Industrial Revolution 4.0: This revolution will be streamed

in ,

(Observations from the 45th World Economic Forum)

"The only thing constant in the universe is change."  

While this is a phrase most notably used in physics, I would argue that it just as accurately describes the reality of our business and marketing landscape. 

As we embark on what’s being considered the fourth industrial revolution, the prescription is clear: don’t just brace for change, embrace it. This shift is expected to bring so much change that even Professor Klaus Schwab (WEF Founder and Executive Chairman) stated in an article he wrote explaining the Fourth Industrial revolution, “business leaders and senior executives need to understand their changing environment, challenge the assumptions of their operating teams, and relentlessly and continuously innovate.”

Perhaps before we go into the Fourth Industrial Revolution and its implications on business and humanity as a whole, we should take a step back to look at the changes the previous industrial revolutions brought:

  • The first industrial revolution occurred around 1784 and used steam, water and mechanical production equipment to drastically improve and increase the use of machines for productivity and manufacturing.  
  • The second industrial revolution occurred around 1870 and used electricity to further increase mass production, resulting in the shift to a division of labor.
  • The third industrial revolution occurred around 1969 and integrated electronics and information technology (IT) to automate production.
  • The fourth industrial revolution is a further evolution of the third, which began at the transition of the new millennium and is characterized by the increasing fusion of our physical, digital and biological worlds.

And while some are scared of technology itself, especially the idea of fusing it directly into our daily lives and possibly even our biology, many people are more terrified of the change it represents.  

Humans vs Machines?

Erik Brynjolfsson (Director of the MIT Initiative for the Digital Economy) commented on this fear at the WEF, stating that “the biggest misconception I’ve heard here at Davos, and recently, is this idea that technology is going to come for all of our jobs and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

This fear is most evident in those whose industries have been affected by the disruptive nature of technology within their established business models. “Black Tuesday” earlier this week in Paris is a prime example. Taxi drivers blocked roads and set fires to protest the disruption to their industry by new entrants enabled by technology.

Of course, nobody likes to have their livelihood threatened, but the reality is that evolution is inevitable, and more importantly the advent of the fourth industrial revolution and digital technology will greatly enhance our lives overall at a societal level.  Sure, there will be growing pains, but ultimately the consumer will win in virtually every aspect, from saving money, thanks to more efficient supply chain management and production schedules, to enjoying highly-customized and more relevant user experiences across more products, services and devices.

Lean management taught us to remove the waste (muda) from our processes and organizations, and the digital synchronization of virtually every piece of machinery, from warehouse equipment to the refrigerator in your home, is allowing us to track, remove, and efficiently refine those aspects of waste that have been occurring in both our industries and personal lives.

The Human Touch

In addition to the technological and innovative side of the fourth industrial revolution and exponential technological advances, the WEF also focused on the human factor, most notably its impact on jobs, society and culture.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a speech in which he stated “we don’t want technology simply because it’s dazzling.  We want it, create it, and support it because it improves people’s lives.”

And to that effect, will the fourth industrial revolution be a net gain or loss to society and humanity in general?  That all lies in the eye of the beholder.  A forum report released at the meeting predicted that by 2020, 5 million jobs will be lost as a result of technological changes.

The driverless car seems to be an emerging technology that many of the biggest brains and brands have their attention focused on, but what will be the unintended consequences?

For we business leaders it seems to be an astounding leap forward, increased efficiency in our shipping times, reduced costs and less need for risk mitigation.  But what about the truck driver who is replaced by a driverless vehicle? Or do we look at the increased efficiency and growth potential as an opportunity to create different jobs, or more jobs in different arenas?

Again, evolution is inevitable. It’s what we do with it that really matters. 

A Marketer’s Dream

For marketers, the digital and informational impact of the fourth industrial revolution is limitless.  

Rather than the old world tactic of putting faith in small focus groups to accurately represent the sentiments of the larger population (which they never truly do based on the law of large numbers), technology is emerging that enables us to gather information directly from the consumers themselves. Want to know what each individual consumer truly wants, likes and, most importantly, purchases? That crystal ball is at our fingertips. 

But the other side of that same coin will be the ability for nearly every consumer to have a customized experience with their goods and services catered specifically to their needs and desires. This luxury once reserved for an elite few will be accessible to increasingly more individuals on the socioeconomic spectrum, and will likely be one day be available to all.

(R)evolution

In the end, we know that it’s poor business practice to stand in the way of progress.  There are countless business school case studies depicting the fall of once mighty blue-chip corporations who thought themselves too essential in their customers’ lives to need to innovate or evolve.  

Maybe they thought the “poorly-positioned” new entrant to their industry was nothing to worry about, or were simply too set in their ways to invest in innovative technologies or to rethink corporate culture philosophies. Whatever their motivation, they are the focus of case studies for this reason: refusing to adapt to evolving technologies and cultural shifts never ends well for a company.

If the 45th World Economic Forum taught me anything, it’s this: the fourth industrial revolution is here, and it’s our job as the business leaders now to increase our output of innovation and thought leadership for the betterment of our future.

