There are a lot of marketers on both client and agency side talking about the death of branding, marketing and strategy. Plenty of conversation has been generated promoting the ‘don’t think, just do it’ approach. This kind of thinking led to the vast microsite graveyard and I don’t buy it.
We still need good brand strategy and big thinking. We just need to change the rules by which brands are imagined and behave.
The most loved and effective brands are an intrinsic part of culture - stimulating interest, involvement and advocacy without constant media support. We call them participation brands. Unfortunately in Australia, 80% of brands create disposable interactions, let's call them passive brands.
Participation brands put participation at the heart of the brand experience – not as an add-on. They involve customers, stakeholders and fans through immersive and interactive initiatives allowing people to join in, connect, converse, co-create and advocate. They create a gravitational pull enabling them to outsell without having to necessarily outspend their competition.
Rather than being closed, static systems defined by generic words on a brand onion, they’re open, dynamic, evolving and collaborative systems embedded into the operational DNA of the organisation.
Being a participation brand means operating at the speed of culture, not the speed of research. Being in a constant state of beta mode and letting each and every person leave a bit of their DNA on an idea.
A word of caution though. Participation branding isn’t just doing ‘more digital and social’. Genuine participation brands think content, context, experience and conversations not just how many screens you can get on.
Participation branding doesn’t mean trying to get everyone to get deeply involved at all times. That’s unrealistic. Understanding different motivations for participating and sharing ideas is critical. Being useful, driving belonging, promoting achievement, enhancing one’s status, rewarding and recognising my contribution.
So how do you start behaving like a participation brand? Where do you start? Asking these six basic questions is a great starting point:
1. What’s our PASSIONATE PURPOSE that makes the world better?
2. What are we doing to PROTOTYPE new business models, new initiatives, and new ways of consumer interaction?
3. What games are we asking people to PLAY with us and the community?
4. How can we help people PROPAGATE their story whether they’re advocates, adorers or the passive massive?
5. What’s our 365 day PRESENCE PLAN mapping when, where, why and how people want to participate with us?
6. How are we PIVOTING to ensure we stay ahead of culture and relevant to our communities’ needs and interests?
So who’s doing it well? Of course the titans and icons of Nike, Adidas, Coke, Apple, Johnnie Walker, Heineken, Google, Red Bull, Mini and Lego all have participation baked in.
What about Australia?
Recent campaigns like ‘Share a Coke and a song’, ‘The Perfect Lager Project’ for Arvo beer, ‘BYO Cup Day’ for 7 Eleven, ‘Mobile’ Medic’ for the Australian Defence Force and our Christchurch ‘Discovery Stream’ – all initiatives with participation baked into the DNA of the idea. All with amazing results.
So, no I don’t think we’re living through the death of marketing, but rather an amazingly exciting time for brands. It’s time for planners to leave our ivory towers, dump Google as our primary source of insight, banish our brand onions and get involved with the real world. It’s time for strategy to participate.
Dan Pankraz
Regional Strategy & Innovations Director APAC
Iris Worldwide