Ideas for a Smarter, Faster World

Jun

5 Questions on…..Brand, Content & the Future of the Agency

by Ken Johns, SVP, Digital Strategy Practice Leader

5 Questions is a podcast series dedicated to exploring a range of topics with professionals from all walks - boiled down to (you guessed it) 5 Questions. The hope is to share points of view on different topics with experts from many different industries.

To get started, we’re going to keep it close to home. The first installment of 5 Questions features Shaun Quigley, VP Digital Practice Leader for Brunner speaking to brands, content and what the future might hold for advertising agencies.

Listen to Shaun’s take below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

May

Creative, Customer Service, General

Why BHiveLab is “All In” on the Internet of Things

by Shaun Quigley, VP, Digital Practice Director

Simply put, the Internet of Things (IoT) connects physical things to a network. It’s the fusion of the digital and physical worlds.

Soon, consumers will want everyday objects connected to support their hyper-connected lifestyle. That’s why so many manufacturers are inventing ways to add value to physical products by connecting them to the web.

There’s evidence of rapid adoption all around us. Nike’s Fuel Band proves that consumers are ready for it. As is interest in wearable media like Google Glass. In addition, tech giants like Cisco and Salesforce have put their best and brightest talent on IoT. And nearly every buzzworthy digital marketing campaign of the past year featured a “physical to digital” connection.

Internet of Things represents a third significant shift in the digital landscape for which marketers MUST prepare. First everything was social. Today it’s all going mobile. And soon, everything will be connected.

Some examples that are coming soon: cars that talk directly to drive-thru restaurants. Smartphones that tell you the best time and place to take a photo. And retail racks that alert you when you’re near “your color.”

Brands can enable this hyper-connectedness as a way to make stronger, more memorable connections with consumers. More importantly, the data associated with these connections will create significant value for marketers.

That’s why BHiveLab, Brunner’s innovation incubator, has gone “all in” and launched Objctify, an IoT beta program for developers and creative technologists. It’s one of the first scalable IoT developer platforms that lets you connect physical stuff to the web.

Apr

Creative, General, Ideas

The Rest of Ad Age Digital: Ideas Win, Regardless of the Platform

by Ken Johns, SVP, Digital Strategy Practice Leader

ad-age-digital-conference-20131 The theme of day two had much to do with video: TV in the past, now and the future, and how the new and evolving platforms are breaking the norms. We even had a star sighting with Eva Longoria on stage to talk about her upcoming venture on Hulu. With all of the trends, information and speculating about the future, the big takeaway for me was that Ideas win. That’s it.

Robert Wong, CCO of Google Creative Lab, shared some of the most interesting and dynamic work of the conference. It was powerful, engaging, smart, and it told stories. In the end everything he shared, from product innovation to ads, came from good ideas. What I found most interesting is where the ideas came from. Unconventional ways of going about the thinking seems to lead to these really great ideas. For Google, one example was to come up with the commercial before the product – as with Google Glass. As the team was searching for what this “thing” could be and do, they decided to put their efforts into making a commercial, allowing them the freedom of thinking “what could this be?” with the focus of needing to produce a spot. The product idea got better because of the approach to thinking about it. Smart.

We heard about Blackberry’s evolution (yes they are still around and apparently are the number one mobile device in many developing countries), the Redbox/Verizon partnership and the intriguing places in which technology can go – immediately followed by Sharon Peyer of HITBLISS telling us that that concept is dead! (HITBLISS is an interesting subscription concept where you get rewarded for watching ads that you choose. There’s an entire post waiting to be written on the implications of that.) All very fascinating stuff that started with ideas that challenge convention.

My biggest observation about the room (other than the number of leather pants present) was that the questions in the room did not always match or connect with the comments in the Twitter feed. (To read the feed, check out #aadigital.) With so many topics about or related to video, the questions asked via microphone largely took on an old-school feel of “how will that work?” or “is that true?” while the twitterverse seemed to be largely embracing the new and smart or challenging the old and slow. I found the dichotomy between the two narratives interesting.

A few nuggets from day two:

· Blackberry contends that it’s not a challenger brand in all markets and that the new Blackberry 10 has some cool and interesting features – question is whether it’s too little, too late.

· Redbox delivers more than 1.5 billion impressions monthly.

· TV is moving to its “third act” from its launch (1940-1990) to its evolution (1990-2011) to its revolution with a soon-to-be dramatic breakup of the traditional delivery model.

