Socialmediaworx

Last month I wrote a brief post about why I think Foursquare is the future of mobile marketing. But the more I thought about it, it was less about the Foursquare app itself, and more about the ideas, principles or values behind it that I felt made it so special. If sharing your location with friends was a feature, then perhaps the value is the baking into the app an element of social media.

It got me thinking a lot about how we talk about apps, services and generally what’s next – particularly in digital marketing. It seems to make sense that rather than to continually chase after the latest toy or technology, digital brands and the planners behind them should start first with values. Not unlike a solid strategy leads to the right tactics, or even how form follows function, so too should a digital marketing experience be built on the right values.

Starting with the values – the constants that remain unchanged and resonate in ways that matter most – provides a guiding framework for thinking about what’s next in digital marketing.

Is this a big idea? Maybe. Maybe not, but I like how it changes our thinking. So I thought I’d put together a quick deck on this principle and submit it to the AAAA Transformers Program for consideration.

I think there are others that have done a wonderful job discussing many of these themes as well, including big ideas in what’s next in marketing and branded utilities, but I thought I’d share a couple ideas to the larger conversation in hopes that they add a little extra value.

Feedback would be lovely.