Fan Engagement: The Why and the How. When working across multiple digital platforms, especially with creative endeavors, branding is becoming increasingly important amid a sea of media.

1. sdfa
fan engagement strategy
July 8, 2013
Transmedia LA
www.suzymae.com
the why and the how

2. part one
the why

3. We have to plan for kipple.
Because entropy.
“Kipple is useless objects, like junk mail or match folders after
you use the last match or gum wrappers of yesterday’s
homeopape. When nobody’s around, kipple reproduces itself.
For instance, if you go to bed leaving any kipple around your
apartment, when you wake up the next morning there’s twice as
much of it. It always gets more and more.”
“Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” -Phillip K. Dick

4. Kipple is physics:
the arrow of time
Life only gets more complex.
Entropy, chaos, relationships, kids,
social media platforms...

5. the arrow of time: 1835

6. the arrow of time: 2013

7. the arrow of time: 3013?
Stargate Control, Jon Hrubesch
http://jonhrubesch.wix.com/art

8. Media will never stop
growing in complexity.
Moore’s law: Average
amount of information a
person shares doubles
every year.
emailemail email email email
match.com
tumblr
friendster myspace twitter
Facebook
linkedin
google+
snapchat
Youtube
chatrooms chatrooms friendster Facebook
monster.com
instagram
pinterest
grindr
myspace
flickr
foursquare
blogs
sms

9. “Three to ten years from now, people are going to be
sharing eight to 10 times as much stuff.”
Mark Zuckerberg in WIRED, May 2013

10. In a sea of media, familiar
is comforting.

11. In a sea of media, familiar
is comforting.

12. The future is brand.
The stronger our brand, our story, our identity, the more
attention we can command from our fans and viewership:
our tribe.
“The big trend we’re seeing now is sharing with smaller
groups.” -Mark Zuckerberg in WIRED, May 2013

13. We are evolving from
geographic tribes, to
psychographic tribes.

14. We are evolving from
geographic tribes, to
psychographic tribes.

15. You need a brand strategy
to engage your tribe.
Forty years of research has shown that creative performance gets
worse as group size increases—with the exception of online
brainstorming.
“Groups brainstorming electronically, when properly managed, not only do
it better than individuals, but the larger the group, the better it performs.”
-Marvin Dunnette, University of Minnesota, 1963
“The worldpool of information fathered by electric media-- movies, Telstar,
flight-- far surpasses any possible influence mom and dad can now bring to
bear.” -”The Medium is the Message,” Marshall McLuhan, 1967

16. part two
the how

17. FTW, know HTW.
“Strategy is, in fact, a coherent set of choices about
where-to-play (WTP) and how-to-win (HTW).”
-Roger Martin, Harvard Business Review
This is not telling you how to create your story. This is about
creating your brand. Your essence. Your secret sauce.

18. What is the goal and scope of our project?
What platforms will we use, and which tools of promotion?
How do we define success?
What capabilities must we have in place to win?
What management systems are required to support our choices?
Strategy and brand
development start here.

19. What is the goal and scope of our project?
What do you want to communicate?
What should fans be experiencing?
For how long is the project active?
What platforms will we use, and which tools of promotion?
What are the target fans’ platform preferences?
How do they interact? What are their sources of discovery?
Where-to-Play
Odyssey II with Clive Barker
http://odysseyproject.deviantart.com/

20. How-to-Win
How do we define success?
Engagement quota? Creative satisfaction? Financial reward?
What capabilities must we have in place to win?
What are the platforms and tools that will execute the creative idea?
Which content must be prepared vs. improvised? By who?
What management systems are required to support our choices?
How are fans expected to contribute?
What process will manage content and monitor fans?
Odyssey II with Clive Barker
http://odysseyproject.deviantart.com/

21. Can your brand be summed up in three to five words?
What emotions or themes relate to your story and intent?
Visually, what color, imagery, or design represents your brand?
Examine your competitors. How is your brand unique?
Brand Development

22. A positioning statement is your promise to your fans.
What are you offering them?
• Amusement/ entertainment
• Vicarious thrill/ fantasy
• Satire/ dystopia
• Melodrama/ tragedy
Create a positioning
statement.

23. To get your followers to
trust your brand,
you must consistently
deliver great content or
experiences that meet or beat
their expectations.
Shauna Haider,
www.nubbytwiglet.com

24. part three
fan engagement

25. The Pareto Principle: In most situations, 80% of the effects
come from 20% of the causes.
Most people want an escapist, lean-back content experience.
But engaged fans can be incredibly productive in online group
environments, when properly managed…
We are all digital
consumers, but not all
digital producers.

26. newsletters
blogs
:60+ videos
tweets
statuses
:15 videos
personal interaction
fan showcase
digital trinkets
events
contests
book/ dvd
short
long
tangibleintangible
adapted from Iconosphere’s 2013 “brand engagement matrix”

28. Fan Engagement Support
Content SchedulingInformation + Inspiration

29. Where-to-Play How-to-Win
Brand Strategy Support

30. Brand Development
platform analytics
fan feedback
competitive reviews
Brand Development Support

31. in summary

32. The more you ask, the more you must do.
Most people see entertainment as an escape, not an
engagement. Always respond to your “golden twenty.”
The fastest to adapt are the first to succeed.
It’s perfectly fine to optimize your behavior. It’s one of the ways
transmedia is so much more nimble than traditional media.
If it’s not working, try something new.
Try another tactic, a sponsored Tweet, or engage with a new
group of people.
If it’s working, keep doing it.
You’ll know it’s working because PEOPLE WILL SHARE.
Not everyone is like us.
Most people want to lean back. Curate your content to be
appealing, even if users don’t engage.

33. live, learn &
optimize

34. THANKS.
www.suzymae.com
@suzy_mae

35. “Brand Storytelling: No #@*&. Now What?” Iconosphere talk by Katie Elfering, Mike Garrison, &
Mandy Levenberg. May 2013.
https://iconoculture.com/iconosphere2013/
“Execution is Not Strategy,” Harvard Business Review, by Roger Martin. June 2013
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/06/memo_to_jc_penny_execution_is_not.html
“The Origin of the Universe and the Arrow of Time,” Ted talk by Sean Carroll. February 2010.
http://www.ted.com/talks/sean_carroll_on_the_arrow_of_time.html
“Surprising Secret to Tech Management,” Inc.com, by Geoffrey James. May 2012
http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/surprising-secret-to-time-management.html
“FACEBOOK,” by Steven Levy. April 2013
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2013/04/facebookqa/
Sleepless in Hollywood: The New Abnormal, by Lynda Obst
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking, by Susan Cain
Sources & recommended
reading