Some thoughts about concepts, executions and things like that

SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT
CONCEPTS, EXECUTIONS AND
THINGS LIKE THAT.

LET„S BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING.
(well, almost.)

http://andruska.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/2001-the-dawn-of-man.jpg

Traditionally, TV COMMERCIALS WERE AT THE
CENTER OF CAMPAIGN CONCEPTION AND
PRODUCTION.
(Nothing new so far.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gbaku/2300379755/sizes/l/

Then it was integrated communication to the
rescue. BUT MOST “INTEGRATED
COMMUNICATION“ IS NOTHING ELSE BUT THE
APPROACH TO MAKE EVERY EXECUTION
RESEMBLE THE TV COMMERCIAL.
(And that„s only true in those cases where there was an idea bigger
than a TV commercial to begin with.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/87014138@N00/3093375954/sizes/o/

All this is based on a single assumption:
TV COMMERCIALS PUSH HIGH-QUALITY
CONTENT OUT TO A HUGE AND RECEPTIVE
AUDIENCE. SO WE DO THAT A FEW TIMES A
YEAR AND EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE FINE.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45409431@N00/3867466806/

To begin with the true part of the assumption:
THE TV AUDIENCE IS STILL HUGE.
(And it is probably not going to be totally gone by tomorrow.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/papazimouris/3183558876/sizes/l/

However, while TV isn„t going to go away tomorrow
MEDIA USAGE HAS ALREADY SHIFTED
DRAMATICALLY AND MEDIA IS MORE AND
MORE CONVERGING ONLINE.
(This is probably also not a big surprise by now...)


“ONLINE“ OR “DIGITAL“ CAN BE EVERY FORM
OF CONTENT, EVERY MODE OF RECEPTION
AND EVERY FORM OF SOCIAL INTERACTION.
EVERYWHERE.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fredcavazza/3428921418/sizes/l/

Or, put differently:
ALMOST EVERYTHING YOU KNOW CAN ALSO
BE “DIGITAL“ AND “ONLINE“.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cfpereda/3604453260/sizes/l/

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AND INFLUENCE ARE
IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL.
(This doesn„t mean that suddenly it is all about conversations about
our brands. People still have other things to care about: Their life,
mostly.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shannonkringen/267571087/sizes/l/

On to the next assumption: “hight quality content“.
MOST TV COMMERCIALS ARE DEFINITELY NOT
THE TYPE OF HIGH-QUALITY CONTENT PEOPLE
LOVE TO WATCH.

You„ve most probably seen that drawing before...
http://www.gapingvoid.com/

The inconvenient truth is:
PEOPLE DON„T CARE ABOUT ADS,
AND THEY ARE CERTAINLY NOT WAITING FOR
ALL OF THEM.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xploded/287066320/sizes/o/

“PEOPLE LOOK AT WHAT INTERESTS THEM
AND SOMETIMES IT‟S YOUR AD.” Howard Gossage
(Most of the time however, it„s something else.)


“OFTEN OUR BIGGEST MISTAKE AS
MANAGERS IS BELIEVING THAT, IN
GENERAL, CUSTOMERS CARE A LOT ABOUT
YOUR BRAND. THEY DO NOT.” Patrick Barwise
(Because they still have other things to care about.)



So what„s the status quo?
IF PEOPLE TALK ABOUT “INTEGRATED
COMMUNICATION“ YOU GET CAMPAIGNS THAT
USUALLY FOCUS ON TV AS PRIMARY MEDIA.
IF PEOPLE TALK ABOUT UNCONVENTIONAL
THINGS, YOU GET [INSERT EXECUTIONAL
TREND HERE].
Twitter and “viral“ videos are popular choices for filling that brackets.

HOWEVER , WHAT WORKS AND WHAT
DOESN„T ISN„T DEFINED BY THE MAGICAL
POWER OF TECHNOLOGIES OR “NEW“ MEDIA
OR PLAIN CREATIVE EXECUTIONS.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/theartguy/2230484179/sizes/o/

IT IS DEFINED BY THE CONTEXT –
PEOPLE„S LIFE IN RELATION TO MEDIA,
CULTURE AND SOCIETY.
(This doesn„t mean it is all about conversations. And it also doesn„t
mean you have to abandon TV. Or outdoor, or print.
What it means is that it depends.)


For example, while TVCs are still a great way to build up awarenss and
evoke emotions, you can only say so much in 30 seconds anyways.
SO WHY REDUCE RICH AND MULTI-FACETED
CONCEPTS INTO 30„ OF TV WITH 16„FOR
INFORMATION THAT SHOULD THEN BE
CONCIOUSLY RECALLED –
BUT MOSTLY AREN„T?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeblogs/3101400087/sizes/o/

IF WE WANT TO PLAY ON THE MEDIA„S
STRENGTHS WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT
THE CONTEXT IS CONSCIOUSLY CONSIDERED
WHEN CONCEPTS ARE CREATED.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/firutin/267739754/sizes/o/

WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT EXECUTIONAL
ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATION IN RELATION
TO PEOPLE AND MEDIA SIMULTANIOUSLY.
(You have probably heard of this “the media is the message“ thing
before...)


