“When was the last time the Labor Party actually delivered a budget surplus?” Wyatt Roy asked the Prime Minister in February.
The question was an awkward one to answer because Roy wasn’t born when the last surplus was handed down by a Labor Government.
Roy was kicked out of parliament and the Prime Minister wasn’t required to answer the question but the stunt was effective.
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Mike says: Wonderful clarity and simplicity in this argument. Social media is a medium that needs to serve business needs. Whether you choose to engage for financial, reputational or customer service motives is a matter for individual businesses. Once this decision is made it is possible to start measuring the business impact of your efforts in the space.
I tried my best not to but in the end I did tweet this photo. Maybe grill’d and one green bean were betting that if they dared us not to tweet, we would out of sheer defiance. They certainly have the right audience to bait. Is this the vice trigger - one of Jonah Lehrer’s seven fascination triggers? The motivation is simple - sometimes people don’t want to do what they are told. Sometimes we just want to defy our traditional patterns of compliance and obedience. If you want to hear about this concept from someone far more knowledgeable than me, listen to the Social Triggers Insider podcast. Worth the half hour.
Red Bull, Jäger and Vegemite are much loved products for many punters in Australia and beyond. Have you ever thought how bizarre this is? It’s fair to say all three are naturally repulsive to the tastebuds - at least at first tasting.
When Dietrich Mateschitz first tested Red Bull with consumers the responses were off the charts. Participants hated it, some claimed it was the worst thing they’d ever tasted.
Rather than refining the formula, Mateschitz decided to invest in building the cult brand that we know as Red Bull today. Mateschitz understood the bigger beverage companies could always formulate a more appealing taste. He stopped wasting time on the formula and invested in building a brand experience none of them could match. Red Bull stands for fun, energy and adventure. People drink it because they want to get more out of their day - or at least show others that they do.
Even more perplexing than the Red Bull case is that of Jägermeister. Nobody drinks Jäger because it tastes nice. I don’t need to know the secret ingredients in Jager to tell you it tastes horrendous. But that’s not the point.
You drink Jager as a bonding ritual with your friends. The god awful taste is to be endured not enjoyed. And then you dare your mate to endure another. Jäger is a great brand experience. It fulfils a primal urge to endure a painful experience in front of an audience.
The last product I’ll talk about is a bit harder for me to understand. I’ve been conditioned from day dot to like it - and I do. A lot. But I can’t let this bias distort the reality. I’m talking about the iconic Vegemite.
Tell any rational person to eat a salt yeast extract and they’d likely tell you to bugger off. What was the response like the last time you saw an overseas visitor eat Vegemite (Kiwis exempt)? For most it triggers an instinctive pursing of the lips and squinting of the eyes. It is a sensory assault to be sure - but certainly not a good one.
Still, millions of Australians eat Vegemite each morning as part of their daily routine because it’s an enjoyable brand experience. Because the tradition is passed down through the generations it has a wonderful nostalgic value. So you wake up, pop in some toast, spread the Vegemite and enjoy a few minutes of comfort before taking on the day. What an amazing psychological experience to deliver.
Which leads to the point of this post. Brand experience and the context in which we consume products are remarkably powerful. So powerful in fact, that they can rewire your brain to enjoy things that by rights you should reject.
This is important to remember in an era where product development seems to rule the business roost. I have no doubt betting the house on product can set a business up for success. But as these cult brands prove, sometimes your money is better invested in cultivating unique and valuable brand experiences for customers.
I made the top five of ad:tech’s digital young guns competition and ended up coming fourth in the live pitch.
I’m very happy to say I was beaten by better ideas that were explained with more clarity than mine. There is no shame in losing to more worthy competitors in my view.
The more important thing for me is what you do when you face a set back. I know there are better digital minds out there than mine. That’s okay - I’ll work harder and I’ll catch up.
The reality is the people I took on in the final were match fit. They had better working knowledge of digital and they had great experience and skill at explaining their ideas and how they will work. They were all agency side so this makes sense - pitching is the lifeblood of their jobs.
