This is the time of year when many of us reflect on the past 12 months. What did we accomplish? Where did we fall short? What should our priorities be in the coming year? For those of us in the agency world we often look at the past year under a few different lenses. We’ve got clients that we serve and we reflect on those efforts. Many of us manage teams and we review our team performances. In my case, I also help to lead our innovation lab - BHiveLab.
For those of you who practice digital marketing (I’ve loosely defined to include the digital aspects of Paid, Earned, Owned and Shared media) we also often look through a couple of other lenses. How innovative were we? Did we drive results for our clients, and for ourselves? Did we miss any emerging trends that we should be aware of? The fact is that it’s easy to fall prey to the need to look smart by implementing the latest and greatest in digital technologies — whether for your clients, or even for your own agency brand. When I look back at 2011 we did a lot of cool “stuff”. We launched a LoSoPhoMo based app called TailgateChamp that landed in the pages of the New York Times. We explored the merits of Kinect and Visual Search for several of our clients, and helped to expand the business of one in particular. And we even experimented with new ways of ideation that go well beyond traditional brainstorming techniques.
But doing a lot of “stuff” isn’t enough these days. Certainly experimenting with emerging technologies is important — if we’re not keeping ahead of our clients so that we can provide sound advice, then who CAN they rely on. But driving business results is key. And that takes focus — a methodical approach that ties everything that we do to business objectives.
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President Obama’s latest proposal to fix healthcare demands that every American carries health insurance. The legislation is controversial. It will soon be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, debated by talking heads, and contested on couches and in coffee shops across the land as the 2012 election unfolds.
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Imagine having Bob Dylan as your brand’s spokesman. For cents on the dollar.
Display advertising on the mobile web–or in-app mobile advertising–provides some of the richest opportunities for marketers to connect with consumers.
Here’s a mobile ad that converted me recently. And here’s why it worked:
1. Personalized to me based on a recent mobile search
2. Location-aware with a map to help me connect when I’m on-the-go
3. Strong call to action with the option to call (without expanding the ad)
4. Creative content connection thru Pandora internet radio (to which I’m addicted)
5. User review star rating authenticates quality via UGC/third party
This ad caught my attention initially because I was intrigued by a Dylan song I hadn’t heard before, on a station that was curated by a friend (bonus social connection~!).
This plumbing supply store gets two thumbs up for smarter, faster mobile advertising.
Regardless of the medium, content will always rule. We’ve heard that in some form or another a lot over the years and it still holds true. My kids are still of the age where I read to them almost nightly. I’ve read lots of new (to me) books and some of them are good. But what I really get a kick out of is reading things I remember from my own childhood. I love it because it brings back a rush of memories and sometimes emotion. It’s just fun to see my own kids really dig something that I remember and love from decades ago. It’s not the wrapper or cover that it comes in, it’s the story, the pictures, the content that is special.
With the emergence of new technology and our focus on new uses and applications, I still find that the things that provide me the best, most interesting content are what I gravitate to. I have a bunch of apps that provide utility and those are great and useful things. Some are just tools, but some provide great and useful content, it just so happens that it’s served up on my phone, not in a book or on a web site. Presentation is important and making the content viewable and useful is paramount to the success of just about anything. However, beautifully designed or crafted things (TV spots, web sites, emails you name it) that are void of substantive and meaningful content, content that tells a story or connects in some, way just don’t last. We watched the original Star Wars trilogy recently in our house and that has really stood the test of time. Some of the special effects are dated (although still holding their own) but the story is just solid. The kids had no idea that the first movie is now 34 years old, they didn’t care. They were entranced by the characters, the story and the idea of it.
