SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT

CONCEPTS, EXECUTIONS AND

THINGS LIKE THAT.

LET„S BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING.(well, almost.)

http://andruska.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/2001-the-dawn-of-man.jpg

Traditionally, TV COMMERCIALS WERE AT THE

CENTER OF CAMPAIGN CONCEPTION AND

PRODUCTION. (Nothing new so far.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gbaku/2300379755/sizes/l/

Then it was integrated communication to the

rescue. BUT MOST “INTEGRATED

COMMUNICATION“ IS NOTHING ELSE BUT THE

APPROACH TO MAKE EVERY EXECUTION

RESEMBLE THE TV COMMERCIAL.(And that„s only true in those cases where there was an idea bigger

than a TV commercial to begin with.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/87014138@N00/3093375954/sizes/o/

All this is based on a single assumption:

TV COMMERCIALS PUSH HIGH-QUALITY

CONTENT OUT TO A HUGE AND RECEPTIVE

AUDIENCE. SO WE DO THAT A FEW TIMES A

YEAR AND EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE FINE.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45409431@N00/3867466806/

This deserves

SOME

THOUGHT.

To begin with the true part of the assumption:

THE TV AUDIENCE IS STILL HUGE.(And it is probably not going to be totally gone by tomorrow.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/papazimouris/3183558876/sizes/l/

However, while TV isn„t going to go away tomorrow

MEDIA USAGE HAS ALREADY SHIFTED

DRAMATICALLY AND MEDIA IS MORE AND

MORE CONVERGING ONLINE.(This is probably also not a big surprise by now...)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20493464@N00/3428921418/

“ONLINE“ OR “DIGITAL“ CAN BE EVERY FORM

OF CONTENT, EVERY MODE OF RECEPTION

AND EVERY FORM OF SOCIAL INTERACTION.

EVERYWHERE.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fredcavazza/3428921418/sizes/l/

Or, put differently:

ALMOST EVERYTHING YOU KNOW CAN ALSO

BE “DIGITAL“ AND “ONLINE“.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cfpereda/3604453260/sizes/l/

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AND INFLUENCE ARE

IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL.(This doesn„t mean that suddenly it is all about conversations about

our brands. People still have other things to care about: Their life,

mostly.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shannonkringen/267571087/sizes/l/

On to the next assumption: “hight quality content“.

MOST TV COMMERCIALS ARE DEFINITELY NOT

THE TYPE OF HIGH-QUALITY CONTENT PEOPLE

LOVE TO WATCH.

You„ve most probably seen that drawing before...

http://www.gapingvoid.com/

The inconvenient truth is:

PEOPLE DON„T CARE ABOUT ADS,

AND THEY ARE CERTAINLY NOT WAITING FOR

ALL OF THEM.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xploded/287066320/sizes/o/

“PEOPLE LOOK AT WHAT INTERESTS THEM

AND SOMETIMES IT‟S YOUR AD.” Howard Gossage

(Most of the time however, it„s something else.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26212498@N08/3021010201/

“OFTEN OUR BIGGEST MISTAKE AS

MANAGERS IS BELIEVING THAT, IN

GENERAL, CUSTOMERS CARE A LOT ABOUT

YOUR BRAND. THEY DO NOT.” Patrick Barwise

(Because they still have other things to care about.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21678183@N03/3142962416/

So what„s the status quo?

IF PEOPLE TALK ABOUT “INTEGRATED

COMMUNICATION“ YOU GET CAMPAIGNS THAT

USUALLY FOCUS ON TV AS PRIMARY MEDIA.

IF PEOPLE TALK ABOUT UNCONVENTIONAL

THINGS, YOU GET [INSERT EXECUTIONAL

TREND HERE].Twitter and “viral“ videos are popular choices for filling that brackets.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16289690@N00/3147330903/

HOWEVER , WHAT WORKS AND WHAT

DOESN„T ISN„T DEFINED BY THE MAGICAL

POWER OF TECHNOLOGIES OR “NEW“ MEDIA

OR PLAIN CREATIVE EXECUTIONS.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/theartguy/2230484179/sizes/o/

IT IS DEFINED BY THE CONTEXT –

PEOPLE„S LIFE IN RELATION TO MEDIA,

CULTURE AND SOCIETY.(This doesn„t mean it is all about conversations. And it also doesn„t

mean you have to abandon TV. Or outdoor, or print.

What it means is that it depends.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51035734296@N01/2575986601/

For example, while TVCs are still a great way to build up awarenss and

evoke emotions, you can only say so much in 30 seconds anyways.

SO WHY REDUCE RICH AND MULTI-FACETED

CONCEPTS INTO 30„ OF TV WITH 16„FOR

INFORMATION THAT SHOULD THEN BE

CONCIOUSLY RECALLED –

BUT MOSTLY AREN„T?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeblogs/3101400087/sizes/o/

IF WE WANT TO PLAY ON THE MEDIA„S

STRENGTHS WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT

THE CONTEXT IS CONSCIOUSLY CONSIDERED

WHEN CONCEPTS ARE CREATED.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/firutin/267739754/sizes/o/

WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT EXECUTIONAL

ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATION IN RELATION

TO PEOPLE AND MEDIA SIMULTANIOUSLY.(You have probably heard of this “the media is the message“ thing

before...)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8660446@N07/3611570585/

WE HAVE TO WORK ON CONCEPTS THAT

DON„T NECESSARILY BRING OUT

ADVERTISING, BUT EXPERIENCES IN

PEOPLE„S (SOCIAL) LIFE. (Rephrasing the question „What can we say to people?“ into „What

can we make for people?“ helps a lot.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidking/3305880093/sizes/l/

GARETH KAY CALLS THIS SHIFT

“PLANNING FOR UNCERTAINTY“From a linear process to a continuous process of creation.

