Don Draper, Bill Bernbach, Cliff Freeman, Bob Greenberg. Who's next?
I know, the last thing advertising needs is another award. And yes, it’s a little pompous to think this blog is entitled to award one. But the above visual seems like too much fun to waste. So on the eve of SXSW, Creativity_Unbound announces its call for entries for the first quarterly “Future of Advertising Award.” The idea is that every three months (advertising changes way too fast to wait for an entire year to pass) this blog and its readers (that’s you) will bestow the honor (?) on someone whose efforts epitomize positive change, innovation, new ideas that inspire us, or even miserable failures that teach us valuable lessons about how to move forward in the digitally-driven, consumer-controlled, social media world.
Winners could come from the ranks of doers, thinkers, creators, technologists or teachers. The one thing they’ll have in common – the picture offers a hint – is that they are leading us forward or inspiring us to lead ourselves forward. People who represent what comes next in the evolution of an industry that goes all the way back to J. W. Thompson in the 1800s.
The modern ad person probably begins with Don Draper, or Darren Stevens, take your pick. The species continues with Bill Bernbach,who gave us the creative team; Cliff Freeman, representing the height of TV commercials; and currently Bob Greenberg, among those who’ve led the industry’s transformation from analog to digital. But who comes next? That’s what we want to identify, encourage and celebrate. Emphasis on we.
So please leave your recommendations in the comment section below. The panel of judges (to be named soon) will consider them all and float some out ourselves, then let you know who prevails. At which time you can agree, debate or call us clueless.
The winner, of course, will receive a beautiful print with their face on the body standing tall at the front of the line. Suitable for framing, of course.
Who do you think should win? Someone already famous: Ben Malbon, Faris Yakob, Mike Lebowitz, Ross Kimbarovsky? Someone almost famous: Adrian Ho, Jordan Kretchmer? Or better yet, someone we’ve never heard from, but will?
As ReadWriteWeb reminded us this morning, SXSW will be overwhelming. Just scrolling through the schedule, even after you filter and refine, leaves you wondering how to clone yourself or otherwise choose among all the options happening at the exact same time. Granted some of the best learning, interaction and conversation takes place outside the numbered rooms of the convention center and the lettered rooms of the Hilton, but there’s an awful lot of stuff worth putting on your schedule and adhering to. Here are a few of the sessions that I have planned.
The Era of Crowdsourcing: Guiding Principles
Digg’s Jeffrey Kalmikoff and Behance’s Scott Belsky are leading this one. They may not be Jeff Howe, but I’m assuming there will be the creative perspective – much debated – and ideas and suggestions for how to make crowdsourcing work for both the content seeker and the participant. Not sure who the other panelists are, as they’re not listed on sxsw.com, but it’s too important a topic to pass up.
iPad: New Opportunities for Content Creators
There’s no shortage of speculation. Book publishers, the print media, production companies and ad agencies are already working on how to take advantage of the iPad. A panel that brings people together from publishing, video games and the interactive space could be inspiring. Wish Big Spaceship’s Michael Lebowitz were on this panel, but I’m assuming the collective group will offer at least some new insights.
Improving Social Media With Live Streaming Video
No doubt live video will play a huge role in the next phase of brands using social media to connect and engage; whether it’s to broadcast news, conduct a weekly show, inform a sales force, rally a community, or simply bypass traditional media to get the word out. There is still a sense of “now” when we’re watching something and know that others are experiencing it at the same time that streaming video puts in the hands of a content creator. Ustream’s Brad Hunstable leads this one and promises to share some real results from users.
Monkeys with Internet Access: Sharing, Human Nature, and Digital Data
Clay Shirky has yet to announce his actual topic, but if you’ve read his book or his blog, you know he’s worth an hour of your time. If you don’t know who he is, click on his name for a bio. And if you can’t get there, do yourself a favor and read any of his posts or books. Even when they’re a few years old, you’ll learn something.
Story.Next — Narrating the Crowd
Anyone who’s seen one of my presentations or heard my talk knows that my view of social media and advertising is all about inspiring others to tell stories for us. Or as Faris Yakob says, “”Rather than having ideas that are content, have ideas that create content.” (More coming on that topic in a future post.) Clearly there’s a great opportunity to take what StoryCorps is all about and embrace the approach in the social space. Everyone wants to share his or her story. Even those that are about the brands we work on.
I have dozens of other events on my schedule, a long list of old and new friends to see, and some smaller gatherings planned. No shortage of inspiration, information and excitement to be had. What are your plans? And if you see anything missing from my schedule, feel free to recommend. Hope to see you there.
