The SoDA Report (Volume 2, 2014)

From the SoDA Board
Chair
Tony Quin, Chairman of the Board, SoDA & CEO, IQ
Over the last 18 months, The SoDA Report has garnered nearly
450,000 views and downloads worldwide. This reflects the
importance that the global digital professional community places on
the vision of SoDA and its elite members.
SSooDA, The Digital Society, is in its 7th year and is made up of the
cream of the world’s digital agencies, production companies and
digital design firms. Representing over 20,000 employees, the 86
member companies of SoDA have over 200 hundred offices in 28
countries and 6 continents around the globe, and include the most

Introduction to
The SoDA Report
Chris Buettner, Managing Editor and Executive Director, SoDA
Welcome to our 2H 2014 edition of The SoDA Report. The Editorial
Team here at SoDA has been incredibly humbled by the response
this publication has received over the last 18 months. We’ve heard
from readers around the globe who have underscored the value our
content has delivered for both individuals and teams who are
creating the future of marketing and digital experiences.
AAss aa nnoonn--pprofit organization working to serve as a voice for
entrepreneurs and innovators worldwide, SoDA’s leadership, staff
and volunteers are incredibly proud of this response and are

The SoDA Report
Team and Partners
Content Development
Editorial Team
Partners
Lead Organizational Sponsors
Founding
Organizational
Sponsor
Chris Buettner
Managing Editor of The SoDA Report
SoDA Executive Director
AAƜƜer a career on the digital agency and publisher side that spanned
15+ years, Chris Buettner now serves as Managing Editor of The SoDA
Report. He is also the Executive Director of SoDA where he is charged
with developing and executing the organization’s overall strategic
vision and growth plan. And with roots in journalism, the transition
to lead SoDA has been a welcome opportunity to combine many of
his talents and passions. AƜer living in Brazil and Colombia for years,
CChhrriiss iiss aallssoo fflluueenntt iinn SSpanish and Portuguese and is an enthusiastic
supporter of SoDA’s initiatives to increase its footprint in Latin
America and around the world. Chris lives in Atlanta with his wife
and two daughters.
Sean MacPhedran, Industry Insider
Group Planning Director, Fuel
Sean is Group Planning Director at Fuel (based in Ottawa, Canada),
where he currently works with clients including McDonald’s Europe,
Nokia, Mattel and Lucasfilm. He specializes in youth marketing,
entertainment & game development, and the incorporation of
pirates into advertising campaigns for brands ranging from Jeep to
Family Guy. Outside of Fuel, he is co-founder of the Ottawa
International Game Conference, managed the category-free
TToommoorrrow Awards and spent a good deal of time in the Mojave
Desert launching people into space at the X PRIZE Foundation. They
all came back alive.
Rob Thorsen, Modern Marketer
Managing Director, Big Spaceship
AAss MMaannaaggiinngg DDiirector, Rob oversees the development of Big
Spaceship’s client relationships and the disciplines of the agency
that drive them. Equal parts relationship builder and creative
contributor, Rob brings over 15 years of agency building expertise to
the agency. His work includes launching Unilever’s AXE at BBH NY,
joining Mother NY as it’s first strategist stateside, to leading several
flagship accounts at BBDO NY. When not in the office, Rob is either
cchhaassiinngg ddown his two children with his wife, Sarah, or chasing aƜer
cyclists he so desperately tries to keep pace with. Also, he is from the
Great State of New Jersey.
Zachary Jean Paradis, Tech Talk
Director Innovation Strategy, SapientNitro
Zachary Jean Paradis is an innovation strategist, professor and
author obsessed with transforming lives through customer
experience. He works at SapientNitro, teaches at the Institute of
Design and lives in Chicago. Zachary works with companies to
become successful innovators by utilizing “experience thinking” as a
strategic asset manifested in better offerings, flexible process, and
open culture. He works with start-ups and Fortune 1000 companies
aass ddiiverse as Chrysler Auto Group to Target, Hyatt Hotels to John
Deere, M&S to McLaren, and SAP to Yahoo! evolving service and
product experiences across digital and physical channels.
Kate Richling, SoDA Showcases
VP of Marketing, Phenomblue
AAss PPhheennoommbblluue’s Vice President of Marketing, Kate Richling oversees
the agency’s marketing and social media outreach, as well as its
inbound marketing efforts. Previously, Richling worked in public
relations, creating and executing strategies for institutes of higher
education and Blue Cross Blue Shield, as well as providing social
media counsel to various non-profit organizations.
Jennifer Tucker, Continuity Editor
Strategy Director, Deepend
AAss SSttrategy Director for award-winning digital agency Deepend, Jen
uses her 10+ years of experience in transforming high profile brands
and organization from traditional communication to digital
platforms and helping them bridge the gap between creating
something which is innovative and engaging but delivers results.
AAlloonngg wwiitthh hheerr 1100++ years experience on both client and agency side,
Jen also holds a BA and Masters degree in Strategic Communications
from the University of Sydney.
Cover Design Web Development Content/Production
The SoDA Report Production Team
Lakai Newman, Head of Production
Jessica Ongko, Designer
The responsive version of The SoDA Report was developed with a variety of solutions from the Adobe Creative Cloud.
The opinions and viewpoints expressed in the articles in this publication are those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent or reflect the
opinions or viewpoints of SoDA.

Section 1
Industry Insider
Table of Contents:
Introduction to Industry Insiders
The Connected Age: Connecting with the
Industry’s Best
Micro Video Changes Everything We Know About
Brand Storytelling

Introduction to
Industry Insider
In the Second Issue of 2014, The SoDA Report continues to explore
the theme of Value. In the Industry Insider section, two great articles
with 5 big thinkers explore everything from the emergence of micro
video storytelling to the continued importance of risk-taking in
building brand value and connections with consumers in the digital
space.
Rather than trying to cleverly tease their insights, I’ll use the
introduction for this round to touch on an idea that seems to be
trending all over - the notion of Purpose, the value of marketing with
meaning and its role in the Transformation Economy.
The word “purpose” seems to be creeping into more and more conversations, articles and creative briefs
this year. In some cases, it presents itself as a force that aligns an organization around meaningful intent
– a company like Tesla eschews most traditional marketing activities and focuses completely on radically
innovating their industry. In other cases it presents itself as a communication idea, as with Dove’s Real
Beauty giving the brand a purpose – to reshape cultural notions of beauty and improve esteem issues.
MMaaxx Lenderman of “Purpose-driven” agency School aptly identifies the nuance of the term noting that,
“Cause marketing is, for the most part, against something. Purpose, on the other hand, tends to lean into
support for something.”
While it’s not a new pattern of thought – it feels a little like the Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs) from
Built to Last – it seems to be presenting itself more articulately in the startups and upstarts who are
forming companies around a clear purpose, and managing to behave in ways that make it apparent that
these organizations aren’t just paying lip service.
Accomplishing that requires an internalization of the brand values within the organization itself.
Something that’s easier to accomplish when the brand values are driving towards something meaningful
– an observation made well through considerable research in Daniel Pink’s Drive.
Employees crave meaning more than money (aƜer a point). A brand that is able to instill a sense of
greater purpose amongst their employees will have a happier, more productive organization.
It’s trite to say that consumers crave meaning. Humanity as a whole craves meaning, and much of
advertising thought is built around the foundation of providing symbolic meaning through brands.
NNoott to reference too many books (this section introduction isn’t part of an Amazon affiliate program, I
swear…), but The Experience Economy, lays out an interesting framework for the economic value
provided by marketing activities that maps well onto Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Coffee is a clear example of how each step in the value chain works. It’s a bean. It’s a bag of grounds. It’s a
hot cup at Dunkin’. But it’s also a hot cup at Starbucks. And in that gap between the brands, people are
paying more for perceived quality, but they’re also paying more for the experience.
AAƜƜer the added value of experience, the authors outline the interesting idea of the Transformation
Economy. Personal transformation through brand value. Just do it, you’re a Real Beauty in your
emissionless Tesla Roadster. Actualized yet?
In this space, Consumers are moving towards Actualization, Brands are moving towards Purpose, and the
additional Value is Meaning.
As we maintain our flat-out run to keep up with emerging technologies and the impact they’re having on
how we all relate to one another, it’s important that we don’t forget to keep our bigger ideals in front.
IIff we’re lucky, the next major innovation is going to make the world better, not faster.
Sean MacPhedran,
Industry Insider
Section Editor
Group Planning
Director, Fuel
Section 1

