Yonks ago (I forgot to hit publish on this post!), Glug held a notworking digital event in Shoreditch, loosely based on the theme of collaboration. I’m a bit of a stickler for sticking to a theme. That said, the evening got me thinking about how technology has driven this new surge in collaboration, a lot…

Your comfort zone vs. where the magic happens

Making awesome things that have never been made before requires partnering with experts, mixing talents, and undoubtedly doing things outside of your comfort zone. Collaboration enables you to go places you couldn’t go alone. Take B-reel’s VW Bug Run – a beetle race but not with cars, but with real life beetles. A project that wouldn’t have been possible without an array of talents, including a dedicated bug wrangler – Magnus Forsberg – overseeing the bugs.

B-reel made a good case for fighting for values, not the end product. Agencies that focus on the end product will ultimately suffer. Clients problems come in many forms, and undoubtedly the same old solutions won’t always be the answer. Modern communication agencies need to be agile and mentally flexible in order to solve diverse client problems in a multitude of ways. It’s time to break out of the silo and make operating out of your comfort zone the norm, because that’s where the magic happens.

The best and most rewarding projects I’ve ever had the pleasure to work on have all encountered the ‘holy shit’ moment, i.e. the moment you ask yourselves…are we actually doing this?! I wouldn’t have it any other way.

(image via 9GAG)

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

The web is a wonderful tool for bringing people together. It is now easier than ever to collaborate with different people, from different cultures, from all walks of life, all without even leaving your desk (which doesn’t mean you shouldn’t). And when people come together, no matter how far or wide, powerful things can happen. Distance is increasingly meaningless. The speedy success of #IncludeDesign, the web-based campaign to get creative on the curriculum, wouldn’t have been possible without the Internet and a shared passion for creativity.

The people behind this fantastic project understood that there’s nothing more else powerful than the collective voice.  So through the power of the web (and potentially a few phone calls) – they recruited 350 companies, celebrity ambassadors (including Stella McCartney) and an astounding 5,500 responses to the Government’s EBacc consultation. Here’s hoping their collective voice is heard.

Blended reality

For years we’ve been debating the digital agency versus the traditional agency. When the lines are increasingly blurred, not only will we collaborate across disciplines, but disciplines will overlap and integrate. The lines have blurred to the point where digital has become reality and the digital revolution has become blended reality (or post digital as some might say). We will probably be the last generation to ever utter “I’m going on the Internet”.

“One of the things our grandchildren will find quaintest about us is that we distinguish the digital from the real, the virtual from the real.” – William Gibson

Collaborative culture is not a temporary phenomenon, but a trend that is likely to accelerate over the next decade. The reality is in a few years from now, most traditional ad agencies will have gotten rid of their digital titles. As Brad Pitt would say, it’s inevitable. We need to build collaborative cultures to support fuzzier relationships between people, departments, and even outsiders.

Perpetual beta

The web has created a more participatory consumer. Which means collaboration is not limited to behind closed doors; collaboration in this economy is public too. The mindset of Google’s “perpetual beta” provides a way of collaborating with the end user, to make awesome things even more awesome. Google regularly launch things in a trial state (Gmail was in fact in beta for five long years). Google’s Web Lab (the latest project from Google Creative Lab) is a series of interactive Chrome experiments which brings the magic of the web to life – live from the Science Museum, and even open to the world online 24/7. Which means Google can continue to collaborate with users, anywhere in the world, even after the museum is closed for visitors.

This shift from the “we know best” mindset to the perpetual beta mindset is spreading, and prototyping in public is everywhere. Digital campaigns were once perfected and polished before they were released to the world. With the beta mindset, digital is unfinished, experimental, iterative, and never complete.

Powered by Actimel, HyperNaked recently launched the Family Wellbeing Index – a brand new way of measuring family wellbeing (disclosure – I am proud to have worked on this project). Everyone knows what family wellbeing feels like, but the concept of family wellbeing is difficult to pin down – it has been described by experts as “intangible, difficult to define, and even harder to measure”. Due to the enormity and uncertainty of the challenge, we launched the site in beta. We spent the first five months testing learning and optimising in real time. The plan was always to iterate and optimise the index with a small group of real mums and mummy bloggers, before taking an improved version to the masses. A rather brave move by Actimel.

