I've been taking a closer look at how brands deliver offers to motivate response in the digital age and a few themes are coming into view. Here are two so far, highlighted by what, to me, are the dumbest offers of the year so far:
After 17 years, you don't know me?
This e-mail offer to me from CitiMortgage for $100 if I get my first Citibank checking account is pretty generous. It's better than the $25 that a lot of banks like ING were using about a year ago. Problem is, I've had a Citi checking account since I started in advertising at FCB in 1992 -- in fact, my household has two of them plus savings accounts. That's 17 years of loyal and consistent customer experience. I've also been a customer of CitiMortgage since 1999 (I know they're separate, though most customers would and should think they're more closely aligned -- at least in data sharing). That's 10 years.
I love the sense of humor and personality of digital. It's that precocious, rebellious adolescent who hits just the right chord in the culture. A lot of the playful spirit comes from software, where names of applications (e.g., Safari) have tended to be colorful and telegraph what they do (e.g., DropBox). The name draws you in, tempts trial (important in software where you try before you buy), describes the benefit, and encourages bragging and sharing of it when you love it.
Checking in at an airline self-service kiosk has always been a bit of a game for me.
I count the number of times I pause to figure out what or where to click next -- and how often I find the "Next" button on the right side.
Things got more interesting since the FAA stopped requiring the "Did you pack your bag yourself?" questions. Now there are direct-marketing offers, which are still finding a natural integration into the kiosk experience.
The last three months, I've been soliciting to raise funds to participate in the NYC Writer's Coalition "Write Your A** Off" Write-a-Thon. It's an annual event at which writers donate a full day to writing to raise money for free writing programs for the disadvantaged across New York City. I participated in it last year, and it was terrific.
AMC cinemas pioneered stadium-style seating and cup holders at your seat. Trojan condoms are electronically tested for reliability. A Slinky can climb up stairs. I know all this because I learned all this from students this past week at Miami Ad School.
Required big-screen experiences at concerts. Shoppers becoming familiar with in-store kiosks. Digital signage offering text to win.
Perhaps I just need a break from reading and talking about Facebook and Twitter, but I'm getting more interested in the potential connections of digital environmental experiences and how brands can use them as more than just a one-off in a shopping mall, an SMS-driven promotion or -- don't hate me -- yet another big idea for Times Square.
Won, one of our top developers, reminded me that "people are used to being attracted by big screens. Men, after all, are obsessed with wide-screen home theater." The difference to me is that nowadays we want to not only witness but be a part of, enjoy and learn from experiences. It's becoming, um, useful.
Won had some examples for me to prove his point. Take last year's Philip Imagination Light Canvas, which helped make a hospital friendlier to kids.
I'm not sure if anyone cares about resolutions from a mere blogger or pundit, but what I think would be really useful are New Year's resolutions for brands -- many of whom are stuck over how should they behave in this ominous, paralyzing time.
So, chief marketing officers, brand managers, consultants, countrymen, here are 10 important resolutions for you to make on behalf your brands and agencies in 2009:
I think most of us agree that advertising can be most effective when it delivers product news and facts from the brand's point of view to build a case for our product (or even facts comparing our product to its competition).
The provocative campaign for The Reality Coalition, a group of non-profits advocating against clean coal, does a nice, simple job making important facts a little interactive with a canary that keeps dying -- but you can save it, which prompts another fact, then another one. Within the "This is Reality" site experience, the facts follow the canary.
I was meeting with a new client the other day and talking about watersheds in digital -- major events which helped, for example, create shifts like this:
Brochureware ---> being useful ---> tools and apps ---> brand experiences ---> networked ecosystems ----> detachable, portable platforms.
It got me thinking about big unsung moments in the web. In 1997, for example, T. Rowe Price responded to the introduction of the Roth IRA by posting a calculator on its site to help compare tax savings with a Roth vs. a regular IRA. Millions rush to use the calculator, quickly copied by everyone, and it's how I believe tools became a big part of the web experience for brands.
SideTaker.com is my favorite new community site harnessing the power of like-minded strangers.
For me, it displaces as my favorite the writers community Gather.com (where I got my first story published) and DailyStrength.org (a site for people with all sorts of health conditions to share virtual hugs and non-medical support).
At SideTaker, people with different points of view (usually couples) post for anonymous voting and commentary things that they can't agree on; the site lets the community take sides and vote whose fault the conflict is. You also can add commentary as to why. The intention, reads the official blurb, is to help address non-critical disputes that too often plague relationships.
This Advertising Age and JWT white paper explores what multiple generations of American women want when it comes to family, work and life in the 21st century, decades after the women's liberation movement.
2010 America explains what you need to know about the biggest consumer market-research project of the decade: the 2010 U.S. census. Demographics expert Peter Francese, author of this highly readable Ad Age white paper, analyzes what the census will reveal about the changing face of consumers.
Sponsored by ESPN. Join the world's leading media strategists for a celebration of creative thinking, innovation and a look at how the best are preparing for 2010. More
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