Kate Richling, Phenomblue
Looking for insight on today’s top trends, brands and the current
communications landscape, The SoDA Report (TSR) editorial team
reached out to four of the industry’s best.
(from leƜ to right)
• Stephen Foxworthy, Strategy Director, Reactive
• Michael Lebowitz, CEO & Founder, Big Spaceship
• Eric Moore, Managing Director, Huge
• Joe Olsen, CEO & Founder, Phenomblue
Here’s what they had to say.
Question 1: What does the “connected age” mean to you, and how would you (or your agency)
describe today’s communications landscape?
JJooee OOllsseenn:: Until the late ‘90s, we participated in one-way discussions with brands at a cadence they
controlled. Technology exploded, seeping into every crevice of our existence – fundamentally, and
irreparably, changing human behavior. The digital age was about mass creation. Then we evolved, and
our ecosystem became a conversation that happens at the will of people – drastically changing our
communication patterns and interaction models.
Today, everything is connected, and everything is on. There are more ways to interact with everyone and
everything, and infinite patterns of information exchange. Interactions require intent and purpose, as
every interaction with a company or brand is a chance to increase, or decrease, the value of the brand or
the success of the business. But in the connected age, brands and companies are struggling to focus, to
choose, to produce activity with results.
MMiicchhaaeell Lebowitz: Everything will be connected before too long as all of our objects start to have some
sort of basic intelligence and internet connectivity built into them. The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon has
given way to the six degrees of separation between everyone and everything. We’ve talked about it for a
long time, but I think the web has finally been rewired to revolve around people – moving away from a
long-standing focus on pages. Companies are connected to each other in new ways. I think the challenge
for the longest time was how to get things connected. Now, the challenge is how to make sense of it, how
to bring strategy to it, how to organize it and how not to drown in it.
We’re in an age of abundance. We’re no longer looking for ways to break out of a very limited number of
methods for communicating with people. Now, we have a seemingly endless amount of ways to
communicate, which forces more strategy … more thoughtfulness. It forces brands and organizations
that want, and need, to communicate to be more intentional and to have real purpose. Purpose drives
strategy, strategy drives decision-making, and decision-making leads to everything you actually do. I
think it has to be an incredibly intentional time. But at the same time, we must balance that
intentionality with new ways that allow us to experiment like never before – lighter weight, less
eexxppeennssiive ways to see what works and then act on those opportunities as you see them resonate in the
world. Or, if they don’t resonate, you can pull the plug on them without investing a huge amount of effort
or money.
Stephen Foxworthy: Now, more than ever, a holistic view of customer touchpoints, both digital and
offline, is required to ensure a seamless customer experience. Digital may be disrupting whole industries,
but it’s still important to understand the customer journey and lifecycle in order to add value. The ability
to manage customer experiences across a range of platforms and touchpoints allows us to provide a
more personalized, timely and relevant experience.
EErriicc MMoooore: To us, the connected age means we have the opportunity to connect multiple 'things' to
each other in order to create more valuable experiences for people. More oƜen than not, it's about
connecting a user to data to understand context and to drive personalized experiences like never before.
It's forcing us to evolve what we do in terms of the number of devices, interfaces and scenarios we design
for. More importantly, it's also allowing us to bring so much more power to bear in creating more
contextually relevant experiences that can truly be helpful in people's lives, and make users love using a
brand or product.
QQuueessttiioonn 22:: What’s the most important thing to a brand’s success today?
Joe Olsen: A strong brand is an insurance policy – it doesn’t ensure that every choice will be successful,
but it’s a great hedge if things go sideways. That insurance policy provides the foundation for market
position, outside perception and inside perception – three key areas of brand building. A good brand can
aid in the effectiveness and efficiency of brand building and a poor one can hinder the process or prevent
it all together. I think the most important thing for success is to design and implement a focused, efficient
and effective effort for building the brand … one handshake at a time.
MMiicchhaaeell Lebowitz: Being extremely aware of the disruptors in your category. If I were a rental car
company, I would pay very close to attention to Uber and LyƜ, but also SilverCar, which is an upstart
rental service where you can reserve nice cars for reasonable prices through your mobile phone. Brands
need to pay attention to these disruptors not because they are suddenly going to reach a level of scale,
but because they’re driving a lot of the innovation happening today in the area of customer experience
and in the equality of customer services. Big companies haven’t really been challenged to provide that
lleevel of personal and frictionless customer service. Meanwhile, the disruptors are building brand loyalty
by doing so.
Every interaction I have with a brand, whether it’s an interaction with a digital product or service,
whether it’s a social post, a website or campaign of any kind – all of those interactions ladder up to what
a brand really is. Our philosophy is every interaction matters, so how do you behave according to your
purpose and your goals in every interaction you can control.
Eric Moore: Staying true to who you are. Today's successful brands recognize their true brand
capabilities, which ensures two things: elasticity and authenticity. Brands like Google and Uber know
who they are and have a clear vision and purpose that allows them to both grow their business and their
audience, all while staying true to themselves.
Stephen Foxworthy: Brands only succeed through their customers, so customer satisfaction remains
one of the most important determining factors for brand success. Digital media, and particularly social
networks, make a poor customer experience so easy to share. Brands need to be more vigilant about
poor customer sentiment, and respond quickly to avoid service disasters quickly going viral.
Question 3: How would you describe “digital” within the context of today?
Stephen Foxworthy: I believe that digital technology now underpins so much business communication
and transactional activity that ‘digital’ is now simply business. Our approach to digital strategy has
always been to identify the role digital technology plays in delivering a business strategy, or transforming
it.
EErriicc MMoooore: Digital is like the air we breathe. It's as essential to our lives today as electricity. We take it for
granted, but we can't live without it. We used to call things 'digital' to differentiate them from physical
products and experiences, but that boundary is increasingly being eliminated. Digital is an experience, a
product, a tool, a language, and an extension of ourselves, permeating almost every part of our lives. It's
more a way of being rather than a project or thing, and in many cases, distinguishing something as
"digital" is becoming less and less relevant.
JJooee OOllsseenn:: Digital is our behavior. It’s the way we interact with each other and everything around us.
Saying we need a “digital plan” is no different than saying we need a plan for how we interact with
people and how people interact with us.
MMiicchhaaeell Lebowitz: There are agencies that are focused on digital and social, but we’re not because we
see it all as a series of interactions that have to create value for customers and potential customers. So
why is there a mobile agency vs. a web agency vs. a social agency? What you really need is a partner who
can understand your business goals, and how you really exist in the world. You need a partner who can
leverage those things, starting with digital and social, but extending out from there. Ultimately, I think
what people are talking about is a combination of channels, media, platforms and – more importantly
bbuutt lleessss uunnddeerstood – types of human behavior that lead to more meaningful engagement with
customers.
Question 4: What related trends do you see affecting your clients this year, this month, right now?
Eric Moore: The conventional answer is social, mobile, responsive design, blah, blah, blah. But the
underlying 'trend' is the rapid change in expectations users have for brands. Digital is the medium that is
accelerating the change, driving the shiƜ in expectations and transforming the fundamental nature of the
customer-brand relationship.
Joe Olsen: The single biggest challenge right now is lack of strategic clarity and tactical effectiveness.
Today, every experience matters and there are no silver bullets. The economics of the connected world
are crippling many brands and businesses. They’re struggling to keep up, while implementing as much
technology as possible at every turn, trying to find that silver bullet for success. But there is no silver
bullet. Established players and upstarts in the technology world will continue to create a dizzying array of
bright shiny objects for consumers. As the connected age settles in, I think the most important thing you
ccaann ddoo aass aa mmaarrketing, advertising and communications leader is put relatable goals down on paper and
then devise a strategy and identify the tactics that will allow you to keep your head down and see the
forest through the trees.
Michael Lebowitz: The big trends that affect every client I speak to aren’t really trends at all. They center
around the pain of being stuck inside of silos. Our clients use us a lot of the time to be the horizontal to
their vertical. We’re not designed to mirror the organizational structure of a typical department based
company We’re much more elastic and able to help cut across those silos – let us figure how to siƜ
through it all and bring things together to create maximum value for customers.
Stephen Foxworthy: The biggest trends we’re seeing are an increased focus on holistic customer
experience across channels, with personalized communications and content becoming much more
important. Lifecycle marketing, marketing automation and personalization technology are now allowing
us to deliver different experiences to individual customers more effectively.
AAlloonnggssiiddee tthhiiss ttrend, the rise of easily accessible business intelligence and analytics tools for marketers
are allowing much greater insight to be extracted from digital platforms. The ability to generate insights,
hypotheses and strategies from this data is now a critical skill that needs to be developed within all
businesses.
Question 5: If you had one mantra to give the people in charge of brands today, what would it be?
MMiicchhaaeell Lebowitz: When thinking about your customers, always give more than you expect in return.
From a very simple, micro level, if you look at it interaction-for-interaction – ask yourself are you saving
people time, are you asking more of their cognitive resources than what you’re giving back in value. It’s
not a strategy, but a paradigm to live by. If every person in your company thought that way, you’d be an
extremely successful company.
Stephen Foxworthy: Digital acumen is the life-blood of modern business. If you don’t have skilled and
experienced people in house to drive digital transformation for your business, look to partner with
agencies or consultants. Their role should not just be to do the work for you, but to help you and your
people skill-up. Things are only going to change faster.
JJooee OOllsseenn:: Results over activity. It’s important for brands to remember that almost all agencies operate
from briefs, and their “strategy” will assume the challenge or task at hand is a bonafide ask to begin with.
This work is rarely tied to clear and concise measurements and goals. It’s execution and tactics,
essentially the last step in the process. Skipping to the end is a sure-fire way to create false positives, and
unsustainable success. Be fair to your internal partners, your employees and your agencies. Set goals.
Define measurements. Identify and prioritize tactics, then issue briefs.
EErriicc MMoooore: I would have answered this question the same way 20 years ago, and the answer's still true
today: take more risks.
About the Author: As Phenomblue’s Vice President of Marketing, Kate Richling oversees the
agency’s marketing and social media outreach, as well as its inbound marketing efforts.
Previously, Richling worked in public relations, creating and executing strategies for institutes of
higher education and Blue Cross Blue Shield, as well as providing social media counsel to
various non-profit organizations.
“Digital is our
behavior. Saying we
need a “digital plan” is
no different than
saying we need a plan
for how we interact
with people and how
ppeeooppllee iinnteract with
us.”
- Joe Olsen
“The ability to
generate insights,
hypotheses and
strategies from data is
now a critical skill that
needs to be
developed within all
bbuussiinneesssseess.”
- Stephen Foxworthy
“Ask yourself are you
saving people time,
are you asking more of
their cognitive
resources than what
you’re giving back in
value – it’s not a
ssttrategy, but a
paradigm to live by. ”
- Michael Lebowitz
“Take more risks.”
- Eric Moore
The Connected Age:
Connecting with the
Industry’s Best