In an industry that loves buzzwords and handles, this is the new one for 2010: content without walls. It’s a fancy (or succinct) way of saying that your brand needs to live wherever and whenever a consumer wants or needs access to information or entertainment.
After all, our media habits have become increasingly complex. We get our fix of content from books, ads, podcasts, magazines and movies. And we access it from smart phones, tablets, TV sets, and digital billboards. Not to mention search, shared links and social media.
So what does this mean for content creators, advertisers, brands? Does this suggest that we simply make sure every TV spot also gets posted to YouTube and a brand’s Facebook page? Is it all about the many different places we can put a piece of content so that it lives on every imaginable platform, ubiquitous and impossible to avoid? Is it merely about portability from one device to another?
Content can live anywhere, but is that enough?
“Hey, we can put our spot on cable, on smart phones, embed it in a tablet ad, or play it in back of a taxi cab. While we’re at it, why not project it onto the sides of urban buildings, too. Let’s leverage that production budget.”
That may work in some cases. I watch at least as much TV on my iPhone as I do on my Samsung flat screen. And I probably sit through far more ads on YouTube than on television. (That way I get to pick only the good ones.) But the expression “content without walls,” could, in some cases, make us lazy if all we do is place the same idea in lots of different places.
I much prefer the idea of “engineering your presence,” a term I first heard from Michael Calienes. It suggests you need to be everywhere, but not always with the same content. Chances are pretty good that customers don’t want the same thing on a tablet as they want on TV. The information that appears on your packaging is unlikely to double as an iPhone app. And while an honest to goodness testimonial — inspired by an effective conversation strategy — might work from a blogger you actually trust, or a friend on Twitter, it typically makes for some pretty boring advertising.
Instead of starting with the content we have, we should consider what our customers want. We should write strategies and creative briefs that offer insights about a customer’s relationship to media, content and community, not just to the brand, product or category. Does she want to be entertained or informed? Is she interested in listening or sharing or co-creating? Is she influenced more by friends or trusted bloggers? Are we creating a series of messages we hope will get noticed? Or are we producing applications we know will get used?
Sticking a TV spot on YouTube no matter how many views it gets may be content without walls. But it probably won’t break through all the barriers standing between you and a loyal customer.
This post inspired by a great conversation with my brilliant colleague John Moore.
Photo by: Alex Webb
If you believe the numbers, as many as 25—50 percent of all companies still restrict their employees from using social media during the workday. No messing around on Facebook. No connecting with digital friends. And God forbid, no sharing or talking about your employer or company.
These philistines of the business world remain convinced that time spent on social networks can only serve to jeopardize office productivity.
On the contrary, those of us who appreciate the value of listening, connecting, and engaging know just how absurd that argument is, regardless of the research. But guess what? It turns out that even when we’re just wasting our time watching senseless videos or keeping track of a friend’s late night exploits, it still might be a good thing, especially if we work in an industry where problem solving is part of our job.
Need evidence? You can find a pretty compelling one in a recent Wired column Driven by Distraction – How Twitter and Facebook make us more productive workers. Arguing convincingly that social media participation is well suited to stoking the creative mind, Brendan I Koerner reminds us of the following:
“Studies that accuse social networks of reducing productivity assume that time spent microblogging is time strictly wasted. But that betrays an ignorance of the creative process. Humans weren’t designed to maintain a constant focus on assigned tasks. We need periodic breaks to relieve our conscious minds of the pressure to perform — pressure that can lock us into a single mode of thinking. Musing about something else for a while can clear away the mental detritus, letting us see an issue through fresh eyes, a process that creativity researchers call incubation.”
OK, so Wired is clearly vested in advocating almost anything digital. But this argument has been around since before the social web. Check out Creativity and the Mind, Discovering the Genius Within by Ronald A. Finke and friends. He’s written and entire thesis that will convince you that:
“People are more successful if we force them to move away from a problem or distract them temporarily.”
Of course all the companies still slapping a lock on digital access can roll out another argument: the confidential nature of their company’s information or the even more effective government regulation and compliance excuse. Alas, that line of reasoning seems a little stale now, too. I mean if the Department of Defense can embrace social media, can’t an insurance company?
In its new policy (Directive-Type Memorandum 09-026), announced last week, the Department of Defense states that the default for the DoD non-classified network (the NIPRNET) is for open access so that all of DoD can use new media.
“Service members and DoD employees are welcome and encouraged to use new media to communicate with family and friends — at home stations or deployed — but it’s important to do it safely. Keep in mind that everyone has a responsibility to protect themselves and their information online, and existing regulations on ethics, operational security, and privacy still apply. Be sure never to post any information that could be considered classified, sensitive, or that might put military members or families in danger.”
