Brands And Digital Culture: It Doesn't Have To Suck

Brands And Digital Culture:It Doesn’t Have To Suck

Washington University Olin School Of Business‘Brands And Social Networks’ Marketing SeminarFebruary 24th, 2011

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Hello, I’m Avin.

I’m an Account Planner.

Simply said,I try to serve as a guide for brand and agency teams, navigating an always changing landscape.

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I help make connections that enable people and brands to create stories together.

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Spanning causes, retail, automotive, CPG, and financial.

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A few things I’ve learned:

It’s not easy. Or free. Or turnkey. Or an intern’s job. Or a reason to freak out.Or a task to push to a silo-d ‘digital’ team.

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Source: David Armano, Logic And Emotion Dec 2010

My hope for todays discussion:

Provide some actionable lessons + ideas that you can implement for your brands.

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5 things to consider for your approach.

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Being a social brand is about more than media.

Complexity is a marketers best friend.

Stop worrying about ‘digital’ vs ‘traditional’.

Rethinking the role of film.

Mobile lifestyles, not just mobile devices.


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We’ve been obsessing over platforms, rather than focusing on the underlying behaviors.

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Pre 2005 2006 - 2007 2008 - Present 2011 - ?

It’s a natural reaction to technological disruption.

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Technology changes, but it’s still about people connecting and sharing with other people.

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“Communications tools don’t become socially interesting until they become technologically boring.”

- Clay Shirky, Author And Futurist

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A key difference: being a social brand, vs using social media.

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VS

Reinventing a dusty brand in a low-interest category.

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What most people don’t realize is they spent years testing out different ideas, and refining.

2007 2008 2008 2009

Strange yet intriguing main characters, perfect comedic timing, odd situational humor

Source: Bud Caddell “The Art Of Repetition And Recombinance” Aug 6th 2010

Then they found the perfect person. The man your man...well, you know the rest.

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http://www.youtube.com/oldspice%23p/c/484F058C3EAF7FA6/4/_-fLV28SkZ8

http://www.youtube.com/oldspice%23p/c/484F058C3EAF7FA6/4/_-fLV28SkZ8

An inherently social idea easily lent itself to transmedia storytelling.

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After that much media attention, and months passed, the idea still draws people in.

Source: AdAge February 2011

Over 3.5 million views in the first week, and that doesn’t even include millions more on broadcast tv

“It’s one of the reasons anyone buys anything; not just to own a product, but to become a part of the story.”

- Jay-Z, Decoded

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Implications.

Technology comes and goes- don’t get caught in the technolust trap.

Just because a platform exists, doesn’t mean it’s right for your brand/product/goals.

Never underestimate how much you can learn by listening to what people expect from you.

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Marketing, as marketers envision it.

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The Brand

Advertising

Direct Marketing

Promotions/POS

Digital Experience

Events

Social Web

Retail

Marketing, as people experience it.

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My Needs My Desires

Role For Brands That Bridge Intersecting Realities

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Things Real People Don’t Say About Advertising

Truth is, people don’t really care whether your ideas are digital or traditional.

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Just make it useful, stupid!

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By the Summer of 2010, over 35% of all USAA customer checks were processed via the banks mobile app.

Source: Netbanker and Banking.com July 2010

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Source: FastCompany Jan 2011 Feature

Digital culture is no longer just geek culture.

Strategy: force reappraisal of savings culture among young Americans.Challenges:

• Facing the worst economic recession in a generation.

• A culture already inclined to spend over save.

• Intense distrust and even hatred for the financial world (justifiably so).

• Despite knowing a change was needed in their finances, most were paralyzed with fear.

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Put savings into a familiar context.

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Rather than run ads talking about savings, it showed people the tangible rewards.

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“From saying things at people, to doing things with and for people.”

- Gareth Kay, Director Of Brand StrategyGoodby, Silverstein and Partners

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Implications.

Great ideas don’t have clear distinctions between ‘online’ and ‘offline’ elements.

Aside from the geek contingent, simpler is almost always better.

Focus on platforms that allow for fast iteration, refinement, and relaunch.

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6 out of 10 people now own a DVR (or other time-shifting device).

- Comcast Corporation Research August 2010

Source: MSNBC Today Show 8/17/2010

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And yet...

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Source: MediaPost Dec 2010

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Film itself isn’t in question, but when, where, and how it can be experienced has changed.

Source: Morgan Stanley State Of The Internet Nov 2010

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http://www.youtube.com/user/RearViewGirls%23p/u/1/xq0JcQ1dOwU

http://www.youtube.com/user/RearViewGirls%23p/u/1/xq0JcQ1dOwU

Strategy: get teens to take action by highlighting the disrespectful behavior of Big Tobacco.Challenges:

• Limited paid media budget + timeframe.

