Fighting consumer skepticism (and TIVO?) with unique media

On a number of occasions I've talked about how brands aren't using sponsored video streaming online to its fullest potential. Namely, they have the chance to do something great having sponsored an entire episode of a show. But having realized this and wondered vaguely how TV could learn from this, I think I've come to a conclusion.

In an age of cynicism and skepticism, what if a brand sponsored an entire show, and put the entire commercial time in one long chunk after the program? They'd likely win a lot of points with consumers, and furthermore, the long-format opens up a myriad of opportunities in terms of content. Double points-- no frustrating commercial breaks, and innovative branded communication that can entertain on a longer, deeper level.

ABC, say goodbye to "commercial interruptions."

Side-note: While I know a few shows have tried commercial-free showings, they haven't used the opportunity to their advantage, using the 20 minute commercial space for anything beyond a brief sponsorship message and then have the rest of the space sold to others.

Wearing our heart on our sleeve...wrist, arm, and chest

I've been musing on the concepts of badges and why we seemingly feel the need to broadcast our choices, most obviously our choice of social causes. From Inspi(red) shirts to Livestrong bracelets and self-proclaimed reusable bags, consumers have been increasingly showcasing their alliances. 

So what's the draw? Folks would never want a Coach purse that said "I'm made of cow!" but we love our reusable bags stating "I'm made of recycled plastic bottles!" (Though some would argue that Coach is already synonymous with quality leather, aka cow, so it wouldn't need such a proclamation, but I digress...) We like people to know that we're green, or that we support cancer research, and badges make that possible.

But what if we didn't get our badges? What if people went around collecting one dollar for cancer research without giving athletes and general supporters the now-iconic bright yellow rubber bracelet? Would it have been as successful? My best guess tells me no, definitely not. But how long will this work? Will badges start to lose their meaning, their momentum? If so, will people still buy reusable bags that don't proclaim their continued use, or support AIDS research one iPod-priced donation at a time? I regret to say it's likely some of these behaviors may taper off, and I'm worried that these causes might suffer if badges lose their social currency. What do you think might be the next evolution?

To take the discussion one step further and play the devil's advocate to my own thoughts on generational theories: One common belief of Millennials is that they were raised on praise and recognition and thus are motivated by reward. We were paid for good grades, and showcased weekly in our schools for menial achievements like running the mile in under 8 minutes. Assuming this recognition-and-reward-based-condition is valid, might this be part of why these products are so transparent, and so popular in young demographics? Then again, badges are far from exclusive to the young folks. Anyway, just a thought. It's not like the Millennials are the only ones making the products, either.

Photo: Bag from Roots Canada

Research Processes: Mary Roach

Many planners will tell you that there has been a definite push-back against planners coming from a traditional background (aka studied it in college, came from another agency, etc) in favor of folks with experience in other fields, such as anthropologists, librarians, and even neuroscientists. Being a kid who studied advertising in undergrad (and for a while in grad school even) I'm not necessarily on the top of the list for some of these companies, so I decided to look to other disciplines to see what I could learn from their experiences and bring to my own.

Enter Mary Roach, author of Stiff, Spook, and Bonk. (Despite the nice ring to it, this is actually three separate books on alarmingly different topics: cadavers, the after-life, and sex.) Each book is a candid, science-based discussion of various topics related to these items in a variety of interesting angles. Having read and greatly enjoyed both Stiff and Bonk within the last two months, I started to get curious about Mary's approach to research. After deciding to email her, I was shocked to get an email back within 20 minutes with her home phone number (and having read Bonk, I have to say it was strange to have her husband pick up the phone--I felt I knew things about him I really really shouldn't.)

 She claims her research methods are best described as "random, chaotic, and ineffective" but given her success, I beg to differ. Throughout our conversation I learned a number of lessons that have helped to form her research approach:

1. The broadest source isn't necessarily the best. Though in the beginning Mary attended conferences to get the lay of the land, she ultimately found that they weren't as useful as getting in and interacting with the people who are actually doing the research, preferably as they complete research for a related project. These people would explain what they were doing as they performed it, giving Mary the chance to be walked through the process and then relay that step-by-step experience to her readers. This speaks specifically to the fact that generalizations, theories, and large-scale conferences are NOT a suitable replacement for primary research. Sure they save time, but what did you really learn that your competitor can't?

2. Use the right language to guide your search. It was particularly important for Mary to use the correct language when she began her search--I can only imagine what kind of results you get from a Google search for "odor of body decomposition." For Mary, this meant using "cadaveric" as her search term instead of "cadaver," as it is only in medical research that the term "cadaveric" is used. Similarly, if we want to connect with a target about a concern like wrinkles, we need to know the way they talk about it- "anti-aging regenerating serum" certainly wasn't what consumers expected would be a product on their shelves before advertising and branding had their say--they likely imagined something like "wrinkle cream."

