This has got to go down as a classic is my book! This girl has what it takes not only to get the point across but to have her own TV show. Hell I'd watch it!! Check it out it will make your day.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Every Status Has Its Symbol
Before we hit the ‘Big Bang!’ of the boom years egotist were conspicuous by their consumption of status brands. Everything from flash cars to cool cribs, bling and Cristal, American Express Black Cards and designer throw-aways were cool, hip and very much IYF (in-your-face). Elitist? Certainly. Class? Some may say so. But this IYF consumerism was not restricted to the Hip-Hop stars, the wealthy leisure class or the glam acts of the Red Carpet Kittens, it filtered into the aspirations and consumerism of Joe and Joan Public who bought more cars and bigger houses, doubled the size of their mortgages and wardrobes, partied hard and played the game of “Maxmy” (the art of maxing the plastic!) until, ….BANG!
Overnight, Billionaires became mere millionaires; private jets fell from the sky and luxury yachts disappeared faster than the Titanic. At this point having your photo appear in a magazine or newspaper was less likely to be about who you were going out with and more to do with who took you out! Some guy called ‘Ponsi’ seemed to be taking a lot of the previously super rich and famous out on a regular basis.
Joe and Joan Public got whacked like a mob hit. Shot and bleeding to death as assets became liabilities and credit became as illusive as the Tooth Fairy. The unsustainable practice of Ego Branding and its ever-increasing consumption in order to stay ahead of the Joneses through brand image purchases is being replaced by new ecosystem; the iBrand prosumers.
Just as greed was the nemesis of Conspicuous Consumption and Ego Branding, so the online and mobile social networks became the birth-mother of the iBrand prosumers, signalling a fundamental shift in the patterns of human behaviour. While some may disagree; big houses, flash cars and designer clothes, together with other traditional conspicuous means of distinguishing peoples’ identity are no longer the best tools for the job.
The growth of social networks and blogging indicates that for many under the age of 25, a considerable portion of their iBrand identity is shaped online through groups, friends, photos, causes, videos and shared opinions. Age may be a factor in what networks are used by older age groups, but the online activity of older people indicates that one of the fastest growing demographics on Facebook are people over the age of 35. Even Twitter is broadening its user demographic.
The shift from Conspicuous Consumption to the self-expression social capital of the iBrand prosumers is encouraging as it is redressing the balance of inner self-worth and identity as opposed to the outer shell of the hollow consumer superego.
Status symbol and iconic brands are now fair game for the networked liberated iBranders as rather than being dictated to by brands, the status of this new generation of ‘prosumers’ is established in dialogue, not all of it favourable.
As Thomas Jefferson put it:
“When the people fear their Government there is tyranny; when the Government fears the people, there is freedom.”
Conspicuous brand consumption is being replaced by conspicuous self-expression as the key driver of personal identity and currency where the emphasis is on the sharing of ideas, interests, and opinions rather than collecting materialistic stuff.
The internet and mobile phone platforms make it possible to instantly transfer concepts and conversations across geographies and cultures, and is spreading much faster than traditional brand communication ever did.
Millions of people in emerging economies already have links to social networks. The social capital this connectivity represents is a much higher percentage of their net worth than for those who live in more developed countries. No one can fully anticipate the impact this will have on our current understanding of brand interaction and consumerism habits although brands are beginning to take notice of iBranders and engage. For many brands this is uncharted territory and gaining ‘trust’ is the key to initiating contact and establishing a dialogue. Unlike traditional brand messaging, iBranders want the relationship to be built on their terms, not the brand’s.
A February 2009 survey by Cone found that 50% of Americans aged 18 to 24 said they have "higher expectations of companies to make and sell environmentally responsible products and services not just brand image.”
iBranders want authenticity, openness, commitment, disclosure information, participation and reward. This new mindset is just a click away and if brands want the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, their going to have to accept the rain first.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Futurescapes – The deviant culture of ‘what if?’
I have spent the last 30 years of my career looking at evolving and deviant cultures that have helped me create campaigns that differentiate client brands from their competitors and engage audiences in new and memorable brand experiences.
In this case the term ‘deviant’ can be substituted for ‘creative’, ‘tribal’ or ‘network’. They, and I include myself, are individuals or groups that actively work against the status quo and frequently disrupt it by re-shaping it into something new and tangible in an innovative way.
It is the culture of “What if?”