• Highly sensitive legal issues.

• Toxic cultural and political environment dominated mass media.

• Perception among teens that tobacco is a ‘lesser evil’.

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Source: Arnold + American Legacy Foundation Strategy Development Summer 2010

Film was a crucial way to start a dialogue.

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Shards Of Glass Announcement

Product Innovation

Company Recall

Deeper meaning came through robust activity across all Truth social platforms.

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Let people discuss the issue together Provoke and incite action Content + entertainment resource

Implications.

Technology has liberated film- identify the ideal role for your initiatives.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, shorter is not always better.

People don’t care about production value and perfect editing- just get it made, and get it out.

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Let’s take a breather. In summary:

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Mobile is more than just ‘mobile’.

Overtime session.

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Problem: brands haven’t let go of an outdated model for how people make decisions.

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Source: Forrester Technographics 2008

Constant technological shifts have enabled a more complex and non-linear process.

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Our digital world is full of depth and nuance.

From everyday distractions... ...to enabling true cultural movements

Post-digital era brands can be complex too.

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Brand Experience Sofas And

Ambience

Hearmusic Jazz Label

HearmusicCafes

Burn Your Own

Compilation Album

Africa Connection

MusicCultural

Connection

In-Store Performance

And Art

Social Responsibility

Used Grounds

For Gardners

Fair Trade Coffee

Cause Publicity In-Store

Barista Culture

Akeelah And The Bee

PRODUCT (RED)

Partnership

Better Coffee Mission

Ordering System

Range And Options

Habits Formation

AdvertiseSpecials

SharedLanguage

Starbucks

Source: John Grant, Brand Manifesto 2008

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Strategy: turn a concert series into a cultural pulse for (RED).Challenges:

• No paid media.

• Under $250K production (start to finish).

• Small venues, limited total audience reach.

• A tanking economy squeezing even affluents disposable $.

We created an in-depth, highly involved digital roadtrip for (RED) fans.

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Content creation came exclusively from fans on the ground- (RED) served as a curator.

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We asked fans for their help:

If you’re tweeting, use hashtag #rednights

Tag your photos #rednights on Flickr

Use #rednights and #red on Youtube

DL the fan toolkit and spread the word

Implications.

Brands are far more interesting when they are multi-dimensional. Embrace your personality.

People are not stupid. Give them credit.

No one outside of the marketing department worries about ‘multiple messages’ or ‘brand schizophrenia’.

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Overtime session.

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‘Social’ and ‘mobile’ are increasingly inseparable.

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Source: JeSS3 Strategic Consultancy August 2010

Culture is rapidly adopting the mobile web.

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Source: Morgan Stanley State Of The Internet Nov 2010

But marketers have responded by spending more on intrusive ads people don’t want.

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Source: Nielsen “State Of Mobile Apps” Sept 2010

At the core, there seem to be two key problems.

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1.2.

Starting with the brand, instead of mobile behavior

Lumping mobile into one amorphous blob

How can you best facilitate mobile decisions?

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1. Incentive Information

UtilityEntertainment

Providing monetary value (coupons or promotions), or an exchange of brand

currency (contests, prizes)

Educating, providing brand, product or service

news,or answering questions and commentary.

Curating or developing content, ideas and platforms

for entertainment & involvement beyond brand

messaging.

Giving people a mechanism to make a

decision, find products, or accomplish a task.

Integration WITHIN mobile, not just OF mobile.

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2. Mobile Experience

Games

Text Promos

Mobile Site

Mobile Payment

Location Aware

Incentives

Social Integration

Utility

Implications.

Mobile behavior requires looking to new sources for inspiration. Get out of the marketing bubble.

Get granular with ideas- plan for the tactical as well as the strategic.

Fast, simple, and clean UX are paramount. Don’t underestimate their value.

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OK. Done for real this time. In summary:

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Mobile is more than just ‘mobile’.

Depending on how you look at it, these are incredibly fun or incredibly scary times.

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What kind of organizational cultural will you shape and develop?

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• Will you encourage experimentation? (you should)

• Will you embrace failure? (within acceptable limits)

• Will you refuse to use the phrase ‘that’s how it’s always been done’? (yes, please)

• Will you push folks like me and demand constant innovation? (I can take it)

If you’re interested in staying connected...?

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[email protected]

facebook.com/avin.narasimhan

@avin_narasimhanlinkedin.com/

avinnarasimhan

avin_narasimhanavin.posterous.com nahmisaran avin_narasimhan

mailto:[email protected]




Brands And Digital Culture: It Doesn't Have To Suck

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Transcript of Brands And Digital Culture: It Doesn't Have To Suck