Why not have a little fun? Volkswagen has launched an effort to put the FUN back in to our lives with Thefuntheory.com This site is dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest
way to change people’s behavior for the better.
In a world where everything is sold as a task, VW is looking for FUN solutions to world problems. Could this piano staircase get you to take the stairs instead of the escalator? Watch and see the transformation.
Can you say viral hit???? This video has received 7,301,080 views. This surprisingly simple idea transforms the mundane into FUN.
What I love about this "Social" experiment is that it is thought and action provoking. VW is facilitating world FUN, through consumer engagement with its branded theory. One of the boldest parts of the campaign is the subtly of the VW branding. Each one of the FUN entries is ended with a VW logo. Thats it! But that's a lot when you consider that just one of the videos has 7,301,080 views. If VW attempted to pay for this type of reach it would cost them millions.
Earned media comes with risky yet good ideas. (risky - because no other brand in the category is doing anything like this. Good, because they let go of their brand, use emotional and behavioral insights and allow the consumer to have a bit of fun with the brand.) They have done an amazing job of owning fun in their category while extending a global conversation that could inspire others.
If you have a way to take the mundane or simple and make it FUN you should submit it for a prize. Your
entry can be presented with a written explanation plus a visualization of the idea itself. It could be a simple sketch, photos
or a film of a prototype. Put the fun back in to the world with VW at http://thefuntheory.com.
Do you think this campaign sets a new standard for brand building through online video and social media?
Social design ain't your daddy's web design. It differs in many ways from the old school study of pure omnibus interactions. Social Design begins with sociological trends of tribes (your audience), then takes into account their behavior and more importantly their passions. Most successful social brands are finding direct responses when they facilitate a tribal passion through pretty basic functionality.
Think you can do it without their passion? Think again. If you are not ready to be passionate about what a tribe is passionate about, this is a waste of time and money for your brand. How do you expect to have a meaningful conversation within a tribe if you have nothing in common with them? When you listen to your audience and unlock their passions then and only then can you have a place in their conversations. (This is where I typically do the message is the medium dance. I promise you it's a whole dance.)
As I was working on a conversation starter for one of our clients, I stumbled upon this fantastic presentation. This is one of the most tribal-centric presentations I have seen on developing social software. Each part focuses on a specific problem in developing social media
platforms. This sociological and behavioral approach takes on the major hurdles in a usage life cycle, which are the stages people go through as they use and adopt
software over time.
This methodology can be used in many aspects of the things we create as digital agencies. The tribal insights dispel many digital design myths. Designing For Social Traction makes the design challenge clear for anyone creating in the social space.
If you have wondered why I have been infrequently posting ON:Anything, its because I have been busy working with my team and Wunderman client, Nationwide Insurance, to create the 2009 Nationwide / NASCAR campaign.
It has been a journey that has been well documented. Full of
team photos, insights and a few fun stories that I look to share after
the launch of the campaign.
Refresh. It seems like a simple task. Hit a button on your browser and the page changes. Easy, right? It isn't. A refresh usually takes complex systems and or labored work to make real change. The same can be said of the state of affairs around the world. The arrival of the New Year has come and gone. While 2008 was a year of promises and hope, 2009 should shape up to be a year where we buckle down and begin the change required to refresh our world while achieving our sales goals. It will take complex and fundamental change.
Dictionary.com defines change as: to transform or convert, to transfer from one to another, a transformation or modification; alteration.
What will you CHANGE this year? From the environment, to the economy, to your health, to brand plans, to the way agencies work, we are due for rapid systemic change. In a time when we face mass unemployment, a war, unrest in the middle east, rapid climate change and an impending economic depression, we have fallen in love with people and products that exuded authenticity and promised radical yet positive change. They have refreshed our outlook.
Why are so many brands retreating to their roots? In focus groups, people are saying they want stability in unstable times. Of course they do. That seems logical. When we are shaken to our core we want the basics to remain the same. Many brands are taking a step back, reflecting on their roots. Some will tell you "You can depend on us" - look at this Allstate ad.
