Instantly Obsolete

Pictured above:
Fig. 1: A card-carrying Cardinal (who still roots for the Cal Bears).
Fig. 2. Studio 2 in building 550, the best class room at the d.school.
Fig. 3. A student creates the mind map of her homepage concept.

A little over ten years ago founder David Kelley and Executive Director George Kembel tapped me to help to them articulate and launch the Institute of Design at Stanford University. It was a true privilege and an honor. Over the years I’ve stayed involved, be it lightly, advising and guest lecturing for classes.

However, this last summer, I conspired with Caroline O’Connor, a former d.school fellow and current lecturer, to develop and teach new course curriculum.

The driving idea was to create a series of classes specifically geared to aspiring entrepreneurs, providing design training and frameworks that they could immediately apply to their own budding ventures. Dubbed “Founders Studio”, our mission is to offer hands experience (and tools) for some of the most pressing needs facing new businesses — everything from brand strategy to user experience design.

Authentic to the d.school’s ethos, we begin by developing prototype to test our idea, and ran a three evening class fall called, Guerrilla Branding for Entrepreneurs. Each night was a three-hour intensive workshop that featured a series of mini-lectures, followed by group and individual exercises for the students. Additionally, each class had special guest advisors, to help guide the students.

We started by introducing a concept stub — a germ of a product concept, specific enough for the class to quickly grasp the idea, but open enough for their own direction and interpretation (see the course ‘teaser’ below for the details).

Day one focused on research and need finding for the target audience. Day two we focused on positioning and articulating the brand. And finally on day three, bringing the brand to life and expressing it on a prototype home page.

Yes, from product concept to testing homepage designs in three nights. That’s a lot. Perhaps too much, but the prototype absolutely served it’s function. It was clear the students got a lot out of the studio, and in the process the whole teaching team learned a ton from the students and our experience. Learnings that will certainly be applied to develop future Founder Studio classes. So, look out for more in 2013.

In the meantime, here’s a little teaser of our prototype:

The Agricultural Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the Atomic Age, the Jet Age, the Space Age and the Information Age — every technological era has brought about profound effects on socioeconomic and cultural conditions. They’ve reshaped human behavior and reset reality.

But, before the full effects of each of these technological developments have taken hold and fully permeated the collective understanding, people and businesses undoubtedly found themselves navigating a strange “in-between” time — a time where future visions are uncomfortably mingled with legacy artifacts and pre-existing expectations.

Today, in the Connected Age, technological innovations are bringing about seismic shifts in our reality every day. The dust is far from settled, and perhaps, it never will be. For businesses and brands this uncertain and unpredictable landscape is rot with danger. Red herrings, pitfalls and fruitless dead-ends surround us, while opportunity is elusive.

But fear not, Larry Johnson (Odopod’s Associate Director of Strategy) and I have been hard at work cataloging the common mistakes, collecting helpful techniques and distilling best practices to survive and thrive in today’s in-between times. We’ve compiled them neatly, into a presentation of course, and would love the opportunity to share them with you, our industry friends and peers at SXSW 2012.

But we need your help. Please vote for our SXSW session : Danger is Everywhere: Illuminating common pitfalls of marketing’s in-between times and take a peek at some example slides here.

This preview is just a taste of what’s to come. We promise to keep it short, sweet and useful so send us a vote and we’ll see you there.

In advance of my participation at the upcoming Storyworld Conference, I’ve found myself debating the meaning and usage of the term Transmedia. Sometimes with my colleagues and peers, and sometimes with myself.

Without a doubt the “T” word is frightfully overused—and with its growing popularity with marketers, and the like, it’s becoming increasingly misused. Or at least, contorted from it’s original definition.

In a recent post from Henry Jenkins, the Provost’s Professor of Communications, Journalism, and Cinematic Art at USC, the man who who first popularized the term, he outlines the range of uses, definitions and reflects on it’s continual evolution.

Transmedia 202.

I found it fascinating and thoroughly insightful.

More good reading on the “T” word:
Why Transmedia is Catching On — July 5, 2011
Transmedia Storytelling 101 — March 22, 2007

Yep, My Space My ______ is trying to stop the hemorrhaging that’s taken them from social dominance to near extinction with a sweeping redesign of their product.

They are keeping music “core”, but also are encouraging social connections through other media (such as movies, games and TV) , as well as topic pages on other cultural trends – and allowing all of it to be shared via Facebook and Twitter.

But, will it take or is it too late? What’s your take?

Regardless, they have cleaned up those retched, eyesore templates that once defined the world of social media.

A little Monday rant. And, why advertising won’t change the way you smell.

Last week, Tim Barber and I sat on two separate panels at Creative Review’s Click event in SF. There were some notable industry folks participating (representing the likes of R/GA, GS&P, AKQA, W+K), however, the panel discussions seemed to devolve into the same-old conversations.