What we choose to do with these newfound technological advances is up to us, but we all share the same responsibility: to use them wisely and make the best choices, not only for our bottom lines but also for the good of our fellow global citizens. After all, no revolution happens without the people.

 

Snapchat. Not just an app, a tipping point

in ,

Once regarded as simply a platform for teens to share content they would rather not have linger, Snapchat looks to have finally broken out of its adolescent confines to move from niche social network to mainstream platform. Older generations are now snapping away their day, too, making a real impact on Snapchat's growth. “While the service has grown 59 percent in the last year to 40.3 million US adult users (as of November), it has grown 69 percent among people age 25 to 34 according to ComScore. Nearly 27 percent of US adult web surfers this age are on it" (Wired).

Why did teens take to it so quickly while adults took baby steps? Personally, I think that this is due to the fleeting nature of the platform. Our generation is the archive generation. Pictures were something that required an investment of time, effort and money. Remember the ritual of dropping film rolls off at the drug store, and then waiting a few days to pick them up? And paying for them on top of that? I think that commitment to our content has translated to the digital world. We want to save everything, backup everything. But today’s generation? Pictures, videos and other content are created and consumed on demand. Like life moments, they are simply building blocks that make up their day. When my daughter makes brilliantly funny snaps, I ask her if she's OK with them disappearing after 24 hours from her Snapchat Stories. She just shrugs and says “I’ll make more.” 
 
While the thought of losing great content admittedly makes me twitch a little, this is the reality of the next generation of consumers. Content is dynamic; it is on-demand, real-time and completely integrated into their lives. It’s not “online” or “offline” anymore. The divisions are not that distinct. I think it’s time we call it “inline." Technology cannot be separated from the moments that constitute our lives. It is our lives. As marketers, this is the new reality we need to face. We can tap into our customers’ lives as a useful, albeit fleeting experience, or rest on the sidelines trying to divert their attention and archiving our decline.
 

Ad blocking: an opportunity to do better

in

I recently came upon a post regarding ad blocking, a subject that I have always thought should be shifting how we as marketers look at our role, not just in the marketing landscape, but in the larger scope of consumer culture. It was an interview with a young ad blocking consumer that delved beyond simply “I don’t want to see ads.”

I love the lesson there. Ad blocking is nothing new, and honestly, who can blame a single twenty-something-year-old for feeling resentful that they are forced to watch a 30-second ad about baby diapers when all they really want to do is sample a few seconds of comedy or music to see if they even want to commit to watching a few minutes of entertainment? Think about that for a second. Two minutes is considered a serious time commitment for the ravenous entertainment consumers that make up Gen Y and Gen Z. Is it any wonder that in their eyes a 30-second pre-roll ad stretches on for an eternity? This is the Twitter generation, after all.

Just to dimensionalize what we are up against, ad blocking has grown by 48% in 2015, and Adobe cited 198 million monthly users deploying ad-blocking software. This is a trend that is here to stay, and ad-blocking developers will continue to innovate to shut out the noise of advertising.

It’s not just the time commitment that consumers find upsetting; it’s the total disruption of their online experience by irrelevant ads. Rather than kick and scream or whine about these generations taking content for granted, I think we need to embrace the pressure they are putting on us as an industry to deliver better work. We need to rise to the occasion and deliver content that is relevant and entertaining, which is the goal of any good marketing technologist after all. It’s time to fully embrace the switch to native advertising.

What I love about native and programmatic advertising is that it demonstrates a brand’s compassion for its consumers. By developing quality content and delivering it to the right consumer at the right time in a way that enhances their experience, we will build a stronger, more human relationship with our consumer base.

Google is really leading the charge in this space. They tested their programmatic ads for native content and mobile video publishers with eBay, and like magic, they saw a 3.6X increase in ad engagement with some campaigns delivering click-through rates up to 5%. As Google continues to release native advertising tools, they project that over 52% of all non-search digital ad-spends will be programmatic transactions.

By coupling these tools with real-time data, we have a powerful opportunity to enhance the lives of our consumers so that, hopefully, the desire to block ads will diminish. The key, I think, will be to keep it human, to keep it integrated with what they are seeking, consuming and enjoying; otherwise, we’ll end up back where we started, with consumers feeling like they are being force-fed disingenuous messages by a bunch of automatons. Do we want to continue to be the “necessary evil,” or would we rather be the thing they click the share button on? Not that difficult a choice when you put it that way.

A few of my favorite CES things

in

Like me, I’m sure you’ve all been following the great innovations coming out of CES. I could talk about emerging tech for days, but I’d rather spend my time experiencing it on the show floor than writing about it, so I’ll limit myself to the three that have impressed me most so far.

First, I have to talk about the Kodak 8mm beta camera. I love this! It’s drenched in the kind of cool that only comes with nostalgic relics of a bygone era. As a film buff, I love seeing the push away from needing to shoot everything in increasingly crystal clear digital formats. There is a magical quality to the fuzz of film, and I can’t wait to see how the Kodak 8mm beta impacts young filmmakers and advertisers.