From presenting to clients to co-creating with clients.

From “one size fits all campaign” to frequent micro-initiatives.

From big stuff to small stuff.

From “strategy to execution” to “strategy in execution”.

http://www.slideshare.net/garethk/seven-deadly-sins

http://www.flickr.com/photos/maldiviandude/3505149064/sizes/l/

FARIS YAKOB POINTS OUT THAT

MEDIA NEUTRAL LEADS TO MEDIA NEUTERED.“Seeing the same thing executed across a bunch of channels isn't

really the most interesting use of each medium, and the best ideas

are often built to really leverage the strengths of a particular channel

[…]. SO TALKING ABOUT IDEAS AS SEPARATE FROM THE MEDIA THEY

WILL EXIST IN IS A BIT SILLY AND CAN MISS OUT ON THE MOST

CREATIVE OPPORTUNITIES.” Faris Yakob

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbengineer/510142003/sizes/l/

http://farisyakob.typepad.com/blog/2006/10/transmedia_plan.htm

INTRODUCING TRANSMEDIA PLANNING“The gist of it is that rather than using different media channels to communicate the same

idea, you can use each channel to communicate different things. Everything is still tied

together by the same brand strategy or narrative, but each channel does what it does best,

rather than bending to fit an idea that's not really built with any particular channel in

mind. Each channel is strong and self-contained enough to live on its own, but can then be

pulled together into a greater brand narrative.” Faris Yakob

http://farisyakob.typepad.com/blog/2006/10/transmedia_plan.html

http://lbtoronto.typepad.com/lbto/2006/10/transmedia_plan.html

EXECUTION UNDER THE TRANSMEDIA LENSE“This might be small details, things going on in the background, music, metaphors, or references. And we, Russell, and

others have talked about the power of complexity in communication - that people generally find complex, nuanced,

layered things more interesting than simple straightforward things. But when we talk about this stuff, we still usually

talk about people processing it individually - so each one person is rewarded for spending more time or if they see it

again. But what if we looked at it through the lens of a brand community? Each different layer or detail could appeal to

a different group of people, who could compare stories, and thus continually be getting new perspectives on the same

thing.” Jason Oke

If the idea of shifting FROM CAMPAIGNS THAT

PUSH OUT THE SAME IDEA VIA DIFFERENT

CHANNELS TO CONTINUOUSLY CREATING AND

COMMUNICATING IN DIFFERENT MEDIA is is

giving you a headache, consider one truth:

people don„t think in campaigns, but in days -

365 of them.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/photos_by_chrystal/2964874774/sizes/o/

So what does that mean for CONCEPTS,

EXECUTIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigpinkcookie/22716359/sizes/l/

Cultural Branding (long-term connection:

strong cultural concepts)

Context defining concepts

Strategic concepts(long term)

Tactical concepts(short term)

Continuous, small and big executions

(services, NPD, interactive experiences, advertising, ...)

Connections through

experiences

Monitoring and evaluation

(brand relationships and culture overall)

It means that we have

to make sure that

“media, culture and

society“ is being

thought about at

every single step of a

permanent process of

creation and

communication.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/toby_maloy/102413554/sizes/o/

FROM CONCEPTSContext: brand vs. people vs. media, culture, society.

What are the brand„s meanings and roles in people„s life?

What is the purpose and the resulting the narrative of the brand?

What are current connections between the brand and culture?

Can we derive anything from the relation between the overall brand

concept and emerging patterns in culture, to build more

connections?

TO EXECUTIONSContext: experiences.

Why, how and where are the people we want to connect the brand

to using which media?

Which parts of the overall concept fit with how the media works in

these contexts?

Remember the difference between media exposure, media effect

and media usage.

TO EVALUATIONBrand Filter

Does it frame the brand in a compelling manner?

Does it make me feel/know what the brand stands for?

Will it resonate with the target markets‟ culture(s)?

Experience Filter

Is it engaging, simple, original, and creative?

Is the brand integrated into the story/service/tool/experience?

Is it doing anything for the people?

Would somebody talk about it? If so, why?

Long-term Filter

Is it an effective extension of the brand‟s narrative?

Is it helping to weave the brand into the culture long-term?

Derived from Douglas B. Holts filters for judging creative.

http://harvardbusiness.org/product/mountain-dew-selecting-new-creative/an/502040-PDF-ENG

INSPIRED BY AND STOLEN FROMgareth kay (garethkay.typepad.com)

russell davies (russelldavies.typepad.com)

faris yakob (farisyakob.typepad.com)

douglas b. holt (www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/faculty/Holt+Douglas/)

michael zorn (@boyrobot3000)

joanna bakas (@jo_vanna)

stefan erschwendner (@eranium)

helge tennø (@congbo)

martin oetting (@oetting)

sam ismail (@samismail)

petar vujosevic (@NikoHerzeg)

david armano (@armano)

simon law (www.simon-law.com/)

andrew (joymachine.typepad.com/)

stephanie urbanski (@sturbi)

the “internet“ (mostly all the great people I„m following on twitter)

THANK YOU.THOMAS WAGNER

STUDENT AND STRATEGIST

“ON THE INSIGHT ROAD (AND NOT HALFWAY THERE)“

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

http://www.twitter.com/thomas_wagner