Claire Davidson’s Spikes Asia Diary: Day Three

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L1090540.jpgThe Sweet Shop’s Claire Davidson is on the ground at The Spikes Asia Festival, at Suntec City in Singapore. Here’s Claire’s highlights of the second day of seminars at the L1090543.jpgfestival.

 

It was a jovial evening last night here in Singapore.  Spikes Asia 2014 brought us ‘Networking by Night’ which saw parties held across the city by Bates Chi & Partners, VivaKi, Cinime and JWT.  There was much merriment and revelry in the air and a fun time was had by all.

 

Today was another big day at the Suntec Exhibition and Convention Centre, Day 3 at the Asia Pacific’s festival of creativity.

L1090546.jpgI took in one of the forums first up this morning – “Welcome To The Content Storm“, hosted by Andre Chong, Global Business Development & Strategy Director, Diageo Reserve, Paul Gage, Regional Planning Director APAC, Iris Worldwide and Grant Hunter, Regional Creative Director APAC +L1090547.jpg Partner, Iris Worldwide.

 

Content is everywhere.  There is no doubting that.  It’s a bit of a buzzword.  In recent years we have seen the demand for content at scale, across channels and across devices.  We have seen the convergence of mobile, social and search.

 

It was mobile that was L1090548.jpga catalyst for scale in social.  Social redefined content marketing as a strategy.  Google search then brought in their algorithms.

 

90% of branded videos on the internet have less than 500 views.  Sometimes we miss the reasons why we are doing things.  If we are not succeeding, we need to change brand beliefs and behaviours.  L1090549.jpgSo let’s go back to basics.

 

What we need is to create content that POPS:

~ Purpose – content with purpose stays the course

~ Originality – original content that earns attention

~ Participation – content that inspires participation

~ Storytelling – extraordinary storytelling for the 21st century

 

Follow these rules and you will be closer to having stories that get re-told.  Sharing is happening faster than ever on ads.  Consumers will only share content if they feel it is really fresh.  Create maximum noise and minimize decay.

 

What is the role of content?

~ Content you experience

~ Content for the journey

~ Content that is product

~ Content for the community

 

A good framework for us all.

 

L10905523.jpgNext up for me was ‘The Big C‘.  Moderated by Atifa Silk, Brand Director of Campaign Asia, we were delighted by an industry powerhouse panel comprised of David Guerrero, Creative Chairman of BBDO Guerrero, Patrick Baron, Executive Creative Director of McCann Melbourne and Rob Sherlock, Executive Creative Director of ADK Worldwide.

 

The fear of failure often stops creatives from putting forward their best work.  It may be fear of their bosses or their peers or their clients.  In today’s complex world of advertising, technology and multiple platforms (and getting it all right), we need to be brave, be bold, and we need to push our ideas.  Where do we find the power and confidence to drive our creative thoughts forward?

 

Creative people need to be well prepared.  Clients need reassurance.  Confidence breeds confidence.  It’s not necessarily bad that creatives hold a level of insecurity, as this often keeps them pushing and striving, not being satisfied with what they have produced.  This tends to drive them harder.  It’s a fine line between being confident or even arrogant (a creative arrogant?  heaven forbid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), and also being bold.  Be open.  That’s key.  Believe in what you do.  Trust is paramount as well.  Be original.  Match your confidence with your ability.

 

We looked at case studies where this has been put into practice – for Pantene’s ‘Labels Against Women’, V Lines ‘Guilt Trips’, Honda’s ‘Sound of Honda / Ayton Senna 1989’ and ‘Fierce Battle’ for vegetable juice in Taiwan.

 

Have confidence in the belief that you have to do something.  This is a belief that needs to be held in your partnership with the agency and the client.  Apart from being bold, you must ask yourself that ever important question – will it sell?  You want your brand to behave confidently. Volvo Trucks ‘Epic Split’ is a great example of this.

 

Step out of the formula, but use good judgement and make sound decisions.  Allow new things.  Be open to anything.  Allow yourself to be a little bit stupid.  Allow yourself to be a little vulnerable.  Open yourself up to new possibilities.  Change with the market.  Believe in the idea yourself, and this will transfer to your teams and it will transfer to your client and your client’s brand.

 

L1090550.jpgThere’s nothing more dangerous than playing it safe.  Thank you very much to the Big “3” for bringing us the Big “C”.

 

Up after lunch for me was “Cracking Contextual Creativity” with Will Sansom, Director, Content & Strategy of Contageous.

 

Relevance.

L1090565.jpgRelevance has been important to marketers forever.

But today the concept of relevance has changed due to technology.  Customers expect more from brands and marketers.  They know that brands can reach them across multiple platforms and that they collect a lot of data about them.

