INTRODUCTION
We all want to be first, and we all want to win awards. I get it.
Your mother doesn’t care what a Webby is. Never forget that. Neither does the general public. The next time you have a great idea pop into your head or float across your desk by a smug creative, try to remember that we are advertising to people that don’t work in our industry. Remember that they don’t give a shit that your campaign is the first to be done a certain way.
Let’s think about your mother again. Ask her about the commercial she remembers the most. Chances are it was something that was relevant to her. There was a thought and insight that made her feel something, because it related to her.
The question you should be asking yourself isn’t “How can we be first?” It should be “How can we be relevant?”
PART ONE: QUESTIONS
Before you get excited, ask the right questions.
Coming up with great ideas is fun. But making sure those ideas are relevant to the end users is where shit gets difficult. Don’t fret. Next time you have a great idea, ask yourself some of these questions to help you really narrow down the idea and make it more relevant to your target group.
SUPER DUPER RECAP
When it doubt just Fuck it
F
Follow your customers
Go wherever they go online. Read the same blogs, follow the same people. Put yourself in their shoes, even if those shoes are nasty and smell like shit.
U
Understand Them
What are their needs and problems? How do they speak? Learn as much as you can and communicate with them. Like the Jane Goodall of advertising.
C
Create User Personas
Write down their driving forces. Put pen to paper, finger to iPad or mouse to mousepad? Sum up what you know about your target audience and start crafting best ways to target them.
K
KPI Like a MoFo
Now that you know the driving force of your customers, figure out what the driving force of your brand is and figure out how to make a natural connection. Having mutual goals drives a more natural partnership and better returns between brands and their customers. Now go brief!
NEVER FORGET
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Being first wins awards, but being relevant wins customers.
PART TWO: CASE STUDIES
Let’s look at some case studies
Going through the following case studies, think about the mental checklist we discussed and see how many of these examples are a reflection of those questions.
Better Call Saul
Realtime Banners
What better way to tell your audience that you will sue anyone for any reason than by creating realtime banners? Netflix gave a peek into Saul’s universe by showing us what it would be like if Saul was a real life shady lawyer.
Narcos
WeTransfer Ad
Even boring touchpoints can create an impact if used wisely. Knowing that people will constantly check back on a page, Netflix created a realtime money counter to show how much money the Cartel would make while you were waiting to upload a file.
Little Caesars
Surprises
Does the idea enhance your message? Little Caesars wanted to enhance the message of surprises that you get when you order a stuffed crust pizza. So they misused the panoramic video feature on Facebook.
Salvation Army
Greeting Card
Can you use a feature for something other than what it was meant for? The Salvation Army did just that by using Facebook’s 360 photo to reveal a side of the holidays that not many people see.
Post-It
Web Banners
Can your ad be more than just an ad? Can you create an ad that is actually useful? By knowing your target audience and your brand you can solve problems and turn your ad into a product.
Google Chromebook
White Walkers Make a Slideshow
Instead of just showing your audience what your product can do, let them experience it instead. Find ways to make it relevant for your audience and you have a winner.
New York Public Libraries
Insta Novels
Can you hack a technology and use it for something it wasn’t meant for? Maybe use Instagram Stories to share actual stories and not just boring selfies. How about reading an entire book on instagram perhaps?
Lufthansa
Air Swing
Have a really cool Virtual Reality idea, but you know your audience doesn’t have VR Glasses? Why not tailor the idea to meet your audience where they are instead? The right surrounding can make or break an idea. Never neglect it, and take advantage of it whenever you get the chance.
Google Arts & Culture
Selfie App
Can you get your audience to willingly give you what you want without them even knowing it? And with pleasure? Google needed selfies to train their artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms so Google Arts and Culture offered their audience something that worth trading their time and info for.
Honda
Magic Snow Globe
For over 30 Years Honda has been a supporter of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Instead of just making a donation and an ad, they created a virtual reality world where kids that can’t leave the hospital can experience a winter wonderland and create a one of a kind gift that was made for them when the experience was over.
The Dali Museum
Artificial Intelligence + Deep Fakes
Even though Dali has been dead for over 30 years, that didn’t stop the Dali Museum from having Dali personally greet everyone, and take selfies with any visitor who wanted one. By combining Artificial Intelligence with Deep Fakes they were able to analyse a series of photos and mimic his facial movements to create a truly surreal experience.
PART THREE: TECHNOLOGIES
Get familiar with some emerging technologies
Augmented Reality
is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real world are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information. Over the past few years augmented reality apps have exploded thanks to Apple integrating better AR capabilities into the iPhone.
