The document discusses the opportunities and challenges of digital marketing. It notes that while this is a great time for brands to engage digitally, the landscape is constantly shifting and audiences are expanding. The purpose is to inspire bold and ambitious thinking to make the most of this opportunity. It provides quick facts on digital trends like the rise of mobile and social media use. It emphasizes that brands must entertain, inform and provide utility for audiences or risk losing their attention in this new economy.

1. FORWARD
DOING

3. FORWARD DOING

5. There’s never been a better time
simultaneously, and the quality of
for brands to immerse themselves
everything from tiny ads to giant
in digital marketing than right now.
web sites is sorely lacking.
The rewards for those bold enough
to engage, embrace and encourage
The purpose of these pages is to
the changes at play in our business
inspire you to think broadly about
are astonishing.
digital; to take risks, be compelling
and ambitious; to make the most
However, there’s never been a
out of what is truly a historic
more confusing time to leap into
opportunity.
digital either. The landscape is
constantly shifting, audiences
Think of this as rocket fuel for
are expanding and splintering
forward doing.

6. BEFORE
WE
BEGIN,
A
FEW
QUICK
FACTS

7. Today there are more than 7B
people on the planet, half of whom
are under the age of 30 and have
never known life without the
Internet.
There are more than 5B mobile
subscriptions, representing
approximately 77% of the world’s
population; of these, 1.5B belong to
smartphone users.
There are over 2B people
connected to the Internet; 70% of
them read blogs, while 57% say
they talk to others more often
online than in real life.
The last truly new platforms were
Google, which gave us access to
content on the web via search;
Facebook, which reiterated the
web via the social graph; and
Twitter; which delivered a blogging
platform, news hub and social
network.

8. AND
A
FEW
QUICK
THOUGHTS

9. The web can be simultaneously
In the future, online marketing
overwhelming – because there’s
will move away from generic
so much to explore – and
advertising and toward inluence
underwhelming – because you
marketing; behavior advertising
can’t always ind what you’re
will move away from assumptions
looking for.
and toward speciic actions. As a
result, consumer rights and privacy
The newness of the social web
will become more pronounced and
has been like a rush of people
focused issues.
to one big city. In the future,
however, there will be many big
We will see more “megamercials”
cities, each made up of multiple
– tightly integrated brand
neighborhoods.
advertising containted within
digital experiences. This is much
Forget swiping – the future is
like the old soap operas, who got
all about gestures. Natural user
their name because of Proctor
interfaces extended from gaming
& Gamble’s Oxydol soap powder
will migrate to web and mobile
sponsorship of radio dramas in the
applications.
1930’s.
Unless brands improve their social
As brand ambassadors, we need
marketing, future interactions with
to provide consumers with an
customers will feel less friendly
authentic online experience – one
and more commercial.
that’s both more fun and useful.

10. WE HAVE QUICKLY MOVED FROM THE
INFORMATION WEB TO THE SOCIAL WEB

12. WE CAN DO

13. IF WE REINVENT

15. WE
ARE
THE
CONNECTED
GENERATION
The rise of social networks is not
a new phenomenon. If you look
at the timeline and the amount of
sites considered social networks,
they have existed for many years
now.
Fast-forward to today, content
is everywhere; blogs, feeds,
aggregators, and social networks.
These services exist to allow
people to have creative expression
and each service is distinctly
separate from each other.
The social graph has all these
themes: connectedness, openness,
community, conversation, identity,
self-expression and participation.

16. DIGITAL
BEHAVIORS
HAVE
CHANGED

17. WE NEED TO ENTERTAIN,
INFORM AND PROVIDE
UTILITY, OR PEOPLE
WILL CLICK-OFF AND
SWITCH-OFF

18. ATTENTION
IS
THE
NEW
ECONOMY

19. The popularity of Google, lightning
We have become a skimming
fast Internet connections and
culture, absorbing just enough
instant access to everything online,
information to feel informed. So
it feels a lot like our brains have
perhaps it is time for us to rewire
become mushy. Meaning, we no
our elastic brains and reengage
longer focus our time going deep
in all the beauty that digital has to
into a subject unless it is topic we
ofer and not just a subset of it.
are really impassioned by.

20. People are treating their location
Naturally, a number of services
as part of their social identity.
have grown up around this practice,
They broadcast it as an extension
including Google Latitude, Loopt,
of their social behavior, showing
Facebook Places, Gowalla and the
friends and acquaintances what
category leader, Foursquare.
they’re doing as well as when and
where.
Sometimes, though, users may
only want a few people to know
where they are and what they’re
doing. That’s why apps which
allows users to share location
updates to speciic groups of
SOCIAL
MOBILITY
people – like Grouped{in} – are
becoming popular.

