Only this time, it has this strange “TV” suffix tagged to the end of it. And it’s that strange “TV” at the end of it that’s the game changer. Not just for your digital content. For ALL of your content. Don’t believe us? Too big to be true? Just one more supersized serving of hyperbole from an agency hoping to get your attention? Keep reading. Google TV: What It Is and How It Changes Everything Built on Google’s Android operating system, Google TV is a platform—not just a single device. At launch, Google TV will be available as a set-top box from Logitech, or built By: Matt Ballek into Sony TVs and Blu-ray players. In time (and likely not much of it), the Google TV Digital Strategist/ platform will surely find its way into a myriad of other entertainment devices. Optimization Specialist Colossal Squid Industries Google TV itself acts as a hub. You bring your own Internet connection and TV service provider (cable, satellite, etc.), and Google TV gives you apps and a search bar. Matt Ballek has been responsible for developing, communicating, and The Google search bar (complete with angelic glow) now has a home on your implementing advanced television screen. Search results can include videos from YouTube, Amazon, SEO strategies for numerous brands Netflix, etc., as well as live TV and content on your DVR. Because you’ll need more including Lowe’s, FedEx, Rolex, and LeapFrog. 97
- 98. than just numbersto navigate this new interface, Google TV: How to Win Google TV remotes will incorporate some form of QWERTY keyboard along with the ability to turn your How do you win when your customers will have smartphone into a remote control via apps. complete control over EVERYTHING they view? Speaking of apps, Google TV has them. Apps range Have better content than anyone else. from simple music and photo-viewing capabilities to branded video-viewing experiences mixed with social media. This area alone has the potential to The arrival of Google TV turn into a hotbed of innovation for developers and content creators. heralds the creation of a media marketplace where, for this What Does This Mean for CMOs and first time in a long time (and Their Brands? possibly ever), content is content, Put simply, Google TV means that anything you’ve agnostic of channel, and ever seen on any screen in your life is now in direct competition with your marketing content. As Google TV regardless of screen. is quickly mainstreamed, the line between broadcast and digital will become completely artificial until it ceases to exist entirely. All multimedia content can and The Best Content will be consumed through a single screen. Which Branded content is nothing new. From the sponsored means the skateboarding video your 11-year-old son radio show serials of the ‘30s to present day guerilla just posted to his Facebook page is now, very literally, marketing stunts, brands have always been at home in direct competition with Jay Leno on NBC, TrueBlood creating content they believe their consumers will like on HBO, Columbia Pictures Spiderman 4 and Rockstar and formally aligning themselves with that content. Games “Grand Theft Auto 5.” And remember: we’re For at least 80 years, brands have been able to talking about competition not just for share of attention create or co-opt content in a very static way. span, but share of advertising dollars. What Google TV technology does is allow for The Oklahoma Land Rush of Branded Content lies dynamic branded content, fundamentally altering the just ahead of us. And very few brands have wagons depth to which a consumer can engage and interact at the starting lines. The arrival of Google TV heralds with branded content. Let’s look at an example to the creation of a media marketplace where, for the understand the difference. first time in a long time (and possibly ever), content is content, agnostic of channel, and regardless of Lifetime TV’s reality competition show Project Runway screen. The idea of “channel” becomes increasingly pits aspiring fashion designers from across America irrelevant as we move toward a future where a screen against one another in a series of competitive design is a screen is a screen, and web content becomes exercises that are evaluated by a panel of expert increasingly indistinguishable from television content. celebrity judges. The show has a number of official Content will become content. And it will be fighting sponsorships—for hair, makeup, shoes, accessories, like hell for viewers. etc. Along with significant placement within the program, all of these brands have developed online activations such as special Facebook tabs, how-to videos of winning looks on their websites, 98
- 99. and contests andother promotions in the digital Conclusions space. All of these digital activations rely on the viewer being so compelled by a product integration Google TV provides powerful opportunities for brands that they either leave the program they’re watching to create proprietary, deeply interactive content on to enter another media channel; or remember how their own terms. much they liked the brand within that program at some point when they’re online, and hopefully But, this possibility is not without peril. A few guiding remember what specific activation they wanted to principles should help brands and their agency seek out in the digital space. Despite the success of partners develop the right types of branded content many brands partnerships with such integrations, it’s for their customers. a huge gamble, because it relies on consumers either leaving the channel they were initially motivated within, Remember, This Is Not about You; or remembering the brand some time later when It’s about Them they’re online. Google TV will give you the power to create immersive brand experiences. Think about what Google TV totally eradicates this. Using Google TV, any your customers (current and potential) are like of the brands currently sponsoring Project Runway and what they like. Design content and could, for example, do the following: experiences that meet their desires, adding · Create such a program themselves, without deeper “brand” layers only in ways that are having to pay partnership costs to Lifetime, allowing useful to your customers. them to create the show however they want instead of relying on whatever the network developed. Concept for One Screen: Design for Big · Create exclusivity for themselves as the only Screens; Optimize for Small Screens brand within the show, or conversely, open up their A great deal of your digital content will still be program to other brands, creating a new revenue consumed primarily on a computer screen. As stream. Google TV penetration rates quickly grow over · “Broadcast” the show 24/7/365 on-demand on the next several years, those experiences will their .com (or .TV) property, thereby being available be moving to even bigger screens. Remember literally around-the-clock instead of one hour a week. people consume media on big screens, and · Provide click-into features, allowing viewers to “snack” on media on small screens. Very few of click deeper into the programming for how-tos, your customers will watch a half hour video on product demos, product info, click to purchase, their phone or iPod. Design branded content or any other layer the brand would like to create. experience for bigger screens, and optimize that · Optimize their program for portability to content as much as possible for small screen smartphones and tablets. consumption. Think of ancillary “little brother · Or any other number of interactions you can content” that can be consumed in short bursts think of. The possibilities are boundless. (a five-minute train ride; a sit-down in the bathroom) to accentuate the overall experience. In the age of Google TV, brands will be limited only by their own savvy about the platform, and the Quality Content Trumps All courage and creativity of their marketing partners Think of all of the content you consume: from and agencies. your computer, your TV, the radio in your car, the Xbox in your living room, the iPod in your pocket, and the Blackberry on your belt. All of that content is now going to be coming through 99
- 100. a single channel—”TheScreen”—which will exist commanding attention and grabbing up share, the on all of those devices. How are you going to less difficult it will be to attract fans and followers as pick and choose what you want to experience— everyone—and we mean everyone—shows up to especially when your e-mail starts competing with the single-screen channel of the future. Google has your favorite show and that video game you’re changed the world—again. Google TV gives your addicted to? brand the exciting chance to be among the first to explore the amazing new, truly interactive possibilities Simply put, the better your content is, the more of the future. But it also presents the opportunity likely it will be to make the cut. This means big ideas to miss an opportunity. Only by starting to think that are well produced. There will be no room in the now about the many ways Google TV will change “single-channel,” multidevice future for ham-fisted how brand content is encountered and consumed attempts at branded content. Only content with can brands ensure their place in the minds of the very real entertainment value or tangible benefits consumer of the not-very-distant future. will survive. And the earlier your brand is there, 100
- 101. Modern Brand 3 opinion Do You Really Need a Digital Agency? Before we answer that question, let’s define what we mean by digital agency. It’s not at all clear today what a digital agency is anymore. Can you even be an agency at all without being digital to one degree or another? What percentage of an agency’s work needs to be digital to earn the name? Is the name even relevant? By: Tony Quin CEO and Founder IQ Do You Really Need a Digital Agency? It’s like color TV. When all TVs are color, do you really need to say it? This new reality is the backdrop for the conversation. Traditional agencies have been building or buying digital arms for years now. When they present a campaign, it always has a digital Tony Quin is a element. So they regard themselves, in many cases right so, as digital agencies. So what founding member about all the agencies that think of themselves as digital first? The conversation in that of SoDA and a camp has been about their ability to lead an account and their ability to execute all the member of the board. other pieces of a campaign that may stretch beyond digital channels. He established IQ in 1995. Today IQ is a full service There has been a great deal of noise on this subject from both sides. One side advertising agency says that traditional agencies are talking the talk, but not much more. They accuse with digital at its core. traditional agencies of having businesses built on an outmoded traditional media model, which they continue to squeeze in pursuit of the profits of days gone by. The other side calls digital agencies immature, unsophisticated in the ways of account leadership and the bigger picture. Both are right and wrong, of course. Both sides have their shortcomings and continue to paper over the cracks in their offerings with agency bravado. So that takes us back to the original question, do you really need a digital agency? The answer is yes, but the day of the digital AOR is passing and the day of the digitally centric AOR is dawning. Clients need their lead agency to be digital to the core because digital channels are already at the center of the consumer’s world. Some would argue that this POV cannot be put on by an organization like a suit of clothes, but must be bred over many years. At the same time, any agency that wants to lead must be fully able to direct all the disciplines required for brand stewardship, 101
- 102. not just digital.This doesn’t mean that an agency has Seed. Here was an opportunity to wake up a sleepy to execute everything themselves, but it must be able category. Our job was to deliver sales, not digital to successfully manage it. sales, but sales period. First we came up with a new brand position—“Great Entertainment for Your Yard”—based on insights from brand strategy work. This was then translated into the Wild Bird Band: four Do you really need a digital Pixar-style, animated bird characters, who are natural agency? The answer is yes, but the entertainers. Our media plan centered on digital and social with drive to, and brand awareness from TV, day of the digital AOR is passing radio, and outdoor. Also, a key consideration was the and the day of the digitally centric store experience, which was redesigned for Walmart, AOR is dawning. their largest customer. This kind of 360 campaign demonstrates that some digital agencies have already morphed into full service ad agencies. So far they are few, but if they have managed to integrate their digital At IQ, we started as a traditional agency, went digital, savvy with a strong agency services model, they are and now have come full circle. A good example probably the best glimpse of what the new agency is our brand launch campaign for Pennington Bird will look like. 102
- 103. Modern Brand 3 opinion Why Modern Brands Need Artful Content Strategy to Thrive Online Paying closer attention to the art of storytelling can help digital marketing professionals transform their content into compelling attractions that influence social behavior. Look for opportunities to shape your content using the same narrative techniques great By: Ami Walsh storytellers rely on, such as shifting points of view, building Sr. Content Strategist Enlighten narrative urgency, and creating dramatic tension. Succeed and individuals will broadcast your content across their networks, elevating your brand to new heights. Ami Walsh is senior Why Modern Brands Need Artful Content Strategy to Thrive Online content strategist at Enlighten. The art of storytelling has never been more important to digital marketing professionals. Internet-savvy consumers—the new brand influencers and evangelists—have increasingly high expectations for encountering meaningful content online, thanks to the evolution of social networking and the semantic web. Releasing content that doesn’t meet these expectations can bring a brand down, and fast. Even if consumers don’t complain about a brand’s content failings on social sites, blogs, and forums, they can silently register disapproval by ignoring anything more the brand has to say. And being irrelevant is a brand’s worst curse. To avoid costly mistakes, digital marketing professionals need to think more critically today than ever before about the value of content before publishing it online. A disciplined approach to content development has been used for years by content strategists (http://knol.google.com/k/content-strategy#Content_Strategists) to plan for, and manage, marketing assets published on large-scale websites. With content distribution now spanning many digital channels, even more rigor—and artfulness—is needed to provide consumers with the meaningful online experiences they’re looking for, and demanding. 103
- 104. What constitutes ameaningful online experience? To create a beautiful and meaningful whole— It’s a complicated question, of course, and requires especially when that whole is made up of many insights about your target audience demographics complicated parts, as is the case across multichannel and online behaviors. It also requires marketing marketing campaigns—there must be room for professionals to redefine what constitutes quality organic mutations and discovery. content on the social web. In part, this shift is about understanding that online content is far more than award-winning copy and graphic design; With content distribution good content needs to be felt, not just seen. More importantly, though, it’s about understanding how now spanning many digital marketing content has the potential to influence channels, even more rigor—and social media interactions. artfulness—is needed to provide Leading social media expert Jyri Engeström (http:// consumers with the meaningful www.zengestrom.com/), who founded the Twitter- online experiences they’re looking like service Jaiku (which was acquired by Google), believes that “social objects” are central to influencing for, and demanding. social interactions. He points out that the more successful social sites don’t simply connect people to people but are built around connecting people Look for opportunities to shape your content using through shared interests in meaningful objects, the same narrative techniques great storytellers rely such as photos on flickr or videos on YouTube. on. Marketers tend to think about tone and voice, Brand consultant and cartoonist Hugh MacLeod but what about the importance of point of view? (http://gapingvoid.com/) has also written about the How might shifting perspectives improve a story importance of social objects. “Human beings are depending on where and when it’s released? As you social animals,” he says. “We like to socialize. But if create editorial calendars, take time to consider how we think about it, there needs to be a reason for it to each piece of content will build narrative urgency, happen in the first place. That reason, that ‘node’ in contributing to the campaign’s overall dramatic arc. the social network, is what we call the Social Object.” Borrow these techniques to make your content more than content, to elevate your words, images, and For digital marketers, then, creating content that user interfaces into the realm of social objects that achieves the status of a “social object” can help a drive meaningful social connections. Succeed and modern brand to thrive. In other words, give people you’ll be rewarded when individuals broadcast your a story that they can care deeply about. This is where content across their networks, elevating your brand the art of storytelling comes in, because strategy by to new heights. itself won’t produce the kind of meaningful content that enchants and transports audiences. Ask any artist. Impose too much structure at the outset of a project and there’s a good chance the work won’t reach its potential. Worse, it’ll be boring and flat, chunked into something ugly and unshapely. 104
- 105. Modern Brand 3 opinion The Future of Online Retail Now that tracking and attributing online campaign activity directly to customer action has become simpler and easier thanks to sophisticated software, why do marketers still insist on fixed campaign budgets and media spend? By: Stephen Foxworthy Strategy Director Reactive The Future of Online Retail Retail is changing at an incredible pace, fueled largely by the growth of digital technologies and the Internet. The art of selling now stretches from in-store to online to mobile. The future is upon retailers already, and those that adapt and embrace new Stephen Foxworthy technologies stand to profit, while traditional retailers who rely on time proven is Strategy Director approaches risk losing out to faster-moving, more innovative competitors. at Reactive. Stephen has over 15 years So what does the future hold for retailers online? experience in digital, with a focus on Extreme Customer Service high performance online retail, Some pure-play digital retailers are redefining consumer expectations of service. customer experience management and Brands such as www.Amazon.com and www.Zappos.com have built enviable reputations multichannel around being customer focused and service driven, that many bricks-and-mortar retailers marketing. find hard to compete with. Free delivery, free returns, no-questions-asked refunds, 24-hour access, and responsiveness are all key to their success. Customers now expect to be able to buy online, or reserve a product online to be able to pick up later. They expect to be able to return or refund a purchase bought online in your physical store, and they expect these transactions to be instant and seamless. 105
- 106. Real-World Digital Private Sale The digital life of physical objects is a trend retailers Another key trend in fashion retail is the rise of private are just starting to grasp. Consumers are more sale outlets and members-only buying clubs. Many connected than ever, and with smartphones and retailers are reluctant to promote heavily discounted mobile devices they are actively researching product clearance items within their own online stores as they selections both prior to heading out shopping, and can cannibalize full-price merchandise sales. while in the store environment. Answering the need to clear large volumes of end- The introduction of barcode scanning applications for of-line or clearance items are the private sale sites, iPhone such as www.RedLaser.com, www.StripeyLines. offering brand name goods at seriously discounted com, and www.Stickbits.com has led to a growing prices to a limited membership, thereby providing price-comparison culture. Retailers now need to focus a benefit to members without damaging a premium much more heavily on competitive pricing, especially brand’s reputation by being seen to be on public sale. for commodity items, as a simple web search can find multiple retailers who stock the same item, potentially Sites such as www.Gilt.com and www.vente-privee. at a lower cost, and who can deliver it quickly. com are leading the way in creating exclusive clubs that clear large volumes of end-of-line and clearance Group Buying stock from famous brands, and they manage to create a sense of urgency and need, rather than One of the biggest trends in social shopping is the cheapening the products on offer. phenomenon of group buying, led by sites such as www.Groupon.com and www.LivingSocial.com. These services provide significantly discounted, limited-time offers from retailers trying to attract new customers. The future is upon retailers already, and those that adapt Such sites tap into primal retail psychology, using triggers such as urgency, scarcity, and discounting and embrace new technologies to encourage consumers to buy. By combining these stand to profit, while traditional triggers with a social angle requiring large numbers of consumers to commit before the offers get retailers who rely on time proven activated, they encourage social sharing and personal approaches risk losing out to recommendation and ensure positive word-of-mouth faster-moving, more innovative from members. competitors. 106
- 107. Modern Brand 3 case study Smoking Not Our Future’s—Kanvas Health Sponsorship Council is a New Zealand government entity that operates the Smoking Not Our Future initiative aimed at youth aged 12 to 24. Author: CHALLENGE in New Zealand are more worried Andy Williams Strategist, Resn Health Sponsorship Council is a about the effect smoking may New Zealand government entity that have on their personal image than Resn Team: Steve Le Marquand operates the Smoking Not Our Future the negative health effects that Creative Director initiative aimed at youth aged 12 to 24. smoking tobacco causes. Rather Vincent Lowe As part of the direct-to-youth strategy than composing traditional advertising Art Director within the Smokefree Youth Team, campaign messages or call-to- Dylan Galletly Producer Resn was challenged with finding a actions, we realized that we needed way to make teenagers consider the to create something unique. Resn negative social effects of smoking needed to create a utility for teenage without forcing traditional advertising New Zealanders to freely express messages at a demographic who themselves about being smoke free are typically resistant to this style of and generate open discussion among Andy means warrior, manly. the target audience. Andy Williams lives by the message delivery. meaning of his name. Often you will find Andy SOLuTION bronzing himself and Resn needed to come up with bathing in Nubian goat an interesting and exciting way The solution was to empower a milk to invigorate his to engage youth online that was discerning youth audience to create supple skin. credible, youthful, and appealing to a their own creative message around demographic who don’t respond to tobacco and give them the freedom traditional health warning messages. to form their own opinions about being smoke free. Resn approached RESEARCH/ACTIVITY/ the challenge with a strategy that youth INSIGHT would engage if we allowed for honesty Research suggested teenagers and ownership of voice instead of traditional advertising messages. 107