The thing is, technology has fuelled the collaboration economy, but collaboration is ultimately about people not technology. Magic happens when you have a shared vision and a bunch of passionate people. We can make more never-seen-before awesome stuff together by collaborating with insiders and outsiders. Who’s with me?

As the lines continue to blur, it will be increasingly difficult to distinguish between online and offline activities.

#2 Multiple passwords and logins

Say goodbye to the constant need to remember your passwords. Hurray!

#3 Losing data

You can access all the data you want, anywhere you want, via the cloud.

#4 Your privacy

Your privacy went out the window when social media arrived.

#5 Digital titles in traditional agencies

There will be no more excuses to not ‘get’ digital.

According to Twitter HQ, chatter about the power outage peaked at 231,500 tweets per minute. Shish.

So forget the $4Million price tag per 30 second spot. Oreo tweeted this real-time ad, for free. Which has since been re-tweeted over 14,000 times (not to mention the reach far they would have achieved far beyond those who re-tweeted). Not bad for free advertising. Oh, well maybe it was Twitter’s loss after all.

So what made it all possible? Brave and committed clients. Who willingly attended a “mission control” at their agency’s office. Making speedy approvals a piece of cake (or biscuit in this case). Clients with balls. Magic.

If I’ve learnt anything, it’s that the best brand partnerships are just that –  a partnership (stating the bleeding obvious I know). The best partnerships are those that are genuinely and truly mutually beneficial. Both parties benefit (in some way) from the partnership. Often, with no exchange of money between the two.

Brand partnerships come in all shapes and sizes. Here are just some…

• Brand rewards (as in the legendary Orange Wednesdays)
• New product innovation (the brilliantly over-quoted Nike + iPod)
• CSR (the inspired Orange Rockcorps)
• Promotions (the hugely popular Walkers Gary’s Great Trips)
• Content (Starbucks clever Digital Network for cwoffee drinkers)
• Celebrity ambassadors (think Beckham in his H&M pants)

There are of course more uses of brand partnerships than this, but I think that’ll do for now (yes I was possibly distracted by Beckham in those pants).

Any who, I’ve been asking myself – why bother? And I’ve boiled it down to four key reasons. There are definitely more (and I’d love to hear them). Obviously it largely depends on what’s you’re trying to achieve (see above).

#1 to reduce costs 

Or make money, depending on which way you look at it… Any who, O2 reward 1.8 million Priority Moment customers with everyday rewards – retail / eating out / travel / indulge / days out – but without exchanging money with their 100 + partners (at least as far as I know). So what’s in for the partners? Well apparently, retail and entertainment brands are seeing 30 – 40% conversion, while restaurant brands are seeing 60% conversion in-store (Source:  O2 Media). A smart way for O2 and their brand partners to reduce costs and boost business don’t you think?

#2 Access new customers

Audience fragmentation means it’s increasingly difficult to reach large groups of consumers. Well integrated brand partnerships have the power to reach new audiences. The once cool Polaroid partnered with Lady Gaga to serve as Creative Director. Polaroid accessed millions of Gaga fans around the world, and momentarily pulled back from the brink of extinction. Shame it didn’t last…

#3 Increase customer loyalty

The Starbucks Digital Network serves up fresh premium content – including free access to The Economist, and Marvel Comics. Starbucks profit jumped 29% in the fourth-quarter 2011 primarily owing to continued loyalty among U.S customers.

#4 Build equity 

Stella Artois have directed their brand image in a new direction using class, cool, and the Cannes Film Festival. Their ongoing association with film has allowed Stella to shake off their so-called “wife-beater” brand image.

Well, that seems to me like four bloody great reasons. Of course, some brand partnerships fail. Most critically, delivering the desired ROI requires a good deal to be well executed.

If you have an opinion on brand partnerships, I’d love to hear it. It would mean talking about something other than social media for a change wouldn’t it?! Heaven forbid…

Aside from the social merits of this bold move, you also have to applaud the use of their own assets (i.e. the name of their ice-cream) to reaffirm the brands free-thinking reputation. In a world of shrinking advertising budgets and media fragmentation, smart brands are exploiting their greatest assets to drive business. Food for thought.

