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Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
HELLO #DIGIWORK
THE BRIEF IN THE POST-DIGITAL AGE




                                    Gareth Kay
                                    Director of Brand Strategy

                                    August 9, 2010
This isn’t really about the brief or digital...


It’s about the long, slow stuff of culture,
not the tech du jour
It’s about digital as a type of idea, not a channel
It’s about ideas and planning, not just briefs


All that being said....
1992
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
All very similar


A problem to be solved by advertising
‘Consumers’ to ‘target’
A message to say at them
Reasons to believe
Tone of voice
Maybe, if lucky, what space you’re filling
New technology
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
New technology, different culture
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
“This stuff is as mainstream as it
can be. Google, the iPhone -
these move the culture more
than The Beatles did in
the ’60’s. It’s shaping the human
race.”
                       - Andy Hertzfeld
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
“Nobody comes out of a movie
saying, “that was a really good
movie. I really enjoyed it. It
was really clear.”
                     - Russell Davies
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
$77 million
              $220 million
                             $310 million
Technology has driven dramatic, and
continuous, change
More participatory
More social and communal (arguably amplifying who
human beings are)
More fragmented
More transparent
More playful
‘Always on’
Location increasingly important
So, obviously, the brief
 remains the same...
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
“I’m just surprised that no-one’s
thought of a better idea yet”
                           - Stephen King
This isn’t about the digital brief.

  It’s about a better brief for
     the post-digital world.
It’s not simply about the brief.

  It’s about asking having a
   better map of the world
   to ask better questions.
It’s what we do,
not what we say,
that matters
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
We’ve only ever noticed peacocks.
Changing our behavior
changes how we think.
We need to be like bowerbirds.
We now live in age of ideas that do.
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Stop communicating products and
start making communication products.

  Useful entertaining or memorable,
    not interruptive, experiences.


    Create, don’t fill, media space.
Ideas that can be advertised,
    not advertising ideas
It’s not what we do;
it’s what people do
to what we do that
matters
We tend to design finite,
  complete products.

We’re not very good at
 designing for gaps.
From a downloading culture
  to an uploading culture.
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Customers don’t own
 brands but they do
 want to participate.
              - Charles Vallance
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Slippy > sticky.
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Generous ideas
are better than
big ideas
Have a social mission,
not just a commercial proposition.
Understand what people are interested in
      and work back from there.
Idea as bridge
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Be media positive
Radiohead went out to
where people are and built
experiences there with
partnerships like:

- iTunes for remixes
- aniBoom for an
animation contest
- Google for 3-D video
“Media is less and less
often about crafting a
single message to be
consumed by
individuals, and more
and often a way of
creating an environment
for convening and
supporting groups.”
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Small is the new big
“The bigger a brand
gets, the smaller it
should act, because
no one likes big.”
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
“Any idea is dangerous if it’s a person
 only idea”

A culture full of depth and complexity


The rule of 5% requires lots of matches to start a fire


Why not when the economics have changed and the
cost of failure is near zero?
Roulette isn’t responsible
“The mistake of science is to
 pretend everything is a clock
 when the world is a cloud.”
-Jonah Lehrer, referencing the work of Karl Popper
Coherency, not consistency


                                                                                                       specials eg
                                                                             language,                 frappucino
                                                                             eg ‘skinny’
                                                                                             habits
                                                                                           formation
                               ‘my sister’
                                 book                                         range
                                                                            and options

                                                                                                         book
                                        barista                  Provide an
                                        culture                                                         reading
                                                            uplifting experience    ordering
                                                               that enriches        system                           akelah and
                   used grounds                                people’s lives                                          the bee
                   for gardeners                                                                   in store
                                                starbucks
                                                                             sofas and           performance
                                                company
                                  social                                     ambience               and art  starbucks
                               responsibility                                                                  salon
                                                        africa 05
                                                                                       hearmusic
                      fair trade                                            Xm
                        coffee
                                                               music cd
                                    cause
                                                                                 burn your own
                                   publicity
                                                                                       cd
                                   in store



 Source: John Grant, ‘The Brand Innovation Manifesto’
It’s about understanding
distributed identity

                                                                                   Google
                                                                                   Books
                                                     Blogspot
                                  Youtube
                                                                         Google
      Google          Google                                             Scholar
       411            Search
                                                         Google
                                                          Docs
                                  Organize the
                               world’s information
                Google            and make it
               Shopping            universally
                                accessible and             Google
                                     useful.
                                                            labs             Chrome
                                                                             Browser


                      Google
                       Maps              Google.Org
      Google
      sketch                                               Fossil fuel
                                                           Challenge
High frequency. Low value.
Semi-predictable rewards.
So what does all this mean
      for the brief?
Pre-digital               Post-digital
     Interruption              Participation

 Image manipulation           Value creation

Saying things at people   Doing things for people

   Intangible value           Tangible value

      Perception                 Behavior
From saying things at people to
doing things with and for people
From why and what
 to what and how.
Better questions


What’s the real problem?
Who is this among?
How might we best approach solving this?
Why might they talk about this idea?
How do they get involved?
What keeps the conversation going?
There are no great briefs,
        only great ads.

   There are no great briefs,
 but there are a lot of bad ones.

