Why Interactive?

It's not just the hype the brought me into interactive. It's that I've always been a part of it, and as long as I have my eyes, fingers and a fully functioning brain, I will always be a part of the www.

Being only two years out of school, I have a lot to learn, so I can hardly sell myself as any kind of expert. My strength lies in my well-developed instincts about technology and online trends. This is not really something they can teach you at school, and I know lots of people my age and younger who just don't get it.

My love of the Internet can be traced back to 1997. I was only 12 and I can still hear the vivid bbbbbbbrrrrrrrrcccccccccctttchhhhhhhhhhweeeeeeeeee of dial up.

I created my own Geocities homepage when I was 13 which was actually just a blog, but it still got 100 unique visitors every month! I've learned that it's much more difficult now to find an audience.

I was an mIRC, Chathouse, ICQ fanatic, used Napster/Morpheus, played online multiplayer games until the wee hours of the morning, had an AsianAvenue account, and had taught myself basic HTML.

I've ridden the wave of the Dot Com Boom even though I was too young to realize it. I've observed with fascination the evolution of social media, user experience, direct marketing, e-commerce, gaming and content sharing.

So tomorrow, when I meet face-to-face with one of the leaders in Canadian digital marketing, I will remember who I am. While I don't have influence over the future of the Internet or shaping it on a large scale; I will always stay true to my vision...

The Internet is a limitless arena for influencing the way people think/feel/act by:

• Providing information to the people who want it
  
• Unique and personal experiences that are meaningful and useful
• Transcends physical boundaries by connecting people and ideas
  

And as the depth and breadth of the Internet grows, so will I.

Future of the Internet – Colleen Decourcy, Chief Digital Officer, TBWA Chiat/Day

May 27, 2008 - Internet Day, Toronto

In the ballroom of the Sheraton, over 300 members of the Toronto Ad Club and guests were gathered to hear Canadian Business’ It Girl tell us about her vision of the Future. Everything was branded from the flowers by The Weather Network and “Colleen Decourcy brought to you by Yahoo! Canada”.

It soon became quite clear that Decourcy was not here to promote the people who made this event possible. From references to Google instead of Yahoo! and pointing out the obvious pitfalls of display advertising and microsites, Decourcy gave us all a reality check. I resisted the temptation to chuckle out of respect for the AOL media sales guys who made it possible for me to attend.

Beyond “Shoot the Monkey”

Despite the fact that DA weight allowances continues to slowly increase and there are ever so many ways to get in front of consumers online (page take-overs, top layer, expandable, dynamic text, etc.), Decourcy points out that we haven’t really evolved much since the “Shoot the Monkey” animated gifs of yesteryear.

She challenged us to think about all the other touchpoints at which to reach our audiences. Each consumer has a “deck”, she tells us. Like a desktop. This is a challenge I face everyday when clients and overzealous account execs want to throw in a widget here and a facebook app there. Their objective is to give the client as much bang for their buck, but there’s a tendency to look only in the obvious places, but not the relevant ones.

Yet Another New Era in Advertising

My favourite part of the presentation was when Decourcy put the digital age into context of the media timeline. When films were first being made, they were produced like a live performance. Except the same excitement an audience gets from seeing live theatre where anything can and does happen doesn’t exist in a dark, isolated theatre. The rules changed.

So in the last 10 years or so, when we’ve evolved from websites and e-mail to websites, e-mail, social networks, blogs, wiki, mobile, etc. why are we still developing “Shoot the Monkey” creative?

Things I Learned

Here are a few of the notes I took during the presentation... clearly not verbatim and barely legible in reality:

• Medium = conversation + cooperation + empowerment
• Satiating the desire to spend time
• “It’s not about what we do, but how we use the technology”
• If you want to be relevant, we start at the consumer’s reflexes
• We were early in jumping onto the advertising media bandwagon – should have focused more on digital product development first
• Long-tail = deeper engagement
• Brand Belief vs. Brand Behaviour
• Time for the next creative revolution
• It all has to lead to digital
• Technology is an enabler not a destination

Wrap it Up

Decourcy only had time to present two case studies: Pedigree and Method, and I was sad that she couldn’t get to the iPhone campaign. What’s exciting about her work is that she brings all media together into something that really taps into consumers contextually relevant situations.