Via Stylist

Once lucky diners have made a reservation, they are emailed an exclusive link to an animated journey that is designed to wet their appetites (created by The Neighbourhood).

“Our animated journey takes the diners through a series of evocative landscapes and visual cues that they will discover during their visit, encountering a series of reward mechanisms through imagined worlds, to arrive at the door of a sweetshop.

Once inside, the visual stimulus is removed leaving a curious world of sound guided by John Hurt’s narration as the shopkeeper.  The narration and rich binaural audio soundscape allows guests to recall their own childhood sweetshop, imagining the sights, sounds and  smells through a combination of stimuli and memory.”

“Taste” is just one of eight steps in Heston’s multi-sensory journey. The journey is designed to touch all the senses. This is in stark contrast to typical advertising which, for the most part, works by appealing to people’s eyes and ears only.

The notion of multi-sensory advertising (especially when it comes to food) has long fascinated me. Food is an incredibly emotional and sensory experience (for me anyway), and the opportunity for brands and advertisers to tap into this is huge (and under exploited). Rarely does advertising touch all the senses – but when used (correctly), has the power to be more meaningful, more memorable, more emotional.

Who better to bring this to life than Heston Blumenthal. His multi-sensory reservation experience is a smart way to deepen the emotional engagement with diners, and extend the relationship beyond the physical dining experience.

Hats off to Heston.

Via

I have personally come to define experiential as this…

“Live marketing that connects people with brands in the real world”. 

Yep that’s it. Simple, broad, but true.

One of the biggest mistakes when it comes to experiential marketing is thinking of it as a channel. It’s not. It’s a mindset. It’s all about experiencing the brand for real. When viewed as a mindset and not a channel, the opportunities really open up. There are no boundaries when it comes to experiential marketing, it can be or do anything – from product trial to brand building. Or with the likes of “experience brands” such as Nike and Red Bull, an essential part of your Brand DNA.

So is it expensive? I’m afraid so. Is it worth your while? Yes (done well). Even though experiential marketing can be a more expensive form of marketing per head, the real value (when you get it right) lies in the longer, deeper, real-life engagement with people. No other form of marketing can match.

Experiential is multi-sensory, which makes it more engaging, more emotional, more memorable. What better way for Thorntons to market chocolate than to touch all the senses – no other form of marketing would achieve the same sensory effect.

Experiential (often) requires active participation, and therefore there is a higher level of involvement with the brand. Nike Grid used experiential to shift perceptions of running among young people who felt running is lonely and boring – rather than just telling them, they created a real world game to prove it.

Experiential is personal. Consumers’ today are increasingly demanding a much more personal relationship with the brands they choose – experiential delivers a very personalised two-way dialogue with your target audience.  “Swap for swag” allowed Coca-Cola to engage in a genuine dialogue with 0.5M festival goers to to educate them as to benefits of recycling and incentivising them with rewards – made out of recycled products. Rather than preaching to them…

Experiential marketing is authentic. In a world dominated by virtual and hypothetical situations, authentic real live experiences count for so much more (whereas other forms of advertising can lack realness and credibility). T-Mobile’s Life’s For Sharing campaign driven by real world events-based  true experiences has sparked talkability and sharing, time and time again.

As awesome as experiential can be, it works best when it underpins other marketing efforts and vice versa (rather than in isolation), and when it adds value (rather than interrupt) to people’s lives, e.g. to entertain, to educate, to be of use.

A year on, I’m a little clearer. I hope you are too.

Invisible Mercedes. 

Not only is it invisible to the environment, it’s actually bloody invisible. Nuff said.

The Guardian “Three Little Pigs”. 

A well known story re-told in the digital age. Inspired.

IKEA Berora. 

A touch-screen friendly glove and awesome IKEA invention. Where do I buy??

The Pothole Gardener plants in potholes and weed-filled patches in East London (where else). A brilliantly simple way to add a little magic to something that is otherwise ordinary. Part art project, part labour of love, part experiment – it’s all designed to put smiles on our faces. And boy does it.

Enjoy little holes of happiness…