· YUME’s eye test of TV viewership shows that the number one distraction for the viewer during viewership is the mobile device.

· Today, 32% of the US is viewing content online via their TV.

· Citibank’s Vanessa Colella says that the “mountain of data” we face makes people feel like they should know everything before they start, which in turn causes people to hesitate or take no action at all.

· She also said that with all things digital you should start small and have a stage-gate approach to review and learning.

· Aereo is another cool platform – the idea of it is something to be mindful of.

All in all a great few days of sharing, discussing and learning. To see much more and an in-depth summary, check out Ad Age Digital.

Apr

General

Ad Age Digital, Day One: Cory, Sushi and Andy Cohen

by Ken Johns, SVP, Digital Strategy Practice Leader

ad-age-digital-conference-2013 You could not start any stronger than by having Mayor Cory Booker (@corybooker) speak as Ad Age Digital got underway this morning. I came here looking for some interesting facts and new information hoping to get a motivational boost. What I got in the first hour was not at all what I expected. It went well beyond career and industry motivation. What Mayor Booker shared and the way he shared it was a poignant approach to how technology can harness passion and be THE driver of change. Change in community, change in lives and change in government and how it governs. He was emphatic in his belief that technology can actually help make real democracy come true. “Government needs to keep pace with community and innovation” the mayor said. He continued to explain that America works on feedback loops and democracy is not a spectator sport. His vision for #waywire is just that: the beginning of the merging of community and government through technology. I’m sure he is going places, so watch out.

There were some interesting bites from Starbucks, Whole Foods and MasterCard but the theme throughout them all was content and specifically video content. Each had an example of video content that they created or urged consumers to create so that their brand experience could be shared. That sharing then becomes part of the “video brand story” which really became the call to arms in many presentations and discussions.

One of my favorite thoughts came from Alexandra Wheeler of Starbucks who said they “deputized idea partners” within their company. They outlined criteria for what the deputies needed to know in order to participate (for example, get into the data, watch video, visit a store etc.) and then expected the ideas to come. They did not say “ideas can come from anywhere” they actually expected it and lived it. It was not the responsibility of one group, but it was the responsibility of everyone who played. This then was expanded to include the consumer and came to life as My Starbucks Idea.

Then they had sushi for lunch.

The afternoon was met with some good content mixed with some sales pitches represented as presentations. Some were okay, others disappointing. Mark Mahaney from RBC Capital Markets shared his top 10 trends as part of the 2013 State of the Consumer Internet trend report. The most impactful thing there was the heavy influence of mobile. He drew a comparison of today’s mobile uptake with that of broadband in 2003-2004 – only it’s faster with mobile.

A few other notes from the afternoon:

· 13% of all online retail is done via mobile

· Same-day delivery for online ordering is on the way (watch for Amazon to be an early mover)

· IBM spends 2/3 less on TV and produces 10 times the video content today than they did in 2008

· We still spend $90 billion in TV advertising – but Eric Hippeau of Lerer Ventures says that has more to do with our being used to telling stories that way than it does because the eyeballs are there.

· According to Tobias Page of Aviary,380 billion photos were uploaded in 2012 (it will surpass 500 billion in 2013)

· Page also stated that you are more likely to survive a plane crash than click on a mobile banner ad.

· We need to be more harmonious and native with our mobile ideas

· 49% of consumers with a smartphone comparison shop while in a store (64% of them change where they buy based on the findings and 70% actually change what they buy)

The evening ended with the Viral Video Awards hosted by Bravo’s Andy Cohen, and thank goodness he was there. He totally carried a show that for some reason focused on the awards but not the videos. By only showing a teaser-like few seconds of each winner, what should have been the feature turned into not so much. What I did see of them and watch later was good stuff. Compelling, touching and at times very funny. You can see the list of winners here.

All in all a good day. Lots to think about and more to come tomorrow.

Apr

General, Social Media, mobile, strategy

First Mobile, then Mobile-First.

by Ken Johns, SVP, Digital Strategy Practice Leader

There will come a day when we don’t think of mobile first or mobile strategy. I equate it to the place where “digital strategy” and just “strategy” are headed today. Mobile will become part of the overall fabric with which you think and act every day as a marketer. We (the collective we) might not be there yet, but are we getting there fast enough and with a plan? Better stated, it’s coming, so what is your short and longer term plans?