Deviancy is all about moving away from the road well travelled, about being different, it’s the art of looking sideways and the science of possibility that creates edge marketing. This is the reason I chose to move away from traditional media and explore mobile and digital technologies that provide a new conduit to engage and interact with the previously disenfranchised ‘consumer’. The only way for brands to survive into the future is by creating inclusive ‘dialogues’ that blur the line between the ‘them and us’ scenario (The brand and its audience) and focus on amplifying audience and brand participation around an experience where both are role players.
Tactile marketing, research with meaning
Identifying a ‘Deviant Culture’ or ‘Edge Dwellers’ isn’t the same as knowing them. Even online forms and questionnaires will not give marketers the kind of in-depth knowledge needed to connect with, or understand these groups and individuals or the trends they may be part of.
Traditional research such as focus groups and limited reach studies are really only data without consequence. It is out of date before it reaches the marketers. These reports offer little real insight into the ‘who’, ‘how’, ‘where’ and ‘why’ people see and use brands within the context of their daily life.
To effectively connect and engage people we need to take a much more ‘Tactile Marketing’ approach. The mobile phone makes people tactile. It captures what cannot be captured by studies on segmentation, demographics and profiling. Mobile captures people living out loud using tools such as cameras, video, text, IM, social networks, Bluetooth and mobisites.
Used to full effect, mobile tactile research gives real-time insight and knowledge to marketers about how to position their brands in the right place at the right time to the right people. The successful result will be that the audience permits the brand to participate in their lives.
Mobile tactile research is a ‘Dear Diary’ with pictures and video, it’s an emotional and visual map created or posted by people when they are externalising their lifestyle or a trend. These images and words are in the now but originate from an individual’s internal world. This information can tell us much about who they are, what they are thinking and also where they may be going. Tactile research is part observational, part open-ended conversation; it cuts through the clutter of what people think you want to hear and focuses on what they actually say and do. It can also expose social habits and trends that people are reluctant to discuss openly.
The business establishment tend to ignore tactile marketing research as it does not fit with their perception of relevance within the corporate system or accepted metrics of research. The fact is that tactile research challenges the general operating perspectives of commerce and production. The lesson here is that culture eats strategy for breakfast and marketers need to acknowledge that inference and assumption can be fatal.
Crisis or opportunity?
“When a great storm approaches some build walls, others build windmills.”
(Ancient Chinese saying)
Brand advertising and media has never been so exposed as they are today and going forward into the future. Some traditionalists may view this as a ‘new media’ bandwagon statement but that kind of thinking is why the industry is in such flux.
The definition and the principles of brand communication and advertising must fundamentally change as we are now in an age where only 14% of 16 to 28 year olds say they trust brands and 69% view advertising as irrelevant interruptions.
Many brand advertisers do not fully understand the mobile phone medium or indeed appreciate its primary function. The mobile phone and the technologies attached were not designed as a media platform but as a personal communication device so why would anybody want to scale down a banner Ad and call this communication? Agencies typically adapt what they know from existing media channels and move it on to mobile. The justification for this form of brand marketing point of view is based on the traditional advertising gambit of ‘eyeballs’ and CPM. This isn’t marketing, it’s brand suicide. In my book eyeballs are nowhere near as powerful as voice and brands that invade personal spaces will quickly find out to their detriment how viral mobile communication really can be.
Tactile mobile marketing is about asking permission, being relevant, useful and rewarding. Even as more consumers become prosumers, the ‘what’s in it for me?’ question remains as relevant now as it has ever been if not more so, although the type and definition of reward has evolved. Access to information and applications have become currencies and useful. Trial discounts and free offers if relevant can initiate conversation and social comment. “Free” will get you noticed but by itself, it’s not engagement, it’s what happens next that is crucial in building the relationship. Smart brands have chosen to act as facilitators, which means allowing people to speak, and as facilitators they know how to actively listen, how to create environments that stimulate productive conversations and interactions but most importantly they know how to add value to the group. This way brands can empower those influencers who are trusted and in so doing reach out to others.
Successful brands will address tactile mobile marketing and base their creative content, planning and media buying around niche seeding environments of interaction and conversation. Effectiveness metrics and ROI will change from eyeballs, click through and cost per thousand (CPM) to cultivating high value networks and tribes of fanatics to build the brand’s legacy.
In a world of opportunity and uncertainty the Futurescape awaits the tactile marketing navigators.
