Social Hallucinations

The Name of the Game is Creativity!

I’ve spent last week in Cannes exposed to the instant stream of inspiration, creativity and interesting conversations…even though I’ve caught myself thinking a few times: ‘wait, I have heard this before!’

Content, story-telling, emotions and creativity was on everybody lips and most power point slides, confirming that “The way brands exist in our culture hasn't changed, the way they express themselves has changed" as Lee Clow said.

Here are a few key take - outs I have taken home from last week.

Authenticity was a reoccurring theme. Stay authentic as a brand and keep it real for people. Brands are expected to act like real people in real relationships, being flexible and adapt to a cultural or social context. In this sense authenticity informs creativity but is also a key ingredient of…

Social purpose, a deeper meaning in marketing. This was truly interesting to see brands, agencies talking about how they aim at creating a greater good that will not only influence their P&L but impact humanity.

Coke inspired everybody with their presentation accompanied with ovations and laughter from the audience; a few probably shed a tear. They showed us what social purpose means with 60 years of their advertising daring to challenge the status quo, being a part of the culture and delivering a greater value to people that goes beyond a bottle of liquid.

It is not about doing better, it is about doing better things, which takes me to:

Emotions trump innovation. It all started with “innovation is dead”. Really?!

Writing an obituary seems like a sure way to secure headlines these days. However during the course of conference, it was clear that innovation is alive and kicking. It is more about how we embrace it.

The most memorable was presentation from Astro Teller, computer scientist who runs Google’s Moonshots factory. His key message was that stories, not technology inform innovation. A simple perspective shift, a new angle, a new story can turn impossible into possible. The story simply changes how things turn out.

We should shift the way we look at technology, move away from seeing “shiny objects” and possible applications of it and focus on human behavior instead.

"The name of the game isn’t technology, it’s creativity" (George Lois)

Campaign is not the end product. Plan, adjust, and don’t fear to adjust again and fail. Even though things don’t turn out as you planned, you can always readjust them. The campaign is not the final destination, neither failure is. Both embark you on a new journey, help you change perspective and find new stories. David Droga was talking about the creative being the beginning not the end point. It is something that can be developed and improved over the time. Always plan for what people would do next.

The quest for perfection of a campaign and fear of not being right stop brands from acting at the speed of culture.

"I hate watching commercials just like anybody else... The truth will set you free and I'm here to tell you the truth. If you aint gonna be great go home and get the fuck out of the room right now!" (P. Diddy)

And finally, Advertising goes beyond…. advertising. Judging from the line-up of guests at this years conference: fashion designers, musicians, comedians - the industry is looking more towards culture for inspiration and valuable partnerships that will help to create an engaging content.

Cannes 2013 was for me not only a great inspiration but also a reminder of what advertising is about. It was a call to push even harder towards creative excellence, remixing and challenging the culture and letting people do what they love to do.

And here is bonus 100 Beautiful slides from Cannes 2013

Gangnam Style - how to make a hit

I have stumbled upon Psy and his Gangnam Style two month ago and I was very entertained by the good beat and kitschy video. But it seems like there is more to "Gangnam Style" than just being a South Korean summer hit. Psy has taken the world by storm, got a lot of attention from the international media, got an American record deal and taught Britney Spears the moves.

Everybody loves a horse - riding dance, but there is more to Gangnam Style than just catchy tune and cheesy moves. "Gangnam Style" is a good example of how to create content that lives and breathes in digital, content that people wants to share and engage with. Psy has cracked the code of storytelling: the story is not what your tell but what others make out of it. His video not only generated over 300 mil. views but also a lot of parodies, remakes, mash-ups that bring even more attention and conversations.

Psy has planned from the very beginning not only for the distribution of his video, by choosing to remove copyright from his video, he gave people the right to redistribute his work, encourage them to create their own versions of the video...and there are plenty of those.

What is also interesting about the video and especially the horse-riding dance, Psy has asked the Korean dance community for their input when choreographing the dance. It has given him for sure a lot of credit in the community and helped to promote the video. 

He has probably also touched some cultural tension with his mocking-up of the rich and those who pursue the dream of being like the rich. Blogger of My Dear Korea told The Atlantic, the video is an ironic look at “Gangnam itself but it’s also about how people outside of Gangnam pursue their dream to be one of those Gangnam residents without even realizing what it really means.” 

Here is the original video and the funniest parodies

 

 

PSY vs LMFAO - Sexy Style (Mash-up) - fit perfectly together

 

PSY - "MIKO STYLE" (Gangnam Style) Parody By Miss Korea 2012 Contestants

 

Lifeguard Style (Gangnam Style Remake) - the remake got the lifeguards fired

 

GANGNAM STYLE PARODY (강남스타일) - The Oregon Duck

 

Be Different or Disappear in the Crowd

What does it mean to be different today?

Differentiation used to be about standing out, about creating a product that is significantly different and there are no other products like it. Just to be noticed and valued.