A good brief is probably about as
      good as a brief gets.
The piece of paper is less
important than the journey.
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Communication R&D
In conclusion
It’s less about the brief and digital;
  more about how we think about
    modern communication ideas
From ‘high concept’ to rich,
generous multi-platform ideas
Modern communication ideas are different


They are more about what they do and how they feel, not what they say

They come from culture, not commerce, first (it’s about how you can
make a positive contribution to culture; be interested in what people
are interested in, not yourself)

They are participatory and need to be designed with gaps

They are always on

They are liquid or linked

They might not be ‘ads as we know them’

They create, don’t fill, media space; media positive not media neutral
But at their heart, there is simplicity



GET the audience

TO do, feel or think something

BY the power of an idea
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
And if all else fails....
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010
#digiworkwinsor
Thank you.


http://www.garethkay.com
        @garethk

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Postdigitalbriefs2 - August 2010

  • 2. HELLO #DIGIWORK THE BRIEF IN THE POST-DIGITAL AGE Gareth Kay Director of Brand Strategy August 9, 2010
  • 3. This isn’t really about the brief or digital... It’s about the long, slow stuff of culture, not the tech du jour It’s about digital as a type of idea, not a channel It’s about ideas and planning, not just briefs All that being said....
  • 10. All very similar A problem to be solved by advertising ‘Consumers’ to ‘target’ A message to say at them Reasons to believe Tone of voice Maybe, if lucky, what space you’re filling
  • 21. “This stuff is as mainstream as it can be. Google, the iPhone - these move the culture more than The Beatles did in the ’60’s. It’s shaping the human race.” - Andy Hertzfeld
  • 24. “Nobody comes out of a movie saying, “that was a really good movie. I really enjoyed it. It was really clear.” - Russell Davies
  • 26. $77 million $220 million $310 million
  • 27. Technology has driven dramatic, and continuous, change More participatory More social and communal (arguably amplifying who human beings are) More fragmented More transparent More playful ‘Always on’ Location increasingly important
  • 28. So, obviously, the brief remains the same...
  • 32. “I’m just surprised that no-one’s thought of a better idea yet” - Stephen King
  • 33. This isn’t about the digital brief. It’s about a better brief for the post-digital world.
  • 34. It’s not simply about the brief. It’s about asking having a better map of the world to ask better questions.
  • 35. It’s what we do, not what we say, that matters
  • 38. We’ve only ever noticed peacocks.
  • 40. We need to be like bowerbirds.
  • 41. We now live in age of ideas that do.
  • 44. Stop communicating products and start making communication products. Useful entertaining or memorable, not interruptive, experiences. Create, don’t fill, media space.
  • 45. Ideas that can be advertised, not advertising ideas
  • 46. It’s not what we do; it’s what people do to what we do that matters
  • 47. We tend to design finite, complete products. We’re not very good at designing for gaps.
  • 48. From a downloading culture to an uploading culture.
  • 58. Customers don’t own brands but they do want to participate. - Charles Vallance
  • 66. Generous ideas are better than big ideas
  • 67. Have a social mission, not just a commercial proposition.
  • 68. Understand what people are interested in and work back from there.
  • 72. Radiohead went out to where people are and built experiences there with partnerships like: - iTunes for remixes - aniBoom for an animation contest - Google for 3-D video
  • 73. “Media is less and less often about crafting a single message to be consumed by individuals, and more and often a way of creating an environment for convening and supporting groups.”
  • 75. Small is the new big
  • 76. “The bigger a brand gets, the smaller it should act, because no one likes big.”
  • 78. “Any idea is dangerous if it’s a person only idea” A culture full of depth and complexity The rule of 5% requires lots of matches to start a fire Why not when the economics have changed and the cost of failure is near zero?
  • 80. “The mistake of science is to pretend everything is a clock when the world is a cloud.” -Jonah Lehrer, referencing the work of Karl Popper
  • 81. Coherency, not consistency specials eg language, frappucino eg ‘skinny’ habits formation ‘my sister’ book range and options book barista Provide an culture reading uplifting experience ordering that enriches system akelah and used grounds people’s lives the bee for gardeners in store starbucks sofas and performance company social ambience and art starbucks responsibility salon africa 05 hearmusic fair trade Xm coffee music cd cause burn your own publicity cd in store Source: John Grant, ‘The Brand Innovation Manifesto’
  • 82. It’s about understanding distributed identity Google Books Blogspot Youtube Google Google Google Scholar 411 Search Google Docs Organize the world’s information Google and make it Shopping universally accessible and Google useful. labs Chrome Browser Google Maps Google.Org Google sketch Fossil fuel Challenge
  • 83. High frequency. Low value. Semi-predictable rewards.
  • 84. So what does all this mean for the brief?
  • 85. Pre-digital Post-digital Interruption Participation Image manipulation Value creation Saying things at people Doing things for people Intangible value Tangible value Perception Behavior
  • 86. From saying things at people to doing things with and for people
  • 87. From why and what to what and how.
  • 88. Better questions What’s the real problem? Who is this among? How might we best approach solving this? Why might they talk about this idea? How do they get involved? What keeps the conversation going?
  • 89. There are no great briefs, only great ads. There are no great briefs, but there are a lot of bad ones. A good brief is probably about as good as a brief gets.
  • 90. The piece of paper is less important than the journey.
  • 95. It’s less about the brief and digital; more about how we think about modern communication ideas
  • 96. From ‘high concept’ to rich, generous multi-platform ideas
  • 97. Modern communication ideas are different They are more about what they do and how they feel, not what they say They come from culture, not commerce, first (it’s about how you can make a positive contribution to culture; be interested in what people are interested in, not yourself) They are participatory and need to be designed with gaps They are always on They are liquid or linked They might not be ‘ads as we know them’ They create, don’t fill, media space; media positive not media neutral
  • 98. But at their heart, there is simplicity GET the audience TO do, feel or think something BY the power of an idea
  • 102. And if all else fails....