WE HAVE TO WORK ON CONCEPTS THAT
DON„T NECESSARILY BRING OUT
ADVERTISING, BUT EXPERIENCES IN
PEOPLE„S (SOCIAL) LIFE.
(Rephrasing the question „What can we say to people?“ into „What
can we make for people?“ helps a lot.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidking/3305880093/sizes/l/

GARETH KAY CALLS THIS SHIFT
“PLANNING FOR UNCERTAINTY“
From a linear process to a continuous process of creation.
From presenting to clients to co-creating with clients.
From “one size fits all campaign” to frequent micro-initiatives.
From big stuff to small stuff.
From “strategy to execution” to “strategy in execution”.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/maldiviandude/3505149064/sizes/l/
http://www.slideshare.net/garethk/seven-deadly-sins

FARIS YAKOB POINTS OUT THAT
MEDIA NEUTRAL LEADS TO MEDIA NEUTERED.
“Seeing the same thing executed across a bunch of channels isn't
really the most interesting use of each medium, and the best ideas
are often built to really leverage the strengths of a particular channel
[…]. SO TALKING ABOUT IDEAS AS SEPARATE FROM THE MEDIA THEY
WILL EXIST IN IS A BIT SILLY AND CAN MISS OUT ON THE MOST
CREATIVE OPPORTUNITIES.” Faris Yakob

http://farisyakob.typepad.com/blog/2006/10/transmedia_plan.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbengineer/510142003/sizes/l/

INTRODUCING TRANSMEDIA PLANNING
“The gist of it is that rather than using different media channels to communicate the same
idea, you can use each channel to communicate different things. Everything is still tied
together by the same brand strategy or narrative, but each channel does what it does best,
rather than bending to fit an idea that's not really built with any particular channel in
mind. Each channel is strong and self-contained enough to live on its own, but can then be
pulled together into a greater brand narrative.” Faris Yakob

http://farisyakob.typepad.com/blog/2006/10/transmedia_plan.html

EXECUTION UNDER THE TRANSMEDIA LENSE
“This might be small details, things going on in the background, music, metaphors, or references. And we, Russell, and
others have talked about the power of complexity in communication - that people generally find complex, nuanced,
layered things more interesting than simple straightforward things. But when we talk about this stuff, we still usually
talk about people processing it individually - so each one person is rewarded for spending more time or if they see it
again. But what if we looked at it through the lens of a brand community? Each different layer or detail could appeal to
a different group of people, who could compare stories, and thus continually be getting new perspectives on the same
thing.” Jason Oke

http://lbtoronto.typepad.com/lbto/2006/10/transmedia_plan.html

If the idea of shifting FROM CAMPAIGNS THAT
PUSH OUT THE SAME IDEA VIA DIFFERENT
CHANNELS TO CONTINUOUSLY CREATING AND
COMMUNICATING IN DIFFERENT MEDIA is is
giving you a headache, consider one truth:
people don„t think in campaigns, but in days -
365 of them.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/photos_by_chrystal/2964874774/sizes/o/

So what does that mean for CONCEPTS,
EXECUTIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigpinkcookie/22716359/sizes/l/

Cultural Branding
(long-term connection:
strong cultural concepts)

It means that we have
Context defining
Monitoring and to make sure that concepts
evaluation “media, culture and Strategic concepts
(long term)
(brand relationships and society“ is being
culture overall) Tactical concepts
thought about at (short term)
every single step of a
permanent process of
creation and
communication.

Connections Continuous, small
through and big executions
experiences (services, NPD, interactive
experiences, advertising, ...)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/toby_maloy/102413554/sizes/o/

FROM CONCEPTS
Context: brand vs. people vs. media, culture, society.
 What are the brand„s meanings and roles in people„s life?
 What is the purpose and the resulting the narrative of the brand?
 What are current connections between the brand and culture?
 Can we derive anything from the relation between the overall brand
concept and emerging patterns in culture, to build more
connections?

TO EXECUTIONS
Context: experiences.
 Why, how and where are the people we want to connect the brand
to using which media?
 Which parts of the overall concept fit with how the media works in
these contexts?
 Remember the difference between media exposure, media effect
and media usage.

Derived from Douglas B. Holts filters for judging creative.
http://harvardbusiness.org/product/mountain-dew-selecting-new-creative/an/502040-PDF-ENG

TO EVALUATION
Brand Filter
 Does it frame the brand in a compelling manner?
 Does it make me feel/know what the brand stands for?
 Will it resonate with the target markets‟ culture(s)?
Experience Filter
 Is it engaging, simple, original, and creative?
 Is the brand integrated into the story/service/tool/experience?
 Is it doing anything for the people?
 Would somebody talk about it? If so, why?
Long-term Filter
 Is it an effective extension of the brand‟s narrative?
 Is it helping to weave the brand into the culture long-term?

INSPIRED BY AND STOLEN FROM
gareth kay (garethkay.typepad.com)
russell davies (russelldavies.typepad.com)
faris yakob (farisyakob.typepad.com)
douglas b. holt (www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/faculty/Holt+Douglas/)
michael zorn (@boyrobot3000)
joanna bakas (@jo_vanna)
stefan erschwendner (@eranium)
helge tennø (@congbo)
martin oetting (@oetting)
sam ismail (@samismail)
petar vujosevic (@NikoHerzeg)
david armano (@armano)
simon law (www.simon-law.com/)
andrew (joymachine.typepad.com/)
stephanie urbanski (@sturbi)
the “internet“ (mostly all the great people I„m following on twitter)

THANK YOU.
THOMAS WAGNER
STUDENT AND STRATEGIST
“ON THE INSIGHT ROAD (AND NOT HALFWAY THERE)“

WHAT DO YOU THINK?
http://www.twitter.com/thomas_wagner

Some thoughts about concepts, executions and things like that

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