...Advertisers aren't focused on building the digital applications that people want to use; they're focused on somehow cramming marketing into them. Some kid comes up with the next YouTube, Facebook or mobile platform, and most advertisers want to figure out how to market on it. Instead of designing and developing useful applications that could give brands the opportunity to insert themselves meaningfully into our lives, we get cutesy but useless "Sprite Sips" on Facebook, ubiquitous banners in all shapes and sizes and microsites that you won't likely return to. And I'm talking about digital advertising -- never mind traditional. >>Full Story
Thoughts// A great read on a topic we've written on this blog before. While the piece is directed primarily towards agencies, it goes without saying that digital advertising today is a vastly under utilized and many of us have sadly resorted to pointless social applications (SpriteSips) or gimmicky microsites instead of providing meaningful experiences that are inherently valuable to consumers. The author's point of view was supported by a recent AdWeek article and challenges us to view digital brand experiences through the prisms of:
Usefulness: Instead of providing interruptions and gimmicks, give consumers applications that are meaningful to their lives and serves a purpose.
Utility: Give them tools that improve their lives—even if it's overly simplistic—such as Dominos' Pizza Builder.
Ubiquity: Don't segregate your applications to just your site; consumers are hanging out on mutiple social networks and are using multiple platforms to access content. Make your content/applications portabe across platforms and networks.
The Facebook application, iLike is a great example of a useful utility. iLike allows you to keep in touch with your favorite artists and discover new (similar) artists; in addition to adding music and video to your profile, it also tells you when your favorite artists are in town. Thanks to such an artist update, my wife and I will be spending next Sunday at a Kate Nash concert in Portland...in fact, we literally bought tickets within 24 hours of seeing the updated news feed on the show. Now that's a meaningful digital application!
No comments:
Post a Comment