23. Location-based services present
marketers with a number of
opportunities to interact with
on-the-go customers, like
sending them a brand message,
encouraging them to update
their status, or rewarding them
for checking in with a site or
completing a task.
Such rewards range from virtual
recognition, like Foursquare’s
Super Swarm badges, to product
redemptions, like Scvnger’s point
system which ofers real-world
goods in exchange for actual store
visits.
The latter, more physical rewards
LOCATION
BASED
CAMPAIGNS
– which put a value on a customer
being present in a store or other
location, interacting with your
brand or service – will be a trend to
watch.

24. FROM “LEAN BACK”
TO “LEAN IN”
The development of immersive
entertainment technology is
encouraging us to go from
passively consuming content to
actively participating in its shape
and direction. Put more simply,
we’ve stopped leaning back and
started leaning in. As a result,
every screen we face – TV, laptop,
tablet and smart phone – will ofer
marketers a chance to provide a
unique experience for each and
every viewer.

25. For example, you can be watching
Future programming which
a TV show on your big screen,
engages users across multiple
researching the actors on your
devices in this manner becomes
tablet while checking your smart
more than simply immersive
phone to see which of your friends
entertainment – it becomes a
is tuned in as well. Or you may
compelling experience.
pause the game you’re playing
on your gaming console, only to
resume playing it hours later on
your tablet while lying crosscountry.

26. DIGITAL – ESPECIALLY
SOCIAL MEDIA –
ALLOWS US TO BREAK
OUR

27. CAMPAIGNS DOWN INTO
VALUABLE, INDIVIDUAL
CONVERSATIONS WITH
CONSUMERS

28. OFFLINE,
MEET
ONLINE

29. Quick Response (QR) codes have
Not only does this create enormous
helped oline and online converge
value for Tesco’s online shopping
in a quick and simple manner.
service, but it also creates oline
By scanning a QR code with a
awareness for the brand. Double
smart phone, users are able to
bonus.
complete a range of actions from
simple (opening a webpage or
In addition, the future of shopping
downloading a coupon) to to the
and brand interaction will likely
sophisticated (engaging in full-on
include Near Field Communication
e-commerce0.
(NFC). NFC technology enables
smartphones and other
For example, British grocery giant
compatible devices to establish
Tesco “brings the supermarket
radio communication simply by
to you” by letting shoppers buy
bringing them close to one another
produce and other food and retail
or touching them together. The
items by scanning images of their
possibilities of NFC have been
purchases with their smartphones,
proven to provide real value, but
with their order delivered the same
as of now, only a few brands have
day.
adopted it. Look for this to change.

30. AUGMENTED REALITY
Although augmented reality has
been available for several years,
its real potential has only realized
recently, thanks to higher-quality
cameras on smart phones and
tablets.
Iconic sunglass brand Ray-Ban put
augmented reality to work by using
such on-board cameras to allow
cutomers to try on sunglasses
virtually, then purchase their
favorite pair instantly.
There are also really smart retail
examples activating “targets”
(however it can be sound, video,
graphics or GPS data) and retail

31. packaging. A retail example is a
digital mirror developed by Lego
that virtually showcases (in 3D) the
select product, providing instant
value-add for customers.
The combination of a smartphone
or tablet camera, a print ad and
an app can bring almost any ad
to life – anywhere and anytime.
Simply by scanning the ad with the
device activates the app, turning
the previously static ad into a video,
game or 3D experience.

32. JEAN COCTEAU WAS
ONCE ASKED

33. IF THERE WAS A FIRE,
WHAT POSSESSION HE
WOULD RUN OUT OF
THE HOUSE WITH?
HE SAID, “THE FIRE”.

35. THE
POWER
OF
PARTNERSHIP
Never underestimate the power
Nike and British singer-songwriter
of a good partnership. Even the
Ellie Goulding have unique
simplest such arrangements
partnership fusing her music and
can help expand your audience,
with her passion for running. By
amplify your brand and alter public
participating in Nike projects, Ellie
perception.
extends their brand within her fan
base.
Instagram and Topshop teamed
up to provide customers with
The Intel and Vice partnership
makeovers from a professional
brings together two diametrically
stylist. The resulting “after”
opposed brands for a common
photos were immediately posted
purpose. Building the Creators
to Facebook in real-time, with
Project, combining art, music and
the caption, “Wish you were at
technology on a collaborative
Topshop.”
sharing platform. Beautiful.