“In micro video every
second counts, every
second must be a
hook.”
Amber Horsburgh, Big Spaceship
Micro Video Changes
Everything We Know
About Brand
Storytelling
Micro video creators are coming up with incredibly creative ways for the traditional three-act structure of
all great brand storytelling to work in a new format. Micro video was made popular via platforms such as
Vine, Instagram and Snapchat and differs from that of traditional online video in that the writer’s script is
limited to less than 15 seconds. This prevents storytellers from following the linear three-act structure.
Instead the functions of storytelling – set up the scene, introduce the characters, build drama and deliver
the punch line – must happen instantaneously.
OOnnee mmethod of getting around such a condensed timeframe is by using all the peripheral elements of
storytelling such as the title and hashtags associated with the story. The title of the video now helps to
set up the drama in the story. The hashtags provide immediate context for the storyline. This is seen in
the widely popular trend from Viners to spin-off stories with titles such as ‘When you get...’ and ‘When
you’re trying...’ and ‘When your mom...’ The title has already set scene, added context and introduced the
protagonist.
AAnnootthheerr technique commonly used by brands in micro video is to play off existing schemas like famous
movie scenes, pop culture and sporting events. Since the audience already has an understanding of how
the scene plays out and the character roles, there is less of a need to set up the scene, thus allowing the
story to start straight at the drama of act two. A great example of this was GE’s widely successful
6-second Science Fair on Vine, which builds on what we already know of school science fairs. Dunkin
Donuts also executed a successful Vine series during this year’s Super Bowl XLVIII where the brand
recreated existing plays from the playoffs with their coffee cups as players.
OOnnee llaasstt key-differentiating factor in micro video is the need for the content to be social. Micro video
platforms exist in the social ecosystem where the content competes for the viewer’s attention. This
places greater emphasis on the content itself. There is little opportunity for a slow, subtle build of a story
when the viewer can click away at the first sign of boring. In micro video every second counts, every
second must be a hook.
TThhee tthhree-act structure still pervades advertising and is a solid method. However, we are now observing
the rise of creative ways to tell that story in a shorter format. Micro video offers exciting new vehicles for
brand storytelling through quick, playful interactions. Brands will be successful when they get creative
with the new opportunities that these platforms present as they are adopted by more and more
audiences.
AAbboouutt tthhee Author: Amber Horsburgh is a Senior Strategist at Brooklyn creative agency, Big
Spaceship where she has worked across various brands including AXE and YouTube. Her digital
roots come from the music industry, namely the MTV and EMI Music worlds. She has taught
strategy and analytics at Skillshare, writes a weekly column that demystifies digital strategy at
Skillcrush and mentors budding planners at SheSays.

Section 2
Modern Marketer
Table of Contents:
Introduction to Modern Marketers
Why Clients Really Fire Agencies
Divisible Content 101
Marketing and User Experience Aren’t
Compatible
WWhhaatt IIss tthhee Value of Real?
Wiring Your Enterprise for the Post-Search Era

Introduction to
Modern Marketer
The interconnected nature of all the touch points the Modern
Marketer has to master constantly reminds us how each and every
interaction matters.
AAllll tthhee pproducts, communications and content we create, and the
tactics and techniques we deploy on their behalf, answer to a
common end goal. What’s most critical is to understand the
relationships between each of those interactions and the dynamics
that drive them.
In this edition, our contributors explore a variety of relationships that wield a major impact on the
success of modern marketing initiatives.
Darren Woolley, Founder and Global CEO of TrinityP3 explores the nature of Client/Agency relationships.
More specifically, how and where those relationships sometimes come undone. A valuable lesson for
everyone to be sure.
Next up, Ross Crooks, Co-Founder of Column Five takes time to break down the relationship between the
whole and its parts in his piece on Divisible Content – a must read for the burgeoning number of brands
currently ramping up their content marketing efforts.
From there Anthony Franco, Founder of EffectiveUI, examines the relationship between the art of selling
and the art of serving and, interestingly, shows us that these seemingly complimentary pillars may
actually be at odds with one another.
JJaacckkssoonn MMuurrpphhyy aanndd Penny Norman from Pound & Grain make us stop and consider the relationship
between what's real and what's not, landing on a provocative question of their own - does it even
matter?
Lastly, Andrew Delmarter from HUGE explores the relationship between the content we create and the
sprawling context in which that content must appear to be effective across the modern marketing
landscape.
Enjoy these excellent and thought-provoking pieces.
Rob Thorsen,
Modern Marketer
Section Editor,
Managing Director,
Big Spaceship
Section 2

“It is all about the
relationship. Anyone
that tells you
otherwise is lying.”
“The problem is that
the agency will
respond to specific
client feedback and
will not address the
underlying cause that
goes largely unstated
bbyy tthhee cclliieennt.”
Darren Woolley, TrinityP3
Why Clients Really Fire
Agencies
Human beings are notoriously emotional and oƜen irrational. But we want to think we are totally
rational. Clients are no different. In fact, rational feedback and reasons are oƜen provided to justify what
is largely an emotional response to the relationship. Being able to read between the lines of what is
being said takes incredible emotional intelligence.
IItt iiss aallll aabboouutt tthhee relationship. Anyone that tells you otherwise is lying. You see, marketing, and especially
marketing communications, tends to attract professionals who are very people oriented. This means
that relationships are important to them. So when a client tells their agency “We have outgrown you” it
is usually code for we have fallen out of love.
Proof of this is seen in the reverse situation, when a new CMO is appointed. If they do not instantly fall in
love with the incumbent agency, oƜen one of the first things they will do is fire the incumbent and
appoint a new agency. Of course, this will be perfectly rationalized by stating that they need a fresh team
aligned to their fresh idea for the brand, but this happens before the incumbents have had a chance to
prove themselves.
IInn ddiissccuussssiinngg tthhee nneeeedd for a pitch, we will oƜen hear a litany of perfectly valid reasons for undertaking an
agency review and one of the key areas we explore is the relationship with the incumbents. With probing,
here is where you find that the sum of the parts equal an underlying whole… which is they no longer feel
the love and commitment.
TThhee iissssuuee for clients is how to articulate this in a professional business environment. Saying “I feel like
you don’t love us anymore” or “I don’t love you” or even “I love someone else” feels more appropriate in
a daytime drama than in a corporate office. Therefore, feeling constrained having these conversations,
clients will resort to more rational (and acceptable feedback) for the agency. The problem is that the
agency will respond to specific client feedback and will not address the underlying cause that goes
largely unstated by the client. While this is understandable on the part of the agency, it oƜen exacerbates
tthhee cclliieenntt’s feelings of dissatisfaction because they are now leƜ feeling misunderstood. In other words, if
the agency was truly aligned to the needs of the brand / business (and could read the client’s needs) the
agency would know what to do.
It is interesting that these situations occur at very specific points in the client / agency relationship. First,
as mentioned, is the appointment of a new lead. Here the agency must rely on having the person fall in
love with them. This can be hit and miss as you already come with the baggage of being the incumbent.
But some research and the appointment of the right staff on the front line of the account can help.
The next critical time is following appointment. AƜer about a year or so, unfortunately sometimes less,
the honeymoon period will end. This is a critical time and one that can be minimized by entering the new
relationship the way you want to continue it. Rather than rely on the good intentions of the honeymoon,
start the relationship management from day one with reviews, feedback, proactivity and openness.
The next critical time comes when there are quiet periods, when there is little or no work on the account.
As an agency, you need to stay in touch to stay top of mind and relevant, but not look like you are
wasting time and money.
AAnndd tthhee llaasstt ccrriittiical time is when a result is bad and the client is under performance pressure. Any
weakness in the relationship can leave the agency open to becoming the scapegoat for the poor
performance.
Ultimately, it is about setting up the relationship for success and realizing that nothing stays the same
forever. Agencies need to be able to read between the rational statements clients make in order to
understand the deeper emotional relationship. But of course there is a time when even that is not
enough.
AAbboouutt tthhee Author: Darren is called a Pitch Doctor, Negotiator, Problem Solver, Founder & Global
CEO of TrinityP3 - Strategic Marketing Management Consultants and a founding member of the
Marketing FIRST Forum. He is also an Ex-scientist, Ex-Creative Director, Husband and a father of
three. And in his spare time he sleeps.