Next up, the Oculus Rift. I’ve been watching, waiting and hoping for years, and it’s finally paid off. I think everyone feels the same, seeing how the Oculus sold out in 15 minutes, even with the $599 pre-order price tag. VR is surely going to be the next quantum leap in customer experience marketing, and I am excited for what’s to come.

Last, but certainly not least, it looks like my dream car – the Tesla – has been usurped by the genius designers at Faraday Future. The FFZero1 looks like something straight out of science fiction films – like running the Batmobile through a Tron filter. But beyond its jaw-dropping good looks and monstrous 1,000 hp motor, this unrivaled super car is green friendly too. Who knows if we will ever see an FFZero1 on the road, but there’s no harm in hoping.

There you have it! If you’re at CES, let me know what’s grabbing your attention and imagination. You’ll find me tweeting about it all at @ramalytics

E-commerce: The Great Mall of China?

in

There’s nothing like starting a new year with a fresh perspective. For me, this came in the form of a trip to China over the holidays. While I fell in love with the sights, people and culture, one image from this experience lingers as the most impactful:

Those are e-commerce packages waiting to be delivered. If this was one random storefront, what would it look like if we scaled this by thousands? Is this pace indicative of the nation as a whole? Naturally, I did a little digging on the numbers behind e-commerce in China, and here is what I found.

I don’t think anyone would be surprised that China is an e-commerce titan; however, the degree of the nation’s dominance in this arena is staggering. In 2014, China had already hit US$458 billion, dwarfing the US total of US$297 billion. They've rapidly overtaken the U.S. and other developed nations, becoming the world's largest e-commerce market. Domestically, e-commerce is becoming a shaping force of China's economy, contributing 19.4% of China's GDP growth and 33.5% of China's retail growth (per Kantar Retail 7.28.15).
 
What’s driving this growth? One likely factor may be Chinese consumers’ devotion to mobile, and more recently, their increasing interest in mobile shopping. Alibaba reported that in Q1 of 2015, 83% of all active buyers were mobile buyers, ultimately contributing 51% of Alibaba's total GMV (per Kantar Retail 7.28.15).

And this is just the beginning. As companies are able to expand their distribution to rural areas, they will surely unlock a new level of growth. Companies like Taobao.com are already taking steps to set up rural service centers to handle orders and fulfillment.

Finally, as you know from everything I share on this blog, you never want to leave the human element out of the equation. Beyond the widespread adoption of mobile web browsing, it’s important to consider that e-commerce has been so widely embraced because it is also a natural fit for a savvy consumer base of natural bargain hunters who equally value pre-purchase research done online with in-store experiences.

When we step back and look at the Chinese e-commerce phenomenon as a whole, I am optimistic. Not only because this represents potential and opportunity on this side of the globe, but also because it exemplifies the perfect manifestation of technology enhancing, not replacing, real human dynamics. This is what being a marketing technologist is all about. 

How to hijack with purpose

in

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? 

We’re not here to debate the philosophy of reality per se, but this is a question I often ask myself as it relates to brands attempting to “hijack” cultural conversations. The answer I keep coming back to is no. Talking to a packed stadium about Chinese food when everyone’s there to watch a football game is the same as talking to an empty room. This simply doesn’t fly anymore. Gone are the days when brands could merely talk at consumers and call it a day. For your brand to successfully hijack the conversation in today’s environment, you must have a reason—one that feels genuine to your brand. 

In 2013 the London-based retailer Harvey Nichols set out to hijack the holidays—Christmas, specifically—with their campaign “Sorry, I Spent It on Myself.” They humorously advocated giving menial gifts for family and friends so people could spend more on extravagant things for themselves. By finding a way to break through and own selfishness at a particularly generous time of year, they hijacked Christmas in a brilliant way. Their big gift in return? A Grand Prix Lion.

Important as it is for brands to be self-aware and understand how they are perceived and how consumers want to interact with them, it’s equally important to stay culturally aware, to help inform when or when not to engage. Engaging without purpose looks random at best and desperate at worst. You become the fallen tree in a silent forest.

Chester’s purpose

Earier this fall, with the 2016 presidential election approaching, we couldn’t help but notice that the political landscape had become filled with loud candidates making promises in increasingly outlandish ways. The louder the candidate, the more attention they got, irrespective of their platforms. The political system was definitely ripe for some mischief—even a little disruption—to shake things up. Politics had become such a circus, that maybe even a cheetah could win an election. It just so happened that we had just the candidate… a mascot with a huge personality and an even better platform: change for snacks. 

“More pranks in politics.” That was the goal. And who better than our very own Chester Cheetah, to add some mischief into the political mix? 

Since every good politician needs a fitting launch point, we found the perfect opportunity for Chester to enter the political arena: the race for Mayor of Chester, Montana. 

