As we enter 2017, the challenges we face have not only become more complex but almost daunting. The main cause of this upheaval is the democratization of commerce – no one is bound by the confines of traditional retail when they buy or sell something anymore. This leveling of the playing field has happened because technology has become easy for anyone to use anytime.
The middleman has quite literally been cut out.
We as consumers are no longer scared of technology, in fact we crave it. We don’t have flying cars yet but give Elon Musk a few years and we might just get there.
Understanding this new technology will help us as brand specialists and marketers, to navigate this upheaval. No question, the tech sector is driving the bus, not the branding and marketing industry, but if we embrace it, there will be opportunities for us to gain competitive advantage and grow.
Let’s look at the tools or movements that are here or on the horizon that we can adopt and embrace today and start closing the gap between us and consumers.
BOTS
The last half of 2016 saw the Internet focusing on bots. A bot is software that is designed to automate the kinds of tasks you would usually do on your own, like making a dinner reservation. The increasingly common forms of bots – chatbots – simulate conversation while the most compelling experiences are powered by AI.
If you haven’t experienced a bot yet, you’re not alone. Or maybe you have and just didn’t know it. Bots are a game changer. Cost to market is comparatively low and with very little investment, bots allow your marketing interactions to be both powerful and more intimate than ever before.
If you want an example of a great experience, check out the one that Starbucks recently created (they have an even cooler one they are coming out with soon).
Part of the reason we’re so bullish on bots is the personal brand experience they create. One area in particular is customer service. 85% of all customer service interaction can be categorized into the same 6 or 7 categories. Imagine the cost savings at the call centre, if eventually 85% of your inbound traffic is automated through digital. Imagine how much better the brand experience will be if you are not put on hold for 20 minutes waiting for a live person to pick up your call. The key will be how to categorize the incoming traffic relevant to your business, how to convert the other 15% into leads (possibly via a concierge type service) and finding a way to add that innovation layer that can provide a fun, unique voice.
From a branding perspective, the challenge will be in how to position the bot so the consumer understands the limitation to the interactions and comes away with a positive experience. Keeping on brand while being fun will be the balancing act that will require extra due diligence.
TARGET BY BEHAVIOUR
The last few years have shown us that the traditional methods of segmenting a target audience aren’t good enough for today’s omni-channel world. It might have worked in the past with the linear media model that consisted of only a few touchpoints. Today, there are literally thousands of ways to connect with people. Most importantly, things like age, income level and geography are not as strong considerations as they used to be.
So you would think it was surprising that 90% of marketing these days is still channel-focused making antiquated KPI’s the focus of the campaigns when it should be how people act and react. Fitbit is a perfect example of a brand that elevated beyond demographics. Today it is the leader in the category of wearables – by a lot, because it didn’t segment folks by age or where they live. It focused on behavior. People who focus on fitness and well-being range from 18-80. By providing a service that enabled and empowered the user, Fitbit was quickly able to not only define the category, it became the entrenched leader. By nailing the insight that puts the user front and centre, they nailed the tool that powered the experience the user was looking to create.
Droga5 used this strategy to great success when they ‘tagged’ Air Force One and most recently with their award-winning Under Armour Campaigns. We saw Beats take over a World Cup with a perfectly timed and brilliantly placed video that still gets talked about today. Closer to home the recent ads by No Fixed Address for Questrade nailed the insight around a major pain point that is a barrier to access for people in Money Management. My favorite though is the recent Nature Valley ads that successfully and quite brilliantly made one of the biggest issues with raising a child in this age of too much technology a call to getting back to Nature. All of these campaigns showed how focusing on behavior is a clear path to success.
BUSINESS AS A SERVICE//NETFLIXIFICATION
At the beginning of my career I was a theatre producer. The best advice that was given to me was something I read about who my competition really is. Basically, it said that I am not fighting other theatre companies for ticket sales; I am fighting all other forms of entertainment for time of day. This holds true now, even more as the ability to create a quality product and sell it is available to anyone now. So how do we achieve brand success in a world where the consumer is quite literally everywhere?
Netflix became a powerhouse brand because they understand this and made it part of its core DNA. Their strategy for the battle of time has led to the recent renaissance in TV where the content being outputted is far surpassing the stranglehold that Cinema had on quality content.
It wasn’t the creation of this content that led to Netflix’s success. Starting out as a DVD delivery service, they evolved through the brilliant use of technology, to make content available everywhere. Netflix weren’t even the first to stream stuff, but by putting the user at the centre of the experience, it was just the best. While the incumbents only made online access to content available in one place, Netflix made it available everywhere – without judgment and at a very low barrier and cost to entry.
It is not just upstarts that are changing the game. For its storied Cadillac brand, legacy corporation GM just announced Book By Cadillac, a subscription service where, for $1500/month, customers will be allowed to drive and swap out whatever vehicle they want – be it an Escalade or a CTS-V – whenever they want. The idea is to eliminate the hassle that comes with owning a vehicle. A direct response to the massively disruptive carsharing services like Zipcar and Autoshare that millenials have embraced instead of owning actual vehicles. People have shown they are willing to pay a premium for service and ease so Book By Cadillac has inserted itself perfectly into the conversation. It will be interesting to the reaction it being so new.
So when you are putting together your marketing plan, before you consider your brand positioning, ask yourself these questions. Is my product or service totally accessible regardless of the channel? Are there barriers to experience or product I am offering? Am I leveraging all the opportunities to tie my brand into these new technologies?
This means you are going to have to question things like the media plan and the channel being used. You are going to have to go right to the core to make sure the strategy is on point.
Zaigham Zulqernain — Digital Director