In this case the term ‘deviant’ can be substituted for ‘creative’, ‘tribal’ or ‘network’. They, and I include myself, are individuals or groups that actively work against the status quo and frequently disrupt it by re-shaping it into something new and tangible in an innovative way.
It is the culture of “What if?”
Deviancy is all about moving away from the road well travelled, about being different, it’s the art of looking sideways and the science of possibility that creates edge marketing. This is the reason I chose to move away from traditional media and explore mobile and digital technologies that provide a new conduit to engage and interact with the previously disenfranchised ‘consumer’. The only way for brands to survive into the future is by creating inclusive ‘dialogues’ that blur the line between the ‘them and us’ scenario (The brand and its audience) and focus on amplifying audience and brand participation around an experience where both are role players.
Tactile marketing, research with meaning
Identifying a ‘Deviant Culture’ or ‘Edge Dwellers’ isn’t the same as knowing them. Even online forms and questionnaires will not give marketers the kind of in-depth knowledge needed to connect with, or understand these groups and individuals or the trends they may be part of.
Traditional research such as focus groups and limited reach studies are really only data without consequence. It is out of date before it reaches the marketers. These reports offer little real insight into the ‘who’, ‘how’, ‘where’ and ‘why’ people see and use brands within the context of their daily life.
To effectively connect and engage people we need to take a much more ‘Tactile Marketing’ approach. The mobile phone makes people tactile. It captures what cannot be captured by studies on segmentation, demographics and profiling. Mobile captures people living out loud using tools such as cameras, video, text, IM, social networks, Bluetooth and mobisites.
Used to full effect, mobile tactile research gives real-time insight and knowledge to marketers about how to position their brands in the right place at the right time to the right people. The successful result will be that the audience permits the brand to participate in their lives.
Mobile tactile research is a ‘Dear Diary’ with pictures and video, it’s an emotional and visual map created or posted by people when they are externalising their lifestyle or a trend. These images and words are in the now but originate from an individual’s internal world. This information can tell us much about who they are, what they are thinking and also where they may be going. Tactile research is part observational, part open-ended conversation; it cuts through the clutter of what people think you want to hear and focuses on what they actually say and do. It can also expose social habits and trends that people are reluctant to discuss openly.
The business establishment tend to ignore tactile marketing research as it does not fit with their perception of relevance within the corporate system or accepted metrics of research. The fact is that tactile research challenges the general operating perspectives of commerce and production. The lesson here is that culture eats strategy for breakfast and marketers need to acknowledge that inference and assumption can be fatal.
Crisis or opportunity?
“When a great storm approaches some build walls, others build windmills.”
(Ancient Chinese saying)
Brand advertising and media has never been so exposed as they are today and going forward into the future. Some traditionalists may view this as a ‘new media’ bandwagon statement but that kind of thinking is why the industry is in such flux.
The definition and the principles of brand communication and advertising must fundamentally change as we are now in an age where only 14% of 16 to 28 year olds say they trust brands and 69% view advertising as irrelevant interruptions.
Many brand advertisers do not fully understand the mobile phone medium or indeed appreciate its primary function. The mobile phone and the technologies attached were not designed as a media platform but as a personal communication device so why would anybody want to scale down a banner Ad and call this communication? Agencies typically adapt what they know from existing media channels and move it on to mobile. The justification for this form of brand marketing point of view is based on the traditional advertising gambit of ‘eyeballs’ and CPM. This isn’t marketing, it’s brand suicide. In my book eyeballs are nowhere near as powerful as voice and brands that invade personal spaces will quickly find out to their detriment how viral mobile communication really can be.
Tactile mobile marketing is about asking permission, being relevant, useful and rewarding. Even as more consumers become prosumers, the ‘what’s in it for me?’ question remains as relevant now as it has ever been if not more so, although the type and definition of reward has evolved. Access to information and applications have become currencies and useful. Trial discounts and free offers if relevant can initiate conversation and social comment. “Free” will get you noticed but by itself, it’s not engagement, it’s what happens next that is crucial in building the relationship. Smart brands have chosen to act as facilitators, which means allowing people to speak, and as facilitators they know how to actively listen, how to create environments that stimulate productive conversations and interactions but most importantly they know how to add value to the group. This way brands can empower those influencers who are trusted and in so doing reach out to others.