- 108. RESuLTS Resn created Kanvas,a custom-developed, online art - 18,700 unique visitors from New Zealand (0.44% of tool for teens themselves to turn antismoking posters total population). into a stylish personal collage art pieces that they - An average of just under 5 minutes engagement per can share with their peers via a gallery and various user. social networks. These user-generated artworks were - Total time of 1,915 hours spent by New Zealanders talking points for open conversation around being in 6 months. smoke free. - 95% of the traffic originating in New Zealand. http://www.wecancanvas.com/ COMMENT POSTED ExPECTATIONS Smoking Not Our Future Facebook page: “Love Kanvas, I’ve just given up smoking about six weeks - Very limited paid media budget. ago, I’m loving my new lease on life, feel 100 percent - New Zealand’s total population being 4.5M. better considering I smoked for 10 years! I gave up - Therefore, expectations were not high for cold turkey and doing good things like Kanvas keeps heavy traffic. your mind active.” Resn needed to create a utility for teenage New Zealanders to freely express themselves about being smoke free and generate open discussion among the target audience. 108
- 109. Modern Brand 3 case study El Tiempo Celebrates Its Past by Embracing the Future On the eve of its 100th anniversary, El Tiempo, the largest newspaper and media conglomerate in Colombia, was looking to commemorate its centennial milestone in an interactive way that would engage a younger generation with this legacy brand and traditional medium. CHALLENGE El Tiempo faced a tremendous Author: Alejandro Gomez On the eve of its 100th anniversary, opportunity to use it’s centennial President, Zemoga El Tiempo, the largest newspaper event to attract a new, younger, and and media conglomerate in Colombia, more digital-based generation while was looking to commemorate its maintaining a familiar and trusted centennial milestone in an interactive connection with older consumers who way that would engage a younger value its important role in chronicling the history of the nation—and the An award-winning designer generation with this legacy brand and and developer of interactive traditional medium. The challenge world. The key driver in the campaign solutions, Alejandro Gomez was to achieve generation transfer— is the co-founder of Zemoga was to create an innovative, online and a recognized industry vehicle that would bridge the gap, and help this highly regarded and well leader in the fields of not only between generations, but established traditional media outlet user-centric design and also between the traditional and make the leap into the digital age. technology solutions. digital media. The company had just completed a massive project to digitize its entire RESEARCH/ACTIVITY/ archive, all the way back to the very INSIGHT first issue published in 1910. This With its incredible history and legacy repository was to serve as a basis for as an institution in Colombian culture, the campaign. 109
- 110. SOLuTION IMPACT Leveraging this massive digital archive, Zemoga The campaign was an overwhelming success, created a virtual album portal that engaged delivering the generation transfer that El Tiempo newspaper readers and TV viewers in an online had hoped for. The blend of history and modern destination filled with interactive games, challenges, media brought families together to participate with activities, and a sweepstakes based upon the kids helping parents/grandparents discover the new archived data, all complemented by a robust social media and parents/grandparents helping younger media presence anchored by a custom Facebook generations discover their history. In just the first two page. Through partnerships with advertisers, weeks, the campaign generated 20,000 unique customers earned points and prizes for their efforts. users and more than 4,000 fans on the Facebook For example, trivia questions spurred participants page. In the grander scheme, the massive 200-page to search the archives to discover the answer, project plan for one of the most ambitious digital while secret codes placed in broadcast and print campaigns in Latin American history also serves advertising revealed historical images when entered as a strategic model for Colombian/Latin American in the virtual album, creating an interactive “treasure companies who have been slow to adopt the digital hunt.” The effort represented the single largest movement, as well as a roadmap for traditional media investment any Colombian company has ever made looking to bridge the gap with new media, rather than in a digital initiative. compete with it. The blend of history and modern media brought families together to participate with kids helping parents/grandparents discover the new media and parents/ grandparents helping younger generations discover their history. 110
- 111. Modern Brand 3 Interview with Dr. Ginger Grant Sean: There are more challenges to solve in brand communication than ever, from how to address social media to how a brand should articulate itself in branded entertainment. Let alone what to do about fragmenting media. What’s the biggest topic that brand marketers need to address in 2011? Sean MacPhedran Ginger: Corporate culture should be the key topic addressed by brand marketers. DMO Section Editor Director, Creative Strategy If internal culture is considered foundational to brand development, then marketing will Fuel Industries begin to lose its reputation for creating nothing but “spin.” Without a solid foundation in corporate culture, a brand is nothing but a fantasy created by the agency and senior management. Social media allows the employees to expose that fantasy. Sean: How would you evaluate a brand’s alignment with its corporate culture? Ginger: Corporate culture is a function of people, behavior, and design—or if you Dr. Ginger Grant like equations: CC = f(p+b+d). When doing a corporate culture audit, I focus on three Managing Partner of Creativity in Business initial indicators—recognition (how people are recognized in the organization and for Canada Inc. what); relationships (how people treat one another in the organization); and meaning (what values are operational on a day-to-day basis, not just the value system claimed by senior management). Such an audit should be conducted at the beginning of any Dr. Ginger Grant is the Managing branding process. Partner of Creativity in Business Canada Talking about strategy is really a simple process. There are a lot of books and Inc. and an Adjunct Professor information available that outline the process of a strategic plan and how to deliver in the School of the plan. What is difficult is execution—actually implementing the strategy and then Interactive Arts + measuring your results. To impact a corporate culture takes patience, time, and skill Technology at Simon Fraser University. in designing implementation. Strategy without execution is mere hallucination. She is the only Canadian in the Sean: What are some of the stumbling blocks preventing this alignment? teacher/trainer group of the famed Stanford Business Ginger: Brand agencies get ahead of the process by focusing on the intended School “Creativity in outcome without paying attention to whether the organization can actually deliver on Business” program. the “mission and vision” statements created by the agency. Design thinking brands themselves spend too much time looking at the “how” and the “what” of a shift in strategic intent. They need to go back to the core ideology and look at the “why.” 111
- 112. If there isno emotional commitment to the why, the organization will not be able to deliver on the how and the what. The difficulty with “why’” is that the answers lie in the limbic system or deeper within the brain. These areas have no language capability, which helps explain the difficulty in putting these emotions into words. I’ve put the words from a brand’s mission statement on index cards in front of the C-suite, and I have seen the confusion emerge when none of them have the same definition for the claimed value word and what it means executionally. Talking about strategy is really a simple process. There are a lot of books and information available that outline the process of a strategic plan and how to deliver the plan. What is difficult is execution – actually implementing the strategy and then measuring your results. Sean: When you have a disconnect between the internal culture, the brand, and the customer, what are the consequences? Ginger: When a company makes a brand promise to customer and can’t fulfill it, this a violation of the relationship with the customer. Fear is one of the biggest internal disconnects in our culture. Terrorists do corporate culture better than most North American brands. A terrorist will blow himself up because he knows (or believes) that his family will be taken care of, but a customer service representative will not go out of bounds for a customer for fear of being fired or at least disciplined. What is wrong here? With customer review systems like Yelp or TripAdvisor, and public forums like Facebook and Twitter, every disconnect between internal culture and the brand promise is magnified when a customer sees the violation. Sean: How can a company align culture and brand? Ginger: Corporate culture first, brand second. Align the brand with the culture. Anything else is spin, which is where marketing can get a bad name. A brand is the essence of the organization (product or service). Some have called it the “soul” of an organization. So if the employees of the organization don’t believe in the version of the brand delivered by the agency, what is going on? Culture first. ALWAYS! If you deliver 112
- 113. on what youclaim, employees deliver full engagement with the product or service. Otherwise you have nothing but hype and your employees and customers know it. It really is that simple and it is incredibly hard to do. Tell the truth and deliver on it. If your brand story is customer service, is your corporate culture service based? Example: Nordstrom’s employee manual. Rule One: use Your Best Judgement. Rule Two: See Rule One. Do the employees have the authority to provide good service? Responsibility without authority to implement is a great way to again disengage employees. Sean: Who is doing this well? Ginger: Look for any organization that is successful in maintaining its market share—its reputation in a world where you can no longer hide corporate indiscretions. What is the story being told?—what is being delivered? In Singapore, they teach design thinking in public schools. If design thinking is taught in our schools at all, it is at the graduate level in universities—too little and too late. Design thinking gets to the “why.” And what carries the emotional “why” is narrative—storytelling. PanAsia is kicking our asses. They’re working story-based. An example: Tata (I think its the fourth-largest company in the world) is using Hindu mythology to teach leadership. Why? Because their traditional cultural values are then incorporated into their various divisions and organizations. Tata spends 4% of its gross profit margin on employee development. I think their bottom line speaks to the results. How much do you spend on real development—growing your employees (not just training)? North America believes (and teaches) that there are only two approaches to strategy—reduce cost or increase profitability. PanAsia has mastered this duality and does both—think of Toyota or Tata. We need to change our thinking—and if we don’t, then we will continue to suffer the economic consequences. As has been pointed out many times, survival is optional. 113
- 114. Social Media 114
- 115. Social Media Marketers need to think about relevancy. Nearly every brand offers a conversation space now—listening just isn’t enough anymore. Neither is being funny. To stand out from the crowd, the next wave of social media initiatives will have to offer a service or experience customers can’t get elsewhere. In this section, Geary Group’s Andreas Roell makes the point that “it does not matter if advertisers see value in a medium if customers do not.” It’s about customers and what they want. Over the past 12 months, social media has expanded to include location-based services, apps, and mobile. Pleasing customers has become more challenging, but also more exciting. As Mashable’s Jennifer Van Grove says, “The best brands are even finding ways to tap [location-based] platforms to turn social media into a currency customers can cash in on.” The possibilities—for brands, marketers, and customers—are immense. The challenge for marketers is moving from the old approach—where something was created inside the marketing bubble and then released into the world, with data trickling in several months later—to a new model of continued engagement. This often means a massive rethink of the dynamics between agency, brand, and customer. Brave brands and marketers must learn not just to listen to customers, but to respond with the content and experience they ask for. It may not be easy, but the possible rewards—for all parties— make it worth trying for with everything we’ve got. By Sara Williams, DMO Section Editor, Head of Content, Made by Many From Owned Media to Earned Media: Working with the Crowd by Sara Williams, DMO Section Editor; Head of Content, Made by Many The Next Big Trend in Social Media Is Social Rewards by Jennifer Van Grove, Social Media Reporter, Mashable Why Twitter and Foursquare Are Dying by Andreas Roell, Chairman and CEO, Geary Group Pulling the Trigger to Purchase: Insights on Marketing to Avid Gamers by Ken Martin, Chief Creative Officer, BLITZ Online and Offline, It’s All Real-Life Communication by Irina Sheveleva, Editor, Grape Focusing Your Facebook Strategy: 10 Tips Toward Better Status Updates by Victor Piñeiro, Strategist, Big Spaceship 115
- 116. Social Media Case Study: Thierry Mugler/Starvibes by Benjamin Laugel, CEO/Creative Director, Soleil Noir Case Study: Emma Watson Digital Strategy by Rob Salmon, Director of Communications, Great Fridays Case Study: GuitarHero.com: Global Franchise Hub and Community by Ken Martin, Chief Creative Officer, BLITZ Case Study: Chrome Fastball—Race Across the Internet by Petter Westlund, Creative Director and Co-founder, B-Reel Case Study: SAP Friend Network Optimizer by Sandhya Suryam, Client Partner, Dare Case Study: It Isn’t Lonely at the Top: What the Most “Liked” Brands Are Doing on Facebook by Victor Piñeiro, Strategist, Big Spaceship 116
- 117. Social Media 4 opinion From Owned Media to Earned Media: Working with the Crowd Agencies have traditionally paid for attention, but social media tools are facilitating a shift whereby brands can earn their own cultural capital. The move to earned media isn’t an easy one, but the rewards can be immense: it’s adoration you just can’t buy. By: Sara Williams DMO Section Editor Head of Content Made by Many From Owned Media to Earned Media: Working with the Crowd Last year was all about “doing social media,” as more and more brands recognized the importance of conversing with customers. As everyone from Old Spice to Starbucks went about this with varying degrees of success, a distinction opened up between owned media, where brands seek to engage customers through paid A lover of words and partnerships, and earned media, where brands listen to what customers want and a teller of stories, Sara respond with targeted seedings of personalized content. If current trends continue, Williams worked as a 2011 should see more brands pursuing the latter approach and becoming media journalist, copywriter, owners in their own right. and blogger before joining Made by Many to help develop the agency’s Platforms like Facebook and Twitter make it easy for brands to create social spaces content offering. Sara with plenty of walk-on traffic, but they also raise a few challenges. Nestle’s disastrous writes a lot about international issues and experience on Facebook demonstrates that if a brand wants to ”go social,” it has the social development/ to respect the crowd, regardless of what the crowd thinks. This can feel a bit social media crossover: counterintuitive. What’s more, by entering a conversation space, a brand agrees how emerging technologies and corresponding to abide by the rules that govern that space. A Facebook page where fans can’t cultural shifts can create comment is a tease. A page where snipey comments are pulled is even worse: it’s not lasting social change. playing fair, and the crowd knows it. Going social means going all in. Brands ignore critical feedback at their peril. In the Nestle example, caustic posts exposed the brand’s vulnerabilities, as you would expect, but the brand ignoring that feedback resulted in a much greater weakness: it looked like Nestle didn’t care. This turned the digital space into a branded no-go zone stacked with damaging (albeit 117
- 118. humorous) content...and noone wants to earn It’s time to offer branded utilities and socially rich that media. services that add value to people’s lives, whether that’s by entertaining, delighting, or just making life Whereas owned media is about one-way a little easier. communication from brand to customer, earned media is the net result of conversations between It’s a tall order, but I’m confident we’ll see a few of brands and customers. My Starbucks Idea nailed these in 2011. this, as did Pepsi’s Refresh Everything. The best bit about initiatives like these is that they bear fruit— content. That content can go on to become a draw in itself, as the Old Spice campaign demonstrated For brands and marketers intent beautifully. But we need to remember that the earned media return isn’t measured using the owned media on carving out a space in the yardstick. The quality of engagement is different: it’s social media ecosystem, readiness not about getting a million people to see a TV ad—it’s to converse with the customer is a longer game with different goals. no longer enough. For customers, talk has become...well, if not cheap, plentiful. For brands and marketers intent on carving out a space in the social media ecosystem, readiness to converse with the customer is no longer enough. 118
- 119. Social Media 4 opinion The Next Big Trend in Social Media Is Social Rewards If Morgan Stanley analysts are right, the mobile web will be bigger than desktop Internet use by 2015. Nielsen research also points to the present tense where social networking dominates our time spent online. By: Jennifer Van Grove Social Media Reporter Mashable The Next Big Trend in Social Media Is Social Rewards The convergence of these two huge trends has already begun, especially in the form of location-based social applications such as Foursquare and Facebook Places. Jennifer Van Grove is a Social Media Still, we’re at the very beginning of a new trend we’re calling social rewards—or the Reporter with intersection of social media and rewards programs. Mashable. Jennifer has been featured in the San Diego Union The trend is starting to take shape as more traditional business-run rewards programs Tribune and San upgrade to support digital and mobile consumer activities. In turn, many start-ups are Diego Magazine, working to make technology that uses location, barcode scans, and social behaviors participated as a to help businesses get a better snapshot of customer behavior. guest expert on news programs such as BBC America and Loyalty Reinvented CNN Live, and is frequently quoted by Measuring loyalty is a tricky but important reality for business owners and brands. local and national Most employ physical rewards cards, punch cards, or other loyalty programs to try media outlets. and incentivize repeat customer business. In today’s mobile-centric, social media- dominated landscape, however, start-ups are happening upon different formulas for measuring and rewarding loyalty. Foursquare, for instance, has its own system that incorporates check-ins, points, badges, and venue hierarchy to chart real world place behavior. Foursquare mayorship has become such a celebrated title that battles for mayorship break out at chain restaurants like Chipotle, where there’s never before been a social incentive to return on a regular basis. Loopt has built its own spinoff application for branded mobile rewards called Loopt Star. It is designed to be a virtual loyalty card. 119
- 120. SCVNGR has itsown method that also encourages What the Future Holds check-ins—individuals use the app to explicitly indicate their whereabouts—but the start-up takes Today’s social rewards landscape is replete a more active approach and allows app users and with brands, small businesses, and marketers businesses to create quick, place-based challenges experimenting with social currency through one- for points that can be applied to rewards. Facebook off campaigns, Foursquare specials, Loopt Star Places is still new and focused primarily around goodies, SCVNGR rewards, and so on. Very few are check-ins, but it too will factor into the social rewards integrating social rewards deeper in their systems or equation by helping businesses create opportunities continuing them on an ongoing basis. around patron check-ins. Not all SCNVGR, Loopt Star, Facebook Places, or In today’s mobile-centric, social Foursquare users that check in at a venue will be media-dominated landscape, paying customers, but the social sharing behavior of a check-in, challenge, tip, or status update is a however, start-ups are happening net positive because that message will trickle out upon different formulas for to Twitter or Facebook and reach a much larger audience of future potential customers. measuring and rewarding loyalty. CardStar takes an alternative approach and makes mobile apps for Andriod, iPhone, and iPad that let Tasti D-Lite has gone a step further with its users merge all of their physical loyalty cards into a TastiRewards loyalty program—a typical loyalty single digital repository. The start-up is toying with program that rewards customers who present their social rewards through Foursquare integration and TreatCards at point-of-sale, except that the company retailer partnerships. incentivizes customers to share each swipe of their card with their Twitter, Facebook, and Foursquare Essentially, these services—and the brands and friends. The dessert chain is headed in the right marketers using them—have discovered that there direction: connecting the dots between customer, is tangible value to providing consumers with a brand, and social web. mechanism for virtually shouting aloud, “Hey, I’m here,” and then configuring a dual in-app, in-store The formula for social rewards is still a work in experience more tailored to their interests. The best progress, however, and the future will hold better brands are even finding ways to tap these platforms integration between loyalty programs, location-based to turn social media into a currency customers can services, and even tender type (Facebook Credits as cash in on. opposed to cash or credit) or platform (Square in lieu of a traditional credit card terminal). 120
- 121. Social Media 4 opinion Why Twitter and Foursquare Are Dying “#Twitter and #Foursquare will be dead within 10 years”—but marketers should still care. Like many platforms of old, Twitter and Foursquare are currently embraced by consumers and marketers. They are heralded as the next big thing. However in By: Andreas Roell reality, they will not be around (at least in their current form) for Chairman and CEO Geary Group much longer because users will evolve beyond them. Why Twitter and Foursquare Are Dying This is not to say these platforms are not innovative or praiseworthy. More than others, Twitter and Foursquare have opened a new era in consumer-marketer relationships. We are now living in a world where consumers have adopted short-form methods Andreas Roell is the of communication to engage directly with marketers, and they are willing to share Chairman and CEO their locations with marketers. These are the key advancements behind Twitter and of Geary Group, a holding company Foursquare’s success. Their extinction will not be because they didn’t leave a lasting providing next mark, but because they will have already served their purpose. The true marketing generation digital value comes from understanding the changes in user behavior. marketing services. Under his leadership, Geary Group has The acceptance of location-based technology is an important evolution from a established itself as marketing perspective. Before forums like Foursquare, marketing was limited to one of the nation’s largest independent placing ads where consumers were likely to see them—hello billboards, display ads, digital marketing and paid search. Now consumers are volunteering their locations, and expecting to service providers. receive geographically relevant ads in return. This means that consumers are gaining control over the ads they see. They are not happening across an ad; they are inviting marketers into their lives with a mutual understanding that it could all end if marketers overstay their welcome. For marketers this requires additional strategic considerations, relevancy, and a need to broach marketing from a utility perspective. The question becomes “how can we mold our offerings to fit consumer behavior?” 121