36. There were 5,000 tweets per day in
2007. Today, there are almost 250
M. Facebook has over 750 M users
Flickr has more than 3.6 Bphotos.
Foursquare counts 10 M-plus
members, plus over 250,000
registered stores on its business
platform.
The Huington Post surpassed
100M comments per month in
September 2011. And there are
approximately 27M pieces of
branded content passed around via
links every day.
Everything is social now.
SOCIAL ATTENTION

37. NO
LINE
BETWEEN
ONLINE
AND
OFFLINE
Whether it is a smart-phone app
that enables you to activate a QR
code, to a Facebook “like” on a
person’s wall or enabling people to
physically “like” objects through an
RFID Facebook card. These are real
examples of oline meeting online
and online meeting oline.
Twitter is now promoting
interactivity through Twitter
parties, think of these as old school
communities and Facebook is
banking on the wisdom of friends
and crowds. Soon both with be
encouraging real oline meet-ups.
When done seamlessly and
naturally it is an enjoyable
experience.

39. WE’RE
GETTING
COMFORTABLE
WITH
THE
COMPANY
OF
STRANGERS

40. PARTICIPATION
PLAYGROUND
Using the web to reinforce your brand and enabling the community to
feel loved is the value of participation. Shortly, the future of participation,
especially in publishing will move way beyond comments and into
pictures, audio and video in real-time.

41. It is amazing how many brands will
everywhere, allowing them to create
take an advertisement designed
a mosaic similar to those used on
for commercial TV and simply
store shopping bags as well as in a
repurpose it for the web. However,
previous brand campaign.
the value of creating a web-speciic
advertisement or companion piece
By the end of 2011, 200,000 people
is undeniable.
in over 126 countries updated
the Uniqlo Grid over 10M times,
The latest Evian Live Young
proving simply that, if people love
campaign features adults wearing
your brand, they will participate in
baby t-shirts, dancing to Wordy
shaping and recreating it.
Rappinghood by French electronica
artist Uie. The digital piece isn’t
Still, the ultimate example of the
simply a repurposed TV spot;
participation playground is the
instead it employs stop-motion
Johnny Cash Project. Directed
video to put users into the action,
by Chris Milk, The Johnny Cash
involving an entire conusmer
Project contains more than 250,000
community with the brand.
hand-drawn contributions from
individuals in 172 countries. All the
Uniqlo also found a way to call upon
illustrations are brought together,
its worldwide community of fans to
ultimately, to create a completely
empower the brand. The company’s
crowd-sourced tribute to the Man in
Grid gave access to the same
Black, set to his otherworldly, “Ain’t
grid of Uniqlo logos to customers
No Grave”.

42. FROM
PUSH
TO
PULL
The carefully researched content
In a world of endless options, we
and well-crafted opinions of
all need help in making decisions.
content curators may give them
No longer can we rely on a handful
a hint of omnipotence. However,
of suppliers to provide the media
consumers are rapidly becoming
we consume. Push to pull is all
powerful news editors and
about the rise of devices and sites
opinion-shapers through written
that help us manage our choices.
contributions on platforms such as
Curators and editors – either
The Huington Post.
professional or peer – are essential
to helping create a valuable,
manageable online experience.

44. SO

45. WHAT’S NEXT?

46. LET’S SPARK

47. IDEAS
FOR
THE
FUTURE

48. BEFORE
NOW
NEXT

49. This three-word trend describes
the ability to record – and perhaps
even predict – physical and online
activities.
Before – Before is a time stamp of
our past activities. For example,
posting a photo Facebook wall or
a video on Youtube are “before”
Next – If there are services that
experiences.
detail our before and now, why
not one that recommends where
Now – Posting photos via
we should go next? Predictive
Instagram is a “now” experience,
technologies that refer to our social
much like “checking-in”
graph for recommendations on the
on Foursquare or Gowalla,
next venue or activity can provide
or otherwise posting your
a valuable method for reining our
whereabouts at a given moment.
physical experiences based on
It’s a record of the very immediate
where we’ve already been or what
present.
we’ve already done.

50. As mentioned earlier, the web
may initially seem overwhelming
because there is so much to
explore. But it can quickly become
underwhelming when you can’t ind
what you’re looking for. Curation
is the key to ixing this dilemma.
Services that are efectively curated
ensure our time used eiciently, so
that we can enjoy the web and be
more productive.
Examples of curated e-commerce
enable a brand to provide new niche
opportunities within a category.
Many startups have identiied these
and have developed substantial
businesses in the process for
example Zaarly.com for local
money and Fab.com for discounted
designer products; both these
services.
CURATION CULTURE

52. FOCUS ON THE EXPLORERS

53. In the traditional bell curve of
Innovative companies need to
adoption, the early adopters,
focus on the explorers – the ones
innovators and explorers are at the
who create the momentum at the
head, followed in the middle by the
early stages of business. These
vast majority, with the laggards and
individuals are more likely to become
luddites bringing up the rear.
evangelists, the ampliiers for your
services, brands and ideas. Give the
explorers love, because they love
you.

