Big Questions

Had a good time in the PDX atrium today talking about the landscape we are all playing in now. One of the things we talked about were a batch of questions folks could use to approach interactivity and communications.

Every question doesn't have to have a digital-only solution. They are simply meant to frame some of the unique challenges/opportunities afforded by this rapidly evolving social media and entertainment/information ecosystem.

Here goes nothing:

1. Networked people are out there - how am I inviting them into my idea?

The idea here is that we used to use media networks as channels to send carefully crafted messages...now the people we are looking to reach ARE media networks - interconnected consumers and creators, capable of group forming to global scale. Pug 'Meetups', Myanmar Facebook Groups, Wikipedia, Friends of Tila Tequila, Ron Paul supports and Furries: if the marketing promise of interactivity isn't just a linear acceleration of Word of Mouth (WOM), but more importantly, the ability to locally and globally assemble groups of like-minded folks into spontaneous organizations capable of real impact, how can our idea be strengthened to enable and empower temporary (or long-term) communities of interest and action around it?

2. What am I giving people they can make their own?

As a marketer, I am asking for your time (and ultimately money) to experience my brand. Assuming the brand experiences W+K creates resonate with you, what do they leave you with, besides a memory? How do I allow you 'into' my idea, give you some ownership of your experience with it? Does our interaction generate social currency? Award profile badges, avatar virtua-merch? Facebook/MySpace 'flair'? XBox live points? Am I giving you elements of my concept to internalize, to perpetuate and to advocate? After you experience my idea, how have I enriched you? And if "I've educated you about the benefits of my product" is your answer, waaa waaaaah.

3. How could somebody play my idea?

If we changed our marketing speak and replaced the terms 'consumers' or 'end users' with 'players', how would that change our approach? Games have rules, but the outcome is determined by the gameplay itself...nothing in the rules of any good game allow you to predict the winner, right? So if my latest idea were to suddenly become a game, would it be fun? Would I want to play? NIN's Year Zero ARG made an album release a game. A REALLY COOL ONE. The Coke 'Videogame' spot we did? I wanted to PLAY that game-mercial. Make those rats DANCE. Does my idea let you in, create a powerful and emotional brand experience, and leave room for you to play through to your own personal or team conclusion? What would this look like as an ARG? What would the goals, objectives and metrics for success be? How does someone know when they've won?

4. How do I get my idea to people, not them to it?

How do I bring my marketing marketing mountain to you, Mohammed? Rather than waste money to advertise to you to come to me, how can I use my comm platform to deliver the experience to you? I've got gadgets, widgets, widsets and apps coming out the tuckus. How can I make my brand relevant, meaningful and valuable to you in the places YOU care about/are invested in, rather than trying to extricate you from them with my limited bucks? Putting a crap banner on a shite WAP site doesn't feel like the way to your heart. So what is?

5. How do I get the audience to BE my media, rather than use MEDIA to drive an audience?

What am I giving you in a brand experience that makes you such a fan that you are compelled to share, to become my advocate? How has my respect for you and your motivations allowed me to develop something so meaningful to you that you blog about it, IM about it, post images to Flickr, mention it on your facebook page, in your twitter feed, etc.? Is there a way I can get you to CARE enough to share your experience with others? More than just hoping for good WOM, am I empowering you with a message so compelling and deeply connecting that you would be willing to internalize, personalize and amplify my message? And then am I providing the tools to help you do it? And am I prepared for someone to use those same tools to criticize me? And am I being honest in my motivations, transparent in my intentions? Hells Yeah.

6. Can I use 'where someone is' as part of my story?

With Global Positioning System (GPS) mobile devices, Android, Bluetooth/bluecasting, geo-triangulation (Google, Apple), NavTeq (nokia), the rise of mobile search, the imminent arrival of place-based contextual ads, Geo-caching experiments, Sociallight, yellow arrow, embedded semacodes and SMS shortcodes, ARG's, flash mobs, swarming - can knowledge of 'where the person we are trying to reach is' potentially plus-up the brand experience we are creating? Does my message change when I know you are in cold weather vs warm (which I know by matching weather.com info with your GPS coordinates that day)? Do I remind you to go for a run if I see you staying inside all day?

7. Will they love our idea enough to protect it?

How are you inspiring people with your mission, then empowering them to help fulfill it? Will you let them take you in a direction you hadn't expected? Wikipedia, eBay and Flickr have achieved the successes they have because they each provided people a clear value proposition (social, monetary, etc.) and a shared platform/social contract to which 'members' adhere adhere. But more than simply follow the rules, the inhabitants of these communities often take it upon themselves to manage and police the properties. Educate and induct the newer members. They've adopted these platforms as their own - and in many cases staged group revolts and happenings to protest corporate decisions. How is your idea not just living during your current campaign spend, but laying the foundation to live well beyond it?

These are just a few questions we use to approach a challenge interactively - I'd love to hear anymore questions folks have found to be constructive.

Comments

[renny]

um...the question is a little moot, isn't it? Big brother is here, has been here, and will only know more every day. See "Phorm" related news, if you had any remaining doubts...

But no mind control or info access makes advertising work. Bad ads suck. you tune them out or ignore them, or they miss you. Good ads are culture and entertainment - you will (as we have always done) seek them out, enjoy them, participate in them. The definition of advertising is something I think we should all reconsider, anyway...

We can talk about this stuff til we choke, but NONE of this works or makes the slightest whiff of difference without a good idea. And those are rare. Following these questions, some chump might have felt pretty good about launching Walmart's ill-fated "Hub".

Doing don't make it good.

Bad advertising lasted when limited channels allowed relentless message bludgeoning. Bad advertising will continue, because...well...because it will. Sorry. Not from us of course :-)

And on the mobility question (because #6 is really just a way into considering mobility in the context of an idea) whether we like it or not, the steady tide toward location-aware devices will not turn back. People may consciously opt out, but at some point, my bet is that will be a premium offering (!).

Location will exist as a datapoint not because we want to advertise to people, (nor will it be made available for our exclusive benefit), but because THE FOLKS WHO OWN THE DARN THINGS want to know where they are. If they choose to share that with marketers, and incentives will no doubt be provided in some form or other, how do marketers respectfully leverage that?

And #7 is not about inspiring a cult of blind followers. #7 is about inspiring a group of people to care. End stop.

[Ravages]

I don't have a question (right now) about approaching interactivity, but I do have a question about all your questions. (Heh, worst sentence construction. EVER)

Aren't questions 6 & 7 very close to a 1984ish situation? A big brother who knows where you are, and sends you what to do/see/feel then and there? How would people react to that?
Will we like it?

7 is also a little woozy. Now, I like to be a part of a group that understands its functions and rules and works towards a common goal (though, I hate common goals. There is no common goal. There are many goals in a group). But, once the group turns fundamentalist about its rules, it dies. Once it becomes, if I may use the word, anal about the current set of rules/priorities, it will slowly atrophy. That has been my experience on the net.