- 122. With social media,consumers leveled the communications field to the point where marketers are now accountable to their consumers like never before. This environment demands that marketers are actively engaged with their users. Marketers must understand how their particular users are adopting new technologies and social mediums, but more importantly, they need to identify how users are interacting with platforms. Have their With social media, consumers privacy expectations changed? Are they receptive leveled the communications field to advertising? Answering these questions will to the point where marketers help marketers address concerns about where and how they should use such technologies as are now accountable to their a marketing channel. consumers like never before. As we’ve seen with mobile marketing, it does This environment demands that not matter if advertisers see value in a medium marketers are actively engaged if consumers do not. Social media success is with their users. the result of assimilating a marketing message to user expectations and behaviors. The inevitable marketing challenge is developing a strategy that enables marketers to provide value to users in social mediums. This can be achieved by anything from product usage tips to promotional incentives, but no matter the manifestation, marketers must relate initiatives to existing and trending behaviors. At the end of the day, social media is not about being flashy or trendy; it’s about the evolution of how we communicate with each other. 122
- 123. Social Media 4 opinion Pulling the Trigger to Purchase: Insights on Marketing to Avid Gamers Video games are no longer child’s play, dedicated to pimple-faced adolescents. With marketing spending increasing exponentially, and more diverse audience segments joining the ranks, it is imperative that marketers tailor their efforts to reflect the psychographics of those who seemingly have the strongest By: Ken Martin influence within the gaming community: the avid gamers. After performing Chief Creative Officer BLITZ a quantitative and qualitative study of this highly influential demographic, we believe that much of this spend is misdirected. Accordingly, we have created a set of diagnostic principles to help advertisers and CMOs establish a successful marketing strategy. These principles are to empower peers to become influencers, showcase actual gameplay footage, get your audience addicted to the game, build websites that reflect your audience’s online behavior, Ken Martin is Chief Creative Officer and provide incentives for registration. Both online and offline advertising at BLITZ. He consistently fall short, which may be limiting video game sales or at least entered the industry at age 15, and since slowing growth within this expansive vertical. the beginning, has enjoyed solving seemingly impossible Empower Peers to Become Influencers challenges with the most engaging, It was unsurprising to learn that avid gamers prefer peer opinions to expert reviews. effective solutions In fact, 88% of respondents said “talking to friends” was the most important factor in and digital developments. deciding to pull the trigger to purchase. What is shocking, however, is that only 11% of our audience felt that social networking utilities, such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, were useful in influencing a video game purchase. The majority, 53%, felt that these sites were not helpful at all. WHY? Simply stated, avid gamers trust their gamer friends and are heavily influenced by their own peer groups. And thanks to aggregator networks and user-rating systems, gamers can quickly get opinions, search recommendations, and publicize their own thoughts online. By referencing those in their circle, gamers can avoid the biases of expert reviews and publisher content, which they tend to perceive as commercialized. 123
- 124. Showcase Actual GameplayFootage WHY? Because avid gamers develop trust with franchises, such as “Guitar Hero,” “Call of Duty,” and TV commercials still play a large role in driving initial “Madden NFL,” they’re more inclined to purchase interest during the decision-making process, but the next title in their favorite series. For new titles, only 26% of the respondents said TV is one of the the ability to get players hooked before purchasing most useful factors. Because commercials create positively affects the decision process. Even as awareness and drive our audience online for further publishers develop new games within a series, it’s research, much of our panel felt that they are just as, important to maintain the integrity of the franchise, if not more, important than peer reviews. Such is only while working to improve the game experience. the case, however, if a substantial portion of a 30- or 60-second spot is used to highlight gameplay footage. In terms of game-related online activities, 94% of For fully integrated campaigns, gamers find downloading or playing online game demos, watching actual gameplay footage, and mobile phones and social watching trailer videos to be useful factors. With 55% networking sites can offer the saying that playing a demo is the most important of most contextual and relevant these factors, marketers should always provide an option to demo, either online or on the console. information to help drive purchases. WHY? Avid gamers want to get into the game as soon as possible, whether through a downloadable demo or a YouTube clip of gameplay footage. Build Websites That Reflect Your Audience’s Because consoles and PCs have the ability to screen Online Behaviors capture actual gameplay, many avid gamers even create their own movies—often to highlight cheats A well-structured and immersive website is the and secrets or to showcase gameplay footage that strongest opportunity to feed gamers with influential marketers left out. content at a single location. Yet our surveys reveal that only 18% of participants called game-specific For Sequels Call Out “What’s New” as Loudly sites “one of the most important factors” that drive as You Can purchases. In fact, 39% rated these sites as “least useful.” Avid gamers are loyal to their franchises. This is the most important influence that marketers and WHY? Many websites have little impact on core publishers can use to their advantage when releasing gamers, even though they have potential to be the sequels. According to our qualitative research, first and foremost effective means of driving interest highlighting “what’s new” is also essential information. that directly leads to purchase and praise. Sites can Avid gamers want to see how a game has been host everything from social commentary, peer reviews, enhanced without taking away from the prequel that gameplay footage, leaderboard statistics, wiki-based they know and love. content, badging, and honoring top players. A properly built site can also provide a surge in traffic during a For brand-new titles, marketers must first gain the game’s launch by leveraging SEO and SEM. loyalty of gamers before they can successfully push sales. As players experience more demos and invest more time with a game, so does their likelihood of purchase. 124
- 125. Provide Incentives forRegistration conversion. For fully integrated campaigns, mobile phones and social networking sites can offer the Customer relationship marketing (CRM) still plays a most contextual and relevant information to help drive huge role in building a strong, trusting relationship purchases. Mobile strategy—rather than smartphone between avid gamers and publishers. Through apps—must be utilized to drive gamers directly to registration, marketers can monitor their users’ habits, stores, since brick-and-mortar retailers still remain offer customized incentives, and react to their needs the preferred sales venue. Leveraging mobile phone quickly. They can also leverage these relationship technology, marketers can offer exclusive promotions tactics to spark conversations among peer groups for game releases and slow-selling titles or can use online and offline. GPS to provide geographical-based incentives, such as on-the-go couponing. In the past year, nearly 7 out of 10 gamers registered at game sites that had no associated subscription Closing Remarks charges; however, registration was in part due to the presence of worthy incentives. According to 43% of respondents, game discounts were most valuable, followed by cheat codes, game unlocks, and access to game demos. WHY? While this demographic seems to have expendable income (as they skew younger), they’re as cautious about spending their money as they are about giving out their email addresses. The payoff must exceed the effort of registration for avid gamers to reveal their information. Shocker: Social and Mobile Remain Underutilized Marketing with social media sites and mobile phones has grown and has been seamlessly integrated into The quantitative and qualitative studies indicate that gamers’ lives. Even so, advertisers have not been most video game marketers aren’t using their digital able to effectively use them to influence video game dollars efficiently. Avid gamers: purchases. · Are immersed within the digital/online space but Of those surveyed, 39% own phones with web browsing disregard many staid advertising methods. and rich media capabilities that have been used for video game-related activity. Though the bulk of mobile users · Rely on peer recommendations and friends for advice, with capable phones use them to play mobile versions of yet social media is currently underutilized and ineffective. games they already own, less than half use their phones when making purchasing decisions. · Have their interest piqued by commercials, yet find they lack all-important gameplay footage. WHY? Because mobile and social media are fairly new channels, marketers have only used them to · Find game websites interesting, yet marketers build buzz and have yet to grasp the benefits of have not integrated gamers’ preferred functionality 125
- 126. components (social commentary,peer reviews, gaming-related websites as well as the websites gameplay footage, and online demos) of video game publishers. We must reconsider the role of our primary communication vehicles Because avid gamers are the most influential (websites, social marketing efforts, game trailers, audience segment, marketers must provide digital television commercials, and mobile extensions). content that facilitates their video game research, And though we’re constantly pushing the boundaries review, and purchasing processes while online. of technology, we must remember that the innovation isn’t in the execution. It’s in the strategy. As marketers, we must create effective integrated strategies that empower avid gamers while welcoming newbies into the experience. We must encourage our target to become influencers within 126
- 127. Social Media 4 opinion Online and Offline, It’s All Real-Life Communication A speaker at one of the now-regular social media market events said he had felt “totally odd and cast-out after a single weekend without Internet access.” For me, this seemed really wild—sure, the web is important, but so is real life! Only later did I realize By: Irina Sheveleva that for him the web was equal to real life. Editor GRAPE Online and Offline, It’s All Real-Life Communication I set out to examine the overlap between online and offline communication. Just look at the most popular online activities, like checking news (public or personal), flicking through photos, commenting on an event. Are these not the same things we do in “real life”? Irina Sheveleva We used to meet friends to show them our travel photos, for example. But if you’re graduated from the showing the album to your family, then to your friends, then once more to colleagues, faculty of Philology, and so on, by then it felt like you had told the same story a million times. Now we just Lomonosov MSU and entered the media upload them so everyone can see. What is this but optimization? market as a reporter of Adindustry Magazine. Commenting online is very similar to the communication you’d have, say, at a She later became party, cruising from one group of people to another, occasionally saying a word Editor-in-Chief of a corresponding website. here and there. So what’s the difference? For some, the difference is that offline, As Editor at Grape if you’re observing conversation but not participating in it, you might feel or look a Irina runs the agency’s bit embarrassed. However, online there’s usually no one to notice you’re just digital media trends– Trends Newsletter, Hot- parasitizing. That’s why Facebook will never officially launch a service to tell users digital.ru and its social who accessed their profile. And that’s why it has such a huge audience: there’s media branches. much less responsibility in this kind of communication. In some cases, the web is becoming a preferable mode of executing commonplace actions we would have previously keep offline. For example, a Facebook chat is used as a substitute for a phone call. Because written communication tends to be more condensed than oral communication, an online chat can be a more efficient way of exchanging information. 127
- 128. As a trend,digital communication becoming real The best advice, though, for brands and for people, is advancing so quickly that for early adopters and is to apply the same care to communication and people in the digital and creative industries, the relationships online as they would in their real lives. space between those “lines” (“on” and “off”) tends to The two may not be separate for long. disappear completely. It seems inevitable that more consumers will soon spend more time online. As a trend, digital communication If engaging with social media is something most people want to do, it’s something brands have to becoming real is advancing so do. Brands must become an essential part of users’ quickly that for early adopters and social media experience. Ideally, that means creating people in the digital and creative a new habit that’s going to become part of a person’s daily social media routine. industries, the space between those “lines” (“on” and “off”) tends to To do this, a brand should build a function. Be it help-desk, chat room, media, or sweepstakes, a disappear completely. function or direct benefit to users is a brand’s best, if not only, way to break through in social media. This logic also holds in real life—a brand must offer users a benefit —but in social media it may be easier to accomplish, especially while the sphere is still developing. Setting up brand fanpages and accounts is mostly free, and the audience isn’t yet satiated with branded activity, though the end date may be looming. 128
- 129. Social Media 4 opinion Focusing Your Facebook Strategy: 10 Tips Toward Better Status updates In 2010, brands paid nearly $3 million to secure a television spot during the Super Bowl—30 seconds of exposure to 100 million random consumers. Quietly and without much fanfare, last year also saw the top brands on Facebook gather By: Victor Piñeiro over 10 million fans each, spending drastically less on a Strategist Big Spaceship continuous conversation with their self-selected fanbase. Rather than speaking in 30-second segments, their medium has become the status update. How do you grow and maintain a successful Facebook presence? It all comes back to Facebook’s primary building block. Victor Piñeiro is a Strategist at 1. Analyze Users’ Facebook Behavior Big Spaceship, leading social media strategy for Many brands consider fan pages microsites in a new location and spend the majority various clients, of their resources on meticulously designed pages while treating status updates as an including Skittles. afterthought. Doubt the power of status updates? Analyze your fans’ touchpoints with He wrote/produced the award-winning your brand using Facebook Insights. Less than 1% of most brands’ Facebook fans documentary Second visit their page after “liking” it. If 99% of your audience only sees your status updates, Skin and is the plan accordingly. managing editor of Popten. 2. Find Your Voice or Don’t Get Heard Whatever your brand’s presence on its own turf, it’s often an uninvited voice in a crowded room of friends on Facebook. Capture your audience’s attention and hold it with a likeable, entertaining, and consistent brand voice fans look forward to hearing. Keep it casual, keep it conversational, and keep it fun. 129
- 130. 3. Be Shortand Sweet to Rally Your Fans 8. Give, Give, Give Short, memorable messages tend to get the highest Research has shown time and again that coupons interaction rates, especially when they’re funny, witty, and specials are the primary reason Facebook users or friendly. And because fans generally press the “Like” brands. However, mere “couponing” betrays “Like” button to cheer for your post, phrasing updates the community-building opportunities presented by in a way that will get people rooting for them is key. Facebook. Rather than framing coupons as a series of deals, treat your Facebook fans like an exclusive 4. Don’t Be Schizophrenic circle with members-only discounts, much like Gilt Groupe or Groupon. Develop a consistent brand voice that doesn’t vary update to update. While it often takes time to develop your voice, it should always sound like a single person, not an ever-shifting committee. This also Capture your audience’s attention means that it’s best to have one person manage the and hold it with a likeable, account and write updates, rather than giving your entire team the go-ahead to chime in. entertaining, and consistent brand voice fans look forward to 5. Keep the Ask Low hearing. Keep it casual, keep it Fans generally scroll down their Facebook walls conversational, and keep it fun. fairly quickly, meaning that your 10-minute video has very little chance of being watched, while a simple, memorable update will likely solicit interaction 9. Execute, Listen, Hone, Re-execute and appreciation. Links also tend to have a low CTR, unless the call to action is strong or the Facebook is the ultimate sounding board—don’t be reward generous. afraid to use it. Strategize, execute, and then monitor your fans’ reaction. using what you’ve heard, hone 6. Use Images your strategy. Your relationship with your Facebook audience has no end point—it’s constantly evolving. Images and photos have been found to spark the highest interaction rate on Facebook by a wide 10. Measure Interactions, Not Just Fan Count margin. Cute, silly, entertaining pics that are easy to make out as a thumbnail work best. Again, interaction Some of the biggest fan pages on Facebook also usually means a fan is rooting for your content, so have extremely low interaction rates. Though the choose pictures that elicit cheers. number of fans is obviously important, keep in mind that users can “hide” your brand’s posts without 7. Develop an Editorial Calendar it registering as attrition. Focus instead on the interaction rate with each post. Since an interaction Your status updates should add up to more than a can be as simple as merely clicking “Like,” it shows cacophony of announcements for each new brand you how many fans are paying attention and initiative or program. Besides keeping your audience engaging with (or rooting for) your brand. entertained, your content plan should help build community and provide a rich, ongoing experience for your fans. 130
- 131. Conclusion While these tipswill get you started, the best continuing strategy is to constantly monitor your Facebook presence. Every brand’s Facebook community has a unique dynamic, responding to different posts, incentives, and content. And while these guidelines are specific to Facebook, the same logic applies to posts on other social networks like Twitter and MySpace. 131
- 132. Social Media 4 case study Thierry Mugler/Starvibes How do you bring the Thierry Mugler website and the buzz about the brand together into one place? CHALLENGE SOLuTION Author: Benjamin Laugel CEO/Creative Director, Soleil Noir How do you bring the Thierry Mugler We pictured each discussion as website and the buzz about the a star and built a galaxy where Soleil Noir Team: Sophie Gaaloul, Project Manager brand together into one place? The Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flaviio Ensiki, Developer Pierre-Francois Hagège, Art Director idea behind Starvibes was to build a Flickr come together on one site. Romain Bouchereau, Graphic Designer separate space in the website where users can filter the content by Jean-Christophe Quilez, Sound Designer all the reactions and impressions product, word, topic, or network, and generated across different social they can also join in any discussion networks could come together. The about their favorite subjects. Each challenge was to make this happen time a fan creates a new topic, a new on an original and readable interface, star is born inside the galaxy, thus so that all the content could be tracking the growth of Thierry Mugler’s gathered together without disturbing community of fans. Benjamin Laugel founded the brand website. Soleil Noir in 2000 and IMPACT serves as its CD and RESEARCH/ACTIVITY/ CEO. After a Master’s No results available, as the project of Communication, he INSIGHT has not been launched at the time created Soleil Noir with the The leading idea was to combine the of press. aim of offering interactive main social networks and the brand experiences. Benjamin is SoDA’s European site. We understood that we had to representative and a consider the hugeness of the Thierry Board Member of the Club Mugler community of fans as well as des Directeurs Artistiques. its home-rule aspect. Within these parameters, the project created an independent galaxy devoted to fans. 132
- 133. users can filterthe content by product, word, topic, or network, and they can also join in any discussion about their favorite subjects. Each time a fan creates a new topic, a new star is born inside the galaxy, thus tracking the growth of Thierry Mugler’s community of fans. 133
- 134. Social Media 4 case study Emma Watson Digital Strategy Emma Watson is a British actress who rose to prominence playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies. Great Fridays’ challenge was to bring Emma’s digital image up to date to reflect her 20-year-old profile as fashion model, actress, and fair trade supporter, without alienating her loyal core fanbase. CHALLENGE and briefings were held with all of Author: Rob Salmon Emma Watson is a British actress Emma’s core stakeholders to better Director of Communications, Great Fridays who rose to prominence playing understand the many different Great Fridays Team: Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter facets of her profile. These included Rob Noble, Co-Founder Dean Evans, Producer movies. Many of her millions of meetings with her closest family to Jo Whelan and Mark Sugdon, Designers Adam Foster, Developer fans worldwide have grown up with understand Emma “the person,” Chris Hardy, Developer Emma. Great Fridays’ challenge was meetings with those responsible for to bring Emma’s digital image up to Emma’s public profile, including PR date to reflect her 20-year-old profile agents and brand specialists, and as fashion model, actress, and fair meetings with Storm model agency. trade supporter, without alienating her The Great Fridays team also met and loyal core fanbase. A multiphased got to know Emma herself in order to Author Bio: Rob Salmon is strategy was developed to create a create an authentic online voice. Great Fridays’ award-winning consistent presentation of the Emma Director of Communications. SOLuTION With over 20 years of Watson “brand” across all relevant experience working both digital channels. The new website at emmawatson. agency and client-side, Rob is com was launched on Emma’s a specialist in corporate and brand communications. RESEARCH/ACTIVITY/ birthday on April 14, 2010 with the INSIGHT development of her “official” brand Detailed discovery workshops presence on social networks like 134