Successful brands will address tactile mobile marketing and base their creative content, planning and media buying around niche seeding environments of interaction and conversation. Effectiveness metrics and ROI will change from eyeballs, click through and cost per thousand (CPM) to cultivating high value networks and tribes of fanatics to build the brand’s legacy.
In a world of opportunity and uncertainty the Futurescape awaits the tactile marketing navigators.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Is conservatism in media channels creating “Frienemies”?
The future of brands is as much about the creativity and relevance of the communication as it is about the uniqueness of the brand’s value to the customer. This may be glaringly obvious to agencies, and let’s not forget the customers’ view too.
There is much hype around the new digital and mobile communication platforms, however conservatism in media planning and investment into new media exists which may be due largely to the average profile of CEOs and senior management who tend to be more traditionally focused and less open or risk averse to commit any significant budget spend on digital and mobile technology platforms.
This is creating “frienemies” (friends or enemies) within the traditional Ad agency and new media world, the cause and effect of which does not benefit the industry, client or consumer. Mobile proximity marketing is still seen as a ‘bolt-on’ and a ‘nice to have’ instead of an integral part of the marketing mix. It is also viewed as a one-off or short activation project instead of a longer, more strategic brand engagement with the audience. And yet, this platform is one of the few that is able to close the loop by delivering in-depth consumer insight and brand interaction analytics.
But before anyone accuses me of trying to disenfranchise traditional media and evangelising new media let me make it very clear that I believe that digital and mobile communication does not exist in isolation; they are a part of a set of cooperative platforms that hold the marketing mix together.
The architecture of brand communication has not changed. It still requires the awareness of the brand message leading into the customer’s brand experience; that leads to a brand dialogue that nurtures a relationship that aims to create brand affinity or evangelism.
To create a cohesive ‘conversation ecosystem’ the brand narrative needs to be created by multiple media touch-points that are designed to introduce, engage and guide the audience through the consumer brand journey. To isolate one platform from another dilutes the value of the dialogue and can make the brand appear schizophrenic.
Integrating mobile and digital to the marketing mix changes the emphasis and creates action by driving behaviour that can be recognised, measured and tracked. This is an ‘outside-in’ approach that focuses on delivering a compelling, value added customer experience not merely emotion based introspection.
To interact with customers in today’s economic climate, brands need to be ‘useful’ and rewarding as well as relevant to the customer’s lifestyle. Communication content across the media platforms has to deliver an engaging storyline that is not weighted toward brand dictated consumption but in favour of consumer driven brand participation.
Location based or mobile proximity marketing is more about the ‘who’ and the ‘where’, not so much the ‘how many’. It’s ‘Getvertising’, which refers to mobile’s ability to create pull not push, invitation not interruption and two way dialogue not one way statements. This type of media platform creates lots of small fires called diffusion links, based on the ‘small world phenomenon’.
To explain; according to Malcolm Gladwell’s, “The Tipping Point” and Duncan J. Watts, “Six Degrees: The Science Of A Connected Age”, the diffusion network links of 100 people is estimated to have 4,950 possible links, whereas with a network of 1,000 people the possible links rises to 500,000. This is not surprising when one realises that on Facebook the average person has approximately 10 to 12 intimate contacts, 150 social contacts and between 500 and 1500 weak ties.
But why is all this important? It’s important when one considers that people trust other people more than they trust brand advertising. So when someone you know sends content to your mobile phone you will open it and chances are it will create a dialogue or action.
The fusing of the digital and physical worlds are the prime objectives of mobile communication. Online is an important point of contact for brands and their audiences, however it’s inaccessible in almost all situations where the brand is relevant. Mobile Proximity marketing bridges this divide by targeting the lifestyle of the audience and focusing on the activities that make the brand relevant and memorable and that add value to the experience.
In order to understand the new communication environment marketers need to re-evaluate the current linear models of distributing content and clearly define ‘how’ and ‘where’ people connect to brands and ‘why’. The mobile phone is not merely a new media channel, it’s a vital communication medium opportunity. This means value based marketing is less about one-dimensional brand messaging and more about participation and reward.
There are some progressive brands like Nike who understand the new brandscape. Mark Parker, CEO, Nike is quoted as saying:
"For every Nike employee, there are ten million consumers out there deciding whether or not the products and brands we offer really matter.”
“The Consumer Decides, is one of Nike's 11 maxims that really define who we are and how we compete as a company. Clearly, the power has shifted to consumers.”