But is seems like today, there is more focus on illusory differentiation driven by more choices, brand extensions, improved ingredients, more washing power, higher performance....you name it...supermarkets shelves groan under those "different products" that are all the same and use the same tactics to attract users. 

“Today we have more of everything. More brands. More products. More choices. But it all just feels like more of the same. A great big blur of similarity. And most companies are stuck on a competitive treadmill, competing like crazy trying to keep up with each other. But this only makes them just like everyone else.” (Youngme Moon)

What is the solution? Maybe look at the differentiation from different perspective. Start with quitting adjectives. Seeing "differentiation as deviance, permutation, commitment to unprecedented and letting go."

It's getting back to basics, putting the right meaning into the word different and creating great products, no one else does and connecting consumers in the meaningful way instead of creating more clutter. Challenging the ways we see competition. It is good to know what they do but they shouldn't necessary be the point of reference. Look outside, get inspired by different categories and think from time to time that your brand is not saint...

A good start is to read this book...

via www.youtube.com

Blinded by Technology

We are going digital. Indeed, digital is a place where many want to go these days. The destination is set but the ways of getting there aren't always clear. Forgetting what's it is all about, we chase the new shiny technologies and miss on connecting with people.

"Sometimes marketers forget that media platforms are enablers to big ideas. They aren’t the big ideas themselves."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

via tomfishburne.com

What's the New Customer Worth?

Interesting infographic based on a few studies, which focus on customer acquisition, retention and attrition rates. It gives an insight into how much the acquisition of the new customer costs.

Read more on Flowtown

How we've complicated things - truth on brands

It has all begun with just a toothpaste...45 years later...what's toothpaste? The hell of added value....

Via Gavin Potenza

Stop-Start Commandments

"Advertising isn't a rocket science. I should know. I am a rocket scientist."

Sean Boyle on taking action and doing things

Stop Overthinking Things
Start Doing Something
Stop The Incessant Research
Start Doing Good
Stop Banging On About Digital

Little less conversation, more action please

Color outside the lines

Being creative is what gives advantage today and allows to differentiate from the mass of me-too products and people. Creative meaning novelty and utility. Sometimes to get an attention you deserve you need to color outside the lines and find inspiration other places...Like this packages.

You have something what seems to be a carton of McDonald's chips on the right but is in fact celery and blueberries packaged as medicine. 

   
 

via BabyCreative blog

Virality is not a strategy

"Virality is something that has to be engineered from the beginning…and it’s harder to create virality than it is to create a good product.  That's why we often see good products with poor virality, and poor products with good virality.  The reason that over $150 Billion is spent on US advertising each year is because virality is so hard.  If virality was easy, there would be no advertising industry."

(Josh Kopelman)

Image by aussiegall via Flickr

You can't build your product, communication strategy around viral cause viral isn't something you can plan and decide how it should act. Virality is something that is the result of human interactions which you can't only predict but you can't control either. In stead of focusing on virality, shifting efforts into creating the good products and spreading them / news of them is what matters.

As Noah Brier says "if a tree falls in the forest and there's nobody there to hear ..." . Stuff doesn't become viral per se. It becomes viral cause some people heard about it, tried it, liked it and shared it with others who tried it, liked it and shared it, and so on.

via Noah Brier

Popularity isn't easy - this is also very relevant

Average Consumers: The Product of Single Story

"There are lies, damned lies, and statistics" (Churchill)

Who is the average consumer? Does he / she exist? How do we define it? Or does average consumers exist, isn't just a mathematical construct that was aimed at making easier for us to explain world?

People are different, we are the individuals with different stories that shape us, stories that are driven by our mind, our bodies and social environment we are living in. Every human is the patchwork of different stories that make him/her a person, not an average consumer. The average consumer is a type of urban myth to me. 

Woman, 34 years old, urban, modern, income above average, lives in apartment, career oriented, heavy user of internet, buys organic food, interested in technology, owns mobile phone, heavy consumer of culture, blah blah...Yes, it could be me...but the above description brings more questions. 

Can a human being amount to this?

Average consumer is just a construct that derives from the single story and is intended to make easier for us to work out things like strategy, advertising, etc. But the concept of average consumer doesn't really 'disenchant' the world, it makes it single storied and mass produced.

...listen to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie inspiring talk about the single story as the source of misunderstanding and stereotypes that keep us away from seeing the whole picture

Yes, I am aware it is difficult to work with the concept of individual when we talk communication, it is difficult to capture the complexity of people's lives but we can try with replacing or at least enhancing demographics with needs, motivations and more focus on the social aspects of human's lives.

Thanks for inspiration: Eskimon

Danish Mother Seeking - Update

Video was removed was YouTube .... well it just proves all my points. However video can be seen here.

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Danish Mother Seeking is busted! Karen26, Danish mother seeking... was hired by Visit Denmark to promote Denmark abroad. This is rather disappointing that such a good idea that would work really good to promote safe sex, was used to promote Denmark. That's also pretty shocking that such an angle was chosen to tell the story of Denmark. 