- 135. Facebook and Twitterfollowing shortly after. The over 25,000 unique visits daily. Looking to social solution developed by Great Fridays included user networks, Emma has over three quarters of a million experience design, visual design, messaging, and friends on Facebook and a quarter of a million online branding, content, and detailed analytics and followers on Twitter, a huge increase on previous metrics. The strategy treated all channels as a single, traffic and significantly ahead of target forecasts. The coherent ecosystem, with individual elements working detailed analytics and tracking tools put in place by seamlessly together to achieve the desired impact of Great Fridays provide rich and valuable information to increased website traffic and regular dramatic spikes Emma’s agents and representatives, building her brand of user interest and engagement. equity and developing an impressive digital portfolio. The strategy treated all channels as a single, coherent ecosystem, with individual elements working seamlessly together to achieve the desired impact of increased website traffic and regular dramatic spikes of user interest and engagement. IMPACT Emma’s new website has received over 3 million unique visits since its launch, twice as many as the previous version. The site on average receives 135
- 136. Social Media 4 case study GuitarHero.com: Global Franchise Hub and Community With the release of Guitar Hero 5, Activision wanted an online destination that would appeal to all its divas, while facilitating digital interaction, global community integration, user personalization, and product sales. CHALLENGE RESEARCH/ACTIVITY/ Author and Team Member: Ken Martin INSIGHT Chief Creative Officer, Blitz Every minute, 100,000 Guitar Hero songs are played in the 16 million To connect gamers to one another, Blitz Team: Paul Hikiji, Senior Art Director instrument-game-playing households. we needed to understand their Matt Murray, Art Director Since the game’s launch in 2005, interests and lifestyles. After Thanh Gip, Designer Sean Scott, Director of user Experience the Guitar Hero fanbase has grown discovering that 90% of gaming Adam Venturella, Senior Software Developer Erick Louie, Software Developer from rock star groupies to pop-loving conversations happen outside of Phil Tobias, Software Developer tweens, tech-newbie “Wii moms,” a franchise’s portal, we integrated Dino Petrone, Senior Flash Developer Yosef Flomin, Flash Developer country folk, and every music lover popular social networks (Facebook, Lee Matsunami, Project Manager in between. Twitter, Digg, and YouTube) as a way to distribute news, media, user With the release of Guitar Hero 5, comments, and worldwide community Activision wanted an online destination conversation. that would appeal to all its divas, Ken Martin is Chief while facilitating digital interaction, Research also revealed that gamers Creative Officer at BLITZ. global community integration, user prefer peer reviews to professional He entered the industry at age fifteen, and since the personalization, and product sales. industry reviews when deciding on beginning, he has enjoyed This new, worldwide social hub would a purchase, so we adopted a new solving seemingly impossible also double as a 24/7 one-stop-shop rating system for songs, games, and challenges with the most instruments. This system allows users engaging, effective solutions for everything Guitar Hero. and digital developments. to mark their musical preferences with an “iLike button,” that encouraged participation, drove conversation, and increased camaraderie. 136
- 137. SOLuTION IMPACT To facilitate social interactions, we built The launch of Guitar Hero’s new global franchise hub “My Guitar Hero Experience,” which allows users to brought an instant 50% increase in site registration customize their dashboards with performance stats, and 200% increase in site traffic. Adoption of the tournaments, friends, groupies, and information about “iLike button” drove interest among fans—they played their interests. We then went a step further with our over 20 million songs within the first two weeks of the state-of-the-art streamlined console linking process site’s launch and increased their video engagement to increase user communication and drive purchases by 500%. By combining the “iLike” system with the of songs and GH products. two-click purchasing process, we saw a 300% sales spike for Guitar Hero products through online retail The “What’s New” section highlights the vast music merchants. And with over 1 million GH Facebook selection with peer-tagged favorites, a detailed Guitar fans from around the world, devotees can continue to Hero music catalog, and downloadable music charts. build relationships and talk rock every day. Visiting this section enables users to easily keep up with new music while following recommendations from other GH fans. Since the game’s launch in 2005, the Guitar Hero fanbase has grown from rock star groupies to pop-loving tweens, tech-newbie “Wii moms,” country folk and every music lover in between. 137
- 138. Social Media 4 case study Chrome Fastball— Race Across the Internet BBH and Google Creative Labs wanted to create a browser speed race, using popular web services to create obstacles that users had to get through. CHALLENGE SOLuTION Author: Petter Westlund Creative Director and Co-founder, B-Reel BBH and Google Creative Labs We developed two main ideas that wanted to create a browser speed shaped our production. First, we Team: B-Reel race, using popular web services to wanted to build and shoot a Rube create obstacles that users had to get Goldberg machine to visualize the through. How could this be created in race. Second, we thought of creating the most entertaining and fascinating the whole thing as a YouTube page, way while still providing a contained by connecting multiple video players and focused experience for the user? to create an extra widescreen format Petter Westlund is a that would fit the entire machine. Our Creative Director and RESEARCH/ACTIVITY/ idea was to let the space between Co-founder of B-Reel. INSIGHT each player expand to display the We played around with different ideas interactive test modules. for the best format for this project. We thought it was really important to keep The Rube Goldberg machine worked the storytelling clear and consistent, as a fun platform that connected the establishing the setup from the tests. By creating the project as a beginning and surprising the audience YouTube/web services mashup, we with interactive elements along the could create a smooth user experience. way. It should feel fun and playful while also making use of everyday web services like Twitter, Last FM, Translate, Search, and Maps. 138
- 139. IMPACT unfortunately, we cannotrelease metrics for this campaign. However, we can say that within minutes of launching, the site garnered so many users, simultaneously, that the servers crashed. Pretty impressive. The Rube Goldberg machine worked as a fun platform that connected the tests. By creating the project as a YouTube/web services mashup, we could create a smooth user experience. 139
- 140. Social Media 4 case study SAP Friend Network Optimizer SAP has recently updated its brand and changed the name of its suite of products. To ensure the target market knows about the changes and what products SAP has to offer, Dare was approached to create a campaign that would build awareness for the brand. CHALLENGE RESEARCH/INSIGHT/ Author and Team Member: Sandhya Suryam, Client Partner ACTIVITY Dare SAP has recently updated its brand and changed the name of its suite of The insight was around the core Dare Vancouver Team: Jackson Murphy, Assoc. Creative Director products. To ensure the target market audience, business managers and Graham MacInness, Art Director knows about the changes and what IT managers. These groups are on Erica Lam, Social Media Strategist Chelsea Grisdale, Producer products SAP has to offer, Dare was Facebook and we believed getting Tsung-Yin Tsai, Developer Steve Lindenberg, Flash Developer approached to create a campaign their attention in an unexpected way Dana Dansereau, Technical Director that would build awareness for the and demonstrating the power of data Angele Beausoleil, VP Strategy and Innovation brand and the benefits of SAP Crystal visualization with nonbusiness data would help drive the message to Sandhya Suryam is a Solutions Business Intelligence Client Partner at Dare. offerings. To reach business banagers the audience. She worked client-side for and IT managers, SAP needed to 12 years before leaping to There is an unarticulated game with agency-side which helps distinguish itself in the market. The her understand the clients’ brand needed to position business Facebook users around how many worlds. A consumer intelligence reporting tools as relatable friends one has and how important champion, Sandhya this makes the user. It’s a sense of is comfortable in both and personal. Doing this meant traditional and digital piquing curiosity about these tools in social status. The Friend Network worlds. a new way to ensure they stood out Optimizer lets the user see the power from the competition. of intelligence data. By playing with sliders (situation variables), users can see the impact friends have on personal value. 140
- 141. SOLuTION IMPACT The solution is unique because Dare found a fun Success was defined by engagement from SAP and interesting way to report on Facebook data, stakeholders and Facebook users, and gaining mimicking the SAP reporting functionality. What’s awareness in blogs and in the tech community. important is that the audience makes the connection from an abstract concept to seeing the value of the There were over 11,000 users in the first few weeks business intelligence report tools for any application after launch and posts about the application were or situation. A second point is that users can play with also discussed on blogs such as the Huffington Post, the data to see cause-and-effect results. If SAP can ZiZot.com, and TechNews.AM. It also received do this for your Facebook data, think of what it can many tweets. do for your business. What’s important is that the audience makes the connection from an abstract concept to seeing the value of the business intelligence report tools for any application or situation. 141
- 142. Social Media 4 case study It Isn’t Lonely at the Top: What the Most “Liked” Brands Are Doing on Facebook Since January 2010, many of the most popular brands on Facebook have seen their fan count increase from 200% to 400%, jumping from a few million fans to more than 10 million. Author: CHALLENGE performances of brand-endorsed Victor Piñeiro Since January 2010, many of the artists and gives its messaging a Strategist, Big Spaceship most popular brands on Facebook personal touch with a familiar, Team: Big Spaceship have seen their fan count increase friendly voice. from 200% to 400%, jumping from a few million fans to more than 10 While Starbucks is initiative-focused, million. Starbucks, the most popular others take a different approach to brand on Facebook, went from community building. Coca-Cola unites 5 million to 16 million in the space its fans by celebrating the object of Victor Piñeiro is a Strategist of 10 months, while the top 5 brands their fandom. Always product-centric, at Big Spaceship, leading all cleared 10 million fans each. the brand shares short Coke maxims, social media strategy for asks questions about the product, various clients, including What are these brands doing to Skittles. He wrote/produced engage their massive audiences, and gives brief history lessons on the the award-winning and what seems to be working? origins of the iconic beverage. documentary Second Skin and is the managing editor CELEBRATING FANS of Popten. COMMuNITY BuILDING Facebook’s biggest brand builds Oreo highlights a randomly selected community with perpetual activity. Facebook fan each week from those Starbucks constantly announces who have posted their photos on the new flavors, rolls out green initiatives, brand’s page. Besides showcasing highlights charities, shares live the fan’s photo on the page, the 142
- 143. brand announces eachFan of the Week on a status WHAT WORKS BEST? update, trumpeting their name and encouraging It’s surprisingly difficult to measure success on participation. Oreo’s Facebook initiatives tend to stay Facebook. Despite all of the available metrics, many fan-centric. It recently had fans vote on their favorite of the most important ones remain hidden or difficult summer songs, creating a Pandora radio station out to access. For example, one metric visible to any of the most popular tracks. user is the interaction rate: the likes and comments on each individual post, revealing who is listening CONTENT PROVIDER and engaging with your brand on a regular basis. Red Bull’s Facebook page is so chock-full of extreme However, whether a brand’s posts are being “liked” by sports content, one might mistake it for the x Games the same 5,000 people each time is far more difficult page. Status updates highlight the latest event to ascertain, and key to understanding the size of its footage, while the “Athletes” tab aggregates tweets engaged audience. from all Red Bull sponsored athletes. The Red Bull Web TV tab streams constant sponsored content, while the Events tab invites fans to hundreds of global events. Red Bull’s page is testament to the idea that It’s surprisingly difficult to measure content is king. success on Facebook. Despite all of BRAND VOICE the available metrics, many of the most Skittles and M&Ms, which boast some of the highest important ones remain hidden or difficult interaction rates on Facebook, use status updates to access. to personify their brands. Following either brand on the social network means receiving day-in-the-life updates from the Rainbow or the Red M&M, much The metric that usually determines a brand’s like a celebrity Facebook or Twitter account. Victoria’s perceived success on social networks is the fan Secret, another brand with high interaction rates, count. High fan counts have led to countless articles uses short, cheeky updates to foster an in-the-know commending brands for their winning social media tone, while brands like Oreo and Coke remain firmly strategies, assuming that their behavior garners product-centric, asking brand-related questions and them fans. A recent study from DDB Worldwide, sharing cute photos of their product. however, revealed that 75% of a brand’s Facebook fans “liked” the brand after invitations or ads from brands—not through word of mouth or organically through Facebook. Perhaps a successful Facebook engagement strategy should focus on retaining and activating fans, rather than aiming to grow them from within the social network. 143
- 144. Emerging Technology & Trends 144
- 145. Emerging Technology &Trends The use of digitally based channels is the differentiator between digital marketing and other traditional forms of marketing. While TV, print, and radio platforms are relatively unchanged in the last 50 years, digital has experienced massive changes in platform growth in the last five years. The continued growth of digital advertising is dependent on emerging technologies and innovative uses of those technologies. Marketers and agencies need to be at the forefront of this growth. Smartphones, tablet devices, and web-enabled TVs are now connected in ways unimaginable a few years ago. While the multitude of devices and the potential fragmentation can be intimidating to marketers, there is great opportunity to create innovative experiences across integrated devices. We can no longer rely on desktop- based web experiences to deliver digital content when people are accessing information from a multitude of devices. We’ll discuss strategies and trends for effectively creating for these channels. While the fight for the living room increases, we need to be smart with the technologies that we use to implement these experiences. Considerations for use of Flash in areas where it’s excelled, such as gaming and video, has been challenged with new technologies such as HTML5 and CSS 3. Are they simply the cool new buzzwords for technologists or will it require the emergence of IE 9 and the death of IE 6 for it to be really taken seriously as a dominate delivery technology? We’ll explore the effectiveness of HTML5 via case studies focusing on its implementation and results on ROI. We’re at an exciting point in technology where the opportunities to innovate are boundless. Collaboration and innovation today will set the digital marketing trends for tomorrow. By Charles Duncan Jr., DMO Section Editor; Director of Technology, IQ Next Generation Mobile Applications by Charles Duncan Jr., DMO Section Editor; Director of Technology, IQ Interactive Mobile Is a New Medium, Not Just an Extension of Your Website by Brian Jeremy, Director of Technology, Exopolis Local, Social, and Brand Transcendence by Richard Cruz, Digital Strategist, AgencyNet Mobile Apps for the B2B Marketer: It’s Not Just Fun and Games by Kirsten Corbell, Account Director, Strategy & Planning Group, Fullhouse Interactive Wearable Digital Signage—The Modern Day Sandwich Board by Jim Vaughn, Digital Strategy and Partner Development Manager, Fullhouse Interactive 145
- 146. The Marketing Implicationsof Google Instant by Geary Interactive How Lean and Agile Processes Can Deliver Killer Results by Stuart Eccles, Founding Partner, Made by Many Mobile “Super App” Experiences: From Brand Extension to Engaging Customers by Tyler Lessard, VP Global Alliances and Developer Relations, Research In Motion Case Study: The Wilderness Downtown by Nicole Muniz, Producer, B-Reel Case Study: SoBe Reskin Yourself by Anna Edwards, Associate Copywriter, Firstborn Case Study: DonQ Rum by Guthrie Dolin, DMO Section Editor; Principal, Director of Strategy, Odopod 146
- 147. Emerging Technology & Trends 5 opinion Next Generation Mobile Applications The adoption of smartphones is steadily increasing at an incredible rate. Nielsen predicts that smartphones will overtake feature phones by the end of 2011. This shift will be the catalyst for innovation in the mobile marketplace. Marketers and their By: Charles Duncan Jr. partner agencies need to consider how they’ll create for the next DMO Section Editor Director of Technology, IQ generation mobile devices. Next Generation Mobile Applications The adoption of smartphones is increasing at an incredible rate. Nielsen predicts that As Director of smartphones will overtake feature phones by the end of 2011. This shift will be the Technology, catalyst for innovation in the mobile marketplace. Marketers and their partner agencies Charles Duncan, need to consider how they’ll create for the next generation mobile devices. Jr. (@sirchauncy) leads the strategic direction of IQ’s These next generation mobile devices will push far beyond current devices in both Development and hardware and software capabilities. Increases in mobile broadband, processing Analytics services. power, image resolution, storage, and connected services will drive innovation. Charles has over 13 years of experience leading A competitive mobile platform marketplace dominated by RIM, Apple, and Google the development has been the primary story line over the last few years. Previous market leaders such of award-winning work across the globe as Nokia and Microsoft are poised to challenge the current leaders and regain for brands such as market share. Nike, Xbox, and Gap. The operating systems that have dominated the marketplace for the last few years have focused on an app-driven paradigm. The central focus was on the capabilities of the individual mobile application. Nokia, RIM, and Apple built successful platforms based around this type of user interaction. More apps in a platform’s market provided the end user with more options and a perceived greater value than other competing platforms. 147
- 148. The Android platformand its tight integration with Innovations around mobile will mean that simply numerous Google services have helped push the having a mobile application presence will not be trend in a new direction. If someone is already using enough for engagement. The next generation of Google’s Gmail, Maps, and YouTube via a desktop applications will need to consider a new way to computer, these services can be leveraged to mobile provide utility and communication with connected in a unique way. A perfect example of this is the users. As the convergence of communication ability to broadcast my physical map location while mediums continues, our mobile devices and the searching for driving or walking directions. A user who applications that power them will continue to become is using these same services on a desktop computer more of a central focus in our lives. Innovation around has different needs than a mobile user. the constantly emerging mobile platform will be the key to marketers staying relevant. Another great example of this new direction is Microsoft’s Windows Phone Application Platform where the focus is on “hubs” (photo, video, and Innovations around mobile productivity) as opposed to apps. Hubs put the focus on your contacts and your social interactions with will mean that simply having those contacts. For example, a photo hub where a mobile application instead of only being able to see your photos, you presence will not be enough are able to see your friends’ photos. This trend will result in an increased need for applications to support for engagement. The next more social and contacted features. generation of applications Many times we struggle with how consumer brands will need to consider a new and their services can be more social, particularly way to provide utility and when the context is personal (e.g., financial services communication with and healthcare). While the solution may not be a public broadcast of status and personal information, connected users. we’ll need to think more about the potential connection points that are relevant between people and how mobile can help bridge those points. The next key element to this trend is how our mobile devices physically connect to larger systems. Historically, this connection has been through the audio and video feed of a larger device such as the ability to play the songs on my iPod through my car stereo. We’re starting to see more enhanced integration where someone’s mobile device is the main communication and data-display hub of next generation automobiles. With mobile devices having gigabytes of mp3s, streaming via 3G networks and updated map information, is it necessary to have factory-based car stereos or information displays? This will provide marketers with a new platform to create within while providing utility to the end user. 148
- 149. Emerging Technology & Trends 5 opinion Mobile Is a New Medium, Not Just an Extension of Your Website “Mobile” remains a buzzword in digital even though the term isn’t recent; in fact, its origin is extremely dated. However, what is undeniable is the increasing growth in the mobile sector and the role it is playing industry wide. Disregard the hype, we are By: Brian Jeremy indeed slowly mobilizing, but the solution is not to take existing Director of Technology Exopolis websites and experiences and port them to a new platform. Take a step back to fully understand all aspects of the platform—the evolution, the advantages, and the disadvantages—and then embark on strategic efforts to create the ideal solution. Brian Jeremy is a Mobile Is a New Medium, Not Just an Extension of Your Website California-based technologist with According to the July 2010 PEW Mobile Access Report as of Q2 2010, 59% of over 10 years uS adults have online experiences with mobile devices a usage increase in over of experience specializing in 50% compared to a 2009 study. This is concrete evidence that mobile is a growing emerging platforms. medium in the uS and an area where more consumption is occurring. The demand for mobile applications and experiences has also been on the rise: a September 2010 PEW report states that 35% of uS adults have applications installed on their phones. The growth in mobile applications and the mobile web is indisputable. What mobile developers, agencies, and marketers are failing to pay attention to is that (1) mobile content should vastly differ from website content and (2) the mobile experience in its entirety should be viewed from a different perspective—from design to execution. Patterns of mobile behavior vary drastically from web/desktop usage to mobile experiences. The key differentiators are intent, functionality, and screen real estate. Take a moment to think about the tools at your disposal for browsing the web on your desktop: a sophisticated browser, keyboard, mouse, and decent-sized display. Browsing on mobile devices doesn’t offer the luxury of space or time—consumption is in real time. Thus, due to the current limitations of the mobile medium, it is crucial that we focus on this platform as a new medium and not just an extension of a website. 149