Consumers are less willing to believe traditional advertising and marketers need to use the channels that consumers use to reach and engage them. Brands are our personal reflection of an experience influenced by our anticipation and participation of that moment. As Ajaz Ahmed, Founder of AKQA put it: “Marketing and product have converged. The consumer doesn’t separate the experience.”
There is much hype around the new digital and mobile communication platforms, however conservatism in media planning and investment into new media exists which may be due largely to the average profile of CEOs and senior management who tend to be more traditionally focused and less open or risk averse to commit any significant budget spend on digital and mobile technology platforms.
This is creating “frienemies” (friends or enemies) within the traditional Ad agency and new media world, the cause and effect of which does not benefit the industry, client or consumer. Mobile proximity marketing is still seen as a ‘bolt-on’ and a ‘nice to have’ instead of an integral part of the marketing mix. It is also viewed as a one-off or short activation project instead of a longer, more strategic brand engagement with the audience. And yet, this platform is one of the few that is able to close the loop by delivering in-depth consumer insight and brand interaction analytics.
But before anyone accuses me of trying to disenfranchise traditional media and evangelising new media let me make it very clear that I believe that digital and mobile communication does not exist in isolation; they are a part of a set of cooperative platforms that hold the marketing mix together.
The architecture of brand communication has not changed. It still requires the awareness of the brand message leading into the customer’s brand experience; that leads to a brand dialogue that nurtures a relationship that aims to create brand affinity or evangelism.
To create a cohesive ‘conversation ecosystem’ the brand narrative needs to be created by multiple media touch-points that are designed to introduce, engage and guide the audience through the consumer brand journey. To isolate one platform from another dilutes the value of the dialogue and can make the brand appear schizophrenic.
Integrating mobile and digital to the marketing mix changes the emphasis and creates action by driving behaviour that can be recognised, measured and tracked. This is an ‘outside-in’ approach that focuses on delivering a compelling, value added customer experience not merely emotion based introspection.
To interact with customers in today’s economic climate, brands need to be ‘useful’ and rewarding as well as relevant to the customer’s lifestyle. Communication content across the media platforms has to deliver an engaging storyline that is not weighted toward brand dictated consumption but in favour of consumer driven brand participation.
Location based or mobile proximity marketing is more about the ‘who’ and the ‘where’, not so much the ‘how many’. It’s ‘Getvertising’, which refers to mobile’s ability to create pull not push, invitation not interruption and two way dialogue not one way statements. This type of media platform creates lots of small fires called diffusion links, based on the ‘small world phenomenon’.
To explain; according to Malcolm Gladwell’s, “The Tipping Point” and Duncan J. Watts, “Six Degrees: The Science Of A Connected Age”, the diffusion network links of 100 people is estimated to have 4,950 possible links, whereas with a network of 1,000 people the possible links rises to 500,000. This is not surprising when one realises that on Facebook the average person has approximately 10 to 12 intimate contacts, 150 social contacts and between 500 and 1500 weak ties.
But why is all this important? It’s important when one considers that people trust other people more than they trust brand advertising. So when someone you know sends content to your mobile phone you will open it and chances are it will create a dialogue or action.
The fusing of the digital and physical worlds are the prime objectives of mobile communication. Online is an important point of contact for brands and their audiences, however it’s inaccessible in almost all situations where the brand is relevant. Mobile Proximity marketing bridges this divide by targeting the lifestyle of the audience and focusing on the activities that make the brand relevant and memorable and that add value to the experience.
In order to understand the new communication environment marketers need to re-evaluate the current linear models of distributing content and clearly define ‘how’ and ‘where’ people connect to brands and ‘why’. The mobile phone is not merely a new media channel, it’s a vital communication medium opportunity. This means value based marketing is less about one-dimensional brand messaging and more about participation and reward.
There are some progressive brands like Nike who understand the new brandscape. Mark Parker, CEO, Nike is quoted as saying:
"For every Nike employee, there are ten million consumers out there deciding whether or not the products and brands we offer really matter.”
“The Consumer Decides, is one of Nike's 11 maxims that really define who we are and how we compete as a company. Clearly, the power has shifted to consumers.”
Consumers are less willing to believe traditional advertising and marketers need to use the channels that consumers use to reach and engage them. Brands are our personal reflection of an experience influenced by our anticipation and participation of that moment. As Ajaz Ahmed, Founder of AKQA put it: “Marketing and product have converged. The consumer doesn’t separate the experience.”
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