The key takeout of the conference for me is that digital will no longer be campaign driven. Instead we’ll be delivering platforms that facilitate and enable engagement over the long haul. How we do this at scale is the big question the industry is facing at the moment.
I feel my skill set and knowledge has grown from being a part of ad:tech. I’m glad I was involved and look forward to forging fantastic professional relationships with all the other finalists.
Over and out.
Andy Lark, Chief Marketing & Online Officer, Commonwealth Bank of Australia presented the afternoon keynote.
Lark has an engaging and passionate presentation style that oozes authority. The work CBA is doing on digital content is really clever. Surprisingly though, I’d never heard about it prior to his presentation.
Liked his section about purpose driven organisations and how they outperform profit driven organisations. Great example at SouthWest airlines where all staff have bought in to the company’s purpose so much the baggage handlers will tell you they’re job is giving people the freedom to fly rather than ‘moving baggage.’ Similarly, the employees at Dell are so committed to the purpose, almost all of them could blog for the company.
Lark’s clearly excited about the future of marketing and what he calls the death of transmission. He believes that the new forms of marketing will be more democratic and user centred.
I liked all the directions he spoke of today so I’m hoping they come to fruition.
A similar theme is emerging in all talks - marketing is going to get harder not easier. But those who innovate and put customer first will win.
Great topic and fantastic insights from a range of panellists.
Key take outs for each below.
Andrew Giles (Canon)
All roads start and end with consumer. Canon invest a lot in researching their consumers’ needs and use insights to develop marketing strategy. Saw the need for photographers to gather in a community and offered a space for the community to share their work.
Suzie O’Carroll (Google)
Content might be king, but distribution is god almighty. Google+ ripples is a great tool to watch - gives brands a graphic representation of how content is shared. Also, Google hangouts could become a useful platform for rich brand content.
Martin Walsh (Macquarie Telecom)
Social media is great for monitoring sentiment. Uses monitoring tools to analyse sentiment and share of voice compared to key competitors. Mentioned 80% of social media efforts fail. Walsh suggested this was caused by not having a strategy. Conversations have to be curated and the best way to stoke these conversations is content.
Jessica Mitchell (founder BreadNButter Digital)
Excited about digital measurement capabilities. Believes social media is a commitment not a campaign. Made a great point about paid media being good for facilitating the spread of content. But the content still needs to be remarkable to spread organically (what we call earned media).
I recently asked an owner of a highly accomplished Melbourne marketing firm for advice about building a career in marketing strategy and planning. The response wasn’t what I expected, but it was a good one.
Essentially, I was told that most people overplay their strategic prowess and that a lot of people pretend to know what they’re talking about when they don’t.
Refreshingly, he didn’t refer me to the classics of account planning or brand management. Instead, he pointed me toward the classics of strategy.
The likes of:
I’ll admit I was skeptical at first glance. I’ve heard too many jokes at the expense of those who read the Art of War to take it seriously. But upon reflection, I think his advice has some profound wisdom in it.
Because as much as the modern advertising, marketing and communications canon are supposedly about strategy, they’re often more tactically focused than anything else.
Taking the macro view and reading the classics is a really clever idea.
Understand the foundations behind strategic thought in the modern world FIRST.
Then read the contemporary, tactically focused material, SECOND.
I’ve now got copies of The Prince and Art of War loaded on my Kindle. I’ll be reading them over the next few weeks and will post some observation and thoughts as I do.
Looking forward to the journey.
I hate big political news stories. Every Tom, Dick and Harry, who normally wouldn’t hold a single political view other than ‘don’t raise taxes’, suddenly becomes an expert. I reckon horse racing followers must feel the same way on Melbourne Cup Day.
So the electorate was engaged in politics for five days. Great. Watch them disengage in an instance now this farce is over.
To test this theory, I’m planning to ask everyone who’s asked me about the leadership spill what they think of the Gonski Review. I’ll let you know what response I get.
Kevin Rudd is gone. Played the high risk game and I expect he will fall hard. The lesson? Relationships are everything. You don’t get anywhere on your own. Common sense, I know. For a bloke as smart as Rudd, it’s staggering that he doesn’t get this.