After finding out who was behind the campaign, I must say I asked myself about the ethics - not about the ethics of use of social media, but about the ethics of the content, about the way the governmental company chooses to present Denmark for the world. Respect is missing.

Let's look at aftermath first: over 1 million views, over 5.000 comments and lot of commotion on blogs and in mainstream media...primarily in Denmark. It is pretty understandable Danes are shocked over the way their compatriots have chosen to promote their country. It is like a bad reality show. The comments from Visit Denmark and agency behind - Grey Copenhagen heats the situation even more up. I heard Peter Helstrup, strategic director at Grey Copenhagen say:

"I think, this is the most effective campaign, that was ever created for a danish company" 

Well, this is impressive viral campaign that used controversy, fake & real approach and delivered over million views in just 3 days. As I wrote yesterday views, buzz has nothing to do with effectiveness, it has nothing to do with social media. This is just a tactical and short-term solution, deeply rooted in traditional media thinking focusing on creating controversy in order to boost up views numbers on YouTube (views are still shiny objects for so many). They could as well just show bare breasts. (Btw I would like to hear more about the goals that were set up for the campaign apart from views and appearance on TV2)

What about relevancy of the campaign? I keep on asking myself, how this campaign is relevant for Denmark? Isn't Visit Denmark's major goal to attract tourists to Denmark? It seems like the major efforts were put into promoting this video in Denmark. Apparently, Denmark is where the most response came from. I googled this morning to find any comment, any blog post about the campaign outside the boarders of scandalized Denmark. I found one at Mashable titled: Danish Woman’s One Night Stand Video Is a Government Hoax. Not to mention the comments that appeared on YouTube.:

"its amazing to see all the foreigners who have lived in denmark for a long time (decade or more) come out and slam Denmark. I lived there for a decade too, and was disgusted by the petty racism and xenophobia. Not to mention shallow women who will fuck you but not even hold a civil conversation."

"Lets get to Denmark, and get laid! that its all folks! Nobody is interesting in little right wings shiit Denmark!"

No one can deny it - the campaign has backfired and it seems there is no plan to handle the crisis situation. I've heard around that Visit Denmark is deleting comments from people that criticize the campaign.Is it true?!

This is where public engagement begins and we can talk about social media marketing and Visit Denmark seems to be unprepared to handle it. This is when the real things happen - not while the views counter is going up and people leave comments hoping she will find the father of the child, but when the discussion gets heated and opinions about content appear all over the Internet.

Visit Denmark got blinded by the shiny promise of millions of views and lot of buzz. They got those views along with disgusted, disappointed, shocked people and apparently no plan how to handle the bad response video generated.

Companies and agencies chase the shiny objects like buzz and views, missing the big picture and opportunities that are available for creating the public engagement and relationships. Using social media tools will not make you social. We keep on mistaking traditional media campaigns using social media with social media marketing. Social media marketing is about ideas that are rooted in understanding of human behavior and emotions and that get people together, make their lives more exciting or easier. Social media marketing is about people (not views)

Is the next episode coming: Danish Tourist Agency Seeking the lost trust...

The Marketing Capability: The Future is Digital

"In order for our brand to be relevant in the future, we gotta live digitally... with our communication and the products we sell. And the brands that figure this out are the brands that will succeed in the future."

From the past to the future Best Buy CMO Barry Judge tells the story of how Best Buy's Marketing Capability talks (and listens) to its customers.

The Science of Shopping Revealed

"Despite all the new technology (neuromarketing), simply talking to consumers remains one of the most effective ways to improve the “customer experience”."

Wow! What an enlightenment. It is cheaper to be nice to your clients and improve the overall customer experience than hire the team of neuroscientists with expensive machinery to get into customers subconsciousness. Image by turtlemom4bacon via Flickr

Simplicity is often the best solution. However we humans love the glittering lure of fancy technology and people in white smocks that blur the simple ways leading to problem solving.

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” da Vinci

Read the whole story at The Economist - The Science of Shopping.

Sociology and Marketing

"Sociology and marketing are on a collision course." - says Armano

Sociology and marketing should never be separated. Marketing is about creating the value for people and making it accessibImage by Donna Cymek via Flickrle. It is hard to create and spread it without understanding human relations. This is not about focus groups or media, it is about real life observations and digging into human nature and nature of interactions. Social media and the digital technology are just enhancers of social behavior. We people are just keep talking and express ourselves and our opinions, this time powered by technology that makes it loud wider and allows us to reach more people. The motivations remain the same as BSM (before social media) - belonging and conviviality, to mention two most relevant drivers.

But *beware the common sense thinking* when applying sociology into your marketing efforts.

The Core of Marketing

Image via Wikipedia"Publicity is selling what you have: the film’s stars and sometimes its director. Marketing, very often, is selling what you don’t have; it’s the art of the tease." Tim Palen

It is time to get back to the core of marketing which is not selling but creating the value (in order to sell)