We created a mock campaign that hit all the key areas of a real political campaign to parallel what was actually happening in the world. Chester took to Twitter during the month of October and filled his feed with hundreds of pieces of “Chester for Chester” content, live-Tweeted both the Democratic and Republican debates and even launched his own “Orange party” merchandise store, all with one intention: to win the hearts and stomachs of the people in a meaningful way.

In staying true to the process, we didn’t shy away from the dark side of politics either. We pulled in the real mayor of Chester, Montana, who was running unopposed for re-election and had a good sense of humor, right into a good old-fashioned attack ad battle. The result was plenty of healthy —and hilarious—competition. 

We even rallied folks in the actual town of Chester to become our political (and brand) supporters in the mock campaign.

At the end of the day, this faux political hijacking campaign was an exercise in letting go for everyone involved. A month-long real-time political program involves spontaneity and a relinquishing of control that would make most marketers crazy. Giving Chester a purpose outside of his most famous reason for being—working as a mascot for Cheetos—is a scary thing to do, but embracing this purpose in genuine Chester fashion was critical. There was no teetering on the fence, no dipping our toes in the pool. With hesitation comes confusion and usually an unclear story or reason. If we wanted to truly hijack the political conversation, we had to do it with purpose, shake things up and make a real splash—or crash, in the forest. 

Quotes I am thankful for

in

We all find energy in great inspiration. For me, that energy is just what I need when building out objectives for the coming year, or rising to the next big challenge. In the spirit of the holiday, I just wanted to share some of the advice and quotes that have meant the most to me in shaping my approach to business. 

“Always do what you are afraid to do.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
“To fight fear, act. To increase fear - wait, put off postpone.”
— David Joseph Schwartz

Habitually getting out of your comfort zone is incredibly important for consistent success. I encourage my team to always follow a 70:20:10 planning approach that consists of 70% tried and true, 20% proven innovation and 10% new territory. 

“Throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
— Mark Twain
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”
— Jack London

Take risks. Test yourself. Innovation is an overused word, but the fact remains that risk taking and new exploration are imperative for achieving it. When something fails, you learn from it, but when it works, expand!

“There are times when you have to face your enemies, sit down and deal with it.”
— Martin Scorsese

Compete. I believe business is about winners and losers. Be certain that those around you understand your relentless pursuit of greatness. 

“What you do is what matters, not what you think or say or plan.”
— Jason Fried, Rework
“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”
— Dale Carnegie
“An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Strategy is a commodity, execution is an art.”
— Peter F. Drucker

Execution and implementation within prescribed timelines is paramount to success. Don’t shortchange it. But also don’t iterate until hell freezes over – move on the idea and make it even better by simply executing it.

“I do not have much interest in best practices… What we really need is to ask what is the next practice, so that we can become the benchmark companies, benchmark institutions around the world.”
— CK Prahalad
“Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.”
— William B. Sprague

Speed is key to driving change – you must be faster than your customers and competitors. Don’t miss your moment, as fast actions done well are incredibly powerful. 

“If you are honest about helping others rather than showing how smart you are, things are very easy.”
— CK Prahalad

I believe wholeheartedly in giving back personally and professionally. Offer help to those who need a chance to succeed, and create opportunities for others along your path. What may be a small boost from you could create a world of difference for someone else.

Lessons from Ten Years of Crash The Super Bowl

in ,

Most of you have heard by now that we’ve decided this will be the final year for the Doritos® Crash the Super Bowl promotion (CTSB), marking the end of a decade of unprecedented industry recognition and success. For those unaware, CTSB provides consumers with the opportunity to create a Doritos® ad that might air during the Super Bowl, and is credited as being one of the first catalysts of the consumer-generated content phenomenon back in 2007. Like many marketing programs of significance, the story of CTSB -- from “almost didn’t happen” to celebrating its 10th anniversary -- is filled with interesting twists and turns, as well as valuable lessons that are worth sharing here.

Fight for Great Ideas

CTSB was created by our promotional agency, The Marketing Arm (TMA), and originally presented to the Doritos® brand team and PR executives in 2006. The initial reaction by the marketing leadership team was negative. They were primarily concerned that consumers would not be able to deliver creative that would be worthy of airing during the Super Bowl, by far the nation’s most important advertising platform. After considerable deliberation and debate, the brand team and TMA brought back the idea for consideration, and fortunately, it was approved.  

Don’t Play It Safe   
 
When Doritos® and TMA presented CTSB to the NFL for the first time, we learned that several other Super Bowl advertisers were planning to air consumer-generated ads. However, in each of these cases, the advertiser played it safe by limiting the role of the consumer and hedging their bets by having the ads filmed and produced by a traditional advertising agency. Doritos, on the other hand, gave its consumers complete control over creative and production. By handing over that trust to consumers to deliver outstanding ads, CTSB was widely recognized for transforming the marketing landscape. CTSB was the first program to truly empower consumers in a way that was authentic and meaningful.  