3. Have a folder to collect relevant content. Collect all things you think are interesting and connected to the topic you're researching. You never know when one of those things might become the newest, most interesting movements in the current landscape. Furthermore, having a physical collection of related items can help you determine what your brand or product has or knows that your competitors don't-- it can help aid you in everything from the strategy to creative execution and media placement. 

4. Connect the dots-- from each strong source, find another. Perhaps the best way to save time and ensure great results--when you find a source that is on the right page for what your research requires, consider asking them for more references. In Mary's case, many times the community she was working within was small, and so the folks she was interviewing typically knew of many others she should contact. The same will go for your target--they'll likely know of others that could be valuable to your search.

5. Don't stop looking for new content. Mary told me that the majority of her time is spent sending emails to possible leads trying to find out where the newest research is being conducted, or what the newest findings are. In her process, Mary takes up up to two years or more to complete her book. Of course, in advertising, that isn't an option. Continual research and digging for relevant insights, however, is not only an option but should be part of our daily role as planners. Our work is not done once the brief is out of our hands and approved by the client. Similarly, husbands around the world will tell you their wives still want flowers "for no reason" and expect dates and other vestiges of their previously-single lives. It's a continual relationship, one you have to continue to work on.

I intend to look to other disciplines to learn more, both in terms of research methods and approaches to communication. I'm looking forward to my re-education.

Photo credit: David Paul Morris

Generational Theories: The Role of Age

When I took the ACT in high school, I anxiously awaited my test results along with the rest of the nation's juniors. When I finally got my scores, I knew I could do better, but I was happy with it--I had scored in the 99th percentile nation-wide. Immediately after the scores came in, my friends and I all compared scores, and each of us scored 98th or higher. We all congratulated each other and complained about how Spencer could have gotten a 33 when he was so lacking in common sense. But after a while, we started wondering how in the world we could all be a part of this "upper eschelon"--who would be in the 50th percentile? 25th? 5th? It came as a shock to many of us to realize that our reality was not the reality of many of our peers in other states, in other communities, in other schools. Ultimately, we only knew the people we knew, never being aware of the rest of what was out there.

In my time as a young planner, I've been approached a number of times for help on speaking and selling to my age demographic. My peers and I are considered experts on our demographic, and while I see the truth to the statements, its like my friends and I celebrating our ACT scores--we only know the people we know, and that can be a very limiting sample. I STILL don't know anything about Friendster, because thats not where my friends are--we're on Facebook. But Friendster still has 90 million registered users, none of which I'm connecting with. Much like my older counterparts, I have to study my own generation. And all of it can get a bit overwhelming...

Enter generational theories. They boil down a nation's worth of teenagers or baby boomers or gen x'ers into easy to digest, easy to support profiles. At the speed of business, the safety of an understood title like "millennials" can be a huge relief, not to mention a money and time saver. 

But are we getting enough out of these titles? How much trust can we put into these profiles? Are they working? Is there a better way to learn?

I say we need more than these profiles to guide our communication. Of course they can help start us down the right path for our own research, but it seems generational theories are increasingly taking the place of primary research, and in my opinion, compromising our results. 

In trying to differentiate your brand, in trying to create innovative communication, I urge you to keep this in mind:

"A city book can only direct you to known places." - Cretien Van Campen in "The Hidden Sense: Synesthesia in Art and Science"

Think on it. More discussion to come.

Comcast lives out its digital media relationships

After my slight tirade Tuesday night and a whole 'lotta back and forth on Twitter with ComcastCares, I popped into bed crossing my fingers that something would come from all of it. The next morning I got a call from Rebecca at Customer Service who I just called back today. She was extremely forthcoming and kind, empathized with my frustration, and gave me 50% off my bill for the month when I asked. Heck of a lot better than the woman who reluctantly offered me a pay-per-view coupon. Shortly after she called yesterday I also got a call from George, who will be coming out on Saturday to get things fixed up. Pleased by the follow-through.

So the question remains. Are they making changes in their traditional communication lines or did I only get a call from the team dedicated to social/digital media? I would love to see Comcast take this online so as to avoid sitting on hold completely, and while I did try to do a live chat, it did not prove as easily as I had hoped it would be. I gotta say though, I won't be calling Comcast if I can help it. I'll be tweeting.

A quick note on treating your consumers with respect

Though this ties into a larger topic I'd like to discuss another time about meaningful brand communication, I noticed a strange instance of a brand missing the mark with their consumers.