This is a beautiful ad. (well written, acted and art directed) "Back-to-basics" is a simple idea. It reflects on the past, establishes trust and reinforces the brands strongest attributes. Hey, who doesn't want to protect what they love. However, it does nothing to get me to consider switching. Nothing that says come with me, change something. It takes a practical approach to hard times. That is merely one example of a slew of brands who are missing out on what we desire. The big opportunity is not that we have roots. It's what in our roots or brand DNA that can make change and refresh our world.
We still desire a Hero! Someone or something we can look to who will make us laugh, smile and refresh the outlook on the future. Who needs another somber ad when watching Inside The Actors Studio on Bravo? Don't most of us use TV as a cheap get away?
Don't be practical! Be emotional! Be a Hero. While many brands retreat to their roots, the few products that exude confidence and show fundamental change will prosper. They will see sales of product. Brand Managers need to examine our conversations to determine their Brand DNA. They should ask themselves "What will inspire a moment of happiness?" More importantly, "What in their brand will evoke an emotional buy it now response?"
A great example of a Refresh is Pepsi's 2009 launch of their new advertising and brand look.
Simple & smart. Offers a smile. A pick me up. It establishes a
different tone from the big celebrity-filled production numbers that Pepsi helped invent for my generation. Its a great happy-greeting-card to the world. I like the music, by indie rockers the Apples in
Stereo. The upbeat lyrics "And the world,
is made of energy/And the world is electricity." reminds me of the early British pop invasion after World War II.
Many have been critical of the Pepsi refresh. They have said that it was jumping on a political bandwagon. They are wrong. That is a short-sided view that seems to lack insight into what the audience desires. In torrid times we need a smile. We need a dose of happiness. We are going to need a lot of energy to make a change. What is brilliant and incredibly consumer-centric is that we buy things that make us feel good. We always have. We always will. This is America.
Insight: When I need a pick me up, I want something that gives me a fresh, fun moment of optimism to get through the day.
The Idea: Pepsi. A Pick Me Up.
What is unfortunate is that the website does not live up to the happy innovation of the brand. RefreshEverything.com began to show some promise when it was simply a refresh button. Now it has been taken to the mundane. It does not help pay off the promise. It's design is dated and done. The site would have been great before the election. The idea that you are asking of the president seems off when, it should be about what are you going to do to refresh everything. The design lacks the fresh simplicity of the product and does not allow me to share or spread the joy of Pepsi with friends. The site is a missed opportunity. Shame on their digital agency, this seems surprisingly off brand. A Refresh is needed.
Retreating is not the answer. One size does not fit all. Brand is about how I feel about your product. Branding is about ubiquity, visability and functions; its about bonding emotionally with people in their daily lives. Only when a product or a services kindles and emotional conversation with the consumer can they realize their sales potential.
I think we will help support brands that offer us an opportunity to refresh. A brand who is willing to get passed the practical and help us
act irrationally (emotionally) through entertaining function that facilitates the
change that our worlds need will realize revenue in a downturn.
To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly. —Henri Bergson
Be a change agent this year. Begin to innovate it will lead to a Refresh! Happy New Year!
The Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC), the world’s highest mix-use complex threw its doors open to the world last month. The SWFCweb site is just as amazing as the spectacular complex design. The skyscraper navigation uses interaction design of the double-decker elevator.
The 101-story Shanghai World Financial Center, a 492-meter-high tower, boasts the highest occupied
floor and the highest roof-top in the world. Imagine the force it would take to get a double decker elevator to the top - well you do not have to, because, it is reflected in the time line like pagination of the site.
Don Julio recently joined the myriad of spirits companies toying with how do they take the most socially consumed products in the world and apply them in to social media. There is nothing more social than sharing a drink with friends. Combined that with the "Authenticity"campaign and what you get is an authentic way to create a drinking experience.