Stay True to Yourself

After the extraordinary success of the first CTSB program in 2007, which included a spot called “Live the Flavor” that finished 4th in the USA Today Ad Meter, the brand team decided to change the programming focus. In 2008, we asked consumers to create a music video instead of a commercial. While we are proud the music video that aired helped launch the music career of a very talented artist, it did not play as effectively as a brand advertisement aimed at generating brand equity.  Fortunately, Doritos also aired a consumer spot called “Mouse Trap,” created the previous year, that ranked 4th in the Ad Meter, which saved CTSB from extinction. This was the last time the brand would venture away from the core idea centered on consumer-generated commercials. 

These are just a few of the important lessons we’ve learned from this remarkable program, which has won every major industry award, generated over 32,000 ads for the brand from 31 countries, produced four #1 ads in the USA Today Ad Meter, and awarded more than $7 million to support aspiring filmmakers and passionate fans.    

Want better engagement? Take a chance

in

As a brand, if you truly want to connect with your fans, sometimes it helps to break the bonds of ‘traditional’ in advertising to truly reach them. Take our Doritos fans, for instance. Our core audience plays on the bleeding edge of mobile technology, and to get in front of them, we need to meet them on their level instead of expecting them to come to ours. 

Driving engagement for Doritos Roulette presented us with an interesting challenge. This represented one of the most unique product experiences ever: in each handful of nacho cheese chips, one was extremely spicy, despite looking identical to all others. 

The product was one-of-a-kind and too novel to promote via the usual means. It didn’t even feature any promotional messaging. The standard framework just wouldn’t work this time. We decided that Twitter was the only appropriate path for this launch scenario.

With that in mind, we created #DoritosRoulette, an online game which seamlessly addressed four objectives central to this product:

1) Authenticity: You take a chance every time you grab a Roulette chip; that same product experience had to come across in the program. Similarly, with #DoritosRoulette you could win or get burned with every turn.

2) Engagement: We created an interface where fans could choose their own prizes and tag their friends—the burn prize remained a secret until the tweet was sent. Here are some of the user interface designs, in case you missed it:

3) Awareness: Word of mouth is always your best friend. For Roulette, we leveraged this by letting players tag three friends, who could in turn tag three more and increase their chances. Pay it forward with boldness, fans pay it back with attention. 

4) Digital-Only: Daily drawings on Twitter engaged thousands of consumers and generated millions of impressions. One day, we brought live action to #DoritosRouletteLive with Periscope, giving fans the chance to ‘win or get burned’ by the roulette wheel in real time. 

#DoritosRoulette was the single most successful limited-time-only promotion Doritos has ever done. The graphic along the side provides a snapshot of the program and really illustrates how adapting to your consumer can instantaneously transform the face of a product. 

Re-Thinking Audience Targeting

in

We all know that serving up content to the right audience results in better engagement. Marketers have been doing this since the early days of Google and banner networks. And as social platforms get better at inferring our interests and matching them up with brand content, the consumer experience has the potential to become a lot more relevant -- a win-win for both sides of the marketing equation. After all, relevance means attention means action. 

While this represents a huge leap from simple demographic targeting that has been the staple of marketers since the first magazine rolled off the printing press, I think it’s time we also evolve our perspective to look beyond the audience and see this as an opportunity to target the actual content being served.

This is the insight we tapped into when we came up with an idea for Doritos that leveraged interests to not only reach the right audiences, but serve them the most compelling content. 

We know that emojis have quickly become an everyday part of the internet vernacular. So we got creative by combining emojis in the caption line of Facebook posts with autoplay videos under them. What did we get? Emoji heads with different animated bold bodies. Voila!….the BOLD emoji was born.  

I’m a huge fan of hacking, and I believe that a simple change in perspective can often lead to the best hacks. This example of using the same features and functions available to all brands, but doing so in a novel way is something that I think Facebook would agree is a great example of a creative “hack” of their existing platform. We created three of these to start and will serve them up to surfers, drummers, and shark enthusiasts. Check them out below. You can see how the possibilities are endless. Micro audience targeting? No, micro content targeting, my friends. 

Given that football season is around the corner and everyone knows – well, Facebook knows – I’m a Michigan fan, I’m hoping for a Wolverine emoji showing up in my feed soon.

Leading through an evolving consumer landscape

in

The environment in which we live and work today is neither simple nor static. It is patterned, but not predictable.  And while it is reassuring, simply managing the probable leaves us more vulnerable to being blindsided. Some problems do not lend themselves to rote methods, simple models, or sophisticated algorithms. However, when we treat them as different, complex, and uncertain, we can unlock solutions of immense creativity and power.

How do we as leaders make that a reality instead of an aspiration? I find that by exercising three simple habits of mind, we can consistently create an impact in the marketplace:

  • Hold opposing ideas without reconciling them. If it looks as though we’re confronting an either/or choice, we can reconsider our narrow framing and examine what we’re missing.
  • Don’t waste time arguing about the best solution; instead, pick several good solutions and experiment with them on a smaller scale. Data and technology enable this constant testing and learning.
  • Instead of hunting for the root cause, look to the edges of an issue for your experiments. The company's core is most resistant to change, but tinkering at the periphery can deliver outsized returns.