- 150. Successful mobile experiencesshould not require browsing, search, or any indirect/nonintuitive methods of discovery. Content, color, design, navigation, and Take a moment to think about information architecture should all be custom tailored the tools at your disposal for to the mobile platform allowing users to quickly and seamlessly locate and engage with the relevant browsing the web on your desktop: information or features they are seeking. a sophisticated browser, keyboard, “Optimizing” existing websites to be viewable on mouse, and decent-sized display. mobile devices is definitely taking a step in the Browsing on mobile devices doesn’t right direction. However, thinking of mobile design, development, and delivery as a complete paradigm offer the luxury of space or time— shift and treating it as a new medium will result in the consumption is in real time. most value for your visitors and business. 150
- 151. Emerging Technology & Trends 5 opinion Local, Social, and Brand Transcendence Like most digital platforms in their infancy, location-based social networks (LoSos) have exhibited bursts of greatness but have yet to realize their place among mainstream culture. Now, with the onset of Facebook Places and the increased prevalence of LoSos By: Richard Cruz throughout the digital and physical worlds, are location-based Digital Strategist, AgencyNet services ready to hit the big time? Local, Social, and Brand Transcendence We live in a world that is both incredibly challenging and a marketer’s dream. Consumers willingly leaving trails of data everywhere they go, presenting the kind of rich consumer insight that agencies and advertisers could only dream of in the past. Richie Cruz is a But is it really right for all brands? Digital Strategist at AgencyNet, an Going into 2011, we expect to see the number of brands experimenting on award-winning digital marketing Foursquare, Gowalla, and Facebook Places continue to grow—but the reality is that agency, where he has before brands truly feel comfortable putting themselves in the hands of LoSos beyond developed high-level sheer experimental use, these platforms will not only need to reach greater critical initiatives for agency clients including mass, but they will also need to create more consistent practices of measurement Bacardi Global and analytics. Brands, Def Jam Recordings, and Fuse TV. Also a freelance Going Mainstream journalist, Richie has contributed to It goes without saying that early adopter, geek, and urbanite consumer clusters have various publications always been quick to adopt LoSos into their lives. At their core, LoSos speak to these including VIBE, groups’ basic need to be “in the know”—providing access to personalized, locally The Source, Format Magazine, and relevant information in ways never possible before. But for those non-early-adopting BRIDGEZ Magazine. trend seekers among us, the value proposition of LoSos is perhaps less clear cut. Even so, both Twitter and Facebook faced similar periods of initial skepticism, and in time, both services have certainly managed to hit mainstream culture. Twitter, in 151
- 152. particular, managed toreach its tipping point when A recent Harvard Business Review report correctly celebrities (Ashton Kutcher, among others) stepped points out that “showing up [via a LoSo] does not up and brought millions upon millions of new Twitter equate to profit.” And while this may be true, brands users into the fold. And now, given the increasing and their agency partners need to work together prevalence of mobile usage, it’s safe to say that more to understand how LoSos can help not only drive and more prominent figures and culture influencers revenue (for certain brands), but also build long-term, will continue to select LoSos as their platform of sustainable brand equity. The more these programs choice. As this happens, we believe LoSos will also can be tied to metrics such as the net promoter become the platform that “early majority” and “late score and purchase intent, the more brands will want majority” consumers turn to and that these platforms to become involved. will reach much greater market penetration over the coming year. So, whether it’s Foursquare, or the next in a new generation of LoSos that follows in its place, one Quantifying the “Check-In” thing is clear—location-based social networking, like the smartphone itself, is here to stay...and growing. As this happens, marketers will also increasingly demand the ability to quantify the results generated by programs on LoSos. “Clicks-to-bricks,” (a measure of the symbiotic online-to-retail dynamic that LoSos enable), is likely to become a more standard and Just as in other media, there relevant way to measure mobile programs’ success will be no one-size-fits-all success for retailers, but for the thousands of nonretail brands out there, it will be incumbent upon agencies and metric, though brands are the LoSos themselves to help generate meaningful certainly striving to find ways to metrics that can help brands understand and quantify tie activity on LoSos to sales and success. Just as in other media, there will be no one-size-fits-all success metric, though brands are revenue. certainly striving to find ways to tie activity on LoSos to sales and revenue. 152
- 153. Emerging Technology & Trends 5 opinion Mobile Apps for the B2B Marketer: It’s Not Just Fun and Games Over the past six months, we’ve seen a shift in the type of client asking our agency about mobile apps. Mobile apps are now not only being considered for consumer brand engagement, but they are increasingly being found in the B2B marketer’s toolbox. B2B marketers are recognizing mobile apps as a relevant tactic for brand awareness and engagement as well as personal productivity and connectivity. By: Kirsten Corbell We’ve recently held several client workshops looking at ways their marketing Account Director Strategy & Planning Group programs are being distributed and consumed. People are starting to rely on their Fullhouse Interactive mobile phones not just for personal use, but also for professional use, and they are bringing their smartphones into the workplace. This trend is leading our clients to explore relevant new ways to add apps into their marketing mix. According to a recent Forrester report, 13% of information workers currently use smartphones for work at least weekly. And, the number of information workers using Kirsten Corbell smartphones is predicted to escalate rapidly, hitting 34% by 2012. Based on the has 15 years of experience adoption rate, we believe smartphones will reach relatively widespread adoption over in integrated the next 3+ years. marketing. She provides account and relationship management for a So When Is a Mobile App Relevant and What Should B2B Marketers Consider number of Fullhouse as They Weigh the Options? clients, including strategic planning We look at apps in three unique categories: entertainment, brand butlers, and tools. and execution of integrated · Entertainment—It’s pure brand engagement, fun and games—and even in a traditional and business setting, it’s still a way to escape from the daily grind. digital initiatives. · Brand Butlers—Branded apps that help end customers make the most of their daily lives and tasks. · Tools—Pure “utility apps” that help internal audiences or customers do their jobs more efficiently and effectively. Entertainment is certainly still a relevant consideration even for B2B branding and audience engagement. We’ve launched new apps in a trade show setting—as a 153
- 154. branded game accessiblein a “customer lounge” What Else Do B2B Marketers Need to Think area. Then, to extend the experience further, about When Considering an App? marketers provided links to the app when following up with contacts and leads postshow. We also have It’s our favorite agency question: “How much will that several clients from large manufacturing facilities cost?” And our famous answer: “Well, it depends!” where plant tours and customer visits are common. Let’s look at some budget drivers to put things in Having branded games available in their customer perspective. The largest budget driver will be type center provides another branded activity as well (and number) of mobile platforms. As B2B marketers, as a fun, cutting-edge way to point out key you need to consider what device your customers product differentiators. are primarily using for business connectivity. With more than 250,000 apps and growing, the Brand butlers, a concept introduced by Apple iPhone has been one of the most popular Trendwatchers several years ago, is now making destinations for apps. If you are considering a native its way into the app world. Brand butlers assist app to be included in Apple’s App Store, there are customers with tasks they already perform. Let’s a host of other considerations around licensing and say your company sells construction products. registration that will affect your cost. Google’s Android Since weather is a critical aspect of a construction is quickly gaining popularity and has shown significant manager’s daily life—is there another lens your expansion in market share in the last six months. brand could add to a weather report to make RIM BlackBerry is still the most popular device among it more meaningful? A detailed wind report? enterprise users and a likely destination for B2B A recommendation for best time of day to perform apps. According to Nielsen, BlackBerry is the biggest a weather-dependent task? smartphone player with a 35% share compared to 28% for Apple’s iPhone and 13% for Android. Ultimately, understanding your target audience’s B2B marketers are recognizing phone preference and knowing how many platforms mobile apps as a relevant you design for will be a large budget driver. tactic for brand awareness and Other questions to ask that will drive your budget: engagement as well as personal · Content—Will you repurpose existing content, or productivity and connectivity. develop content from scratch? · User Interface—Increased expectations on ease of use and simplicity may require a focused investment in interface design, even if your content is relatively Lastly, let’s look at apps purely as “tools.” We’re consistent. currently seeing the most growth and request in · Security and Integration—Will the data and this category. According to a recent Nielsen Pew interaction be public or private? Will you need SSL survey, 26% of mobile app users are using apps for or integration with other platforms like your CRM tool “productivity” purposes. Sales support and sales or Facebook page? tool development is always high on the list for most marketing teams. Apps can be a quick and easy way Clearly, the way information is being consumed and for a mobile sales team to access relevant, real-time distributed is shifting drastically. Accessibility and information. This might be related to product training, ease of use need to be top of mind for marketers as it might be sound bites for a sales call, or perhaps they develop a channel strategy that spans today’s a better way for sales to gather and track client range of desktop and mobile devices. information during a sales visit. Mobile apps allow a sales team to access information remotely that likely exists in many other, less accessible formats. 154
- 155. Emerging Technology & Trends 5 opinion Wearable Digital Signage—The Modern Day Sandwich Board In the last 10 years, digital signage has evolved from monitors playing looping PowerPoint presentations to offering up real-time data feeds, dynamic content, and dayparting playlists. Advances in technology have allowed the digital By: Jim Vaughn signage industry to provide us with a new marketing channel Digital Strategy and Partner Development Manager at an affordable price. So it begs the question, what’s next? Fullhouse Interactive Wearable Digital Signage—The Modern Day Sandwich Board Wearable digital signage has been available for over two years. Seen as an “in-your-face” approach to marketing, it’s really how you execute a program that determines whether your messaging will be received as tacky or unbelievably cool. A quick search on Jim Vaughn is the wearable digital signage will provide results ranging from 15-inch LCD monitors Digital Strategy mounted to a chest harness to 2.4-inch OLED lightweight units that attach to your and Partner Development clothing. All are very effective in getting people’s attention, but which type is going to Manager at enhance your brand and which one will hinder it? In my humble opinion, the modern Fullhouse. day sandwich board needs to be small, neat, and well thought out. The smaller, Fullhouse, based in Milwaukee, lightweight versions don’t produce as many laughs, but they definitely capture people’s Wisconsin creates attention. Viewers are often “wowed” by the technology, but it’s really about the sales and marketing message that’s being presented. programs across a range of traditional, digital and When creating content and programs based around this technology, the messaging emerging channels. needs to be clear, concise, and actionable. If you miss any of those three components, then you’re wasting your time. The size of the screen and limited time to communicate and influence the viewer requires messaging that gets to the point and offers value. One of the more successful ways we’ve used the technology is to present SMS codes to offer marketing collateral delivery at trade shows. In retail, we’ve presented unadvertised specials that pique the interest of the customer. From there it’s all about how you’ve trained the person wearing the signage. These units should be 155
- 156. considered a salestool to assist the staff in starting a being worn and updates could happen in seconds. conversation. It’s also critical that you have the right Yes, it’s becoming a little Minority Report, but we’re type of person wearing these units. If the person is not there yet! self-conscious or is worried about people staring at their chest, it’s not going to work. We witnessed this in a pilot program at several bank branches. Many In the future, we imagine this of the tellers (and some customers) had issues with placement of the units near the chest and the line technology could incorporate a of site for the tellers. So we learned a conservative wireless component once it’s small environment may not be the best place to use enough to fit into the housing. them! On the other hand, we conducted a program in a large chain restaurant where we saw just the Content would be able to be opposite. Servers wore the units and leveraged them downloaded while the unit is to provide information on appetizers, some actually left the units at the tables as they were picking up being worn and updates could drink orders. Appetizer sales rose 21%. happen in seconds. Where do we see this going? Well, currently the units store all of the content locally. Depending on the vendor or model, new content is either updated by dropping and dragging the content via your operating system or through a docking station linked to a digital signage platform. In the future, we imagine this technology could incorporate a wireless component once it’s small enough to fit into the housing. Content would be able to be downloaded while the unit is 156
- 157. Emerging Technology & Trends 5 opinion The Marketing Implications of Google Instant By: Geary Interactive Google Instant promises to alter the way people experience their searches, how they absorb SERPs, and the strategies marketers need to reach their target users. This update aligns perfectly with society’s ADD because now users only have to wait a few milliseconds before seeing search results, and now that Google is predicting our queries, we won’t have to hassle with completing them ourselves. The Marketing Implications of Google Instant Geary Interactive is the leading REAL Google Instant promises to alter the way people experience their searches, how they RESULTS digital absorb SERPs, and the strategies marketers need to reach their target users. This marketing agency that update aligns perfectly with society’s ADD because now users only have to wait a provides nationally recognized, full service few milliseconds before seeing search results, and now that Google is predicting our capabilities in a queries, we won’t have to hassle with completing them ourselves. performance driven model. Premium services include strategic As with all of Google’s updates, questions arise. Two of the most popular questions are planning, analytics, how will this change SEO? And what are the impacts to paid search campaigns? These digital advertising, two questions are percolating in SEM circles, and here are our thoughts on the matter. search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, One thing that will be impacted is impressions. Users could see up to seven or creative design, and eight different SERPs for a given query, so it makes sense that the number of website development. advertisements users are exposed to will also multiply. Google Instant will favor the most popular terms and keyword variations (i.e., book vs. books). These keywords that appear in predictive results will receive more impressions and clicks, so campaigns that focus on exact match need to take into account Google’s preferred terms to maintain campaign traction. There is also debate about Instant’s impact on long tail keywords. Before Google Instant, SEO professionals could optimize web pages to target longer tail keywords 157
- 158. that are arguablyless crowded and less expensive The Instant update and other changes like the to achieve high rankings. Another reason they are an Yahoo-Bing merger are validating the importance attractive SEO target is that they cater towards users of solid search strategies that address keyword who are deeper in conversion funnels. With Google relevancy, search intent, and postclick optimizations. Instant, users could avoid longer keyword phrases to Ben Gomes of Google says, “Google Instant seems find desired content because Google could predict so obvious, that in retrospect, you’ll wonder if search their search and render corresponding results before could have been any other way.” For marketers, the users complete their query. On the other hand, the implications are far less solidified, but in all cases, it predictive nature of Google Instant might lead to is imperative that marketers and search practitioners longer keywords as users are exposed to keyword keep a close eye on fluctuations in campaign phrases beyond what they have typed. As of now, performance and make adjustments accordingly. the two schools of thought are still fairly divided, but either way, it is agreed that a change in search behavior is likely. Google Instant will also place Google Instant will also place a heavier impact on a heavier impact on universal universal search because multimedia assets will search because multimedia assets draw users’ attention as results filter in. This means will draw users’ attention as that marketers need to put extra stock in their image, video, and other multimedia content to make sure results filter in. This means that it is optimized to be indexed and rendered with marketers need to put extra stock as much jazz as possible. This means adding rich snippets to listings that Google can incorporate into in their image, video, and other their universal search results, and marketers should multimedia content to make revisit their meta descriptions and title tags to make sure it is optimized to be indexed sure they are optimized to grab browsers’ attention at a quick glance. Applying this to paid search, it will be and rendered with as much important to try to integrate site links, product images, jazz as possible. and other beta programs into their search campaigns to catch users’ attention on SERPs. 158
- 159. Emerging Technology & Trends 5 opinion How Lean and Agile Processes Can Deliver Killer Results Brands and agencies can take a nod from the web’s most innovative start-ups not just in terms of what they’re making out of the Internet, but also in regard to the agile and lean methodologies these start-ups employ. By: Stuart Eccles Founding Partner Made by Many How Lean and Agile Processes Can Deliver Killer Results The last few years of rapid shifts in Internet culture—from user-generated content and self-publication to the rise of social networks and now to an app-based economy— have prompted a change in the way people behave online. Brands and organizations are realizing they need to form lasting digital relationships Stuart Eccles with people. More than just serving up a microsite about their latest product, they is a founding partner and lead need to start offering utility and innovative new services enabled by technology. As a technologist at Made by-product, brands can form new CRM channels, deliver customer intelligence, and by Many. He is an even find new revenue streams. advocate of and frequent speaker on agile project But building these kinds of long lasting digital engagement platforms takes a new methodologies and kind of agency and new kinds of processes. Launching a platform is more akin to lean manufacturing philosophies building a start-up digital business within a company than it is to launching a marketing applied to the campaign. While the technologies are similar, the objectives, interactions, and the strategy, design, stakes are a lot higher. and development of digital services and products, and Traditionally, the processes used to create digital marketing campaigns tend to follow he contributes to the waterfall project methodology. The linear, fairly rigid approach is far better suited a number of open source projects. to producing smaller digital communication ideas like microsites than it is to dealing with the emergent behavior needed to create new innovations that really engage. Agile project methodologies build the idea of change right into the process. This allows flexibility to respond to customer feedback, changing business priorities, and new innovations driven by the Internet. Technology can be released incrementally to get feedback from all parties: customer, client, and agency. 159
- 160. From Twitter andFacebook to Groupon and We can start using these techniques to apply the Foursquare, innovation on the Internet has been lean start-up philosophy of “nail it, then scale it” to driven by small groups of people with limited our ideas. By testing with real people and iterating in resources. The products these start-ups have live environments, we can work out exactly the right created have brought about massive cultural shifts. kind of engagement for the people we are targeting. While these companies benefit from the nimbleness Only at this point, confident that this is a digital and flexibility that come with being small, there’s more platform people really are going to love, do we to it than that. They do things in truly different ways. “scale it” with paid media. In recent years, there has been a dominant force in the mechanisms of great digital start-ups. This trend was coined by Eric Ries in “The Lean Startup” Brands and organizations and blends agile development with rapid customer are realizing they need to form development feedback and metrics-driven approaches to determining what works. Paul Graham described lasting digital relationships with this as “make something someone specific needs, people. More than just serving launch fast, let users show you what to change, up a microsite about their latest change it, repeat last two.” This is how the web’s most innovative start-ups work: quickly, flexibly, product, they need to start offering and responsively. utility and innovative new services enabled by technology. Agencies and brands can take a lot from this approach. It’s not only about optimizing the right ideas and interactions, but about being able to test concepts and prototypes with real users to progress the winners and kill the losers. By combining rapid prototyping techniques with lightweight user testing and live dry testing, we can avoid backing the wrong ideas and concentrate on what’s really important: finding something customers love. 160