Currently, mobile strategy is very much a separate silo, an add-on to overarching digital plans. Part of that is based on brand marketers’ comfort and familiarity with what “mobile” means or should mean to their brand. If you are not, or have not, begun to embrace what mobile means to your marketing, you will miss the learning and experience of it and in time you will be even further behind. You should be building on your experiences of today so that as the technology and use changes you are able to react accordingly based on YOUR experience. My colleague Rick Gardinier spoke to this in a post four years ago. So what have you done in the past four years to ready yourself and your brand for the next four?

Until such a time when it is natural for us to be thinking and acting with mobile as a normal course of the way we think, marketers need to concentrate on including mobile into our thinking. Make an effort and really work hard at including it into all plans/programs and ideas. It is not a natural thing to do – not yet anyway. The best way to do this, for now, is to include the word “mobile” in your everyday strategic questions or marketing challenge. Here are a few examples:

· What is our mobile marketing objective?

· What are the target audience’s mobile behaviors?

· What is the mobile insight as it relates to the larger marketing challenge?

· What is the mobile content strategy?

· What is the mobile call to action?

· What technology do we need to support our mobile plans?

If you haven’t already begun to ask yourself these questions you really should. And if you are not sure about where or how to get the answers to some of these questions, then now is the time to start thinking about what resources or information you need in order to do so. Many marketers are probably saying to themselves, “I’m just beginning to understand how social fits into my plans, now I have to be thinking about mobile social?” The answer is yes and then some. Now is the time to be moving on the mobile front and really beginning to understand what it is you need to have in place so you are ready for the future. Which, by the way, will be televised and viewable anywhere on a mobile device.

Feb

General

Social Media Crisis Communication: How to Contain an Online Meltdown

by kcasavale,

By: Kristen Casavale, Public Relations Assistant Account Executive

Applebee’s recent Facebook meltdown heard round the world is every social media content manager’s nightmare and it begs the question, is your brand prepared to handle a community crisis of this magnitude?

Most companies have some semblance of a corporate crisis management plan already in place and if they don’t, chances are they have a team of PR people ready to quickly put out any fires that may arise. However, in today’s day and age where information travels faster than you can log on to your Gmail account and social media never sleeps, it’s more important than ever to have a plan in place in the event of an online breakdown.

Here are some bare minimum rules that every brand should follow to help them deal with a crisis of this nature.

1. Make sure that everyone on your marketing and brand management team is well-versed in social media best practices and has a strong knowledge of your brand’s online persona. This will come in handy in a situation like Applebee’s where their social media manager spent most of the night trying to resolve the issue. It’s always good to have fresh eyes watching and responding to heated debates like those.

2. Have an internal plan in place on how to respond to negative social media posts of various degrees. You aren’t going to be able to plan for every possible catastrophe, but you can help to decrease collateral damage should something happen if you have a well thought out database of replies ready to go.

3. Decide on a pre-established team of social media crisis management first responders who will be in charge if the time comes. This team should include some variation of the following, a top level executive, a brand manager, a social media manager and a customer service representative. This group should be trained and pre-approved to execute the crisis plan from the get-go.

4. When posting a response, always remember to post your replies as a new status update. Do not respond to comments directly within the comments section. When you have a mass quantity of comments coming in, anything you write can easily be buried and never seen.

5. Do not delete comments unless they directly conflict with your page policy i.e. contains profanity or are some form of spam. Nothing feeds a fire faster on social media than censorship. If you feel yourself getting overwhelmed by the influx of comments you are better off walking away and coming back to it later than shutting it all down.

Those are just a few ways that you can help to be proactive against a social firestorm. There is no hard fast rule to fixing a problem of this nature, but the more prepared you are, the better chance you have of turning a bad situation into a good customer service case study.

Feb

Ideas, media

Want a Smarter Digital Plan in 2013? Change Your Habit Loop!

by Shaun Quigley, VP, Digital Practice Director

In The Power of Habit, New York Times writer Charles Duhigg reveals a fundamental truth: “When a habit emerges, the brain stops fully participating in decision making…so unless you fight a habit–unless you find new routines–the pattern will unfold automatically.”

Such is still the challenge for so many brands today with their digital marketing investment. Planning a year’s worth of media and creative follows a comfortable pattern of brief-to-boards (traditional TV, that is) in lieu of integrated planning across paid, owned, earned and shared media. All because of the ingrained habits of agencies and marketers alike–whose brains have shut down and fallen back on what’s familiar.