Don Julio has taken a smart idea and instead of trying to re-invent their site, they did the distributed media thing.They partnered with one of the hottest online blogs. Don Julio + UrbanDaddy = a brand faciltaing their consumers drink finds. I love that they highlight both great accounts in the trade as well as distinguishing places that the perfect find with fun categories like "First Date", "In Celebration", "The Bankers", "True Love" and my favorite "With The Parents"
Its has been a while since my kids have watched Sesame Street... But they did. I am still convinced that Rebecca and Rachel learned the alphabet from the cast of characters designed to teach via entertainment. So when I returned from vacation to find a press release about the new Sesame Street site in my ON:InBox, my interest was peaked to see how the geniuses at the Children's Television Workshop approached digital engagement for kids.
Not much has changed. Their TV success has now transitioned and converged for the generation who lived converged lives. Preschoolers online is their target and they do amazing job creating an engaging educational content for kids. The new SesameStreet.org, is a meaningful
interactive experience that takes their best practices and content and expands them in ways that most have not thought about before.
The site was designed for both parents and their preschoolers (the primary audience) without the typical use of toggling between content. They are both addressed, instructed and entertained in the same interface. The use parent tips are smart.
The 2 years of ideas, research and $14 million dollars later, SesameStreet.org lives up to its brand of education for pre-schoolers like no other site I have seen.
Digital or Die – I think not! Stop the madness! We all can contribute. Its not Digital v. TV . It should be Digital + TV. For those who have had success it simply is Digital + TV. The two converged and together they are more powerful than any medium on its own. Just look at the 2008 Election. They compliment and feed off each other. I was born digital. So do not kill the messenger. I ask you to listen to what I have learned through the ups and downs of having helped created the 1.0 economy where technology drove ideas and experiences, then lived through the bubble – you remember the time when we were all coding for food? Having lived through that experience the test results were clear.
The brands that have won are the ones who have used a simple formula.
Many digital practitioners have taken such polarizing stances on the role of the website, search, the banner ad and the long tail. In doing so they have alienated and confused brand teams as well as short changed their ability to make money.
Digital is a powerful medium. Digital offers the ability to innovate across the globe at the speed of light. When telling a compelling story it has the ability to cross cultures and deliver instant commerce, entertainment and education.
There is an effective way to combine them all to serve the brands you wish to sell. There are best practices that TV can teach to the digital socialites and Vise Versa.
Start with an idea! A website without an organizing idea is merely another fun toy. A TV ad without and idea is merely annoying. It is about being where they want us, when they want us and how they want us. Your Idea should answer why they want us.
Digital is not the best medium, it is not the only medium. It will continue to evolve like all other mediums. What digital offers is the flexibility and global reach like no other medium. All of that said, it is incredibly segmented and its continued proliferation will create smarter marketers out of consumers and the marketers who use the medium to its fullest potential. It cannot reach its full marketing potential if we allow technology to drive the consumer experience instead of a simple idea fulfilling a desire. Applications should have a purpose - they just cannot be cool.
Technology should facilitate the idea's amplification to the right audience. Digital is active not passive so an idea should be ubiquitous it should engage, enable and empower the consumer to own your brand.
Enjoy this video from Interaction 2008.(the video contains one of my industry favorites David Armano - who highlights an approach to emotional experiences)
The folks at Interaction 08 came from a many different areas of the
business (Graphic design, Information Architecture, Industrial
Design, Programming, Development and Web Design to name a few) Over
the last year one of the trends I have seen has been the inability to
firmly define our practice in universal terms.
I ponder if in 2008 we will begin to unify the meaning of what we do. Some in the industry believe in order to properly sell what we do we must agree that we as "creatives" must decide what to call ourselves. When you combine design, engineering and marketing, what you get are the fundimentals of digital that have converged to play a dominant role in consumers lives.