54. “WE WANT TO
TAKE THAT STUPID
LITTLE BOX WE
WERE FORCED INTO
AS ADVERTISERS,
BLOW IT UP, AND

55. CHANGE THE WAY
WE INTERACT WITH
THE CUSTOMER,
AND WE WANT IT
TO BE AROUND THE
EXPERIENCE.”
Jim Farley, the CMO of Ford

56. ENGAGEMENT NOT CLICK-THROUGH
We are now seeing much richer – not
Not surprisingly, these six new formats
simply larger – ad formats, which
also achieve much better results
provide deeper, more engaging
than previous ads. It’s something of
experiences. In fact, they even serve
a hallelujia moment for the display
the same purpose micro-sites use to,
business, thanks in large part to AOL
but don’t require the user ever to leave
(Portrait and Pushdown), Google/
the page the ad appears on.
Youtube (Masthead), Microsoft
(Filmstrip), Unicast & Mediamind
(Genex Slider) and Unicast (Sidekick).

59. There are multiple points of
social contact online: Facebook
and Linkedin proiles, Instagram
timelines, Flickr photos; YouTube
and Vimeo videos, Tweets and
Foursquare updates – your
digital footprint is complex and
SOCIAL
BRIDGE
unmistakable. And each part of it
serves a unique purpose.
So cross the social bridge. And
when you do, think of it as your
path across the web – a journey
that makes use of all your services,
and the design of which is yours
to control. Looking at it this way
makes it easier for you to inluence
the social graph, and decide what
information you share with others.

60. Encourage a remix culture – both
Ensure that your products will
in how you market your brand and
have a social life by giving all your
how consumers interact with it.
communications social features,
like ratings or reviews.
Harness the power and resources
of pre-existing communities.
Talk to the individual, but aim to
change the whole community by
Find your ideal audience – the true
being compelling and ambitious.
brand builders – by seeding and
connecting; seek out people with
Be transparent. Take down the
real inluence.
walls between producer and
consumer by allowing both to
create.
FINAL
THOUGHTS

62. “A LOT OF TIMES,
PEOPLE DON’T KNOW
WHAT THEY WANT

63. UNTIL YOU SHOW IT
TO THEM.”
STEVE JOBS

64. There are over 2B people
for creative companies both large
connected to the internet today, and
and small. He served as AOL’s
what they do online is changing our
European Head of Media and
lives – and our world – faster than
Marketing before taking on his
at any time in history. But how can
current mantle.
your business turn what appears
to be chaos and uncertainty into a
Engaging, witty and refreshingly
path to growth and proit?
candid, Shing provides both
historical perspective and current
You talk to a prophet, that’s how.
context as he lays out his vision of
the brave, new world of marketing
David Shing is AOL’s Digital
to come – one he believes will
Prophet. He spends most of his
belong to those willing to embrace
time watching the future take
change and take risks now, and
shape across the vast online
that he dearly hopes will suck a
landscape. The rest he spends
great deal less than it does at the
talking to people about where
moment.
things are headed, and how we can
get the most out of it.
The opportunities are incredible.
The rewards are real. And Shing’s
Shing has spent most of his adult
here to show you the way. That,
life in the digital world, working
after all, is what prophets do.

65. ABOUT
SHINGY

66. Disclaimer:
Thoughts and opinions within this book are
mine and not necessarily relective of my
employer.
Trademarks
Any of the trademarks, service marks,
collective marks, design rights or similar
rights that are mentioned, used or cited in
the articles of this book are the property of
their respective owners. Unless otherwise
stated David Shing is neither endorsed by
nor ailiated with any of the holders of any
such rights and as such David cannot grant
any rights to use any otherwise protected
materials. Your use of any such or similar
incorporeal property is at your own risk.

67. THANK
YOU
FOR
READING
MY
BOOK
I would love to stay in touch, so
let’s connect through the usual
social circles:
Shingy.com
About.me
Facebook
Instagram
Linkedin
Skype
Twitter

70. As consumers we’re entering a cleansing period
when the quality of influence trumps quantity and a
brand’s utility matters more than its ads. I have long
sounded the alarm that we’re headed to a reality of
showing, not telling; a place where if a brand is not
contributing and adding value, it’s just being annoying.
Let’s aim for “movements, not moments”.