To be sure, old habits die hard. Whether it’s smoking cigarettes, or biting your nails, or visiting the freezer each night for a bowl of ice cream. Brand planning is no different. To change these habits, we must become more self-aware and understand the three phases of Duhigg’s habit loop:

Cue: the trigger that tells your brain to go on auto-pilot
Routine: the actions you take
Reward: the satisfaction that results after a routine is completed

the-habit-loop2 Apply this model to traditional brand planning, and you get something like this:

Cue: “Time to plan for 2013.”
Routine: Consumer Insight. Brief. TV Boards. Bolt on everything else.
Reward: Job security. Business as usual.

quigley_graphics_graphic11-1023x4951

This planning habit is the root cause of why so much digital marketing today is uninspired–and worse–fails to move the needle. Brands struggle to do better by their digital investment and still deliver on their financial goals under this routine.

To effect real change, marketers must form a new planning habit to replace the old one. They must demonstrate leadership and have the willpower to deliberately fight this habit. They must find a new routine before the same pattern unfolds again, and challenge their partners to work differently. For example:

Cue: “Time to plan for 2013.”
Routine: Consumer insight. Brief. Integrated planning. Integrated activation
Reward: A big idea that connects across the connected media landscape

quigley_graphics_graphic2-1023x5212

You have the power to change old habits! Resolve to start a new routine! Take your brief and bring your channel partners together to develop integrated programs that engage consumers across the connected media landscape.

Hurry, before the TV boards show up.

Originally published in iMediaConnection:
http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2012/10/11/want-a-smarter-digital-plan-in-2013-change-your-habit-loop/

Shaun Quigley is VP, Digital Practice Director for Brunner. Follow him @squigster.

Illustration style courtesy charlesduhigg.com

Oct

Creative, General, Usability, mobile

Is There Room for Creativity in Mobile?

by Rick Gardinier, Senior Vice President, Chief Digital Officer

When it comes to mobile, most of the leading mobile strategists and designers that I know put an emphasis on utility. This sentiment, in large part, is probably driven by the plethora of completely useless “throw away” apps that were prevalent shortly after the iPhone’s launch (did the world need another “beer pouring” app?). During that exuberant period, creative directors everywhere were proposing the next “gimmicky” app that would make a brand famous. Only to find out that without a significant promotional budget, most apps never got downloaded. And if by chance they did find their way into a user’s hands, they got used once — maybe.

So, most smart digital and mobile marketers ensured that the emphasis was placed on providing “useful” app experiences (anyone else having flashbacks to 1999?). UX began touting navigation best practices and iOS design guidelines. Brands started to create platforms that connected their consumers in deeper ways than ever before…Nike+ being one great example.

The trouble is, much of the new design work being done in the app space today looks the same as everything else that’s been done. For some elements like global navigation that makes perfectly good sense. I liken it to the evolution of e-commerce shopping carts. Once someone landed on a model that consumers liked, then why not replicate instead of reinventing the wheel and spending tens of thousands on usability testing.

Lately, while reviewing design concepts for a project we were working on, it struck me that once the various art directors applied brand standards, that many of the designs started to look the same. It prompted me to ask the question — Is there room for creativity in mobile?

(more…)

Sep

Creative, General, Ideas, Integration, strategy

RUN DMC and Content Flashback

by Ken Johns, SVP, Digital Strategy Practice Leader

As a marketer knowing what to focus on can be tough. It’s just Like That today. It’s like knowing when the old style is the new style. The guy that sits next to me rocks a different pair of Adidas just about every day. The old school shell-toes - he literally color-coordinates his Gazelles with his outfit. Reverend Run’s got nothing on him. Everyone knows that fashion is cyclical to some degree. Apparently, that’s not the only thing. adidas_run_dmc_shoe2

I save things. I’m not at the hoarder level, but I do hang on to things that interest me. Links to work, screen grabs of ads or images, videos, blog posts, etc. Recently I came across an email I had saved -the topics of the three feature stories?

Content
Search
Mobile

Now that may not be terribly surprising but perhaps the fact that the email was from 2008 might be. As I scanned the articles it became clear why I saved the email, it was good stuff. The importance of having compelling content was prevalent. It talked of content strategy, even though it wasn’t called that. The search piece had a familiar refrain to it as well; search should be part of the fundamentals, smart creative and have a call to action, pointing in the right place. Even the mobile struck a chord - albeit a different one than today - but still pretty on it.