Today I called Comcast for the 5th time in 2 weeks because my On Demand wasn't working. Again. Anyway, that's neither here nor there. But I immediately explained my frustration at having gone through this so many times and that "On Demand" doesn't really count if it's "On Demand in an hour after you call us and we send signals and you unplug your box and lose all the channel information." Ok, end rant. I am just surprised and disappointed that there's validity to everyone hating Comcast. 

Anyhow, the calls always included a fair bit of hold time, and today after I got a rep, I ended up on hold for another 20 minutes. Not a big deal because all I had to do tonight was clean, but as soon as they put me on hold, I got a message saying something to the effect of "Want to pay less for your home phone line? (Insert here a hard sell for Comcast Digital Voice) Ask your customer representative today!" Ok, I understand using a phone call as an opportunity to sell, seeing as people use that same line to set up new accounts, change accounts, etc. But for those of us who were calling because the service is consistently failing, the hard sell is sure to bring a grimace. Because it came after my specific choices of equipment or service not working for my cable account, I expected them to be a bit more humble and not use the fact that I'm frustrated on hold as an opportunity to get me to invest more in Comcast.

On the flip side, I reached out to ComcastCares on Twitter and got an immediate response, and he realized I needed a technician, not to just unplug and replug my box. He then went on to set up an appointment for me. 

That's how you do it, folks. Not hard-selling me when I'm stuck wasting my minutes on hold with you. 

EDIT: I got a call this morning from Comcast saying that they had seen my blog and that they'd like me to give them a call. Why is it that Comcast is doing GREAT on the digital media front but not in their traditional infrastructure??

The Evolution of Online Shopping

One of the most fascinating things about the internet for me has been the changes that have occurred in the way we shop online. It used to be that we used the internet to research products before we bought them, and only the most brave actually used it to purchase items. As time went on, e-commerce became more sophisticated and we as consumers grew in our online shopping repertoire.

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Survey released in February 2008, 93% of Americans have at one point participated in e-commerce. Now 20% of us use the internet every day to research a product we're interested in buying. With the way the e-marketplace has grown, I'm almost surprised this number isn't higher, as we have so many ways to participate:

Ebay showed us a way to both buy and sell items in the familiar format of auctions.
PayPal calmed our fears about the safety of online shopping.
Amazon suggests content based on our preferences and the buying behaviors of others who have purchased similar items.
Pandora and the iTunes Genius Bar suggests new music (that we buy online or IRL)
Etsy created a mom-and-pop marketplace for independent artists
PriceGrabber.com and other sites allowed us to comparison shop just like we would in real life, but saving us the time, travel, and energy.

I think it is interesting to note that many of these changes reflect the way we shop in real life. We understood the concept of auctions and were able to integrate that knowledge into our online purchasing behaviors. We follow WOM to find the best products in the categories we're interested in. We trust the suggestions of our friends, family, colleagues, and other peers who share our same interests. More and more, we're seeing online shopping reflecting exactly the way we shop in real life.

An interesting iteration of this trend is the Epsonality website, created by Butler Shine Stern and Partners. It takes the real life experience of shopping in a store with the help of a sales clerk and translates it to an online experience. When you first come to the site, you are greeted by a charming voice who instructs you to select your various printing needs (price, job type, necessary extra features, etc). Once you've done that, it calculates which printer is best for your needs. It then introduces you to your printer and points out some of its special features (each of which are illustrated in a light-hearted, charming way). When you "Meet your Epsonality" it spews back to you what it's got and why it fits your needs. At this point you can either find a retailer or buy it on the spot. You can then download widgets to "inspire your epsonality."

While I love that it walks you through the process and helps with the ever-daunting task of shopping for tech hardware, I know myself and many others don't necessarily do their online shopping at home. We're taking the internet everywhere we go, and suddenly having a voice pop out of your work computer, iPhone, or laptop at the coffee shop isn't necessarily preferable. It'd be an easy fix to just do a title page that tells you to plug your headphones in or let you know sound is coming. A recent ISACA survey called "Shopping on the Job: Online Holiday Shopping and Workplace Internet Safety" noted that 63% of Americans intended to shop online at work this holiday season, while only 55% of companies allowed such behaviors (from an IT standpoint--productivity is obviously a whole 'nother issue). And truthfully, I  imagine that the number of folks using their time at work to do a bit of research is significantly higher than those who intended to make those purchases as found by the survey.

So while I love that the Epsonality website took online shopping to the next level of real-life reflection, it may have been a bit off-mark when it comes to where we're doing our shopping and what that means for the desired user experience.