“The more
comprehensive the
content, the more
opportunity to create
divisibles.”
Ross Crooks, Column Five
Divisible Content 101
As brands ramp up content marketing, they oƜen find it challenging to
produce enough content for the many publishing platforms and
audiences they need to reach – efficiently and at scale. The Divisible
Content approach is an efficient strategy that allows brands to produce
large volumes of content while expending minimal time and resources.
DDiivviissiibbllee CCoonntent is a strategy for streamlining content creation. You create one core asset that
comprehensively covers a topic. This asset serves as your foundation, which you break down into smaller
“divisibles,” publishing in a variety of formats across different platforms.
Benefits of Divisible Content
Economical: By repurposing core content, you extend the life of the work that has already
been created, saving you time, money and brainpower.
Efficient: By focusing on a single theme, all content helps support and deliver a strong central
message. A divisible content strategy also provides a clear structure and schedule for content
creation and distribution, streamlining the process for all departments involved.
Effective: You can tailor each “divisible” to a particular audience, helping deliver your
message more effectively. Additionally, all content created maintains visual consistency,
helping to preserve and promote your brand identity.
How to Create Divisible Content
1. Identify a Single Messaging Focus: Each core asset you create should cover a single topic, with the
aim of delivering a focused message. Look for topics that will help achieve your goals.
22.. CCreate a Comprehensive Piece of Content: The divisible content strategy hinges on the creation of a
core asset that covers a topic thoroughly. The more comprehensive the content, the more opportunity to
create divisibles. This asset can come in many forms (i.e. e-book, motion graphic, interactive slideshow).
3. Break Out and Reformat Divisibles: Identify the pieces of your core asset to repurpose in various
formats. Find as many opportunities as possible. Many divisibles, such as infographics and blog posts,
can be broken down even further into micro-content primed for social sharing.
44.. PPuubblliisshh CCoonntent: Content can be distributed through both owned and earned channels, then
amplified with paid media. All publishing is strategically coordinated to maximize reach.
About the Author: Ross Crooks is Co-Founder/CCO of Visage, a data visualization platform, and
Co-Founder of Column Five, an agency specializing in the creation and distribution of
infographics, data visualization and other visual content.

“Since both marketing
and UX advance their
goals through
understanding human
behavior, it is easy to
see how the two are
becoming
ccoonnvvoolluuted.”
“CMOs have the
responsibility to
create separate
marketing and UX
divisions that equally
provide value to the
brand from different
ddiirections.”
Anthony Franco, EffectiveUI
Marketing and User
Experience Aren’t
Compatible
The first volume of The SoDA Report revealed a disturbing survey result earlier this year. When asked
about talent gaps, 77 percent of agency respondents identified user experience (UX) as the biggest
shortfall on the client side. One possible explanation might be that the UX discipline is still a “field in
evolution.” While the report offers UX infancy as a cause for this glaring talent gap, another answer could
be that UX and marketing have fundamental core values that are in direct opposition to one another.
The primary function of marketing is to sell to the customer; the primary function of UX is to serve the
nneeeeddss ooff tthhee ccuusstomer. One campaign, one application or one digital product simply cannot do both.
Sell
“Marketing is a question of persuading, seducing and attempting to manipulate people into buying
products and services.” --Wally Olins
Wally’s description might seem unflattering, but we can’t deny that marketing is the art of persuasion.
Marketing serves the company by getting people to buy or do something. It doesn’t build better products
or experiences, and it’s not a service philosophy. It is a strategy for positioning and advancing products
and/or services in the world of consumers. Examining their business goals will make this evident.
Serve
IIff tthhee goal of marketing is to create value for the business, then the goal of user experience is to create
value for the customer. The functional word in the UX discipline is empathy, and there are a variety of
techniques employed to achieve it. UX practitioners do things like create user personas and journey
maps, constantly testing digital creations with users to discover their needs and help them accomplish
tasks in the most convenient and effective way possible. The ability to serve customers requires deep
understanding of their needs and goals at the point of engagement, and that insight is gained through
research.
CCoommmmoonn GGround
Since both marketing and UX advance their goals through understanding human behavior, it is easy to
see how the two are becoming convoluted. Recently, several articles have been written on the
convergence of marketing and UX. Some suggest that UX should be a subset of marketing. And of course
there are many advice pieces on how to use UX design for marketing purposes. History has shown,
however, that customer applications fail miserably when they try to perform marketing functions. While
there are many examples of this, we need to look no further than the failure rate of branded apps.
Overview of Apps and the Statistics
Fact: Eighty percent of all branded apps are downloaded fewer than 1,000 times.
Fact: One percent of all branded apps reach one million downloads.
Branded apps are performing poorly for one distinct reason: they cannot simultaneously serve and sell.
Branded apps that do succeed do not ask the question, “How can we use this app to increase
conversions or brand affinity?” The question they ask is user centered: “What do our customers need,
and how can we best serve them?” The difference between these two questions highlights the
differences between marketing departments and UX design departments, and core values again come
into play. Marketing is the art of persuasion; UX is the art of service. Marketing departments must come
to terms with one simple fact: a branded app cannot – and should not – be a marketing campaign.
SSoommee would argue that all apps must be utilitarian; they have to serve a need or they shouldn’t exist.
The questions UX departments ask when tasked with building a branded app are twofold: 1) Why is
someone going to download this app, and 2) Why would someone continue to use it? If the answer to
either of those questions is not service based, then there is no need to build the app at all. In fact, market
research has shown that launching an app for marketing purposes will damage the brand and do the
opposite of its intent. An app will not create brand affinity if it is not completely service based during its
ffiirst three versions. The only metrics that matter are how many stars it receives and how many
downloads. It’s no wonder that branded apps with a marketing emphasis have turned to gamification.
Tale of Two Visions
Harvard Business Review (HBR) published an article identifying the features of a successful branded app:
• Add convenience
• Offer unique value
• Provide social value
• Offer incentives
• Entertain
Forrester Research, however, identifies a different set of features that define a successful branded app:
• Useful
• Usable
• Desirable
TThhee lliissttss aare similar in their desire to serve customers’ needs, but that is also where they diverge. The
HBR list includes features (social value, incentives, entertain) that are driven by marketing needs. The
Forrester list is utility centered, and the focus is squarely on serving the needs of the customer. A look at
two branded apps, one conforming to the HBR features and one to the Forrester features, will make the
differences clear.
Pampers vs. Dominos
Pampers released a branded app called Hello Baby, which had been touted as a great example of a
branded application under the HBR definition. But if you looked at the app’s ratings and performance
(measured by download numbers), they were abysmal. One major cause of the app’s failure was it
required a connection to Facebook, which was an attempt to create social value. Unfortunately, many
women don’t want the details of their pregnancy plastered all over their social feed. The Hello Baby app
was clearly a marketing campaign to drive brand affinity and tap into new markets. In reality, the app
hhaadd aa nnegative impact on their brand due to the poor ratings and negative comments in the reviews. One
reviewer even commented, “this app must have been designed by a man.” The app is no longer
available.
On the other hand, Dominos Pizza embraced the utility perspective when they created their mobile app
for ordering pizza. To date, the Dominos app has been downloaded more than six million times and
accounts for 35 percent of their revenue, according to Mobile Commerce Daily. The app’s average rating in
the App Store is five stars, and the review comments are very positive. The Dominos brand is enjoying
unprecedented growth and success.
Granted, this is an oversimplified analysis, but it is clear that they each approached their branded
applications from very different viewpoints and with very different end goals. Pampers, already doing
well in its industry, was trying to sell to its users through a marketing campaign disguised as a helpful
application. Dominos, performing poorly in its industry, placed its efforts in service and delivered an
application that provided a useful, usable and desirable experience. In the end, it succeeded.
Advice to CMOs
WWhhiillee mmaarrketing and UX are not core-value compatible, they are powerful assets to a company if
managed wisely and held in proper balance. They will inevitably be required to work together because
they share the common interests of understanding human behavior and building brand loyalty. CMOs
have the responsibility to create separate marketing and UX divisions that equally provide value to the
brand from different directions. They each need their own leadership, and they must maintain a healthy
tension. A very good argument could be made that they even need equal budgets. Where marketing
ggeenneerates revenue for the next two quarters, building a digital application that provides great service will
generate revenue for the next two years. In short, great user experience is its own marketing.
About the Author: Anthony Franco is best known for founding the Denver-based firm, EffectiveUI
in 2005 with the core belief that technology lives up to its promise to humanity only when it is
well designed. A thought-leader in the UX field, Anthony has spoken at numerous industry
events held by MicrosoƜ, O’Reilly Media, Adobe, SysCon and Forrester Research.