So flash forward to today, that email (or those topics) are probably landing in your inbox daily. When you read whatever you read today it’s the same general topics. Maybe the details have changed a bit and we know more about the impact these three things can have independently or collectively (that was not at all referenced in any of the older articles). Here’s the question for marketers; what have you done, really done, to advance yourself or your brand(s) in these three areas over the past four years? We know more. We talk about it more. You read more about it. But do you truly have a content strategy, a search strategy, a mobile strategy - heck a mobile search strategy?

A couple of things you should do quickly:

Take stock of the content you already have. It might not be perfect, but see what you have and use it to tell your story.
Create content that has purpose for different mediums.
Look at your web site on a mobile device. Would you use it the way it is?
Search yourself. Check out your brand and don’t just drop off if you see yourself, explore, see where you go - navigate like your customers - dig in.

You may have heard all of this before - perhaps even dating back to 2008 - but if you are still having the same conversations or are confused about what to do, start simple and build to the bigger programs. There are lots of things that can be a distraction and you can make it complex quickly - but you don’t have to. Back to my colleague…I’ve now noticed all manner of people wearing the new/old Adidas. I see it everywhere. Apparently it’s back….maybe it never left. Knowing when things are back in fashion is a matter of timing but focusing on content, search and mobile is never out of style. It’s Tricky…..just ask the boys from Hollis Queens.

Jul

General

Social Commerce Starts with Mobile

by Diane Walter, Digital Strategist. Caped Avenger.

Social commerce is exploding. By 2015, Booz Allen predicts that social commerce will be a $30 billion industry worldwide.Defined by Altimeter as the use of social technologies to connect, listen, understand and engage to improve the shopping experience, social commerce isn’t really a new concept – people have been sharing brand experiences with friends, family and co-workers since time eternal. The effectiveness of social platforms for amplifying endorsement and censure is making brands stand up and take notice. While most brands have checked the basic social boxes (Facebook, Twitter and more recently Pinterest), it’s surprising to see how many are missing the main course: mobile.

Stop reading this article for a minute and pull up your brand’s website on your smartphone or tablet. How does it look? Are you serving up a simplified mobile interface that makes it easy to learn, transact, engage and share? Many huge brands lack even a basic mobile interface – and worse, it’s often tricky (or even impossible) to actually buy something online using a mobile device. It is mind-blowing to see how many major players are overlooking mobile – and consequently, alienating their most valuable consumers. The time for mobile is now.

The basics are never as alluring as being part of the next big thing. Many brands scramble to be where the cool kids are – today it’s Pinterest and Instagram, tomorrow, who knows? Every social network represents an ongoing incremental investment in content, engagement and reciprocity. If you’re driving people to a clunky website, what’s the point? Put the basic principles first.

Getting your mobile house in order isn’t difficult or all that costly. Scores of vendors offer simple solutions that are quick and affordable. Measured against the ongoing commitment that social media entails, setting up a mobile-friendly interface is an item you can check off from your to-do list and brag about on your performance review – once it’s done, it’s done (more or less). But it’s probably the most important thing you can do for your brand this year. Your mobile store will always be open. If you build it, there’s a much better chance that they’ll come, and come again.

Below is a list of steps that will position you for success in social commerce:

Mobilize first. Mobile has become the “first screen”. A recent study states that people look at their mobile device about 150 times per day. Today’s consumer is on-the-go and expects instantaneous access to information. Your branded website is your 24-hour storefront. A mobile-friendly website is the #1 essential asset for commerce-based brands to survive. Do it now.
Listen. Chances are that people are already talking about your brand online. Getting a feel for what’s being said is invaluable for shaping your social media strategy. Listening platforms like Radian6 and Sysomos allow brands to assess their competition, gauge sentiment, identify influences, and find “whitespace” areas that you can own.
Engage. Once brands understand what’s being said, they’re able to participate intelligently and strategically. Social commerce success requires a real commitment to participate in the conversation of the day. Unlike the era of traditional “talking at you” brand advertising, social commerce values “earned” endorsements and word of mouth. Brands no longer control the message, but they can, and should, be part of the conversation. The smartest brands provide a forum for reviews, discussion and feedback within their own branded properties, making it easier to shape the conversation and respond quickly.
Respond. 50% of brands simply ignore social media feedback. Ignore your customers, and they’ll return the favor. Respond to them, and you could win their lifelong support. Which would you rather choose?

Mobile is the first step to social commerce nirvana. Today is the day. Is your brand ready?

Ideas for a Smarter, Faster World

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