This is an individual who is not afraid to get inside her audience and find out what really makes them tick. Decourcy is renowned for a unique consumer profiling technique which I’m very curious about. Of course it’s her trade secret, and the Future of the Internet presentation was more about her philosophy and POV than giving away her methods.

The presentation ended with Q&A where Decourcy hesitatingly admitted that she thought Spot Runner’s “stuff looks like shit”. I was happy to discover at that point that it pays to be brutally honest.

Totally inspired

I went to a Toronto Ad Club event on Tuesday, May 27 for Internet Day 2008. This year’s keynote was Colleen Decourcy, Chief Digital Officer of TBWA Chiat Day, NYC – my very first industry idol.

I originally read about Colleen Decourcy in a copy of Canadian Business that talked about her background as CCO for Organic Toronto, Chief Experience Officer at JWT and then Chief Digital Officer at TBWA Chiat Day. The article talked about her creativity, ingenuity and her ability to bridge the gap between digital and traditional experiences.

I kept the article at work because it really inspired me at a time when I didn’t know what was going to happen. At the time, I had just left a large ad agency for one that was virtually unknown to pursue a career in an area that most people had never heard of. Colleen represents a future that I wasn’t really sure existed.

After her presentation, I walked up to her and all the clever speeches I made up flew out of my head. I clumsily mumbled something and she gave me the sparkliest of smiles and embraced me. As others crowded around to speak with her, I backed away, numbed by the suddenness of it all.

I am thankful that the unconventional path that I had chosen last November had brought me to this point where I could meet someone that I look up to and be acknowledged by her. It may not have been the most daring of conversations, but in the grand scheme of things, it was kind of perfect.

Next post will focus on Colleen Decourcy’s presentation on the deep engagement.

Digital Intelligence

I totally made it up.

When I first decided I wanted to get into strategic planning, I didn’t really know how one became a strategic planner. So I kept my eyes and ears open and discovered that there are two ways in: research or very senior account management.

In interactive, digital strategists are still a new breed and they come from all kinds of backgrounds, mainly: technology, account planning or marketing management. Finding a digital strategist that can offer both technology and advertising expertise is rare and in high demand.

Recently, I was given the opportunity to jump into the digital strategy pool because of my advertising background and sharp instincts about the www. And like traditional strategic planners, I’m starting out doing hardcore research – a practice which I’ve coined “digital intelligence”.

I can see you…

What’s cool about online marketing is that a lot of what’s happening in your category is fully transparent. At any moment, you can dive into what your competitors are doing online if you’re willing to invest the time… and if you can afford it, the tools.

Unlike traditional advertising where ad effectiveness can be difficult to measure or predict, digital marketing can be a little bit easier to control but it requires the manpower to strategize, optimize and manage everything from media plans, search campaigns, SEO, landing pages, display creative options, user experience, etc.

For people who are go-go-go, this job probably sounds terribly tedious. But what makes this position so rewarding comes from knowing that the fruit of my efforts has an overall effect on the business. Educated clients make sounder decisions; a well-informed agency gains stronger trust; and a strategy based on reality rather than assumption performs better.

Snowballing

In this article from Adotas on Interactive Creative Skills that Every Agency Needs, while it doesn’t include a digital intelligence specialist, it does illustrate how interactive agencies can’t function the same way as a traditional one. In today’s interactive shop, we all put on different hats depending on what we’re naturally attuned to (and not necessarily on what we went to school for). As long as it’s all for a common goal which should always be to effectively drive consumer behaviour through online technology.