As U.S. military. Capt. Nathan Broshear, Director of Public Affairs for 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) who is currently leading Air Force communications in Haiti, says:
“We’re not launching missiles, we’re launching ideas.”
My friend David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR, sums it up better than I can. So I’ll leave you with this quote from David.
“There is a huge number of companies that are putting their organizations at a disadvantage. If I managed a hedge fund, I’d sell short a basket of stocks of companies that block social media like YouTube and Facebook and buy stock in the companies (like IBM) that encourage employee use of these new tools and have an established social media policy like the DoD.”
Works for me, David. What do the rest of you have to say? Is there a legitimate excuse to restrict employees from using social media?
The print world may owe a debt of gratitude if the iPad helps save it
I got my start in this business making print ads. I loved everything about them: the challenge of the blank page; the possibilities of the two-dimensional plane; the art of combining an image and words to yield an idea greater than the sum of the parts; and the chance to create pictures in a reader’s mind with nothing but a perfectly crafted headline.
In the early days, Mullen was known for its print. Campaigns for Timberland, Smartfood, Swiss Army, LL Bean and many others were a perennial presence in local and national award shows. We built arguably one of the best studios in the business, worked with renowned photographers all over the world, and attracted art directors who were obsessed with the craft.
Then, thanks to the web, it all came crashing down. We got all kinds of new creative platforms — video, social, mobile, applications — but the rapid demise of that age-old form so many of us loved was (for those of us over 40) shocking. At least at first.
But now, the medium is about to get a second life. Thank you iPad. It will give us back all of things that made print great:
- A large two-dimensional space on which to create a piece of commercial art that captures one’s attention.
- A palette onto which we can place stunning visuals.
- An environment (digital magazines) where a reader may actually welcome something remarkable rather than simply look for the little “x” to close the ad.
Of course, it will also inspire something entirely different: a totally new digital form of print. Think Bernbach meets iPhone meets Wired meets UGC meets social media. All potentially combined into a single execution that’s conceptual, engaging, user friendly.
Consdider what Pentagram has to say:
“The conventions of online advertising—banner ads, pop ups, and so forth—aren’t popular with readers, with advertisers, and certainly not with designers. But the iPad is a new medium that will create a whole range of opportunities. Once people start exploiting what it can do, we may see the kind of creative renaissance that will deliver the next George Lois or Lee Clow. People will start subscribing to certain i-mags just for the ads alone.”
If you’re not already thinking about the possibilities of the iPad and the creation of a new form of digital print you should be. I imagine all of the following as possibilities. Eventually you’ll be able to create ads that let consumers:
- View a product from every imaginable angle with the flick of the finger.
- Change the colors and patterns of anything from shirt and tie combinations to the interior of a car.
- Upload and incorporate images of themselves into an execution so they can try on different outfits or pieces of jewelry.
- Instantly link or connect to back stories about how a product was made; learn its carbon footprint or its nutritional information.
- Find all their Twitter and Facebook friends who have bought the same brand or product to get their personal opinion (new application for Blippy?)
- Explore a brand via digital games, back stories, or through integration with other media, i.e. TV shows.
- Decide which version of an ad or which ad from a brand he even wants to see.
- Share, vote, rate ads in real time forcing creators to get better and more responsive
So, while we’re still a couple of months away from the first shipments, there are a number of things you could be doing right now. For starters, order your iPad and while you’re at it reserve at least a few for your creative department. Then consider the following:
- Make sure your current iPhone app developers are in touch with Apple regarding what will be possible with the iPad and have them share that with creative teams.
- Learn what Conde Nast and other major publishers have planned for their magazines’ conversion to tablets and how you can create advertising that will work in their new digital formats.
- Assemble a team made up of creative technologists, UX specialists, media planners, social media thinkers and creative people to start thinking about the possibilities.
- Identify the brands and clients who are most willing and excited about re-inventing how to tell their stories.
- Avoid simply migrating old content, images and OLA type executions to this new platform. It’s a chance to create something entirely new: executions that change daily; that include digital games; that incorporate real-time conversation.
I don’t have my iPad yet. (It is on order, though.) I haven’t seen a Conde Nast presentation in person. And I don’t have a team assembled internally as of today. But it’s all on the to do list. What about you?
Links and other articles of interest.
Sports Illustrated: Tablet Demo
Made by Many: Content design with cojones
CNN Tech: Print media hails iPad potential
Daily Illini: iPad could save print media
Pentagram: Five ways the iPad will change magazine design
C-Change Media: Why ads on the iPad and other tablets won’t make a difference
Steve Jobs photo by: curious lee
