What all that beta talk means for brands

WHAT ALL THAT BETA
TALK MEANS FOR BRANDS

@andywhitlock
nowincolour.com

Saturday, 8 May 2010

IN SOFTWARE
BETA = NOT PERFECT YET


THE LABEL HELPED LIMIT EXPECTATIONS


WHILE GLITCHES WERE ADDRESSED

BETA TESTING: “REDUCING IMPACTS TO USERS
AND INCORPORATING USABILITY TESTING."
- WIKIPEDIA


BEFORE A NEW VERSION WAS RELEASED


THE WEB MADE THIS TWO-WAY CONVERSATION
MORE AND MORE FLUID AND REAL-TIME, UNTIL
THE NOTION OF BETA TESTING BECAME CONSTANT


“There's no final version.
Nothing is static.”

- Google System blog, 2007


BETA: NOT SO MUCH A BADGE TO WEAR
AS SOMETHING TO FEEL COMFORTABLE IN

TA
BE
BETA


THIS IS THE WAY OF THE WEB

EDIT PUBLISH

PUBLISH EDIT


AND WAS QUICKLY ‘RUSSELLED’
INTO THE WORLD OF BRANDING

“I think [Always in Beta is] a good way for brands to
think too, because it might help them develop some of
the habits they'll need to operate in a blurry,
unpredictable world.”

“They have to keep innovating in order to stay relevant
and interesting."
- Russell Davies, 2007


- Gareth Kay


FROM BIG LAUNCHES TO THE STEADY RELEASE


MAKE LOTS OF SMALL BETS

Elf Yourself was one of 20 games Office Max created in the
hope that one would stick.


EXPERIMENT WITH FORMATS

Use a musician to reveal the new England away kit - while away


LEAVE ROOM FOR YOUR AUDIENCE


EMBRACE MISTAKES

Turn problems into opportunities

stolen from Russell Davies

WE ALL ‘DIG’ THE OPENNESS AND HUMILITY OF
BEING ALWAYS IN BETA, BUT DOES THAT MEAN
EVERYTHING SHOULD REMAIN UNFINISHED?


A CHILD’S BIRTHDAY CAKE?


A SECURITY SYSTEM?


SOME THINGS SHOULD JUST WORK


IMPROV COMEDY: SOME LESSONS...


IMPROV COMEDY: SOME LESSONS

1. Open endings can be exciting
2. Audiences love to feel a part of things
3. But you can’t ask much of them
4. The pros are pros for a reason
5. Mortal-proof formats help to control things


HOW CAN BRANDS BEST COPE WHEN THE
ENVIRONMENT FOR THEIR IDEAS IS SO
COMPLEX AND HARD TO PREDICT?


HOW DO HUMANS MANAGE?


HOW DO HUMANS MANAGE?

OUR GENES BUILT A BRAIN!


EVOLUTION = SLOW
Fur for cold climates

BEHAVIOUR = FAST
Must dive left behind that rock


EVOLUTION = SLOW
Fur for cold climates

THIS IS HOW TRADITIONAL BRAND COMMUNICATIONS OPERATED.

WE BUILT FINITE THINGS AND PUT THEM IN FINITE PLACES.

THE ENVIRONMENT WAS SIMPLE AND PREDICTABLE, SO ALL
DECISIONS COULD BE MADE UP-FRONT AND WOULD STAY RELEVANT
UNTIL THE END OF A CAMPAIGN.


BUT THE MEDIA LANDSCAPE IS NOW COMPLEX AND UNPREDICTABLE.

NO AMOUNT OF UP-FRONT DECISIONS CAN FULLY SHAPE THE BEHAVIOUR
AND EXISTENCE OF AN IDEA ONCE IT’S OUT THERE.

MEMES - LIKE GENES - NEED A ‘BRAIN’ TO LOOK AFTER THEM ON THE
GROUND, BECAUSE BRANDS CAN’T EVOLVE THEIR IDEAS FAST ENOUGH.

BEHAVIOUR = FAST
Must dive left behind that rock


In A For Andromeda, the Andromedans transmitted scrambled instructions into
space. Humans - 200 light years away - deciphered and followed them. They led
to the building of a computer which then tried to destroy Earth.

Although the Andromedans had a basic plan, they only managed to affect things
from so far away by creating a machine capable of making its own behavioural
decisions to achieve that end.


Andromeda case study

CLIENT

Andromedans



CLIENT OBJECTIVE

Andromedans Destruction



CLIENT OBJECTIVE AUDIENCE

Andromedans Destruction Foreigners



THE BIG IDEA EXECUTION RESULTS

A killer computer Intriguing 6 billion
instructions participants

out
t work
Didn’


THIS WASN’T THE THIS WAS
BRAIN

A killer computer 6 billion
participants


THE TWO PARTIES WANTED DIFFERENT THINGS


TOTAL
Your ideas need to be in-built CONTROL
with instructions/advice to be
looked after by the hive brain.
SOME
That in-built intelligence is as CONTROL
important as the idea itself.

SOME
PERSUASION

COLLECTIVE
CONTROL


HOW DO YOU CREATE STRATEGIES THAT WILL
BE LOOKED AFTER BY THE HIVE BRAIN?

1. ALIGN YOUR GOAL WITH THE DESIRES OF YOUR AUDIENCE
2. CREATE ELASTIC FRAMEWORKS TO FLEX WITH CHANGING CONDITIONS
3. LEAVE ROOM FOR PEOPLE TO ADD THEIR OWN MEANING
4. CREATE IDEAS THAT LOSE MEANING IF YOUR BRAND/MESSAGE IS OMITTED
5. BUILD A CAPACITY FOR LEARNING
6. ENSURE PROCESSES ENABLE YOU TO REACT QUICKLY


1. ALIGN YOUR GOAL WITH THE
DESIRES OF YOUR AUDIENCE


2. CREATE ELASTIC FRAMEWORKS TO
FLEX WITH CHANGING CONDITIONS


3. LEAVE ROOM FOR PEOPLE TO ADD
THEIR OWN MEANING


4. CREATE IDEAS THAT LOSE MEANING IF
YOUR BRAND/MESSAGE IS OMITTED


5. BUILD A CAPACITY FOR LEARNING


6. ENSURE PROCESSES ENABLE YOU TO
REACT QUICKLY


CONCLUSION:
PLAN FOR ADAPTATION: CREATE
SMART, BREATHABLE FRAMEWORKS


What all that beta talk means for brands

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