“Hollywood has long
been able to stretch
the boundaries of our
imaginations to show
us what might be real,
if only our eyes can be
deceived. It’s now
bbeecoming possible to
use technology to play
with our
understanding as to
what constitutes a
truly authentic
experience.”
Jackson Murphy and Penny Norman, Pound & Grain
What Is the Value of
Real?
When technology can create anything our wildest dreams can imagine,
what is the impact on the changing value we place on real life and
authenticity? Whether it’s Facebook stitching your life together via
Lookback videos, exploring the Japanese Vocaloid movement, or the
use of celebrities long aƜer they are gone (Michael Jackson’s
holographic performance at the 2014 Billboard Awards or Audrey
Hepburn dancing her way through a Dove ad), we are looking to find the
im impact of reality on brands.
It’s increasingly hard for consumers to know exactly where reality ends and virtual reality begins.
Hollywood has long been able to stretch the boundaries of our imaginations to show us what might be
real, if only our eyes can be deceived. It’s now becoming possible to use technology to play with our
understanding as to what constitutes a truly authentic experience. As we look to build brands that stand
for something and create meaningful interactions, can we put a price on real?
It’s common to play the nostalgia card. Don Draper has made this a signature move; and everyone from
Jockey underwear to Ore-Ida’s Tater Tot brands are trying to bring back the real of a bygone era.
Physicists at Illinois’ National Accelerator Laboratory are even running an experiment to test whether our
reality isn’t just some 2D hologram. I guess we aren’t sure anymore.
Real or not, most of the next generation of consumers might not want to buy anything anyway. Instead,
what they crave are “sensory experiences” above all else. According to JWT Intelligence, over 70 percent
of respondents said that “they increasingly crave experiences that stimulate their senses, and more than
half feel increasingly disconnected from the physical world.” What they want now are physical
experiences over material items and will pay top dollar to get them.
MMaarriillyynn MMoonnroe, who died in 1962 is currently selling hair care products for Sexy Hair, launching a new
strawberry vodka for Three Olives, launching a line of shoes, and a Macy’s collection. She has 13.4 million
fans on Facebook, and over 200,000 Twitter followers. For a celebrity gone for over 50 years, she has
more of a following than Academy Award winning actresses Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow and
Jennifer Lawrence, combined. Sure, Emma Watson, Megan Fox, and Selena Gomez outpace the 87 year
old in terms of fans on Facebook, but how long until a fully rendered, computer generated Marilyn
MMoonnroe returns to the big screen with new content and catches up? Authentic Brand Group, who controls
her brand, hints that the time is probably sooner rather than later, given that some of her
contemporaries like Audrey Hepburn have been popping up in television commercials.
Making digital characters come back to life in print, television and film is easy. The real Holy Grail and
money is in live performances. Ever since Tupac played 2012’s Coachella, music has been trying to figure
out how to make holograms really work. For musical acts like The Rolling Stones, which still command
large dollars for performances, but increasingly are about as exciting to watch as your grandparents
singing karaoke, holograms could transform their tours into must attend events.
MMiicchhaaeell JJaacckkssoonn took this to a whole new level when he made his posthumous concert and TV debut as a
digital 3D character created by Pulse Evolution with a new song at the Billboard Music Awards last May.
This capped off a hot 2013 where he earned $160 million, making him the highest earning celebrity dead
or alive. Hot on the King of Pop’s digital heels, is news of Elvis doing four night shows in Vegas and
Macao, and talk of Frank Sinatra and Bob Marley making their returns to the big stage. Welcome to the
world of digital resurrection – a place of infinite brand servitude.
Taken a step further, in Japan, the Vocaloid movement, more or less uses a fancy voice synthesizer made
by Yamaha to create purely virtual characters like Hatsune Miku. She has performed live since 2009, has
nearly 2.5 million fans on Facebook, opened for Lady Gaga’s World Tour, has teamed up with Louis
Vuitton and Marc Jacobs, reportedly has over 100,000 unique songs in her library, and has even appeared
in Japanese Playboy. She is also 100% fake. Everyone knows she is a fake, it’s just not clear if that
matters. Imagine a pop star that doesn’t do drugs, get DUIs, has none of the gossip or headaches, and
nneever ages. Gisele Bündchen earned $47 million last year, could she digitally model in print and at
runway shows without having to resort to some real plastic surgery for basically all eternity?
Can these live digital experiences be authentic and truly entertaining? Will people pay $50, $100, or $200
or more to see a completely computer generated performance? Will the digital abilities of brands to
utilize long deceased singers, performers, and talent undermine their ability to capture audiences in an
authentic way? Or do we even care?
About the Authors: A Creative Director with over a decade of copywriting experience, Jackson
Murphy is passionate about evangelizing innovative creative solutions and delivering results.
As Planning Director, Penny Norman brings a laser sharp focus on great thinking and
effectiveness. Her experience includes over 10 years at leading agencies both in Canada and the
UK.

Wiring Your Enterprise
for the Post-Search Era
While it’s too early to say that search is dead, it is looking long in the tooth. Search – paid or organic – is
no longer even remotely the only game in town. New traffic and content engagement contexts arise
almost daily, each with their own specific requirements and optimization strategies. Brands that seek to
align their organization, technology and content to connect to these new platforms via APIs, semantic
strategies, partnerships, or paid inclusion will be the winners in this new and more complex post-search
era. Examples of how the classic era of search is drawing to a close can be found everywhere, with many
innovations coming from search engines like Google.
SSpplliinntering referral sources
Leading mobile discovery apps like Google’s Field Trip proactively present location-specific
“Search – paid or
organic – is no longer
even remotely the
only game in town.”
“It’s no longer enough
to publish and
optimize a blog post.
Now that post needs
to be a piece of
compelling content
able to work across a
mmuullttiitude of places for
a multitude of
audiences on a
multitude of devices.”
recommendations to users on Android devices, no search
required. Add in web content discovery platforms like
Pinterest, and users have lots of new options for finding
inspiration, getting recommendations or connecting with
the information they need.
OOnn tthhee hhaardware side, gadgets from smart watches to
dashboard devices of all kinds use GPS, embedded Internet
connections, and natural language processing to connect
users with information seamlessly far away from any search
results page.
From search first to user first
Over the past 10 years brands and digital publishers have
developed, published and restructured digital content to
align with the needs of search engines (‘SEO’). Entire
business strategies evolved and revolved around ranking
well on search engines. Many continue to do so.
WWhhiillee eennggiinneess lliike Google have always pushed webmasters
to ‘put users first,’ the age of the user has only recently
dawned. And it has come about not just from the
increasingly sophisticated nature of search engines
themselves but also from the incredibly diverse set of
contexts in which content is now being consumed.
Andrew Delamarter, Huge
The Field Trip Android app connects users with content
and information, no search required. Will your content
be there?
Companies like Single Platform thrive by supplying the plumbing for local businesses to push key information out to users and platforms
like Facebook, Yelp, Foursquare, and Google.

Section 3
Tech Talk
Table of Contents:
Introduction to Tech Talk
2015 – The Rise of the Location-Specific
Experience
A Web of Every Shape and Size
How Staying Up-to-Date on Front-End Tooling
Provides Value to Clients

Introduction to
Tech Talk
The intent of “Tech Talk” is to “future gaze on the technology
developments and trends impacting the industry.” It’s getting harder
to have a discussion about the future of any industry without tying it
to technology. In many ways, this discussion is similar because
consumer-enabling technology is forcing a connection between
what were discreet functions and disciplines in companies. Want to
focus on product but don’t care about sales? Good luck. Wish you
ccoouulldd bbee tthhee “ad guy” and not worry about messy customer service?
That’s old mode thinking.
Tech Talk continues to introduce ways in which technology can enable more effective and meaningful
connections between brands and people. The section begins with Ratio’s James Senior, breaking the
oƜen jargon-filled discussion of iBeacons and location-based experience down in simple terms. Next,
Adobe’s CJ Gammon outlines how the nature of the Web itself is changing to address the multiplicity of
contexts, touch points, interfaces and screen sizes. Tech Talk concludes with a call-to-action, by
Enlighten’s Michael Behnke, inviting agency technologists to increase the value of their work by staying
up-to-date on front-end technologies.
AAss mmaarrketers in a technology-enabled, connected world, we need to widen our aperture to include the
whole experience. Expectations raised and demand-driven through great creative becomes a costly
misstep if not aligned with the service that is actually being delivered. As so many industries mature and
more of our clients need to focus on lifetime value over acquisition, we must see the bigger picture. This
includes technology underpinning the communications, products, services – and yes, overall experience
– our clients exchange with their customers.
Zachary Jean
Paradis
Tech Talk Section
Editor
DDiirector Innovation
Strategy,
SapientNitro
Section 3

“Despite all the
coverage, beacons
remain one of the
most talked about, yet
misunderstood
technologies of 2014.”
James Senior, Ratio
2015 – The Rise of the
Location-Specific
Experience
In twelve short months since the word “iBeacon” showed up on a slide at WWDC 2013, this
location-based tech – using Bluetooth low energy (LE) - has sucked all the oxygen out of the
location-tech room (yes, it is a real room). Despite all the coverage, beacons remain one of the most
misunderstood technologies of 2014. As a digital agency, Ratio cares about multi-endpoint solutions that
seamlessly connect clients with customers. That's why we've been experimenting with beacons to
understand this exciting, yet shiƜing ecosystem and opportunities for location-specific experiences.
Your location toolbox
Are beacons the be-all and end-all in location technology? Not by a long shot. Instead, think of iBeacons
as one tool at your disposal when creating location-specific experiences. The larger toolkit includes
iBeacons, near field communication (NFC), WiFi, GPS, Cellular, etc. Each flavor has its own advantages
and limitations depending on the situation. Let's be clear, there is no one silver bullet for location, which
is why mobile platforms are providing all of the technologies in many devices, capable of adapting to the
situation in which a user finds themselves. If successful, location-driven experiences will work seamlessly
no matter which sensor input is used.
TThhee ssmmaarrtest, dumbest device
In its purest form, the iBeacon is a device with a watch battery and a Bluetooth LE stack that emits small
amounts of fixed data. In the simplest iBeacons, this data is a unique identifier and is transmitted on a
regular interval, say ten seconds. That’s it.
TThhee real magic is in the soƜware, where the mobile operating system intercepts the message and checks
if any installed apps claim ownership for the iBeacon (based on the ID). Everything else – content,
beacon configuration & setup etc. – is managed in the cloud. Now of course, there are beacon
manufacturers that are innovating beyond the original spec, adding different sensors like temperature
gauges and accelerometers – all designed to differentiate from the crowded (and low margin) beacon
market. The interesting intellectual property is in the cloud where business owners, marketers and IT
ddeepartments will manage and maintain their beacon infrastructure and tie it in with other consumer and
business ecosystems.
Location-contextual experiences
In our work with iBeacons so far, we've pushed the user experience hard with respect to providing
entirely different views and screens for varying locations. For example, should a shopping app behave
differently if the user opens it in their kitchen? Should it behave differently in the supermarket? The
answer is absolutely! This is an exciting proposition because the core experience has the opportunity to
evolve beyond the standard app and existing design paradigms today. Location-based technology has
been in a state of maturation for the last few years, with iBeacons rounding out a toolkit of boasting
capabilities that encompass indoor, outdoor, near and far.
To infinity and beyond!
As we move into 2015, the stage is set for these new technologies to shiƜ location-sensitive experiences
into the forefront of app developers’ minds. For publishers, brands and marketers, the evolution means
greater opportunities to engage with customers in new, more relevant ways in order to provide more
value for everyone involved.
AAbboouutt tthhee Author: Working closely with clients, James helps them build long-term digital
strategies that drive growth and positive outcomes for the business. His experience across web,
desktop & mobile platforms in business, design and technical roles allow him to provide a
unique approach to experiences and innovation.