 

How do we design around the lives of real people?  It’s hard and that’s simply because nobody lives their lives according to media silos, and that’s mostly also due to teenagers today.  We mash together all of these media and digital channels into an ordered chaos that makes sense only to us.  Integrated marketing still looks like a pile of matching luggage.  You hope to capture someone’s attention somewhere across the day.  But people don’t sit still.  That’s the thing.

 

Let’s mov
e from our matching luggage to…  context, at any specific place and point in time.  Utilise those real time data points.  How much time does he / she have?  Where is he / she?  What platforms is he / she using?  What habits does she / he have that might tell us about his / her intent?  What kind of persona does he / she adopt?  Instead of trying to communicate with people with silos build up a rich real time context of people.  Look at physical situations in relation to digital platforms.

 

Teenagers today are not so concerned about their personas.  Teenagers are happy to adopt multiple personas depending on what platform they are on.  Gone today are the rockers, ravers and goths.  Instead we have small sub cultures that come and go.  “The internet doesn’t spawn mass movements, bonded together by a shared taste in music, fashion and ownership of subcultural capital:  it spawns brief, microcosmic ones” – Alexis Petridis The Guardian.

 

Use context to see each person as an individual and connect to them like that.  Context is everything.  But it can be scary.

 

The first rule of the contextual integration club is create a fair exchange.  Technology gives us value exchange.  It allows us to create more value in the lives of our consumers.  People want brands to offer a personalized experience for you.  47% of women would share their mobile phone location with a retailer in return for a $5 credit.  83% for brands using their data.

 

The hierarchy of compensation starts like this:

~ Transactional – uses my data to make my purchases less expensive

~ Efficiency – uses my data to make my brand experiences easier

~ Belonging – uses my data to create a more meaningful brand relationship

~ Self-actualisation – uses my data to make my life better

 

Increase relevance, not quantity.  If you do something that is contextual and personal it should be ten times as strong and efficient.  Pre-emptive advice maps specific products to consumer needs.

Collaborate on engagement, don’t compete for attention.  Brands need to work together.  They need to share together.  They need to collaborate.  They could create transformation platforms for their customers.

 

Be brainy and be brave.

 

Build and create those meaningful and effective relationships to communicate with your consumers.  Deliver them that hyper-personalised experience that they want.

 

Sansom left us with a quote by Alan Kay “context is worth 80 IQ points”.

 

L1090556.jpgAmir Kassaei, Global Chief Creative Office of DDB Worldwide brought us “Imagine. Inspire. Influence. The Only Way to Build Successful Brands“.

 

Kassaei today spoke about how the power of Influence can change the way people think, behave and purchase.

 

L1090569.jpgHis aim, and the aim of DDB, is to build the most influential bands on the planet.  In the next 10-15 years there will be a huge shift in not just technology but also in marketing.

 

Digital is an infrastructure.  Looking at this we have:

~ 1st age of digitalization – devices connected to devices

~ 2nd age of digitalization – now – devices connected to people

~ 3rd age of digitalization – the future – everything is connected

 

Moving forward, everything will be part of the digital infrastructure.  People will know everything in real time.  We will know everything already.  We will no longer need to ask questions.  What?  No Google?  But Google is my best friend.  This will change the whole world of marketing forever.  Companies need to prepare for the right structure and the right strategies.

 

In this connected world, you need to have a brand network around your product.  You have to deliver a substantial experience relevant to the people and their touch points.  Build brands that are influential.  Create the relevant truth.  Only if you create influence you create magic.

 

Creativity + humanity + technology = influence

 

Our job is not about creating content, telling stories or collecting data.  Our job is to create relevance.  Big data is like teenage sex.    Everybody talks about it, nobody really knows how to do it, everyone thinks everyone else is doing it, so everyone claims they are doing it.  He he he he.

 

Digital is not a media.  It’s infrastructure.  Approach problems with technology and platforms in a different way.  A brand is the sum of all the experiences you have with a company.  Be consistent on every single touch point.  The experience is much more important than what you talk about.

 

The best advertising does not look like advertising.

 

The biggest recognition is success in the marketplace.  It’s not how many gold Lions or pointy Spikes you have.  Sure, win some shiny awards after the success in the marketplace, but not before, and don’t focus on those.

 

Create relevance not awareness.  Awareness adds nothing if you are not relevant.

 

That’s it for me at Spikes Asia today.  Now I’m off to frock up for the Dentsu Aegis and Massive Music 2ManyDJs / Kosumosu Party.  Massive night ahead indeed.

 

Claire Davidson, Executive Producer ASIA & MENA @ The SweetShop, reporting for Campaign Brief Asia at Spikes Asia 2014.