Marketers must develop multiple identities in digital age: ad:tech keynote

By Dan Butcher

November 6, 2008

Coke's Happiness Factory

NEW YORK -- Should a brand develop a broad core essence, or should it customize an identity for each niche of consumers? The answer is both.

Digital has changed the media landscape, giving consumers unprecedented amounts of choice and control, making it imperitive for marketeter to start ongoing conversations with consumers. So said Paul Woolmington, founder/managing partner of Naked Communications, New York, during his keynote presentation at ad:tech New York, "The Big Idea 3.0 -- Redefining Creative in the Digital Age."

"Unquestionably the biggest idea that America has had in decades is Barack Obama -- change is a phenomenally big idea, and the campaign was not about slogans, it was about behavior, a way of being," Mr. Woolmington said.

"He continued a conversation with the American people via BarackObama.com, text messaging, email, dynamic in-game placements promoting early voting to reach a younger demographic and Twitter updates in real-time," he said.

"Political campaigns will never be the same again."

Nike iD jumps into mobile marketing

After addressing the topic that everyone was buzzing about -- the historic election -- he went on to list five trends he's seeing in the digital advertising space, starting with the category "Brands as entertainers."

The first example was Uniqlock, a Japanese fashion brand that launched a Uniqlock widget, an entertainment vehicle that fused music, blogging, an alarm clock, screensaver, shop installation, catalogue that links to online store and maps with all the Uniqlock users on a world map.

While it was definitley more style than substance, it got 180 million views in 214 countries.

Another example was Cadbury, the British candy maker that launched a viral video themed around joy and generosity -- and a musical gorilla.

The campaign saw a 600 percent increase in Web site traffic, and spawned 350-plus user-generated "mashups" posted to YouTube.

The next category he described -- with the help of Jess Greenwood, deputy editor of Contagious Magazine -- was "Brands as mavericks."

Nespresso, a manufacturer of espresso machines, launched a chain of stylized coffee bars across Europe, and people lined up around the block to get access.

The play transformed Nespresso from just another manufacturer into lifestyle brand.

The video game Halo 3, a first-person shooter game for Xbox and Playstation, reached out beyond its target makret by telling a story, creating characters and pushing their backstory.

It was successful in attracting a whole new audience for the game.

Method is a San Francisco-based marketer that sells naturally-derived, biodegradable products such as household cleaners, supplies, laundry care and soaps.

The company is taking on package-goods giants such as Procter & Gamble Co. and Unilever by cultivating unpaid brand advocates, which the company calls "progressive domestics" that support its brand free of charge because of Method's commitment to being environmentally friendly and socially conscious.

Another example of a maverick -- all McCain-Palin jokes aside -- was Banksy, a British graffiti artist known for subversive messages, but who also creates imagery for Nike and Diesel campaigns.

The whole outsider/insider distinction is being blown up by new media such as the Internet and mobile, especially models such as user-generated content.

This segued into the next category, "Brands as schizophrenics (two-track branding)," brands that mean many different things to many different people.

Soft drinks company Coca-Cola created a series of Happiness Factory short films, culminating in a 20-minute film available at http://www.coke.com/hf.

The company was able to function as an entertainer -- see the first category -- and target a new demographic, presumably fans of DreamWorks and Lord-of-the-Rings-style fantasy.

Sportswear maker Nike made a similar play to court soccer fans, with online and mobile widgets featuring video directed by Guy Ritchie and starring soccer star Ronaldo.

"The Dark Knight," the newest Batman movie, blended mainstream and niche strategies.

The film launched an alternative reality game, more or less a treasure hunt, 18 months before its release.

Various sites including IBelieveinHarveyDent.com were launched and marketed at comic-book conferences by passing Joker cards with links and codes.

Consumers could send them in an email, enter their code, and, one pixel at a time, the first image of Heath Ledger as the Joker appeared. It was effective in spreading buzz for the movie.

The last category discussed was "Brands as benefactors," eschewing messaging to create something that's useful or relevant to consumers.

Shipper UPS created a widget that tells consumers where their packages are at all times, a key differentiator from competitors.

The Johnnie Walker whisky brand launched Digital PA, a mobile widget targeting young, upwardly mobile Asian businessmen, a demographic that is notoriouly immune to advertising.

Digital PA is an application for GPS-enabled mobile phones that coordinates consumers' social lives, with invitations to bars and events, including Webcams in those bars so they can scope out the scene.

Because phones have GPS tracking, Johnnie Walker has each consumer's name and details. If consumers hit the 'taxi' button, a cab picks them up and takes them home.

"That's a great example of a brand looking specifically at who they're trying to target and how they're using technology, and providing an innovative product or service," Ms. Greenwood said.

Nokia viNe is another GPS mobile application that lets consumers record photos, videos, songs, text and voice bookmarks onto a multimedia map of their life, tagging each piece of content to a specific location on a global map.

Consumers can search and share expereicnes on Nokia N-Series handsets and submit various types of content to the viNe site. They can search for "moments" by day or location and add viNe to their Facebook page.

Afterwards, the panel discussed their own perspectives on the topic.

"When you think of brands as enablers, the whole landscape shifts from what we say to what we're actually able to do," said Stefan Olander, global director of brand connections for Nike.

"Nike organized a campaign where 800,000 people were running on the same day around the world, and specific charity causes were attached to the race," he said.

"Marketing used to be strictly a communications idea: start with an ad and build layers of interactivity from there. But now it starts with problem-solving for consumers.

"Digital advertising has an amazing opportunity, because it's a tool that uses all the power of a brand to provide a service for someone, whether it has practical or entertainment value."

Mr. Olander said the most innovative tactics often repurpose existing technologies for new ends, citing marketing campaigns taking advantage of Google Maps as an example.

"Some technologies never go away, but are applied differently," Mr. Olander said. "Take existing applications and connect them to something else, a current campaign.

"You're not reinventing, but reapplying existing technology to solve a problem," he said.