“With the rise of
applications making
their way to the web
it’s become useful to
utilize the entire
viewport for full screen
interfaces.”
CJ Gammon, Adobe
A Web of Every Shape
and Size
With the huge variety of screens that support the web today it can be challenging to ensure your content
looks great on every device. It’s easy to imagine the issue of developing content for an increasingly
complex array of screens becoming more difficult as new hardware appears. Fortunately, the platform of
the web continues to evolve, making it easier to adapt to these changes.
MMoobbiillee ddevices introduced the need to view content produced for large monitors on smaller screens.
Media queries were added to CSS as a way to adjust layout based on the device. This can involve using
the device’s width to hide or reveal content, adjusting the complexity of the layout. With the rise of
applications making their way to the web, it’s become useful to utilize the entire viewport for full screen
interfaces.
New layout abilities are empowering how people build web applications across screens. Viewport units
allow you to use fractions of the viewport to size elements within your page. This enables views and UI
elements that maintain the same aspect ratio across screens. Flex-box is a new feature that allows
application layouts that morph easily to different sizes.
WWiitthh nnewer devices appearing, some with circular displays, we can imagine that the web may be viewed
on screens of different shapes. The CSS Shapes and Exclusions specifications allow wrapping content
inside defined shapes. Because it’s in CSS, media queries can be used to add or remove shape definitions
to content.
Headsets introduce new potential ways of viewing web content. Virtual Reality devices like the Oculus
RiƜ combined with 3D content produced in WebGL could be used to make immersive virtual experiences.
There are already libraries out there allowing for the display of content in a way that is suitable for these
devices, but in the future this functionality could be built into the web itself.
The web is an amazing resource that continues to deliver new ways of sharing and communicating. As
web-enabled devices continue to adapt to the world around us, the web itself needs to continue to
change in order to simplify the process making content that works on every screen.
AAbboouutt tthhee Author: CJ Gammon is a Creative Technologist at Adobe whose goal is to showcase
the creative potential of the web and inspire the community through innovative applications
and experiences.

“As developers, one of
the best ways we can
provide value to both
the client and our
agency is to always
evaluate both the
tools we are using and
tthhoossee coming out to
decide which are best
suited for the job at
hand.”
Michael Behnke, Enlighten
How Staying
Up-to-Date on
Front-End Tooling
Provides Value to
Clients

SoDA Showcases
Penn Museum Nike Natrel Hellmann’s Brooks Running
PepsiCo Americas
Beverage KPN SocialWellth YouTube Hurley & Nike SB
Quick-Step The Guardian IHS
TED Prize
MicrosoƜ/Skype
Sugata Mitra and
Newcastle University
72andSunny
Amsterdam for Google
Coca-Cola Intel & Toshiba University of Nebraska
CMT's "Mom's a
Medium" Tennis Australia
“Office Mood Check-In”
Section 4

Native American Voices: The
People – Here and Now /
Penn Museum / Bluecadet
AƜer collaborating with the Penn Museum on Maya 2012: Lords of Time, a
critically acclaimed exhibition, Bluecadet was thrilled to further
contribute by helping conceptualize and create custom interactive
experiences for the museum’s long-term exhibition Native American
Voices: The People – Here and Now.
NNaattiive American Voices features more than 250 objects from the Penn Museum’s expansive collections.
Over the course of five years, nearly 300 objects representing 85 tribes will be rotated for display. To help
interpret these artifacts, Bluecadet created 12 Interactive Object Touchscreens that, with the tap of a
finger, offer rotated views and dynamic, in-depth artifact information (history, geography, language). In
addition to exploring the nearest object case, museum visitors can use the touchscreens to view the
entire collection or even sort the objects according to personal interests — curating their own unique
exhibition experience.
To introduce and anchor the space, Bluecadet designed a motion-activated Central Projection that offers
a narrated, cinematic exhibition overview. This authentic recorded footage, complemented by natural
landscapes and original soundscapes, captures the diversity of contemporary Native Americans and
their distinct stories, histories and identities.

Phenomenal Shot /
Nike / Grow, Wieden +
Kennedy, Google
Real-time reactions to sports are happening all over the web, and not
just on social. How can brands tap into this energy to provide
experiences of real value?
CCeerrtain things about sports, and the experience of being a fan, will never change — like the rituals, the
drama, the did-you-see-that shots and the can’t-believe-it calls. Sports fans are using technology like
never before. Google research shows that 77% of people now watch TV with a laptop, mobile device or
tablet. In 2010, about 18% of related Google searches during the World Cup final were on mobile,
compared to 2014 in which 70% of searches were on mobile.
GGoooogglle’s Art, Copy & Code team partnered with Nike to create a new way of tapping into the real-time
energy of the World Cup across the web. Google used animated avatars from Nike’s short film created by
Wieden + Kennedy, The Last Game. Then, seconds aƜer a goal was scored by a Nike footballer, an ad
would run across the web featuring that footballer’s stylish avatar in his signature celebration pose.
Fans picked angles on the shot by panning around a 3D version of the image, and customized it with
headlines, filters and stickers to create their own digital poster celebrating the ‘phenomenal shot.’
According to technology partner Grow’s CEO and ECD Drew Ungvarsky, customization was vital: “People
want to share their own perspective, and not just one that’s been pre-made for them. The experience
gave people a way to do that. It’s why we take our own pictures when we could just buy the postcard. We
want to share and remember how we uniquely experienced something.”

Natrel.ca / Natrel /
CloudRaker
This online experience developed by CloudRaker for premium milk
products brand, Natrel, used online research to discover the needs and
preferences of women in the area of health and nutrition, and helped
deliver a customized experience.
CloudRaker transformed the Natrel website, Natrel.ca, into a fully responsive resource, toolkit and
community that women can take with them anywhere.
BBuutt CClloouuddRaker didn’t do it alone. They worked with local Natrel-loving bloggers to create compelling
content.
In just three months, the team published 18 inspiring stories, 75 delicious recipes and 12 unique
contests.

WhatsCook /
Hellmann’s / CUBOCC
CUBOCC develops the first live recipe service via WhatsApp to engage a
Brazilian audience through mobile.
Hellmann's may be Brazil’s longtime, market-leading mayonnaise brand, but it still had room for growth,
as most Brazilians only use mayonnaise on sandwiches. While Hellmann’s engages heavily across various
media channels to inspire new uses of its mayonnaise (like CUBOCC’s Recipe Cart, last year), the mobile
platform remained an untapped opportunity to engage with consumers.
WWhhaattssCCooookk iiss tthhee ffiirst live recipe service via WhatsApp, in which consumers can chat with a specialized
cooking team and learn new recipes in real time. People submit their numbers on the website, and real
chefs get in touch with them – it’s as simple as that. Through a conversation with chefs, users can learn
how to cook something they want, either step-by-step, or by taking a picture of their fridge to show
which ingredients are inside to let the WhatsCook’s chefs devise a recipe.
TThhee nneeeedd for real-time interaction to address everyday life is constantly growing given the accelerated
pace at which today’s world is changing. When talking about the advertising industry, CUBOCC built a
tool that does more than improve lives; it works in sync with the immediacy of its users’ needs.

Mt. Sac Relay SnapChats
/ Brooks Running /
Digital Kitchen
To help Brooks Running Company bolster their digital presence at
running events, Digital Kitchen created a series of Snapchat campaigns,
merging digital content with real-world experiences.
Brooks Running Company has been a pillar of the athletic community for the last century, but truly found
its stride when the brand focused on one sport and one sport alone: running. As category experts, the
brand carved out its niche both in product and personality. Poised for breakout success, Brooks
identified the need to amplify its presence in the digital space. In an effort to increase the number of
Brooks runners, as well as fuel runners’ love of Brooks, the brand partnered with Digital Kitchen, their
first Digital AOR.
For the 2014 Mt. Sac Relays outside Los Angeles, DK and Brooks reached out to high school and collegiate
runners using their language: Snapchat. To make this unique first impression count, DK quickly built out
a robust Snapchat community to flirt playfully with new runners. Creatively working around the
limitations of Snapchat, a flirtatious shoe engaged with runners throughout the three-day event – even
responding directly when it got snapped back!