These are some of the ways I’ve consciously adjusted my thinking in order to more effectively adapt to our ever-changing marketing environment. I would love to know what habits of mind you’ve adopted to help navigate this change. 

 

Beyond Marketing

in

Just a thought to re-shift our perspective out of the marketing box for a moment…

I saw a powerful documentary short last weekend, Last Mile, that tells the remarkable story of a tech incubator operating behind the iron bars of San Quentin federal prison. Founded by venture capitalist Chris Redlitz, the incubator acts as a resource for inmates to stay current on rapidly advancing technology, learn business techniques, presentation skills, and in some cases even receive funding for their ideas. 

The United States currently incarcerates 1 in nearly 100 American adults. Research over the past two decades by stakeholders across various jurisdictions shows that there are better ways to protect our communities than mass incarceration. Yes, we will still need to be tough on crime, but in ways that emphasize personal responsibility, promote rehabilitation and treatment, and allow for the provision of victim restitution where applicable. I thought it was a powerful case of how the private sector and technology can come together to offer alternative and effective solutions to long-standing societal issues like prisoner re-habitation. When we think about return on investment, it’s important to sometimes think about what return really means. 

 

The Super Bowl livestream ad bundle. All in or wait-and-see?

in

I tweeted earlier in the week about the decision by CBS to livestream Super Bowl ads and how this represents the first time a network has required advertisers to purchase an online spot along with their broadcast spot since livestreaming of games became available in 2012. 

I believe that this is a step toward finally recognizing that TV time has evolved to becoming a shared experience with the smartphone and tablet, and that all networks and advertisers need to adapt to the multi-screen world that consumers live in. It is also clear that this bundling is a smart revenue tactic by CBS. As an advertiser who has been part of the last nine Super Bowls, I have mixed feelings about the bundling move and the fact that the advertiser can’t opt out. According to Variety, NBC’s online stream of this year’s game attracted 2.5 million unique viewers. While this number is large, when put into the context of the 112.2 million who tuned into the broadcast, this audience size was miniscule.

My question for CBS and other networks is if you believe in the multi-screen world the consumers have migrated to, then why not mandate and sell all your TV content bundled with online spots? As an advertiser I want to pay to reach the total audience across multiple devices on which the content is consumed. I realize that the Super Bowl bundle represents a symbolic leap toward this new paradigm for content, consumption and reach, but unless the networks can apply this consistently across everyday programming, I’m afraid it will remain simply that. In other words, you’ve got the ball - are you going to run with it?

Guest post: How good does it really have to be?

in

Incredibly privileged to have a guest writer on my blog. One of the legendary creatives whose landmark campaigns has defined the advertising world for decades: Mr. Jeff Goodby of Goodby, Silverstein and Partners. I thought it would be interesting for marketers to get Jeff’s perspective, as he has been a fixture at Cannes for many years, including being the President of the overall Cannes in 2002. 

Jeff Goodby's bio:

JEFF-GOODBY.jpg.jpg

Jeff grew up in Rhode Island and graduated from Harvard, where he wrote for the Harvard Lampoon. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Boston, and his illustrations have been published in TIME, Mother Jones and Harvard Magazine.

He began his advertising career at J. Walter Thompson and was lucky enough to meet the legendary Hal Riney, whom he still thinks of as his mentor, at Ogilvy & Mather. It was with Riney that Goodby learned his reverence for surprise, humor, craft and restraint.

He also met a guy named Rich Silverstein at Ogilvy & Mather. They founded GS&P in 1983. Since then, the two have won just about every advertising award imaginable.

Two commercials he directed were selected to be among the top 30 advertising films of the 1990s by The One Club. In 2006 he was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame.

Jeff lives in Oakland, California, with his family, a dog, a cat, a rabbit, three horses and probably some other things he doesn’t know about.

Jeff's Post:

One of the themes I heard about from several sources this week might be described as “the return of content.” 

It’s not like content has gone anywhere. There’s more of it now than at any time in history, and we’ve created a maw that will only demand greater shovels’ full.  

What people are talking about, I think, is a return to content of a higher quality per unit time. It’s a recognition that, in a now sped-up content war, it’s better to drop bigger and bigger, higher quality bombs during the moments we have with our audiences.  

This was a theme amidst the two most interesting conversations I had this week – with Nick Denton of Gawker, and Jonah Perretti of Buzzfeed. Both said, in effect, that there would be a greater and greater emphasis on the quality of content as the number of pipes we could push it through leveled off over time.  

Jonah cited the “Short Girl” phenomenon. “We ran a feature about short girl,” he said, “and it was such a hit that we had to keep putting out more and more content around the same theme. Eventually, it was ‘Adventures of Short Girl.’ People loved it. And then it was over.” 

It struck me that this was more or less like network television showrunning at light speed. The show was hatched, episodes ran, themes ran their course, all in a few days. The quality per episode hasn’t had to be all that high.  

Yet. 