Just A Line App
Google created an app called “Just a Line” in which participants can draw together in a shared 3D space. Opening up a world of possibilities in shared digital environments.
AR In The Browser
Another Google release is the ability to view Augmented Reality in Chrome without having to download an app. Which means your brand can host 3D assets that your fans can interact with wherever and whenever they want. Like Giphy but on steroids, acid, and cocaine all at once. So Keith Richards really.
Deep Fakes
A Deepfake is the use of Artificial Intelligence to paste a one face onto a different body. In other words a more modern version of face swapping. While the idea of face-swapping is not a new concept – the technology is becoming more accessible.
Pity the Impressionist
By using hundreds of photos from certain celebrities dead or alive, an impressionist was able to make a video starring various celebrities.
VW GTI – The Original Updated
The thought of swapping faces is not new. As a matter of fact VW did it fifteen damn years ago! This is a perfect marriage of idea and tech. It makes you wonder what came first. The idea or the headline.
Artificial Intelligence
There are a lot of things that Artificial Intelligence can accomplish. By using existing data sets such as photos, or databases of related information, AI can use supplied data to create, identify and predict. What you do with the data sets are completely up to you.
The Next Rembrandt
ING used Artificial Intelligence to image a world in which Rembrandt created another painting. So they scanned and analysed all of Rembrandt’s paintings and sketches. Using artificial intelligence they were able to understand what makes a Rembrandt a Rembrandt and create a whole new painting.
Trigger Me Elmo
Yes, this may be a terrible example of the future of Artificial intelligence, but this is my presentation. Using AI to identify various races, a coder created an animated elmo that will identify which race you are and then insult you. Racist? Yes. Hilarious? Also yes.
Smart Assistants
Smart Assistants get a bad wrap. Mostly because how shit Siri is. Alexa and Google Assistant both provide ways for anyone to create apps that take advantage of smart assistants and natural language processing. Imagine being able to write an app that you can control with your voice without having to know how to code.
The current state of Smart Assistant Apps is a shit show. Which means if you can create something great for your client, you are more likely to stand out in the market for Assistant Apps. So the real question is, how can you help your client in the Smart Assistant space.
Buzzfeed Tasty + Google Home
Tasty partnered with Google to create a physical cooking set to take advantage of Google Home. Since all of Tasty recipes are already online, all they did was partner with Google and now anyone can access step-by-step cooking instructions with their voice.
Google Home Board Game
The Google Assistant doesn’t just have to exist only in a smart speaker or screen. It can also branch out into tangible objects that you can interact with. In this case a board game.
PART FOUR: OTHER TIPS
Tips to help you work more effectively
Most clients don’t understand much about technology, so their first instinct will usually be to kill an idea that they don’t completely understand. The problem is that they will not know how to express the exact reason why. It will be up to you to get as much information as to why they are against the idea. Not following through to the real reason means even more killed ideas, and for no apparent reason.
If you find it difficult to get more information from a Creative Director or Client, Mirroring is a technique that work really well. Mirroring is the act of repeating the last 1-3 words of the other person in form of a genuine question. This will force them to elaborate or to restate their initial statement. And best of all, they won’t even know it.
Mirroring lets the other side know you’re paying attention to what they’re saying and treating their views with the close consideration they believe they deserve.
Labelling is used to give voice to the other side’s feelings. Good labels take the form of:
“It sounds like…”
“It feels like…”
“You look like…”
To label effectively, you must avoid all use of the first-person pronoun, as in, “What I’m hearing…” or “I think…” First-person phrases signal that you are your number one priority and everyone else in the room is an afterthought. At its core, labelling is designed to let the other side know that you understand their feelings, to help build relationships, and to gather information.
How you feel about a situation or round of feedback is always subject to interpretation. Try not to include your personal biases when passing on feedback to your creatives. Give a word for word recount and try to leave personal emotions out. If the feedback seems very technical or your client is killing an idea based on technical reasons – make sure to have a developer hear the reasons. Chances are they might find a solution to save the idea.
Every year, major Silicon Valley Giants will show off what they have planned for the next 12 months to developers. This will give you key insights into which technologies will be adopted by the general public. When you know this, you will be able to figure out where you can be “First” and you get a head start. The two major ones are Apple WWDC, and Google I/O. Microsoft does them as well, but much more low-key.
Google I/O
Apple WWDC
Microsoft Build
Still got questions?
That’s cool. Get in contact. I’ll be happy to answer them. Or if you want to light a fire under your creative team’s asses? I can verbally do that too. Reach out and let’s get in touch.