- 161. Emerging Technology & Trends 5 sponsor Mobile “Super App” Experiences: From Brand Extension to Engaging Customers Super Apps Are All About Engagement What happened to that new mobile app you released? Lots of people downloaded your app. You promoted it internally to your employees to show how you’re embracing the next wave of social media and mobile technologies. You promoted it through custom marketing campaigns to boost download numbers. By: Tyler Lessard VP Global Alliances and The questions are: How many of those users are still using that app? How are you Developer Relations tracking success? Did you change their relationship with you as a trusted brand? Research In Motion Companies often lose this one-time opportunity, but the next generation of personalized, always-on, deeply integrated, mobile “Super Apps” offer a different approach. Super Apps can help you forge stronger long-term relationships with your customers by delivering them the right information at the right time and by integrating seamlessly with the other applications that they already use every day. Success isn’t measured by download numbers or impressions—it’s about long-term engagement and brand affinity. Tyler Lessard is the Vice President of Super Apps can provide deep views into each customers’ personas, social graphs, BlackBerry Global personal interests, and purchasing habits, helping you reinvent the way you merchandise Alliances and Developer your products and build trust and loyalty with consumers. Relations at RIM. Since joining RIM in 2001, he has helped to Super Apps Stand Out build a community of The best mobile apps become an everyday part of a user’s life. thousands of wireless solution providers delivering custom According to industry reports, most mobile apps are discarded or forgotten not long after applications and download. No surprise there. Mobile device users often download dozens of apps per services for BlackBerry month until icons clutter the small screens or users find newer apps to meet their needs. to large enterprises, government agencies, If you lose their attention, that loss may be permanent. Trusted brand or not, you have to industry professionals, cut through the clutter and make your apps relevant and engaging to your users. small businesses, and consumers. By embracing Super App principles, you can design an app that won’t get lost because users don’t have to find the icon to access it—it’s always one click away! Super Apps can become a natural extension of the existing core apps and notification systems already in use, fitting neatly into your users’ mobile lifestyles and daily habits. The BlackBerry application platform—designed to embrace this model—helps Super Apps rise above the competition and become the apps that users can’t live without. 161
- 162. Super Apps Gowith the Flow inbox, you can be sure that users will see them and To build a relevant Super App, embrace take action. the natural flow of how consumers use · Due dates and important reminders can be added their smartphones. automatically to the user’s personal calendar and can include related information or links to Most apps today operate in stand-alone fashion. enhanced content. A user needs a good reason to open the app and · Customer service contact information can be use it. In comparison, a Super App can take advantage automatically added to the user’s address book as of personalized notifications, event-based location soon as the app is installed. services, and social media integration to become · A custom menu item added to the address book always-on and “real-time” in nature. Super Apps can can enable one-click money transfers directly to also become a seamless extension to the core apps any contacts. that people already use—e-mail, calendar, phone, · A retail store or ATM finder feature can use browser, camera, maps, and more—ensuring your BlackBerry Maps to provide directions to the location. app is always one click away and contextually · A default option in the BlackBerry Camera can relevant. The app becomes part of the natural flow of be used to upload a photo of a check or banking activities as people use their smartphones. Adopt this statement to the user’s online account. mind-set—building apps that integrate closely with daily tasks—and the power of Super Apps Similarly, you can develop a Super App for BlackBerry becomes apparent. that becomes a core part of the device experience and helps raise the level of user engagement, Super Apps Leverage Context interactivity, and brand impressions. As marketplace Many types of apps can fit the Super App competition grows and app publishers adapt to better model, including games, content services, support mobile platforms, apps will increasingly be and companion products. designed to support these ideas. As an example, imagine that your company offers Super Apps for the BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet a set of financial services products. Consumers With the BlackBerry PlayBook, many of these gain online access to account information, money same philosophies will carry over to apps and transfers, due dates, customer service information, content built for tablets. and relevant news through a simple mobile app accessed from a dedicated icon on the smartphone’s However, it is important to recognize that tablets home screen. Over time, users may tend to use this deliver a different user experience that must be type of stand-alone app less often and may forget embraced. Smartphones excel at always-on about it entirely. connectivity and personal information management (PIM), making real-time notifications and integration In comparison, a Super App for BlackBerry can with e-mail and PIM apps a natural fit for Super contain the following features to become proactively App experiences on smartphones. Tablets favor engaging, ensuring the app remains relevant and rich media consumption, touchscreen interactivity, valuable, building brand recognition: and high-fidelity browsing experiences within the web · Personalized alerts can be delivered as custom, browser and apps. Super Apps for BlackBerry PlayBook branded messages to the BlackBerry e-mail inbox. can differentiate themselves through rich-media content Users will identify these messages easily and can integration, immersive touch-screen experiences, and take action at any time. By integrating alerts into the intuitive browsing models that 162
- 163. bring an uncompromisedexperience to users growing the Super App market through investments whether they are interacting through custom apps in our BlackBerry products, app distribution channels, or through the browser. and partner programs. We saw over 2 million app downloads per day from BlackBerry App World by Super Apps Unlock Innovative Opportunities the end of 2010 with exponential growth continuing. Become a leader in the next generation of We want to help our developers and partners be a Super Apps for smartphones and tablets. part of that success and to differentiate themselves in a rapidly growing and competitive landscape. Now is the time to become a leader in the mobile app space—whether you are a consumer goods and services company, an advertising agency, or a mobile app developer. Research In Motion is committed to 163
- 164. Emerging Technology & Trends 5 case study The Wilderness Downtown Our mission was to create an interactive music video for Arcade Fire’s new single “We Used To Wait.” The idea was to create a personalized experience using only HTML5 technologies. CHALLENGE We basically went straight to Author: Nicole Muniz Our mission was to create an prototyping, trying to find the right Producer, B-Reel interactive music video for Arcade technology to match the ideas for the Team: Fire’s new single “We Used To video. One key feature we knew we B-Reel Wait.” The idea was to create a needed to create was the ability to personalized experience using only tell the story across multiple browser HTML5 technologies. There were a windows. lot of individual challenges to bring this experience to life, especially To get the degree of creative freedom Nicole Muniz is a producer at we needed, we built a sequencing B-Reel, NYC. She has worked related technology and making the on acclaimed productions final experience be as engaging and tool that enabled us to interactively such as Doritos Asylum 626, fluent as we wanted. But the most create and manage the windows, Perrier Mansion, and much like you would edit video in The Wilderness Downtown— important aspect overall was being Arcade Fire’s music video. able to orchestrate the production of an editing application. all elements, making sure that it all SOLUTION could come together as a cohesive final product in the end. The film takes on a more personal approach by prompting users to input REASEARCH/ACTIVITY/ an address from their childhood, INSIGHT which in turn places them at the When we set out on this project, center of the film’s narrative. Using there was definitely a sense of Google Maps and street view, we stepping into unknown territory. show “them” running through the streets of their old neighborhood. 164
- 165. With this andother elements in the video, we want to believe that we’ve nudged HTML5 as a storytelling platform a tiny bit forward. With this and other elements in the video, we want to believe that we’ve IMPACT nudged HTML5 as a storytelling The Wilderness Downtown received a lot of attention: when it was released it received close to a million platform a tiny bit forward. visitors per day. The feedback has been very positive, especially from the music sphere and the technical community. 165
- 166. Emerging Technology & Trends 5 case study SoBe Reskin Yourself SoBe’s scaly new plastic bottle needed a big introduction to the SXSW filmgeek and technerd scene—but how best to capture the attention of such a hip, easily distracted crowd? Between talks, parties, and updating blogs, the audience had little to no time for interacting with a brand. Taking cues from the scaly new we created two computer kiosks for Author and Team Member: Anna Edwards, Associate Copywriter graphics wrapping SoBe bottles, SXSW and let the users go to town Firstborn we developed a campaign based with a library of kooky tatoos. The Firstborn Team: on tattoos and self-branding. Called application allowed the tattoos to Dave Synder, Associate Creative Director: Dofl Yun, Senior Developer “Reskin Yourself,” it encouraged automatically contour to the body part Eric Decker, Senior Developer Francis Turmel, Director of Technology people to take pictures of themselves on which they were placed. Redness Marcus Schaefer, Designer and apply digital tattoos. The was also adjustable for the freshest Jackie Backer, Junior Producer Katie Fahrenthold, Junior Designer technology used in “Reskin Yourself” looking tats possible. Pranks ensued. Anna Edwards, Associate Copywriter Mike Roushey, Tattoo Illustrator utilizes a displacement map, which Finished photos could then be shared Brett Swanson, Sound Designer contours to the object in the camera, via Twitter, Facebook, e-mail and Crystinue Cho, Executive Producer making a very realistic looking tattoo. beyond, to the dismay of jealous The technology was researched friends not at SXSW. and explored by the Firstborn development team, and then refined The SoBe tent was mobbed for Author Bio: Anna Edwards got after realizing it could be used for six days by people hoping to get her Bachelor’s in Advertising at a client—not an uncommon event tatt’d up for an afternoon. Users Boston University. She interned at Firstborn, where people are created and shared 884 tattoos in Chicago, Paris, London, and New York before joining Firstborn constantly tinkering and exploring new overall, “Reskinning” themselves and in 2009 as a copywriter. technology. Using this technology, spreading the word across SXSW’s 166
- 167. buzzy social mediachannels. Many users returned the next day with more friends. SoBe ruled the conversation at SXSW; thanks to the success, we released a more complex version of “Reskin, Yourself” for SoBe.com. Now, people across the Internet can upload photos, “Reskin,” and share. Never underestimate the power of tinkering with technology, and a well-placed digital tattoo. http://focus.firstbornmultimedia.com/?sobe_reskin Using this technology, we created two computer kiosks for SXSW and let the users go to town with a library of kooky tatoos. 167
- 168. Emerging Technology & Trends 5 case study DonQ Rum Odopod’s goal for the 2010 relaunch of DonQ.com was to direct the massive flood of visitors from our extremely successful branded content site, LadyData, to the adjacent brand and product destination. The expressed intention was to capture traffic and raise the awareness for DonQ’s line of rums in the US. CHALLENGE strategy and established a plan for the Author: Guthrie Dolin Our goal for the 2010 relaunch of technological implementation. DMO Section Editor Principal, Director of Strategy DonQ.com was to direct the massive Odopod flood of visitors from our extremely The core of the strategy was to Team: successful branded content site, develop a captivating user experience Odopod/Undercurrent LadyData, to the adjacent brand and while leveraging technologies that product destination. The expressed accommodated the widest swath of intention was to capture traffic and modern web browsers. This included raise the awareness for DonQ’s line of considering mobile devices, such as the iPad and iPhone—a high growth Guthrie Dolin (@gee3) is a rums in the US. seasoned creative executive, category, exceptionally popular an entrepreneur, and a To do this we needed to fortify the among DonQ’s target audience. connector of dots. He has founded two award-winning company’s brand site with rich and agencies and partnered RESEARCH/ACTIVITY/ useful content, as well as develop a INSIGHT to launch numerous robust and sustainable platform for enterprises. Currently, ongoing maturation. Working with Rapid prototyping during the design Guthrie is a Principal phase of the project was critical to and Director of Strategy our agency partners, Undercurrent, at Odopod, a full-service Odopod developed a content the site’s success. By building UI digital agency that develops experiments early and iterating them innovative experiences for top consumer brands. 168
- 169. repeatedly, we quicklysaw which ideas worked and Modern web font embedding techniques provide a which did not. rich editorial typographic style. Javascript and jQuery are used to provide a rich and responsive feel for With designers and developers collaborating in this interactions including various carousels and the way, we realized that web standards could be used recipe filter. to deliver the desired experience. Prototyping gave us confidence in our ability to create a lightweight SVG (via the raphael.js library) is used for vector- but thoroughly interactive story and helped build trust based graphics on the site. For example, SVG is between the client and our team. used to create and animate the glow behind the The core of the strategy was to develop a captivating user experience while leveraging technologies that accommodated the widest swath of modern web browsers. rum bottles. Using SVG provided consistent visual elements across browsers without the need to export images for every permutation. It also simplified the process of modifying the design and scripting animations. IMPACT The results have surpassed the expectations of the client and those of our team. After launching the new DonQ.com, we all but eliminated bounce rates. This is primarily due to the compelling content as well as the innovative approach we employed with the required age gate. Additionally, we’ve seen nearly 14x increase in time-on-site for targeted searches—demonstrating SOLUTION that the site’s content is both relevant and engaging. The site’s front-end employs a cocktail of contemporary open web technologies (HTML, CSS, What’s more, the “Like” buttons included throughout Javascript, SVG) and libraries (jQuery, raphael.js) to the product section have almost doubled visits to provide a rich, interactive experience that works in Facebook and provide visible evidence of brand modern browsers without additional plug-ins. consideration and intent to purchase. 169
- 170. Innovation, Culture & Courage 170
- 171. Innovation, Culture &Courage Innovation at the intersection of marketing and technology. From our 2011 DMO Survey, we learned that marketers and agencies agree that innovative brands must be fearless in their use of new social marketing platforms. Read through the next few pages to learn how to create a culture of innovation and embrace failure, diversity, and new technologies—from colleagues, corporations, and developing countries. by Angele Beausoleil, DMO Editor-in-Chief and DMO Section Editor; VP Strategy and Innovation, Dare Innovate or Perish by Angele Beausoleil, DMO Editor-in-Chief and DMO Section Editor; VP Strategy and Innovation, Dare China: An Exploration of Digital Diversity by Mark St. Andrew, Editor, Cream Rich Visualization in a Data-Heavy World by Alejandro Gomez, President, Zemoga Client of the Future: In Six Easy Lessons by Andre Matarazzo, CCO, Gringo Adopting the Kaizen Approach to Marketing by Stephen Foxworthy, Strategy Director, Reactive Innovation from the Inside Out by Dave Snyder, Associate Creative Director, Firstborn Case Study: Shrek 4 Happy Meal by Glenn Bakie, Director, Client Services, Fuel Industries Case Study: The Pepsi Refresh Project by Kate Watts, Group Engagement Director, HUGE SoDA Chat with Marc Gobé, President, Emotional Branding LLC 171
- 172. Innovation, Culture & Courage 6 opinion Innovate or Perish Today’s CMOs face increased pressure to redefine how their companies interact and engage with their consumers in order to survive. Yet, most are not taking advantage of the changes in consumer behavior and the possibilities offered by new technology to improve their product, retain employees, and manage By: Angele Beausoleil DMO Editor-in-Chief the bottom line. So how can marketers and their agencies VP Strategy and Innovation Dare foster innovation? Here are a few suggestions from a digital renaissance woman: 1. New Process Angele Beausoleil For marketing executives, it should be about incorporating a new management is VP of Strategy process, one that is innovation-driven. Idris Mootee best describes a form of and Innovation at innovation management as, “the economic implementation and exploitation of Dare Vancouver. A tradigital marketer, new ideas and discoveries, and the implementation of an innovation culture in an Angele lectures on organization, to promote and make possible the development of new ideas and innovative and business opportunities. It consists of innovation strategy, culture, idea management integrated marketing throughout the USA and commercialization risk management.” Simply put, it’s about building a structure and Canada. for innovative thinking coupled with action and surrounding yourself with smart and creative types who offer the blend of business and design thinking. 2. Rethink the Org Chart For agencies, it’s about design-driven innovation. Designing the right team structures that will drive fresh thinking. The cross-functional teams of the dotcom era need to evolve further and represent diversity not only in role, but in gender, age, race, and culture. The old paradigm of agency rockstars (copywriter and art director combo) needs to add a creative technologist and/or social scientist to the mix. If innovation is about re-invention, how can one innovate using the same conventional teams or 172
- 173. methods? For example,look at your creative brief, 4. Risk Budgeting it was developed 20 years ago—blow it up and start again. Considering CMOs now view strategy It’s funny the level of comfort one has in failure when and innovation as a top factor in hiring a marketing there is a budget attributed to it. Take 5% of your agency, it would be wise for agencies to entire marketing budget and apply it to “innovation pay attention. planning.” Innovation planning is key, as it prepares you for the unexpected or ensures a budget is 3. Find Inspiration through Failure available when you need it. Consider the risks associated with inaction. Take a lesson from farmers—they learn to fail, succeed, and then fail again. Sometimes by their 5. Agents 3.0 own mistakes; sometimes it’s out of their control. They learn to deal with failure like the death of Move over change agents, what we need now animals, crops that didn’t grow, or bugs eating their are innovation agents. They possess a high IQ prized peaches. They experiment a lot, trying to figure (imagination quotient), wake up with a different idea out why it happened and think about solutions— every day, act as a catalyst for discussion, and quickly. And most of the time, the experiments are truly think and look at the world differently than you. small—like putting a fence around the base of the Provide the right environment, and they will sprout. apple tree, digging a ditch around a strawberry patch, or converting unsold corn into cow feed. Learn to fail courageously and how to spin it, as Thomas So how innovative is your Edison once said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found company? Answer these ten thousand ways that won’t work.” questions: How diverse are your executive, management, and functional teams? Does your culture embrace scientific processes: test, refine, and test again? Do you have a room or backup drive full of previously failed products? 173
- 174. Innovation, Culture & Courage 6 opinion China: An Exploration of Digital Diversity China is without doubt regarded as one of the most exciting economies of the moment, but is there really a culture of digital innovation behind the great firewall? Does size of a market translate directly to strength of innovation? Or should we be By: Mark St. Andrew looking to other markets for digital thought leadership? Editor Cream China: An Exploration of Digital Diversity Mark St. Andrew is the Editor and The quick answers to those questions, in order, are “sometimes,” “not really,” and Curator of Cream (www.creamglobal. “without doubt.” When trying to examine the Chinese media landscape in detail, there com), an online are so many unusual local factors to be considered that it can become difficult to see marketing resource the wood for the trees. Omnipresent censorship, infrastructure, and cultural Internet that houses the best examples usage habits make the Chinese media landscape a tricky place to navigate. of marcomms innovation across Using the recent Spikes Asia awards as a benchmark, China turned in a frankly different media channels around underwhelming show, securing no Grand Prix awards and barely a handful of Gold the world. Spikes. Size of market obviously doesn’t translate to greater innovative thinking, for all the excitement about China, they’ve clearly got a lot left to prove before they’re seen as leading on quality of output as well as price. The issue of creativity, or lack thereof, in China also indicates that international brands that operate in large markets could be reluctant to leave their comfort zone, which only serves to generate average creative work. China’s lack of creative thinking is thrown into sharp relief by the success of Hong Kong. Although technically part of China, the special administrative territory obviously fosters a greater creative talent, scoring an impressive nine Gold Spikes. Because of its history, Hong Kong could be regarded as a more mature media environment, with a demanding media-saturated audience. Traditional style ads no longer cut it, and agencies and creative shops have to continually innovate to break through the clutter. 174