How good does our content have to be, to do its job? So far, not all that great. But as time goes on, it will have to be better and better. Because, as Peter Mead quotes David Abbott in his terrific new book: “Crap at the speed of light is still crap.” 

A few questions arise. What is the role of agencies, going forward? Who will run this world? 

I think the winners will be anyone who rises above the hack level and starts to produce quality, lasting, really fast stuff. It’s like eye-blink Merchant Ivory. These new companies might be agencies, if they’re smart, but they might be more like a new kind of production company, built to have a particular sensitivity to marketers and advertisers. You could argue that content companies like CAA and smart clients like Nike and Frito-Lay are already in this business. But it will get so much more sophisticated over time.  

We are a long way from dedicating ourselves to great quality per unit time, however. Think about it. Will people excitedly enjoy reviews of the Internet content of our era?  Maybe in concept form – “Hey, remember cat videos?  Remember Bubble Boy?”  -- but not in specifics. There will be no amount of nostalgia that will make us revisit reality TV celebrity selfies in the same way we watch, for instance, old media like great Levi’s commercials. People will not fill the Grand Audi auditorium to watch presentations of “Remember when we hashtagged the shit out of that party?” 

Buried in here of course are deeper questions about us all as humans. Will we demand this higher level of quality or just settle for the smattering onslaught of so-so content we love to gobble from the big fire hose? Will we evolve and even change genetically into a race of animals with shorter attention spans and shallower yet faster processing capabilities?  

When I start talking this way, I think I must be nearing the end of Cannes week.  

I hope you all had fun and learned as much as I did.  

Final thoughts from Cannes Lions

in

We have come to the end: this is my final report from the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

It’s been overwhelming and inspiring. The sheer volume of work on display was daunting and I won’t pretend that I was able to see more than a small portion. But what I did see renewed my faith in the ability of like-minded people to come together to find creative solutions to some of our biggest challenges.

Much has been written about how some Cannes entries seem designed to be, well, Cannes entries. There were lots of PSAs and one-off projects that told a great story, but some question if they were really in service of a brand and its business goals.

But that strikes me as a cynical view. I saw a lot of great work that strived to add value to consumers’ lives. Great brands understand that adding value is the best way to get consumers to reach for them on the shelves. I’m all for marketing that puts more value into the marketplace.  

As the festival winds down, the final batch of awards was handed out for film and film craft, for branded content, and the “granddaddy” category: integrated/titanium. 

By the final days of the festival, some campaigns are well known, having collected awards in earlier categories, and this final batch serves a victory lap where they add more to their haul.  Campaigns like the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, House of Mamba and #LikeAGirl (highlighted in earlier posts) received more top honors at the final ceremony.

Some other standouts: 

Emoji Ordering – The Titanium Grand Prix went to Dominos for this simple but smart idea: let people order a pizza simply by tweeting the pizza emoji. And kudos to the jury for celebrating an idea that actually sells a product. (Ironically, this campaign didn’t even shortlist in the “Mobile” category, which just goes to show how subjective this whole award thing can be.)

Clever Buoy – Talk about “adding value” for your customers, how about saving them from a shark attack? This clever campaign took home a Titanium award as well.  

RE2PECT – Nike’s impressive campaign that tapped into social media to showcase the love that players, celebrities and fans had for Derek Jeter at the time of his retirement took home the Integrated Grand Prix.

Un-Skippable Ads – A why-didn’t-we-think-of-that idea from Geico built on the simple, but revolutionary question, “What if we made a pre-roll ad that people didn’t want to skip after 5 seconds?” (And I like that a great insight about online/mobile behavior was the genesis of the Film category’s big winner).

Monty the Penguin – This charming holiday spot from John Lewis won the Grand Prix in Film Craft. A reminder that great storytelling combined with craft can lead to something special. This was also one of the most shared pieces of content last year.

Whether branded content or film or integrated, the best-of-the-best had a clear point of view, told a compelling story, was emotionally engaging and (here it is again) provided value to those who interacted with the work. It’s a great reminder of what we should look for whenever we marketers green-light new work. 

Many post-mortems will be written about what this year’s festival means for the future of advertising. The rise of ad tech and gender equality in advertising were two big themes this festival. But the biggest theme, for me, was the transformative power of creativity: what it can do for people and, yes, what it can do for brands. 

I’m grateful to everybody who helped make possible my first trip to the Cannes festival, especially the Frito-Lay team back in Plano who kept things rolling while I was away. I’m coming back with lots of inspiration and a new appreciation for what’s possible in our work together. 

Highlights from cyber, er, digital…or whatever we’re calling modern marketing

in

The anachronistically-named “Cyber” category is full of a wide range of work showing that the lines between traditional-digital-mobile-experiential are forever blurred. 

Here are a few of my favorites: 

Honda – The Other Side – This ingenious execution received a lot of deserved attention when it launched a few months back and it’s racking up wins this year at Cannes. This product demo feels like a feature film with a digital interface -- a technological marvel with a great story at its core. 