The two topics, “Agency Landscape of Tomorrow” and “The Future of Online Advertising” both quickly became feeble debates about what agencies were best positioned to “win” out in the future – Traditional or Digital. And, as Mr. Zada added to the mix, “Tradigital” (a mix of traditional and digital).

The fact that we even engaged in this dialog seems ridiculous. First of all, you must have a common definition of success. What do you mean by “win”? Is it about being named AOR in the trade press? Is it about the most PR or industry awards? Is about whose controlling the production budget? Or which agency has the highest annual billings?

I would argue that it should be none of the above. In fact, it shouldn’t be focused on the agencies position at all, but instead be focused on our client’s standing – assessing the value we deliver by the value we generate.

At Odopod, generally we have three types of assignments for our clients: online marketing (or campaign driven work), platform development (the highly-functional sites and delivery systems) and product innovation (on mobile devices, TV or wherever people are encountering the web). More and more, it’s our product-focused work that’s generating the greatest impact for our clients and garnering the most influence. Primarily because product experiences are the most direct extension of the brand and are directly tied to our client’s business model.

Marketing’s role is to speak for the brand when the product or service isn’t there to speak for itself. And it’s clear that many agencies enjoy the ongoing cycle of communication initiatives that are great for their own bottom-line, but often very short-term fixes for their clients most pressing issues.

My case and point from last Thursday evening – great advertising is most critical when the product and/or service are suspect. Take the Old Spice case for an example – no matter how fantastic the current campaign is; it hasn’t changed the way the product smells. In contrast, Apple’s current ads are completely unremarkable – essentially glorified product demos. The difference is that people love the Apple products.

It’s long past time to stop comparing traditional vs. digital agency models and start discussing what we need to do to move the needle for our clients.

The evolution of Chris Anderson’s Three-Party Market (Free, 2009)

For marketers, building brand awareness and relevance is always top-of-mind. One popular tactic has been (and remains) product placement in narrative content. As we’ve all experienced, the execution is often brazen and forced. Hardly has it ever added any value to the stories or promoted real affinity for the brands.

The following post from Mel Exon of BBH Labs, A Perfect Storm The Social Web, Storytelling And Brands, examines this relationship. His HER proposal challenges brands and content producers to utilize the social web to fuel creativity and forge connections – proposing that the ensuing three-way partnership can infuse new meaning (and value) into the experience.
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Pictured above: Action Runner by Behance – an excellent tool for lists.

Throughout my workday there are concepts (things) that come up over and over. The fact that they come up so often leads me to believe that they’re important. Needless to say, there are far more then five things, but I thought it was a good place to start.

A caveat: I’m not a big fan of definitive to-do lists from marketing industry muckety-mucks. Often, I find them too simplistic, generalized and/or dogmatic for my liking. So, it’s with modesty that I put forward the following.

1/ Embrace the complexity.
These days there are a multitude of avenues for communication programs – from social, traditional and display media to SEM, WOM or PR. The right answer is probably all of the above. So, no need to debate the tactic, debate the mix.

2/ Place lots of little bets.
With such a plethora of tactical possibilities choosing with certainty is impossible. Therefore, it may be wise to kick-off with many small initiatives, testing the waters before diving in the deep end. The key is establishing metrics for success — quickly abandoning what’s not working and doubling down on what is.

3/ Live in beta.
The only thing certain about the landscape is it will continue to change – and that change is exponentially accelerating. Hence, being adaptable and nimble is more critical then ever. “Beta” is no longer a step toward the final release; it’s a way of life.

4/ Draft on natural tendencies.
The ever-changing landscape gives way to new behaviors and attitudes. It’s important to understand both what they are and why they’re happening. By understanding why it’s possible to identify mechanisms and design systems to harness these emergent proclivities.

5/ Challenge the establishment.
Let’s face it; big media dollars still reign supreme. And, the big companies that control those dollars have no real incentive to rock the boat. Routinely, innovation is stifled by the inertia caused by these conditions. Encouraging momentum and introducing fresh ideas will likely require extra effort. Note to self: It’s always a worthy endeavor.

I’ll keep adding to this list. Please share concepts that have been helpful you.

Utility marketing certainly isn’t a new idea. In fact, André Michelin launched the first Michelin Guide in 1900, less then 10 years after the inflatable tire was patented. What began as a simple marketing ploy to get Parisians driving more (thus buying more Michelin tires) has grown into a global business, spanning more than a century.

But in the last couple of years branded utility has truly come of age. More and more, we see brands providing useful tools and services to forge connections with consumers. Additionally, the penetration of web enabled devices and the massive popularity of iPhone apps are playing substantial role in this new maturation – elegantly illustrating how branded utility can foster an ongoing relationship with people.

By providing frequent, helpful interactions with consumers, these applications can quickly become a meaningful part of their daily lives. This regular contact can be a supremely potent way to establish trust and build brand loyalty.

The mindshare these often small, simple utilities garner can offer a tremendous return on investment. This is not lost on deft marketers with increasingly tight budgets.

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