Harnessing Real-Time
Sentiment During Super Bowl
XLVII / PepsiCo Americas
Beverages / EffectiveUI & TNS
A collaborative solution created by EffectiveUI and TNS collected
in-the-moment feedback for immediate display and guidance for future
marketing strategy.
TNS, a global research consultancy, and EffectiveUI collaborated to create a real-time, customized
polling application that helped executives from PepsiCo Americas Beverages understand real-time
sentiment on advertising campaigns, as well as customer insight regarding the value of the halƜime
show it sponsored during Super Bowl XLVIII in February.
TTNNSS hhaadd aallready been working with the company to capture real-time brand sentiment and behavior for
PepsiCo Beverages through an app called IBEV, and leveraged this work to create a program that focused
specifically on the Super Bowl.
EffectiveUI developed the solution using a live-polling platform, adding customization and additional
capability beyond traditional polling. The application design customized for PepsiCo Beverages allowed
for aggregation of the results, including the ability to compare the answers from multiple questions, as
well as categorize and rank them – a capability not offered in standard polling soƜware.
AA team of experts from TNS and EffectiveUI were on-site with PepsiCo Beverages executives, both at the
stadium and in a nearby “war room” location to manage the process. Questions about the ads, the
halƜime show and the game were created and asked on-the-fly, including the perceived value of certain
advertising strategies as well consumer perceptions of the status of the game.

Feel Free with KPN /
KPN / Energize
The rollout of KPN’s 4G network sets everyone free – free to watch live
TV, share movies and stream music anywhere and anytime. Energize
created an interactive video starring Jett Rebel to amplify this liberating
feeling.
Following in the footsteps of Nina Simone, Muse and Michael Bublé, Jett Rebel – Dutch musical
omnitalent and Radio 3FM Serious Talent winner – covered the famous song “Feelin’ Good”. Energize
then asked the Dutch audience to upload their ultimate ‘feel free moment’ in celebration of KPN’s
nationwide 4G-coverage and to serve as the backdrop for the interactive video.
As Jett Rebel played all of the instruments himself, he invited the viewer to select an instrument for him
to play. Thanks to some special video and clever programming, users could instantly switch between
instruments and enjoy many #feel-free-moments.
TThhrough a mobile app, the website and social media, people could share their photo or video to become
an instant star in this interactive video. Thousands shared their moments with pets, family, friends,
sunsets and… lots of happy selfies.

mExperiences /
SocialWellth / Enlighten
Transforming how consumers connect and interact with their healthcare
sponsors through the power of hyper-personalization & social
engagement.
WWoorrkkiinngg together with SocialWellth, Enlighten built a digital health social engagement company, offering
a digital health curation gateway to enable Sponsors (health plans and self-insured employers) to
connect and deliver best-in-breed healthcare and balanced living digital interventions. Sponsors and
third party health and wellness application providers can leverage the HIPAA-compliant marketplace
gateway to swiƜly deploy and scale their programs and health apps via the web or mobile network,
creating trusted and engaging connections with consumers.
TThhee SSoocciiaallWWeelllltthh mmEExxppeerriieennce platform provides users with a variety of curated apps, activities,
challenges and incentives – all within a highly personalized and tailored experience – to make living
healthy fun and rewarding.
BBuuiillddiinngg oonn tthhee ssttrengths and experiences of healthcare, technology, and the gaming Industry,
SocialWellth has demonstrated the power of harnessing consumer profile data into captivating
relationships. SocialWellth’s hyper-personalized Consumer Health Connection Network will leverage
social and health data, localized community resources, social media tools and gamification to create a
trusted connection between consumers and their healthcare sponsors.

How Video Gets to
You / YouTube / Grow
Grow worked to help people understand the issues around slow or
choppy Internet video by putting a deeply technical issue into a familiar
context.
Poor YouTube video performance is a complex and at times sensitive issue. It can be extremely
frustrating for viewers, and people oƜen incorrectly blame YouTube rather than their connection to the
Internet. To explain this issue in simple and relatable terms, Grow created an experience that lets viewers
watch the journey their video takes as it travels from YouTube to their laptop. The experience is a
companion to Google’s “Video Quality Report,” an innovative test of your Internet provider’s end-to-end
video delivery performance.

Australian Open of
Surfing Pop-Up Store /
Hurley & Nike SB / IE
Attracting 200,000 Australian Open of Surfing goers to a co-branded
pop-up shop.
Hurley and Nike Skateboarding (Nike SB) share a focus on product innovation, and are currently working
together to reinvigorate Australia’s in-store experience. Working closely along the way, Hurley is creating
shopping experiences to surprise and delight their loyal customers.
Having ddeessiiggnneedd aanndd ddeveloped a variety of digital campaigns, in-store interactive retail experiences and
event activations for Nike SB, IE Agency was engaged to implement a retail and brand activation
experience at the Australian Open of Surfing (AOS), an annual event on Manly Beach in Sydney that
brings together top athletes from action sports around the world. To enhance the space, Hurley and Nike
SB worked with IE Agency to create interactive touch screens and video wall experiences that linked
brand stories, told through hero athletes, to highly engaging and educative product information.
IIEE aanndd HHuurrlley focused on promoting the key products and the Hurley mobile app in the retail space. IE
produced a space that created a sense of theatre through ambient and consumer-controlled content – a
shopping experience never before seen within this category. The space included a multi-screen video
wall, individual video screens, audio and a central touch control panel. All content was edited and
curated to suit the event by IE.
AAddddiittiioonnaalllly, IE created a Nike SB App and Product Activation station. The app display featured an
instructional video demonstrating the iOS app features, functions and a how-to guide, with the video
content itself produced in-house by IE.

Style My Floor App /
Quick-Step / IQ
To simplify the floor shopping process for Quick-Step, IQ created a
mobile app using augmented reality that shows how floors will fit their
space.
With the Style My Floor™ app, homeowners can view virtual floors in any room. The app simply accesses
a device's camera to capture the existing room and superimpose styles over the current floor in real time.
Users can test hundreds of floor styles, save their favorites and share photos of floors with family and
friends — a social element that makes it even easier for homeowners to get a second opinion on
potential floors. Once they’ve narrowed down their favorites, users can then order up to five free floor
samples right from the app. They can also use the app to locate Quick-Step floor retailers near them.

Seven Deadly Sins /
The Guardian / Jam3
An exploration of our digital morality, exposing how we sin online.
A voyeuristic review of our sinful behaviors in the digital realm, Seven Deadly Digital Sins explores how
the iconic seven deadly sins translate in a technical age, asking us to reflect on how we feel about these
questionable behaviors online, and confess if we too engage in them.
TThhrough videos, custom illustrations, elegantly written stories and interactive polls with real-time
infographics, this variety of content hovers weightlessly in an organic, faux-3D environment. Related
content reorganizes itself upon interaction, allowing the user to explore and consume content
thematically based on each sin, from the gluttony of Instagramming food to the lust of extramarital
online dating. The taboo nature of each story and video begs for self-reflection, allowing users to
ruminate on the digital age and how we each contribute to it within a highly interactive digital piece.
JJaamm33 bbuuiilltt aa ccuusstom 3D rendering engine that uses CSS 3D transformations, rendering entirely in the
DOM. Additionally, all of the infographics were custom built on canvas for maximum performance. Built
fully responsive, the experience delivers a seamless site across devices achieved with HTML, JS and CSS.
A custom video player was built, and UI to handle all of the video content.

Risk and Compliance
Video / IHS / Leopard
What can a grain of salt tell you about your business?
IIHHSS nneeeeddeedd aa ssiimmpplleer, bolder way to say, "Hello! This is what we do." AƜer numerous acquisitions over
the last several years, IHS delivers cross-industry data and market insights that, literally, no other
company can. But those acquisitions have also led to a general lack of message cohesion across target
markets, scattering brand equity and leaving IHS' value vulnerable to being misunderstood — or
underestimated. Current pressures from niche competitors and the increased demand for data insights
and analysis prompted IHS to take action to claim its leadership across global industries.
Leopard’s strategy was to create a simple, yet engaging animated video series that clearly communicates
the critical value IHS delivers — the big-picture insights customers need to make the best, most informed
business decisions in the most mission-critical areas such as risk and compliance.
Beginning with a tiny grain of salt, a two-minute animation uses simple visual metaphor to evoke a
complex, connected ecosystem of cause and effect for global business. IHS wants business leaders
worldwide to first ask themselves, “What else aren’t we thinking of?” and then conclude, “We need IHS
to help us see the big picture.”

School in the Cloud /
Made by Many
Made by Many transformed a dispersed network of educators and
researchers into a global, scalable platform for communication and
learning to help Sugata Mitra, TED Prize Winner 2013, build his vision for
a School in the Cloud.
SSeellf-organized learning environments (SOLEs) allow students the opportunity to conduct their own
Internet investigations to answer big, open-ended questions set by their educators. Sugata Mitra
suggests that SOLEs are an exciting new way to let learning happen and is currently researching the
impact of SOLEs on participating young people.
SScchhooooll iinn tthhee CClloouudd iiss aa gglloobal platform where educators and children from around the world can run
their own sessions and contribute to Sugata's global learning experiment. Sugata's many experiments
have revealed that groups of children can learn almost anything by themselves when given Internet
access and the ability to work as a community. The aim of SOLEs is to spark creativity, curiosity and
wonder in children and inspire them to take control of their own learning.
For eight months, Made by Many embarked on a co-design process with children, educators, researchers
and partners, including MicrosoƜ, TED, University of Newcastle and IDEO. Working in rapid cycles of
learning, the team developed a minimum viable platform and launched to a small group to start testing
what tools and resources were truly useful to its users.
TThhee core functions of School in the Cloud are to create a central place to share practices in self-organized
learning environments (SOLEs), to enable educators to join the global SOLE experiment and – for the
physical spaces of TED Prize SOLE labs in India – to connect with Skype Grannies. The challenge was
turning everything Sugata and his team learned into a cohesive, scalable and accessible digital service to
create a global movement in self-organized learning.