- 175. The outstanding campaignfrom Hong Kong’s Metro agencies, which in any other market would regard newspaper, which invited readers to take part in a each other as fierce competitors. McDonald’s “Future Daily” edition of the title, was an textbook Dreaming in Mono mini-series (from Sweden’s Perfect example of how print media can use digital platforms Fools) and the Legend of Akhtamar film for Ararat to inspire its readers. cognac (masterminded by Amsterdam Worldwide) are both examples of strong digital strategies with But if there is a critical mass of creativity, above excellent creative work at the core. which an otherwise productive market actually seems to inhibit the process, the question still So China has yet to deliver on its creative potential remains regarding innovation culture. Can a market before the international media community looks be culturally innovative, or does it depend solely on beyond the numbers and starts being impressed by where the talent pool lives? the creative output. The old adage of quality versus quantity was never truer than when discussing In terms of talent pools, two of the most interesting Chinese creativity. The digital space evolves at such a locations of Europe seen to benefit from this are pace, that its centers of excellence shift to reflect the Scandinavia, particularly Sweden, and the Benelux changing developments in technology, and the changing countries of Belgium and the Netherlands. applications of that technology by the industry. The Netherlands benefits from its location as commercial and technological hub for Europe. Amsterdam houses the largest Internet server in the The digital space evolves at such world, and the city has one of the best high speed fiber optic cable infrastructures in the world, making a pace that its centers of excellence it a natural home for technologists and those playing shift to reflect the changing in the digital space. Similarly, Sweden has a strong developments in technology, and technology heritage thanks to its experience in the mobile technology market. Swedes are incredibly the changing applications of that strong team players and that fosters strong creativity. technology by the industry. It’s common for Swedish companies to be made of very tight teams with key roles held by people at the top of their field. There is also a strong culture of collaboration and respect amongst Swedish 175
- 176. Innovation, Culture & Courage 6 opinion Seeing Rich Visualization through the Data Forest As modern data collection and hardware technologies evolve to gather, process, and store a mind-bogglingly immense amount of data, it becomes increasingly challenging for humans to fully analyze and comprehend this information. To create By: Alejandro Gomez consumable, actionable information, innovative companies President Zemoga from around the world are developing a class of advanced data visualization technologies. They are delivering intuitive, graphical representations from raw data and exploring never-before-seen phenomena that will aid human discovery and understanding. Seeing Rich Visualization through the Data Forest An award-winning designer and developer An emerging class of interactive visualization applications and techniques are of interactive solutions, Alejandro Gomez is the converging art and science to create stunning—and incredibly useful—visualizations of co-founder of Zemoga complex information. These powerful visual analytics solutions enable a more thorough and a recognized understanding and provide actionable insights into previously overwhelming data sets. industry leader in the fields of user-centric design and technology Leading this evolving marketplace, Barcelona-based Bestiario has dedicated its solutions. work to the creation of spaces for the collection presentation of knowledge. Working based on the mantra of “making the complex comprehensible,” the company creates interactive information spaces in a powerful framework based on graph theory, advanced topological algorithms, and modeling and geographic representations that enable insightful analysis of a wide range of abundant data sources. Bestiario partnered with Zemoga to design the Hoorray Mozaic, an online photo collection that catalog’s users’ uploaded photographs based on the relationships of each image. Using the metadata from each photo, including name and event tagging, dates, times, album names, etc., the site creates a spatial relationship view of all the 176
- 177. images, rather thana scroll-through matrix. Similar are available, and even watch those in use as they to the concept behind “six degrees of separation” or travel on their journey. Some are even outfitted with a the “human web,” the graphical presentation allows webcam, allowing Bicing.com visitors to see what the users to see and better understand the relationships rider sees along their path. between their friends, events, and other correlations based on the quantitative metadata associated with each image. This groundbreaking approach to data visualization by association could be applied in other social spaces as well, as a visual comparison of trending topics on Twitter or relational visualization of Facebook status updates, which could have tremendous potential for marketers and others who study consumer behavior. In another project that promises to revolutionize urban public transportation, Zemoga partnered with Field Office of Clemson, SC to develop the Bicing community bicycle program platform in Barcelona. The Bicing program itself is a shared bicycle rental program that allows users to pick up and return The interface is not only fun and informational for bikes at various stations positioned around the city Bicing users, but it also has tremendous potential for to provide convenient and affordable climate-friendly the future of traffic analysis. By tracking each vehicle, transportation. patterns in movement and usage begin to emerge that can allow city planners and transportation officials to analyze traffic patterns and behaviors beyond tedious and less-than-insightful number crunching. The same concept could be easily applied to municipal bus routes, rental cars, and virtually any other form of transportation. This kind of cutting-edge data visualization—beyond traditional quantitative analysis—is becoming a tremendously powerful tool in the discovery of all types of knowledge. The proliferation of mobile To make the program more appealing, convenient, devices puts the power of knowing and sharing and enticing for users, Field Office and Zemoga where we are, what we’re seeing, and what we’re designed the Bicing.com platform to provide real-time thinking right in the palm of our hands. In truth, we as availability and location data overlaid on a city map. a mobile society are generating massive amounts of The Zemoga-designed interface leverages the data data—data that can be used to better understand the from each bike to display each vehicle as a red world around us and ourselves as human beings. dot on the Barcelona street map. With each bike equipped with a GPS sensor device, visitors to the site can see a graphical snapshot of where bikes 177
- 178. Innovation, Culture & Courage 6 opinion Client of the Future: In Six Easy Lessons Much has been talked and written about regarding how agencies are preparing to take on challenges that brands are facing and will face in the near future such as message and target superfragmentation shorter attention span, integration of By: Andre Matarazzo online and offline capabilities to create unified communication CCO Gringo structures, extension of agency’s offerings to cover new formats, and emerging technologies and the like. Yet, little has been written or talked about with regard to how clients should brace themselves for that shift. Andre Matarazzo Client of the Future: In Six Easy Lessons had worked in agencies in Brazil, It is somehow assumed that if a creative and strategic agency brings a completely Canada, Holland, new way of thinking into the company’s structure, all will magically fall into place and Sweden, and Japan the brand will be ready to roll into a new level of communication effectiveness. But this before starting his own in São Paulo unfortunately is not quite so—for it takes two to tango. in 2006. Gringo is a strategic agency Clients should put some hard thought into how they are internally structured and how that is online-centric but media-agnostic. they inspire their staff to take on the challenges in partnership with forward-thinking agencies. The fear of risk taking and the tendency to fall back into a complacent position of letting agencies struggle to fit a square peg into a round hole by themselves will inevitably yield more of the same. What Should the Client of the Future Bear in Mind Today? Understand it’s not about your brand story, it’s about people’s stories. Communication is much more powerful when it allows people to take something away from your communication—just a little something—and create some fantastic stories of their own with it. That is about planting a seed. 178
- 179. One misunderstanding isthat a 30-second TV ad is proud! And they will poke each other’s eyes for content that allows for easy multiplication. Even if it’s getting a larger share of love from their mother’s a truly eye-blasting spectacle, it will be sent around heart. You will not get extremely bright kids to follow by perhaps thousands of people, but it won’t allow each other’s lead. They will simply make it all seem for the social capital we are looking for. What does “integrated” in the most makeshift way to make you, sending a great video to your friends say about you? the mom, happy! That will be your loss. It says that you also saw some interesting content online. In 30 minutes you will see more great content online. It’s irrelevant. We are starting to use our On the other hand, let’s assume brand X creates technology know-how to drive a nifty and simple test that figures out how old you innovation to products and truly are, based on how well you’ve cared for yourself create new services that broaden (or not!) in the last few years. The content is nothing spectacular if you just let it sit, but as soon as users the opportunities for connection interact and make it personal, the brand will offer and deeper recurring people a simple new truth about themselves that really defines who they are. And so they spread it engagement models. around, since the branded content now has added extra personal value, and that will generate the Lesson 2 highest form of engagement and value. Get all agencies together in a room, brief them, and Lesson 1 allow them all to put forth their best ideas. Yes, let Create an environment that allows people to tell all of them stand on equal ground. If you always get their own stories. Your brand story is secondary and the lead offline agency to create the communication should be worked into theirs. strategy and structure, you will have lost the opportunity to find THE new opportunity in digital, It’s not about digital, it’s about communication. in POS, in packaging, in service, or in any other Well, who even talks about “digital” these days? segment that can possibly represent the change your Everyone, unfortunately. brand is looking for. Let the best idea, not the largest agency, take center stage. Clients are eager to jump on the integration bandwagon, and in the process, try to find agencies It’s not about changing perceptions, it’s about that can deliver in every single specialty field. When changing engagement. they realize it is an almost impossible task, they bring We usually operate in the realm of changing brand in a bunch of specialty agencies and assume they perception through communication, and that’s part of should just get along and create magic together. And the story. But nowadays, agencies are starting to ask why not? They are all just so good at their stuff—they deeper questions and putting their creative arsenal must be able to get together and just integrate! and know-how of technology to good use. Well, it doesn’t work quite like that. Why? Because We are starting to use our technology know-how to the best agency creatives are like chefs in the drive innovation to products and create new services kitchen. Too many chefs equal disaster. They are all that broaden the opportunities for connection and like needy kids who want to play and make mommy deeper recurring engagement models. That relates to anything from the oh-so-talked-about Nike Plus case 179
- 180. study to themore nimble and nifty application field of possibilities, and you should set aside a fraction users may download to their mobile phones or of your budget, if nothing else, to high-risk enterprises, social profiles. such as emerging technologies, wild ideas, things that are difficult to operationalize, and your team’s Lesson 3 passionate visions…Allow for wild dreams to come true! Give agencies space to explore, to help you build better products, to help you create new and much needed services, more intelligent operational structures, facilitate user interaction through other channels. This realm is not occupied by the traditional agencies as they do not dare to enter because they did not dominate the technology that could potentially be game changing. These ideas are now starting to be put forth by the new agencies, but they are harder to push through the approval chain for they go beyond the marketing department’s domain. Try to see the larger operational picture, and ask your agency to see the brand as a living organism that is not only in possession of a communication mouth. It’s not about the big idea, it’s about the little ideas. Yes, it’s not about one big idea that gets pushed and It’s not about motivation, it’s about participation. adapted and elevated to fit different points of contact. So you want your brand to motivate millions, to what? We are beyond the age where our ploy was to make Be better people? Help change the environment? clients understand that ideas must assume a totally Create a new social order? Finally be an integral different format to work best in different channels. part of culture? And you want to use the magical ingredient—social networks—to make that happen? Now we face a different challenge. Try to think Well, you’re in for a bumpy ride. of digital communication as a pinball game. Take advantage of the game that launches several balls The fact is that high levels of motivation are achieved onto the board while keeping them in play. It’s fast- through deeper experiences. Consider how you paced, difficult, and you have many variables to may stop smoking only after you or someone in your watch out for. Some balls will go straight into the family has suffered serious smoking-related health gutter, others will live for a while and then disappear, problems. Maybe that will motivate you to change and a few lucky ones will allow you to play the game your behavior. for long time giving you great joy and satisfaction. Lesson 4 You may click on Facebook’s “Like” button when you bump into an important message for saving our planet’s Have the courage to dare, to hit and miss, to launch water, brought directly to you by a friend who did several little ideas onto the board and see which ones the same. But that will most likely not be motivational come to fruition beautifully. We are playing in an open enough for you to really change your habits. 180
- 181. Not to worry,that should not be the purpose of Lesson 6 messages that move around and across networks. The medium excels at increasing participation by Try to instill passion and fearlessness in your team, lessening the degree of motivation that participation especially the communications team that work requires. Clicking a button? Passing on a message? directly with agencies. Consider how many great Sure, millions can do it—and therein lies its strength. ideas have been pushed aside particularly because they represented risk to the everyday junior Lesson 5 marketing manager. Ask for less. Instead of urging consumers to grab The math is simple: if you dare and fail, you put your their webcams and their mothers and friends and career on the line in a corporate world that privileges their dogs and create a funny video, or get them to well-scripted and calculated moves. If you dare and feel inspired to write a short story that will win them succeed, you get a pat on the back and maybe a prize, ask for less. Ask for support in the shape you’re eligible for a small bonus. Create a culture that of a click, a tweet, an “I like this,” and you may see awards calculated risks that foster innovation. You participation soaring. The golden rule of thumb is to may have to account for a good degree of trial and give a lot and ask for very little in return. error, but eventually you will leap far ahead. It’s not about staying ahead, it’s about Conclusion: Are You Ready to Be a Client of leaping ahead. the Future? Everyone wants to leap ahead. We know the competition is biting on our ankles, and we need to Creating movements that change the way brands start sprinting. But then most clients get weighted touch people’s lives is no easy task. Clients must down by their own systems. build solid partnerships with one or several agencies —it is no longer what we encountered from the ‘50s Risk aversion is a corporation’s sure path to spending through the ‘90s. Today we are literally on the same more money than is necessary on actions that do boat, fighting the same battles, trying to see the larger not generate much value and drive brands to near picture, and finding creative ways to do everything oblivion. In our competitive market, doing good work better at a lower cost. is not good enough. Walking fast will inevitably place you in last position in the race where many Do allow for true partnership, and be part of are running. re-inventing our industry and our world. 181
- 182. Innovation, Culture & Courage 6 opinion Adopting the Kaizen Approach to Marketing Now that tracking and attributing online campaign activity directly to customer action has become simpler and easier thanks to sophisticated software, why do marketers still insist on fixed campaign budgets and media spend? By: Stephen Foxworthy Strategy Director Reactive Kaizen Budgets: Why Business Needs to Adopt a Continuous Improvement Approach to Funding Marketing The Japanese word “kaizen,” meaning “improvement” or “change for the better,” has been adopted by business to describe the process of continuous improvement as a business strategy since the 1950s. Stephen Foxworthy is Strategy Director From manufacturing and engineering to software development and healthcare, at Reactive. Stephen has over 15 years of the kaizen approach to business has been a proven formula for success by experience in digital, empowering employees to refine and improve processes and services with a focus with a focus on on better performance. high performance online retail, customer experience It’s a concept that works extremely well for online businesses, such as e-commerce management and retail, where the continuous analysis of customer behavior and user experience can multichannel marketing. yield dramatic increases in onsite conversion; hence, revenue when applied in a systematic way. Now that tracking and attributing online campaign activity directly to customer action has become simpler and easier thanks to sophisticated software, why do marketers still insist on fixed campaign budgets and media spend? As an agency working with high profile brands and big budget campaigns, we’re often frustrated that production budgets, campaign activity, and media are all scheduled and paid from a fixed budget pool, with no allowance for the very dynamic nature of digital media. 182
- 183. A fixed budgetalmost guarantees that tactical Share of Revenue Re-investment opportunities are missed as part of a fast-moving digital campaign. Another successful performance-based budgeting trend is to re-invest a proportion of overall revenue It’s time to adopt a kaizen approach to marketing! into marketing effort. While not as dynamic in the short term as the CPA model, this approach ensures How Can You Adopt Kaizen Marketing Budgets? that all stakeholders in the marketing effort are aligned around generating revenue and driving sales, safe in There are a number of approaches to kaizen the knowledge that increased performance and effort budgeting that can improve marketing performance. will result in an increased investment—this results in These approaches include increasingly popular kaizen a proactive approach to solving marketing problems techniques, such as dynamic cost-per-acquisition and a drive to find new opportunities for growth. budgeting and share-of-revenue re-investment. Cost-per-Acquisition Budgeting From manufacturing and One of the oldest ways of allocating a marketing engineering to software budget is on a cost-per-acquisition (CPA) or cost-per-sale basis. There’s nothing new about development and healthcare, forecasting how much you’re going to spend the kaizen approach to business on advertising based on your sales volumes has been a proven formula for and revenue. success by empowering employees What is new is the pace at which marketers can to refine and improve processes now refine budget cycles. For anyone involved in pay-per-click search or social advertising, such as and services with a focus on better Google AdWords or Facebook Ads, the tactical performance. opportunities to respond to changing market conditions are now directly measurable and can be responded to in near-real time. Banzai, Kaizen Marketing Budgets! With a wealth of new measurement and tracking With the ability to directly measure and attribute solutions at the disposal of marketers, the time has conversion to these channels, there’s now no need to come to do away with restrictive capped budgets preset a marketing budget, as spend can be directly and to migrate to much more dynamic approaches proportional to the return and adjusted daily or hourly that allow for continuous optimization, as well as to ensure it remains efficient. tactical flexibility. Why cap your monthly budget, if it continues to This requires not just an open mind, but an open generate more money than it costs? wallet, marketers be brave! 183
- 184. Innovation, Culture & Courage 6 opinion Innovation from the Inside Out You can’t be an expert at something you’ve never tried. This is especially true when it comes to emerging technologies. Understanding how something works isn’t a concept that By: Dave Snyder should remain siloed inside the tech department. It’s something Associate Creative Director Firstborn that everyone in an organization—planners, technologists, producers, and creatives–should be tuned into. The Best Way to Innovate Is to Hire an Innovative Agency You can’t be an expert at something you’ve never tried. So it makes sense that an Dave is passionate agency can’t produce innovative work without first taking time to experiment. about progressive design and technology, and has This is especially true when it comes to emerging technologies. Understanding how worked in digital something works isn’t a concept that should remain siloed inside the tech department. his entire career. Currently, Dave It’s something that everyone in an organization—planners, technologists, producers, is heading up the and creatives–should be tuned into. creative team on SoBe, along with It’s paramount, unless you enjoy riding the perpetual hype machine that is buzz marketing. many Wrigley trademarked brands. Experimenting with new technologies allows an agency to understand what ideas are worth exploring for clients, where the industry as a whole is heading, and how a project gets built—all before any brainstorming starts. Clients come to agencies for solid advice as much as they do for the ability to create and code. Agencies serve the client’s needs, not the aforementioned hype machine. But specifically, what are some of the benefits to R&D? 184