CaseCamp 7... Hobnobbing in Social Media

Toronto – Last night I attended my first social media conference, CaseCamp 7. Organized by Eli Singer, over 400 people showed up for the event – so many that people who had to work late (like myself) had nowhere to sit.

It felt like speed dating where case studies were presented in 15 minutes or less – although they could’ve been more… after all, who was counting?

There was a big networking dance party afterwards although I was still too shy to participate, I got to meet Sean Moffitt – a leader of buzz marketing. KOL's like Sean and Eli are a highly sought-after resource for any marketer today who wants to jump on the social media gravy train.

Here’s what went down…

Red Flag Deals

Derek Szeto, founder of RFD.com talked about their recent Boxing Week success, largely attributed to their SEO superiority built up over the past couple of years and the resources they devoted into building their community and their retailer relationships.

Story2Oh!

Jill Golick, a screen writer who has cracked into effective storytelling online using social media through two fictional characters: Simon Beals and Ali Barrett. She created these two characters on Facebook and used all aspects of social media (twitter, delicio.us, flickr, youtube) to create a storyline that engaged Simon and Ali’s friends (the real ones) in multiple touch-points.

It’s controversial because people expect their Facebook friends to be real, and although Jill tried to make it clear on all of Simon and Ali’s profiles that they were fictional – I don’t think most people really read profiles, and some people were annoyed that they were fooled by Simon and Ali just prior to CaseCamp.

Radiothon Diaries

Sick Kids Hospital increased their fundraising this year partially because of some really touching viral video content they put out. It was a last minute project and they shared some of the challenges they faced, but considering the increase in donations they saw, it was worth the hustle.

TD Canada Trust Facebook

TD Canada Trust used a Facebook group to get in touch with 18-25 demographic which tied into a really cool event which involved kids, discounts and a shopping tour. As a bank, they had to overcome a lot of challenges mainly PR related. This case shows that it’s OK for a company to allow their customers to speak their minds. We’re all saying shit anyway and their acceptance of transparency goes a long way in promoting trust.

the people want to keep it real

i suggested several polls on tuesday, and finally ONE of them got approved yesterday.

then this morning, i was informed that my poll is officially WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT!

unfortunately i don't get to make any claims to prizes or anything, and i don't live in NYC so i won't get to see i emblazoned in times square, but at least... if i see it being sold at my local vw dealership... i'll know that i contributed to what will henceforth be the best vw campaign since the lemon.

the people want to be famous

what people want campaign

this question grabbed my attention immediately and when was the last time you saw an interesting message in a banner ad?

the neatly built and branded vw What The People Want microsite asks:

"Do you want an end to political correctness?"

or fun question like, "Do you want to take the tiny soap and shampoo bottles from hotel rooms?"

(btw, last time i checked the majority of people want both!)
users are encouraged to suggest an opinion of their own and the poll that generates the most positive votes gets:

• printed on t-shirts, bumper stickers, mugs and pins
• giant interactive sign in Times Square, NYC

opinion polls are not the nkotb of the internet obviously, but i've got to give a not to vw for showing some courage and doing something not a lot of car companies are willing to promote - honesty.

this is a solid buzz campaign that makes the most of people's love of online polls and interactive spectacles in outdoor spaces. the campaign that i stumbled upon was clearly targeted towards new yorkers, but i think vw should take this all the major cities across north america... and even the world. they can stretch this for miles by comparing what the people want in each city.

this campaign is especially timely during the u.s. presidential primaries. people are ITCHIN to make their vote count. this may sound crazy, but do you think that the people that vw is engaging are more likely to vote in the elections than not???

the final word

brand experience has never been so accessible to the masses than online, and gives off the general vibe that vw is thoughtful and progressive. what do you bet that those are two psych descriptors for the consumers they're trying to engage? not only did i have fun submitting my opinion, i liked that the vehicle push was secondary to the overall brand experience.