Brands And Digital Culture: It Doesnt Have To Suck

Washington University Olin School Of Business Brands And Social Networks Marketing Seminar February 24th, 2011

Hello, Im Avin. Im 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.

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

A few things Ive learned: Its not easy. Or free. Or turnkey. Or an interns job. Or a reason to freak out. Or a task to push to a silo-d digital team.

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.

5 things to consider for your approach.

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 lm. Mobile lifestyles, not just mobile devices.

5 things to consider for your approach.

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 lm. Mobile lifestyles, not just mobile devices.

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5 things to consider for your approach.

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 lm. Mobile lifestyles, not just mobile devices.

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Weve been obsessing over platforms, rather than focusing on the underlying behaviors.
Pre 2005 2006 - 2007 2008 - Present 2011 - ?

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Its a natural reaction to technological disruption.

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Technology changes, but its still about people connecting and sharing with other people.

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Communications tools dont 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.

VS

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Reinventing a dusty brand in a low-interest category.

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What most people dont realize is they spent years testing out different ideas, and rening.

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

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

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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.

Over 3.5 million views in the rst week, and that doesnt even include millions more on broadcast tv

Source: AdAge February 2011

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Its 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- dont get caught in the technolust trap. Just because a platform exists, doesnt mean its 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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5 things to consider for your approach.

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 lm. Mobile lifestyles, not just mobile devices.

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Marketing, as marketers envision it.

Advertising Retail

Direct Marketing

Social Web The Brand

Promotions/ POS Digital Experience

Events

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Marketing, as people experience it.

My Needs

My Desires

Role For Brands That Bridge Intersecting Realities

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Things Real People Dont Say About Advertising

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Truth is, people dont really care whether your ideas are digital or traditional.

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Just make it useful, stupid!

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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Digital culture is no longer just geek culture.

Source: FastCompany Jan 2011 Feature

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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 nancial world (justiably so). Despite knowing a change was needed in their nances, 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 Strategy Goodby, Silverstein and Partners

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Implications.
Great ideas dont have clear distinctions between online and ofine elements. Aside from the geek contingent, simpler is almost always better. Focus on platforms that allow for fast iteration, renement, and relaunch.

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5 things to consider for your approach.

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 lm. Mobile lifestyles, not just mobile devices.

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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 isnt 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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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.

Source: Arnold + American Legacy Foundation Strategy Development Summer 2010

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Film was a crucial way to start a dialogue.

Product Innovation

Shards Of Glass Announcement

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Company Recall

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

Let people discuss the issue together

Provoke and incite action

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Content + entertainment resource

Implications.
Technology has liberated lm- identify the ideal role for your initiatives. Contrary to conventional wisdom, shorter is not always better. People dont care about production value and perfect editing- just get it made, and get it out.

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Lets take a breather. In summary:

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 lm. Mobile is more than just mobile.

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Overtime session.
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 lm. Mobile lifestyles, not just mobile devices.

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Problem: brands havent let go of an outdated model for how people make decisions.

Source: Forrester Technographics 2008

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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...

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...to enabling true cultural movements

Shared Language

Akeelah And The Bee

Range And Options

Habits Formation

Advertise Specials

Post-digital era brands can be complex too.

PRODUCT (RED) Partnership

Barista Culture

Better Coffee Mission

Ordering System

Used Grounds For Gardners Social Responsibility Fair Trade Coffee

Starbucks

Brand Experience

Sofas And Ambience

Africa Connection

Hearmusic Jazz Label

Cause Publicity In-Store

Music Cultural Connection In-Store Performance And Art

Hearmusic Cafes

Burn Your Own Compilation Album

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 nish). Small venues, limited total audience reach. A tanking economy squeezing even afuents disposable $.

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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.
We asked fans for their help:

If youre tweeting, use hashtag #rednights Tag your photos #rednights on Flickr Use #rednights and #red on Youtube DL the fan toolkit and spread the word

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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.
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 lm. Mobile lifestyles, not just mobile devices.

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Social and mobile are increasingly inseparable.

Source: JeSS3 Strategic Consultancy August 2010

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Culture is rapidly adopting the mobile web.

Source: Morgan Stanley State Of The Internet Nov 2010

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But marketers have responded by spending more on intrusive ads people dont want.

Source: Nielsen State Of Mobile Apps Sept 2010

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

Starting with the brand, instead of mobile behavior

1. 2.

Lumping mobile into one amorphous blob

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How can you best facilitate mobile decisions?

Incentive
Providing monetary value (coupons or promotions), or an exchange of brand currency (contests, prizes)

1.

Information
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, nd products, or accomplish a task.

Entertainment
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Utility

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Integration WITHIN mobile, not just OF mobile.

Games Utility

2.

Text Promos

Mobile Experience

Social Integration

Mobile Site Mobile Payment

Location Aware Incentives

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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. Dont underestimate their value.

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OK. Done for real this time. In summary:

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 lm. Mobile is more than just mobile.

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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?

Will you encourage experimentation? (you should) Will you embrace failure? (within acceptable limits) Will you refuse to use the phrase thats how its always been done? (yes, please) Will you push folks like me and demand constant innovation? (I can take it)

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If youre interested in staying connected...?

avin.narasimhan @gmail.com

facebook.com/ avin.narasimhan

@avin_narasimhan

linkedin.com/ avinnarasimhan

avin.posterous.com

avin_narasimhan

nahmisaran

avin_narasimhan

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