- 185. The obvious benefitfor developers is familiarity with something one of our senior developers, Dofl Yun had a new system, device, or language: no surprise been working on. So when the client asked, “Can we here. Slightly less obvious, however, is how it do that without affecting the product packing?” We impacts project timelines. Familiarity with new tools could proudly say, “Yes, and here’s how.” Dofl notes or concepts helps speed the development process that innovation is felt at every level. “Not only does it and the ideation phase, allowing a team the ability to help solve technology problems, but it often inspires cut to the chase and ask: “Is this really a good idea to and awes the end consumer too.” If we had not begin with?” “Is it feasible?” or even, “Is it worth it?” experimented internally, we probably wouldn’t have It’s a pragmatic approach applied to the concept been able to execute that solution. phase that streamlines production time and, therefore, costs. Experimenting with new The second most obvious benefit to R&D is how prototyping visualizes complex ideas, allowing the technologies allows an agency to rest of the team to go, “You know what…I could use understand what ideas are worth that for a project I’m working on for a client.” This exploring for clients, where the type of internal tinkering led to our SoBe ReSkin kiosk at South by Southwest. According to our Senior industry as a whole is heading, Developer, Eric Decker, playing around with new and how a project gets built—all technology and developing an idea from that new technology leads to a more natural user experience. before any brainstorming starts. The most beneficial part of internal innovation is the same thing that is most often overlooked. Internal innovation and R&D boosts team morale and fosters camaraderie. Developers have an innate desire to create new things. It’s that drive to answer questions like, “Can this be done?” with “Yes, it can. I’ve already been doing it.” You don’t get that level of passion without a unified team. When in-the-lab innovations leave the lab and solve real-life brand problems, it fuels the internal innovation engine. It’s a cycle that’s habitual and moves our company forward. “When an idea is spawned from a new technology, there is a connection between idea and So innovation is great. How do we encourage it with implementation. These new-tech-driven projects are our agency? what make for great user experiences, and thus, great products for the client.” Talk to them. It’s a no-brainer. Share your overall goals in both digital and traditional. Digital agencies of today Perhaps the greatest benefit of innovating internally are capable of much more than a generic banner ad. is the ability to solve problems creatively with They’re dynamic shops with many different mediums tech solutions. For example, object recognition is and technologies at their disposal. Telling your agency 185
- 186. you want toexperiment with new technology, However, by far the easiest way to get your agency and stretch what’s been done means they’ll have to innovate is to get an agency that’s innovative by to innovate. nature—one that does it without direction. The most innovative agencies do it because it’s who they are, In the same vein, don’t shoot down wishes and not because they’re told to. dreams internally. Some things seem impossible technologically, but your ideal idea may be possible. So let them tinker. Encourage it. Just make sure If it’s not, something similar that obtains the same to pay attention to what they’re discovering. The benefits probably is. tinkering will pay for itself, I promise. 186
- 187. Innovation, Culture & Courage 6 case study Shrek 4 Happy Meal Develop a Happy Meal for the European market around Shrek, one of the most powerful family entertainment brands in the world. CHALLENGE board game mechanics that, in Author: Glenn Bakie Develop a Happy Meal for the keeping with the film’s plot, brought Director, Client Services Fuel Industries European market around Shrek, two disparate universes to light: one of the most powerful family Shrek’s alternate reality and his real life. Team: Fuel Industries entertainment brands in the world, and make it about the family The object is ultimately the same as experience. Shrek’s within the film—to undo what the sneaky villain Rumpel has done. By RESEARCH/ACTIVITY/ traveling down the cobblestone paths, INSIGHT exploring the rich and immersive areas, and engaging with the characters via Glenn Bakie is the Director McDonald’s challenged Fuel of Client Services at Fuel mini-games, consumers perform tasks, Industries. When he’s not with creating a version of the answer trivia questions, and avoid appearing on the covers Shrek franchise that was true to Rumpel’s requests in order to turn each of local magazines, he’s the property, but distinguishable managing clients, such as area back to its original state. as unique to McDonald’s. The Microsoft and McDonald’s, creative team accomplished this and keeping a team of In itself, the experience was a vast digital cowboys in check by developing a unique style for with his delightful sense and entertaining interpretation of the Happy Meal brand within an of humor. Shrek’s world and the film, leveraging experience that enabled family the Happy Meal character Happy, moments and collaborative play. as well as a distinct visual style that SOLUTION was McDonald’s-ownable. But the We developed an online adventure true innovation was in creating a in 37 languages using traditional family experience. Our objective 187
- 188. was to bringfamilies together, and by encouraging multiplayer experiences, we did just that. The true innovation was in creating IMPACT a family experience. Our objective The game was incredibly successful in its own right, was to bring families together, and by with an average site visit of more than 16 minutes across all 41 European markets. But the real delight encouraging multiplayer experiences, was seeing the incredible use of family play. More than we did just that. 30% of engagements were multiplayer—meaning that not only was one person engaged on the site, but two, three, and many times, even four people were working together to accomplish Shrek’s goals. 188
- 189. Innovation, Culture & Courage 6 case study The Pepsi Refresh Project For the first time in 23 years, Pepsi decided to redirect its annual $20 million Super Bowl budget into an ambitious campaign called the Pepsi Refresh Project that would empower people and organizations with great ideas in communities across the country. Author and Team Member: CHALLENGE RESEARCH/ACTIVITY/ Kate Watts INSIGHT Group Engagement Director, HUGE In October 2009, Pepsi approached HUGE in search of a partner for a Pepsi and HUGE recognized that a HUGE Team: Gene Liebel, Partner, User Experience history-making campaign. For the new movement was taking hold of David Skokna, Partner, Executive Creative Director Sasha Kirovski, Partner, Executive Director, Technology first time in 23 years, Pepsi decided the country, not based on geography, Joe Stewart, Creative Director to redirect its annual $20 million ethnicity, or other segregations, but Felipe Memoria, Design Director Ross Morisson, Copy Director Super Bowl budget into an ambitious rather, born of a collective optimism. Liang Zhang , Art Director Ryan Frank, Art Director campaign called the Pepsi Refresh Studies with the Pepsi Optimism Ana Breton, Senior Project Manager Project that would empower people Project found that 94% of Americans Tessa Barrera, Social Media Strategist Rafael Mumme, Senior Web Developer and organizations with great ideas agree that optimism is essential in Lukas Mairl, Senior Web Developer in communities across the country. creating new ideas to positively impact HUGE needed to deliver a new breed the world, and a full 66% believe that of marketing platform that would not the best ideas are more likely to come only inspire people to take action, from ordinary people than public but give them the tangible tools they figures. These figures indicate a new Kate Watts, Group needed to do so, making Pepsi both momentum for Pepsi to engage with. Engagement Director, leads strategy and execution across the motivator and the enabler. But a standalone website that people some of HUGE’s largest visit once wouldn’t be enough to fulfill initiatives, including the its benchmarks for customer loyalty, Pepsi Refresh Project, NBC acquisition, and engagement. Pepsi Universal’s iVillage.com and History.com. would have to go further. 189
- 190. SOLUTION IMPACT HUGE laid out a plan for a fully integrated digital The program’s success, visibility, and popularity has initiative that would build on the Refresh Everything far exceeded both client and industry expectations. program that Pepsi launched in 2009. This new To date, the project has attracted more than platform allowed the average person an opportunity to 2.8 billion earned media impressions, 4 million site submit a worthy cause for grant funding, ranging from registrations, and over 54 million votes. A recent $5,000 to $250,000. Visitors can vote up to 10 times study from Forbes and the Reputation Institute found a day on the 1,000 ideas in the running, culminating that Pepsi jumped to the No. 5 spot from No. 16 in 32 grant awardees monthly. HUGE also developed among the country’s most reputable brands. The a mobile platform and an overarching social media Pepsi Refresh Project is now a global marketing solution to further promote sharing and participation. platform for one of America’s most trusted brands, The entire campaign syncs with offline efforts such as with plans to expand into Europe, Asia, and Latin TV, print, outdoor, college programs, and retail display. America in 2011. Pepsi and HUGE recognized that a new movement was taking hold of the country, not based on geography, ethnicity, or other segregations, but rather, born of a collective optimism. 190
- 191. Innovation, Culture & Courage 6 Interview with Marc Gobé SoDA chats with Marc Gobé on Brand Innovation and Sao Paulo’s Transformation Angele: Can you comment on the project you are currently focused on? Angele Beausoleil VP Strategy and Innovation Marc: I am working on a multilayered project with a documentary film at its core that Dare explores brands and place making through the lens of visual pollution. The essence of the story is about “The Year Advertising Came Crashing Down” and how an audacious São Paulo mayor, Gilberto Kassab, decided to ban all forms of outdoor advertising and force an unprecedented level of imagination from marketers, advertisers, and designers in their effort to respond. São Paulo’s story is truly about courage in the face of transformation. (The film will be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in July 2011 with a full theatrical release in Fall 2011.) Marc Gobé President Emotional Branding LLC Angele: How did São Paulo come to your attention? Marc: Considering the fact that a total of 100 cities across the globe account for 70% of the world economies and that by 2015 70% of the world population will be living Designer, photographer, in urban centers, completely fascinates me. I had been following the news stories of filmmaker, respected author and sought-after the mayor of São Paulo and how he was forced by his citizens to “fix the pollution” public speaker Marc Gobé problems. So he took a holistic look and identified all sources of polution—air, noise, focuses on connecting and visual—and decided he had to answer to his citizens, remove all sources of brands emotionally with people in a positive pollution, and make the city more prosperous. The visual pollution was essentially way. As President of brands upstaging each other to the point of emotional cacophonous impact. Emotional Branding LLC, an experimental think tank, Marc Angele: On the creative and political process? and his daughter Gwenaelle Gobé, Marc: The mayor had to prove his leadership and had identified that brands were not Creative Director, offer insight into the trends having a positive effect on the city. Thus, he set out to test a small neighborhood, and that move consumers. he banned all advertising and forced brands to move their experiences “inside.” Thus, advertising executives and CMOs were forced to “re-invent” their brands. 191
- 192. Angele: How doesinnovation, culture, and courage play a role? Marc: Brands were not currently embracing new opportunities to engage with their consumers culturally and did not take responsibility in creating “ugliness” in the city’s outdoor environment. The mayor had to be brave to face the brands and deal with their “visual pollution” in terms of permanent media (such as exterior walls, digital screens, billboards on buildings, etc.), and he simply stated that “something’s gotta change.” The mayor has empowered the creative community of São Paulo to bring “green” to The hard questions life through the use of emotion, sensorial experiences, and bold expressive design around advertising still had to be excellence throughout the city. This creative community is comprised of artists, asked: Who owns architects, designers, and even civic engineers. “It’s inspiring to see the efforts in our public space? São Paulo because it calls attention to the need for exploring alternative modes of Who owns my communicating “green,” shares Anneliza Humlen, president of the Emotional view? Who owns Branding Alliance. the quality of my environment? The hard questions around advertising still had to be asked: Who owns our public space? Who owns my view? Who owns the quality of my environment? Brands need to respond on how they could create a positive São Paulo experience. To see how they responded, you will have to see the film. Angele: What is your motivation to share this story? Marc: I have a deep passion for innovation and consumer understanding into all the hidden corners of the branding process, and I produce documentary films, books, and blog articles on the emotional events that impact brands and consumers. São Paulo was my first stop: next New York. To follow our journey, please visit http://emotionalbrandingalliance.com/ ...and leave a comment. 192
- 193. Digital Manifest Destiny— The Time for Building a New Marketing Infrastructure Is Here. closing By: Chad Ciesil DMO Chairperson, SoDA Board of Directors; CEO, Gravity Federation digital manifest destiny (n): consumption of everything is digitally served, connected, integrated, recorded and measured publicly or privately: TV, magazines, newspapers, billboards, photos, videos, books, music, purchases, opinions, observations, friends, relationships, daily events, needs and wants, consumption of anything and everything. You won’t find this definition in Merriam-Webster today, but we are close. Importantly for marketers, it is inevitable. I am neither endorsing this future, nor am I making a moral statement about how this affects society. It is simply the path we are on. And now is the time to make sure you are truly prepared. So what? You may already agree. You are already spending the majority of your budget on search and mobile and social programs and the like—and those programs are integrated. You are creating, publishing, and distributing branded content. You are a part of the conversation and consider earned media to be just as important as paid media. You believe there are so many opportunities to build strong, intimate, meaningful relationships between people and brands it’s hard to fall asleep at night. You are excited to be a marketer in this digital age. Just like the examples this report contains of agencies and marketers working together to create breakthrough digital work to achieve amazing things, you have pushed the envelope experiencing both success and failure. To you all, I am truly inspired and in awe. Three sobering thoughts, however, to bring you pioneers back to reality. First, you are unfortunately still in the minority. Second, you need to buckle up because this is just the tip of the iceberg. Third, to be truly prepared for whatever Titanic-worthy mass comes your way, now is the time to look both inward and outward. Current structures, processes, methodologies, and relationships were built on a predigital foundation. Many marketers have made a lot of positive changes; however, fundamentally this is still true. And the reality is that this foundation won’t sustain a Digital Manifest Destiny. A new foundation must be put into place for this inevitability. Build new roads and bridges, lay new train tracks, and hire the engineers, entrepreneurs, and trailblazers now. You’ll help better equip those currently on the digital path for success, as well as pave the way for future success when those finally joining don’t have any alternative path because everything they do or consume is digitally served, connected, integrated, recorded, and measured publicly or privately. RETHINK AND REBUILD, WITH A FEW NATURAL PLACES TO START 1. C-Suite Acceptance, Involvement, and Leadership a. In the late 1800’s, if the train ran through your competitor’s town and not yours, your town eventually was shuttered. This is just as true for today’s digital train. Digital in all of its forms must be at the front of every CEO’s mind. b. CEOs willl embrace this future. They will set the digital vision and tone for your company. They simply can’t afford not to. 193
- 194. c. When Ifirst started in advertising a short 18 years ago, it was normal for CEOs to attend key meetings. Their marketing strategy, brand position, and television campaign were (and still are) critical to the company’s success. Today’s “digital” meetings are just as critical; however, too often in the recent past, barriers—lexicon, technical experience, market maturation, etc.; some that have been created and perpetuated by those wanting to establish control—have pushed CEOs away. That has to change. 2. Culture and Organizational Structure a. Pepsi provides a great example of an organization driving cultural change. Some highlights are shared in this recent MediaPost article. http://tinyurl.com/38267e3 b. In their book Empowered, Josh Bernoff and Ted Schadler share a vision for how companies have embraced digital and have thrived by empowering their employees and leveraging opportunities provided by the digital revolution. c. Other pieces to consider are as follows: i. Skill sets as well as talent acquisition, management, training, and retention. ii. Integration and collaboration versus silos of responsibility. iii. Command and control structures allowing for proactive, faster decisions (empower vs. control). iv. IT and marketing as collaborators with mutual goals and incentives. 3. Partner Relationships and Compensation Structures. Compensation is one of the hardest pieces to change, yet it must be addressed and changed. Agencies like Victors & Spoils are breaking out of the margin-squeeze game by establishing new models for creating and scaling. Marketers need to get actively involved in establishing a new service and compensation paradigm. 4. A New Approach to Process and Operations a. Definitions and briefs. b. Steps and milestones. c. Meetings and decision making. d. Outcomes and reporting. e. Integration and collaboration. 5. Content, Content, Content. Strategy, development, architecture, publishing, management—across multiple screens and formats. Of course, this isn’t anywhere close to a comprehensive list. It aims only to serve as a thought starter for analyzing and building the new marketing infrastructure that will be required for future success. Hopefully, you will agree that this report provides a wealth of valuable research data, insight, and ideas from agencies working with some of the biggest brands in the world. The changes we have all seen and experienced over the past five years are miraculous. We expect nothing less for the next five years. Success or failure will always require a mix of maximizing current opportunity while planning and positioning for future opportunity. Digital Manifest Destiny dictates a fundamental change in your organization’s infrastructure and operations. It also presents a competitive advantage for those willing to start now. 194
- 195. DMO Sponsors Adobe Systems Incorporated BlackBerry 195
- 196. Adobe Systems Incorporated Adobe revolutionizeshow the world engages of Adobe solutions is evident across industries with ideas and information. For more than and felt by anyone who creates, views, and two decades, the company’s award-winning interacts with information. With a reputation software and technologies have set new for excellence and a portfolio of many of the standards for producing and delivering most respected software brands, Adobe is content that engages people virtually one of the world’s largest and most diversified anywhere at anytime. From rich images software companies. in print, video, and film to dynamic digital content across multiple media, the impact 196
- 197. BlackBerry PlayBook Professional Grade Tablet The BlackBerry PlayBook delivers the web without limits, including games, media, apps, and everything the Internet offers. With full Adobe® Flash® and HTML5 support, rich media can be experienced without compromise. Free BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet Offer! Qualifying applications for the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet prior to its initial North American release are eligible for a free BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. To qualify for the free The new BlackBerry Tablet OS and its application BlackBerry PlayBook tablet offer, your application needs platform from Research In Motion (RIM) offers a wealth of to be accepted into BlackBerry App World™, subject to opportunities for developers. Building on the exceptional certain Terms and Conditions. power of the QNX operating system—uniquely suited for tablet computing—this Tablet OS establishes the With our new SDK, we make it easy to qualify. Leverage foundation for the future while preserving the key your Adobe AIR® and Flash® assets, or your website investments that have made the BlackBerry platform apps, and use our SDKs to quickly create your BlackBerry so successful. PlayBook Application. BlackBerry Tablet OS SDK for Adobe AIR Enterprise Ready The BlackBerry Tablet OS SDK for Adobe AIR—based on Designed with professionals in mind, the BlackBerry® Adobe design and development tools—unlocks a rapid PlayBook™ provides out-of-the-box compatibility with development path for creating rich, powerful applications BlackBerry® Enterprise Server for secure, manageable that take full advantage of tablet features. With this SDK, corporate data access. It offers seamless pairing for a you can target multiple devices ranging from stand-alone secure window into your BlackBerry® smartphone. Use computers to the BlackBerry PlayBook. your BlackBerry smartphone as a modem for high-speed 3G network access or gain 4G network access with the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK for Tablet OS BlackBerry 4G PlayBook tablet. With the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK for Tablet OS, web Supported media formats include 1080p HD video; H.264; and mobile web developers can create applications that MPEG4, WMV HDMI video output. Experience video incorporate JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS. Using the conferencing at its best with a crystal clear HD display, rich development tooling of choice, this SDK lets you develop, stereo sound, and dual HD video cameras. test, and package web applications as BlackBerry WebWorks applications for tablets. You can use one code Unleash Your Creativity! path to create apps for both BlackBerry smartphones and the BlackBerry PlayBook. A mobile device that keeps pace with your creativity. With a dual-core processor and Adobe® AIR® and Flash® Learn more about the free BlackBerry PlayBook tablet integrated into the design, you’re able to bring your clients offer and how to build an app at: a new class of mobile applications and capitalize on the www.blackberry.com/developers/tabletos ground-breaking opportunities. BlackBerry®, RIM®, Research In Motion® and related trademarks, names and logos are the property of Research In Motion Limited and are registered and/or used in the U.S. and countries around the world. Used under license from Research In Motion Limited.
- 198. The Society of DigitalAgencies The Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA) serves as a voice for digital marketing professionals worldwide with a mission to advance the industry through best practices, education, and advocacy. A Society Is Founded What SoDA Is Miami, March 2007: 13 leading digital agency SoDA is an international association of CEOs decided to meet up and have a talk respected digital marketing agency leaders about where our industry was headed. New and entrepreneurs with a history and a vision friends were made, business problems and for the future of marketing. solutions were shared, and a society was formed. We were on a mission to advance SoDA provides leadership, platforms, this industry we all felt so passionate about. infrastructure, processes, and products to We made it official at SXSW in March 2008 enable collaboration between members around and welcomed our founding partner, Adobe. best practices, education, and advocacy. SoDA Members SoDA Staff N. America Steve Wages, Executive Director Europe Paul Lewis, Director of Operations Aus/NZ 6% Kendyll Picard, Communications Coordinator S. America 9% Asia Natalie Certo, Marketing Liaison Contact SoDA 18% 61% communications@sodaspeaks.com www.sodaspeaks.com 6% 198