In advertising we talk of telling stories and content strategies. We talk about “breaking through” and having staying power. All of those things are true but the root of how to achieve those things is content. It can be a video, a game, an app for your phone or an article, blog post or Tweet, the form is far less important than the content. Sometimes the form is part of the story – or at least adds to it and that’s great too. That’s where innovation really comes in. A few of us were reviewing some old design documents and came across a series of template designs for a client from 12 years ago. We chuckled at the design some and pretty much laughed at the names we gave the templates, but you know what, that product, that program was a huge success and the content was the reason. The designs were fine at the time and the blending of how the content was displayed was more than serviceable, but we sold that thing like hotcakes. I recall that the feedback was because of the usefulness of what was there. It was simple, easy to use but the content carried the day.
Keep working and pushing the user experience. Make it work for the consumer. That is incredibly important. But also make sure that the content is given its due as well. Take time to think through what you want to say, how you want to say and what you want people to do, feel or say after consuming it. Technology is the conduit but the content is what connects.
Working in healthcare can feel less than sexy at times. When it comes to digital, CPG brands get to have all the fun. Old Spice and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese are lighting up the social and viral highways, while healthcare brands (more often than not) stick to their professional, authoritative knitting. The fact is, there is more than one way to be successful in social media, and it all starts with establishing key objectives.
Making Boring Sexy: Social Media and Healthcare
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Ok, so you have a great creative idea that uses digital to deliver your brand message and maybe meet a business objective or two. But once people begin to interact with your brand, whether it is on your web site, through Facebook or in mobile, how can you keep them interested, and make them hungry for more? What is the secret sauce that, when added to your digital marketing tools, will satisfy the appetite of your consumers?
The secret sauce is the user experience
The user experience is what brings the idea to life and compels people to interact with it. The UX is what makes it possible for people to engage with the idea, and what will either help keep them involved or, if done poorly, will drive them away as fast as they can click or tap. Without a great user experience, the idea is dead in the water. And on the screen.
Yes, we’re all about tasty creative ideas. And we know that our brand and campaign messages are essential – success depends on our audience absorbing those messages and being persuaded. But without successful experience design, none of that will happen. No one will see the brilliance of your idea through the frustration of dealing with a poorly constructed interface. And your message won’t be very good at persuading anyone if it’s muddled in confusing or complicated information architecture. It’s the user experience that delivers the idea and the message just as much as the words and images that you choose.
To stick with our food motif: The idea is the name of the dish. But the recipe – how you put things together, how things are measured and how the dish is served – is the user experience.
And so here it is:
The recipe for great interactive work
To craft a strong, interactive digital tool for your brand, you need the following recipe: take your business objective and add to it one part creative idea, plenty of valued content (the more the better), combine with a healthy dose of human behavior and psychology – don’t forget the usability! – and stir it with the right technology. Forget an ingredient here and you’re entrée will taste anywhere from bland to downright bitter.
A few years ago, psychologist Aric Sigman went out on a limb when he stated that the use of Facebook could lead to increased health problems. His theory was that the increased isolationism created by digital media could affect the immune system, possibly leading to heart disease, stroke and even cancer. What he didn’t take into account was the fact that many people are using Facebook as a cathartic outlet to help alleviate their own stress as sufferers or friends and family of sufferers.
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Join Brunner’s Shaun Quigley for Brunner’s latest webinar, “Realign your Digital Strategy” webinar.
A website overhaul can be expensive and time-consuming. Throw in all the factors like the convergence of mobile with social media, and you’ve got yourself a full-scale strategic initiative. Shaun will discuss the latest trends with website design and development as well as cover how to develop and optimize content strategy, take a deep strategic approach to planning, and align your social media properties.
Boxing promoters get paid big bucks for a reason–and it’s not to manage the bout. It’s to get people to the main event.
Most websites get lousy traffic because all the effort is put into the site and people forget about promotion. And if there is promotion–it’s typically a few wildly-thrown punches that never land, with no sustained strategy beyond that. Draw your own crowd with these website promotion best practices:
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Each weekend in August, I cross the Chesapeake from Washington, D.C. to Delaware’s beaches. And on the Sunday return, usually hit up a farm stand to gather produce for Sunday dinner.
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