I was looking at some old IPA diplomas for something or other.
I like many if these, they have so much value to spark thinking and it's obvious the writers have worked very, very hard.
That said, I'm naturally nervous of encouraging planners to naval gaze, as the result is often clever rather than practical.
I'm all for challenging the received wisdom though, as I firmly believe much of the laudable work done by the IPA and Byron Sharpe is in danger of making the data fit the usual beliefs.
Especially the IPA Data bank work, built from a very small sample, relatively speaking, yet taken as gospel.
It did make me ask myself what I thought and what I would say if I had to write one. It might go something like this. Written with brutal simplicity:
I BELIEVE BRANDS SHOULD FOCUS ON CREATING MOMENTS, NOT CAMPAIGNS
We have long known that people remember very little about their own lives, spending most of their days on autopilot, so the brain isn't overloaded. We also know they don't even recall all of the experiences they want to concentrate on - we tend to remember the beginning, the end and the highs and lows in the middle. So it follows that the slavish obsession with 'campaigns' and 'long term ideas' may not the best approach to building brands after all, because people in the real world don't live like that.
What's more, in world that's making too much stuff, where no person can consume all the content on their 'must watch' lists, let alone bother with the advertising getting in the way, brands will increasingly have to work with the brain and how it makes memories, not against it.
LIFE COMES DOWN TO A FEW MOMENTS AND SO DO BRANDS
It doesn't matter what the event, life-stage or experiences, most of what we experience get's processed deep into the subconscious. Humans remember beginnings (it's the first day at work is so critical), endings (why film companies focus group closing scenes), turning points (turning 30, New Year, the transition from Spring into Summer, Darth Vader telling Luke he is his father), low points (it's why you remember the driver that cut you up but nothing else about your drive) high points and magic moments that elevate the ordinary (Wiggle an online retailer puts free Haribo in every delivery, an average hotel in the US has popsicle silver service for kids by the pool and gets stellar reviews).
It follows that brands will come down to a few moments too. Yet we love to plan for the long term and, when it comes to media, worry about flighting and longevity v reach, when maybe we should worry more about impact and attention.
What if we planned for moments rather than campaigns?
Instead of worrying about the bits in the middle that people forget, what if we only planned for great beginnings, great endings and moments that elevate the ordinary? What if we worked with the flow of life rather than against it?
THE ANSWER TO SHORT-TERM V LONG TERM IS THE WRONG DISCUSSION
Maybe the endless discussion on long-term brand building v short term activation misses the point. Business lives in quarters, people live in moments.
That way we'd make our clients happy and annoy consumers a lot less!
What if we asked what the short term problem is and then solve it in a way that cannot be missed? That doesn't mean inconsistency by the way. Google Pointilism and you'll find a method of panting dot by dot. No two dots are the same, but they make up a consistent, inspirational picture.
Think of a book, all the chapters are different, yet each one drives the narrative forward.
This has an advantage for brands living in a time where culture is faster than ever before, where nothing seems to be certain. Those that embrace the marketing at the real speed of culture and the half-life of modern attention spans, can leave the cumbersome, slower competition moving at a glacial pace in the rear view mirror.
There are pioneers. In the UK, few know what Brewdog is going to do next, yet their string of tactics adds up to a very commercially successful whole. Paddy Power kickstarted unprecedented growth through a series of stunts that gave a voice to what sports fans were really thinking.
Amazon destroyed competitors by always doing what they wouldn't, couldn't or didn't dare. Paralysing them with their unpredictability.
Arguably, Donald Trump became President by rejecting relentless triangulation and just firing salvos at Twitter faster than more traditional candidates could respond (unfortunately).
Back to brands. This kind of thinking has worked for the creative itself. Snickers is for the when 'you're not you when you're hungry', we thanked Crunchie it's Friday, Guinness used to be about waiting for the pint to settle, with Orangina, you Shake the Bottle to Wake the Drink.
THEREFORE BRANDS SHOULD PLAN TO BE GREAT SOME OF THE TIME, NOT ALL OF THE TIME
So in conclusion, because we only remember a few moments in any experience, a better way of planning how to build your brands should focus on the moments that matter. How people buy, how they consume it and, most importantly, moments in real life where you can work with beginnings, endings and moments that elevate the ordinary.
In other words, short term tactics and specific rituals that work with how the brain forms memory to build long term effect.
This approach naturally fuses the skills of data, PR, media and creative, but to be honest, it's just about remembering to be human. Who'd have thought that planning for real life would leave the competition second guessing?
It could be as simple as a Haribo packet in a delivery, owning a moment in the week, making the most boring moment of the month spectacular ...or a hair colour brand only trying to reach people on the first of the month (most women colour their hair at the start of the month, it's a transition and they feel flush!!).
In other words, brands can win with smaller budgets and firepower, by simply planning to be extraordinary some of the time, instead of being average all of the time.
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