Night Walk in Marseille
/ MediaMonks
Night Walk in Marseille is the first-ever Google Street View, by night,
combining the power of storytelling with the genius of Google.
For this project, MediaMonks teamed up with 72andSunny Amsterdam to cram three kilometers of urban
nightlife into an immersive, pocket-sized experience. Embodying the first-ever Google Street View, by
night, the experience lets people stroll through the streets and back alleys of Cours Julien. During this
nocturnal tour around the city’s best-kept secrets, tap into Google’s genius to learn more about Marseille
and its nighttime neighborhood.
To capture the creative melting pot of Cours Julien, MediaMonks went out at night to shoot around 200
high-definition photospheres that allow people to explore the neighborhood from every angle.
Leveraging the gyroscope and accelerometer, the mobile website even lets users look around by moving
their phone or tablet. As users explore, integrated Google products such as YouTube videos and
Knowledge Panels enhance the experience with bespoke content and information about the places and
people encountered — demonstrating the power of Google in real-use contexts.

Real Time Mkt /
Coca-Cola / Mutato
As Coke's AOR for digital, content and social in Brazil, Mutato delivered
an entire suite of content marketing aimed at engagement and buzz
when every brand was struggling for share of voice.
Today, brands simply cannot be relevant in big events, such as the World Cup, if they’re not analyzing,
planning and executing in real time. Each game and each result can inspire the most unexpected moods
amongst audiences. But social listening was just one discipline Mutato had to put together in order to
achieve the most engaging results.
MMoore than 400 pieces of content were produced during the World Cup. Each piece of content, including
the format for each channel, was optimized every day based on its performance. “Data driven creativity”
was Mutato’s mantra during the event — with the agency learning in real time through other people’s
content as well as their own.
Mutato acted on two fronts:
• A content squad, formed by a group of influencers, was trained to produce engaging content. Their
objective was to create from teens to teens, Coke’s main target.
•• AA sstudio was built to produce photos and videos by the creative team before, during and aƜer each
game.
The team at Mutato learned the most effective times, formats and frequencies for posting in each social
network. They adapted the creative’s tone of voice in order to achieve the best results, and understand
that learning will change again in the next big event.

The Power Inside /
Intel & Toshiba /
Pereira & O’Dell
Sometimes you have an idea that seems so ridiculous, so silly that it will
never be greenlighted into production. The client will never say yes. And
then they do. Enter “The Power Inside” for Intel & Toshiba, a social film
that begs the question, “Is your moustache possessed by an alien race
that is trying to take over Earth?” With Pereira & O’Dell’s target being
millennials, they wanted to provide an experience that was smart, witty
and action-packed.
IInntel & Toshiba launched "The Power Inside," an episodic social film that imagines aliens have invaded
Earth in the form of mustaches and unibrows that attach to humans. Upon discovering that he is the only
man who can save the world, Neil, assembles a team to take on the aliens. They are aided, of course, by
technologies like the Toshiba Ultrabook with Intel inside.
TThhee ffiillmm was directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon (“Blades of Glory”), starring Harvey Keitel
(“Reservoir Dogs”), Craig Roberts (“Submarine”), Analeigh Tipton (“Crazy, Stupid, Love”), Reid Ewing
(“Modern Family”) Zack Pearlman (“The Inbetweeners”), and the audience. The campaign launched on
July 18, 2013 with the launch of the official trailer, followed by six weekly episodes.
In this original web series, filmmakers, brands, technologies and the audience collaborate to fight
against earth’s greatest threat that is hiding... right… underneath… your… NOSE!

University of Nebraska-Lincoln
College of Arts and Sciences /
Phenomblue
Centralizing the efforts of 18 departments, 38 majors and 57 minors to
deliver a world-class, connected experience, The University of
Nebraska-Lincoln College Arts and Sciences used Phenomblue’s
PTSApproach™ to focus efforts, drive better creative and achieve
measurable goals.
TThhee UUnniiversity of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Arts and Sciences is the school’s oldest and largest
academic college, empowering more than 5,000 undergraduate students each year with a world-class
education.
LLiike many universities today, the College of Arts and Sciences found itself fragmented by a dizzying array
of stakeholders, including staff, brand management, channel strategists and technology professionals.
Additionally, the college was in a transitional time, searching for a new dean and hiring a marketing
director, while attempting to unify siloed departments and streamline communications. Lacking a
central, driving strategy, the college struggled to differentiate activity from results.
PPhheennoommbblluuee worked collaboratively to establish an overarching plan to enhance the college’s
competitive position and achieve the Chancellor’s goals of recruitment, retention, research and
reputation. Through onsite discovery and interviews with key stakeholders, Phenomblue established a
Future Picture Statement to ensure brand governance and establish long-term goals and benchmarking.
The most urgent tactical solution was to centralize the college’s web strategy. Phenomblue started by
creating a unified and concise content strategy and converted the old design using the university’s
updated web template and design components. Phenomblue overhauled 28 websites within the College,
ccoonnverting more than 15,000 webpages into 900, while remaining customizable at the department level.

Mom Knows More Than
You Think / CMT’S Mom’s
a Medium / Pound & Grain
Pound & Grain was asked to create a digital experience to help promote
CMT’s Mom’s a Medium, a new show about the life of a psychic.
CMT’s newest show, Mom’s a Medium, is about the giƜed medium, Carmel, a mother of 6 who performs
psychic readings in Edmonton, Canada. Central to all Carmel’s readings is her reading room, which is a
specially created environment with symbolic objects and mediumship tools. Pound & Grain proposed to
create Carmel’s room as an interactive web space, with the nostalgic fun of a Flash-made website circa
2004.
CCeennttral to this concept was to create a truly authentic experience that mirrored how Carmel approached
her readings. Pound & Grain took real objects from Carmel’s room and 3D-rendered them to be included
within the online platform. Each object allowed the viewer to get a deeper look into Carmel’s
mediumship and get involved from home.
Pound & Grain included extra details about Carmel and her family, bonus scenes from the show and
exclusive web episodes.
AAddddiittiioonnaalllly, Carmel’s spirit stones were featured, letting viewers select one of the stones to illustrate
what they may need in their lives. Pound & Grain also gave fans the chance to experience a virtual
reading with Carmel’s unique Oracle Cards and share with their social networks.
Lastly, viewers were asked to share their own stories of those they have lost; to remember the great
moments, the secrets shared and struggles. Each week, Carmel selects one of the story authors to
receive a free reading.

The Australian Open
Social Shack / Tennis
Australia / Reactive
Every year, Tennis Australia promotes and conducts the Australian Open,
one of the world’s premiere tennis events and host to hundreds of
thousands of visitors from around the globe. In 2014, they looked for a
new way to engage existing fans through social media and deepen fan
relationships with both the sport and players.
Tennis Australia literally had to work within the framework of a shipping container at the Australian
Open. So, Reactive set to work developing a digital concept that would greatly enhance the experience of
attending the tournament and encountering this shipping container, which became known as the Social
Shack.
Reactive and Tennis Australia developed a concept that consisted of seven large screens (with
multi-screen display), which integrated live game play data from IBM with social media content. When
combined with beautiful design and animation, Reactive was able to beam tournament-related content
and virtual gaming to tennis fans at the tournament.
TThhee ‘‘Tug of War’ allowed fans to influence a virtual one-on-one between two tournament players, ‘Social
Cheer’ integrated match data to display social ‘applause’ throughout a match, and the ‘Social
Leaderboard’ tracked the most active players on various social media sites. Fan ‘photo booth’ images
and an animated feed of player social media accounts rounded out a visit to the Social Shack.
Reactive also led art direction for the installation, guaranteeing there would be a unified appearance to
the exterior, interior and digital experience of the Shack.

Office Mood Check-In /
Concept / Zemoga
Employee sentiment check-in offers live maps for understanding
emotion in the workplace.
HR has the power to make changes, but they don't have access to the information they need. Team
members — as a collaborative group of individuals — are the main source of the feedback HR
professionals need, but they can't directly change how things work.
Communication in both directions needs to be fixed by creating channels that feel fair and convenient to
both parts.
New technology-based management tools borrow from the ingrained behavior patterns and social
dynamics of the mobile generation. Management will leverage these employees’ communication
impulses to tune into the underlying attitudes of the workforce in a whole new way. Measurable insights
will fuel more accurate sentiment assessments and lead to better reaction strategies.
SSoocciiaall cchheecck-ins are now a part of people’s everyday lives. Smart companies are looking at ways to
translate this same behavior to the office by embracing the social behaviors that are seen in the outside
world. The Mood Check-In leverages this social expression, making employees feel empowered at the
same time.
Environmental visualizations that change in real-time to reflect employee sentiment, as well as the
multiple feedback mechanisms unleash a powerful workplace communication tool that both unifies the
workforce and respects the individual’s place within it.

About SoDA
SoDA serves as a network and voice for entrepreneurs and
innovators around the globe who are creating the future of
marketing and digital experiences.

The SoDA Report (Volume 2, 2014)

The SoDA Report (Volume 2, 2014)

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