Nike – House of Mamba – The coolest basketball court I’ve ever seen. As Kobe Bryant himself said, “I didn’t even know this was possible.” For a brand like Nike, which has embraced technology to provide a better athletic experience, this was a real-world digital execution that perfectly manifested Nike’s core values. 

Samsung – Safety Truck – A great example of a brand using technology to improve the lives of its customers in a very direct way. As their case study proclaims, “instead of changing people’s lives, we’re saving them” – now that’s a big idea!

Deep dive on mobile

in

Regular readers of this blog know my feelings on mobile: it’s really the only screen that matters.

So I spent some extra time this week digging into the Mobile entries. There is an incredible range of smart, interesting work happening in the space. And yet, it still feels like we’re in the early days of really uncovering the full potential of the medium.

I think that’s one of the reasons that Google Cardboard won the Grand Prix in Mobile (I wrote about it earlier on my post about ad tech).  Everybody is searching for the next big thing and those companies and brands that are pushing the medium into new territories are being rewarded.

Here are a few other favorites:

The Unforgotten – Heartbreakingly powerful work from the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence. This was an art installation with a mobile component, providing a forum for the physical and digital worlds to mesh, without any of the usual clunkiness. Mobile video made it come alive but it was woven together in such a way that the story was the story, not the technology.

Madden Giferator –  Built upon insights around how competitive football fans can be, this combined so many elements integral to mobile-social culture: second-screen commentary/banter, real-time content generation, memes, gifs, and more. And the brand was a critical element of the execution, not merely something tacked on at the end. This was also a great example of a partnership between a brand and multiple agency partners. 

Hammerhead – One of those ideas that you see and say, “Of course!” This product is a wonderfully intuitive use of mobile technology for cycling and an application that can make our roads safer. 

Inspiration everywhere you turn

in

There’s so much inspiring work to see and nowhere near enough time to see it all. The exhibition hall is jam-packed with so many ideas, ads and case studies that I know I’ll only be able to see a small portion of all that’s here to take in. 

To see the shortlisted and award-winning work, I encourage you to spend some time “wandering the halls” virtually on the Cannes site (Public access is limited to this week and a short time after the festival, so please visit soon).

Always #LikeAGirl – I’d seen this work when serving on the Grand Effie jury earlier this year and it’s still just as inspiring. It won a well-deserved Grand Prix in PR, collected honors in other categories and looks like it will be one of the big winners at this year’s festival. It tapped into a cultural movement and supported the cause, the hashtag was memorable, easily sharable, and it reiterates that the classic persuasion model is dead. You have to create content that consumers want to embrace.

Dove #SpeakBeautiful – Another entry in the long-running Dove Beauty campaign, this is a great example of using the power of social media to tap into pop culture and stamp out negative self-image tweets from women. Tactically, it was smart to center it around the Oscar broadcast, when so much attention is paid to the way women look. Oh, and it had a great hashtag. You know how I love a great hashtag.

The year of ad tech

in

In the weeklong hothouse of Cannes Lions, different themes, gossip and predictions rise and fall amidst the chatter between the seminars, after-award presentations, and the thousands of meetings that take place along the Promenade de la Croisette.

Certainly, the well-documented rash of media account reviews (more than 20 in the last eight months, representing between $17 and $25 billion in business) is a hot topic. Technology is undoubtedly one of the driving forces behind this phenomenon. With the rise of online video and the maturation of mobile and social channels, we marketers want to be sure we have best-in-class partners as the media mix shifts. 

Plus (and this will come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog) there’s a desire for analytics that more clearly demonstrate ROI. Marketers are seeking next-generation metrics that reflect real engagement and value, not just clicks or likes.

It’s also clear that ad tech is a major topic at this year’s festival. Long-time attendees tell me that the presence of vendors in the ad tech space this year is unprecedented. 

And that makes sense. The ad tech marketplace seems to double in size each year. Earlier this year, chiefmartec.com put out this vendor snapshot that confirmed that I wasn’t imagining the increased number of tech pitches I was seeing in my inbox.

Many of them are here at Cannes too. 

And it’s interesting to me that one of the early Grand Prix winners (the first four were handed out Monday) comes from one of the biggest players in ad tech: Google.

Google Cardboard won the Grand Prix in Mobile, beating out thousands of app entries and digital ideas. The win was not without controversy: it was submitted directly by a client and not an agency and, technically, one of the most traditionally-technical prizes was captured by, well, a cardboard box. 

Ironic as it was, this illustrates what Cannes was designed to celebrate: innovation. This low-cost virtual-reality solution created a platform that opened the door for others to create their own ways to use technology. 

I’ve written before about how platforms like YouTube gave Doritos a chance to embrace a customer co-creation program like “Crash the Super Bowl.” To me, Google Cardboard is another such platform whose potential has been barely scratched.

As technology dominates more and more of the buzz at Cannes and beyond, it’ll be interesting to see which of these break out to become true game changers and which will simply be swept into the bells n’ whistles box once the dust and glitter settles.