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.

At the heart of the presentation, is a core value that marketing should be doing things with and for people. Isakson explains that this means the future of marketing and advertising should be:

1. Collaborative…like Nike’s ChalkBot
2. Generous…like TOMS
3. Experimental…like BestBuy’s Twelpforce
4. Helpful…like IBM’s Seer
5. Playful…like T-Mobile’s Flash Mob Dance
   
6. Personal…like BK.com
7. Honest…like Amazon’s response to Kindle mistakes
8. Participatory…like MadMen on Twitter

But you didn’t need me to tell you that. You already knew that the advertising/publishing/media/entertainment world was in a massive upheaval, the likes of which we’ve never seen before. (How’s that for some hyperbole!?)

True, media buys are down, most ad campaigns are flawed because they’re short term spectacles built mainly for award shows.

And yet, perhaps there is a glimmer of hope radiating from the digital space. Perhaps it’s because there is a cultural shift taking place among a few smart folks who are working to create useful and meaningful advertising experiences.

A couple recent comments that give me hope:

For decades we’ve been saturated with marketing messages from all angles and channels. Messaging that is surface-y rather than cerebral, comical rather than emotional, and usually based on popular cultural symbols, rather than deeper human truths. What we really long for as individuals are meaningful connections — emotional, personal, and significant moments. – Ross Popoff-Walker at Modernista

We’ve built an industry that is very good at talking at people but rather poor at doing things with people. We’ve always been very good at hawking a business agenda but rather poor at realizing that the most effective ideas tend to come from ideas that solve a problem for a business and for people at the same time by doing something together. Gareth Kay at Goodby

Quite simply – “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.“

“R/GA has established itself as a leading digital agency. It has three pieces of work shortlisted at Cannes, including its “Dear Mr. President” campaign for Pepsi. Nick Law, North American chief creative officer for the New York shop, talks here about the blurring of digital and traditional agencies, the importance of agency culture, and what’s next for Nike Plus.”

The New York Times highlights several agencies that are branching out with their own products:

• Bartle Bogle Hegarty’s Zag division launched the fashion blog Mrs. O
• Brooklyn Brothers created Fat Pig chocolate and has a furniture line in the works
• The esteemed Anomaly established the Avec Eric website and TV series for chef Eric Ripert as well as recently launched music t-shirt store I/denti/tee

Canadien agency Taxi opened their own coffeeshop and Neverstop even set up a barbershop.

So what’s going on?

Advertising agencies have dabbled in side businesses for decades, but “inventing their own brand, not dependent on clients’ largess, is the big new thing,” said George Parker, an ad agency consultant and writer of AdScam, a blog about the industry. As the economy worsens and ad budgets tighten, “the creation of intellectual property and new products is something you’re going to see a lot more of,” he said.

But beyond just adding a new revenue stream during the recession, ad agencies need to do something. Is it that the big idea alone is no longer enough? It’s necessary, but it may not be sufficient, anymore.

“Behind the scenes tour of of an award-winning creative farm, juicing process and distribution in South West England. The South West produces some of the UK’s finest creative work (animation, web design, design, fashion, architecture….) Now you know why….nice conditions, space to breathe and opportunities with some of the best firms around.”

There have been lots of great agency holiday work floating around this year, but I think VigeTurf has been one of the best.

VigeTurf from Viget Labs on Vimeo.

While I think we’re going to see more growth in the use of widgets and applications (despite some recent reports), I agree with Noah that we also need to consider more creative ad design and development.

Two recent ads by Nintendo and Apple take a similar approach to manipulating the web real estate around the ad:

Nintendo Wii

Apple iPhone

Yes, this approach is expensive, but Apple has had excellent success with this approach before. But these ads are getting the attention their old-school banner ad brothers are not, and perhaps there is even room to build on this style of advertising with a social approach.

[Update]

With the launch of the new ESPN.com, Ford created an excellent page takeover spot that seemlessly integrated the anchor video and banner ad. The dedicated ad page is here: http://a.espncdn.com/prestitial.html

It’s an approach I happen to like, and I think its very well-suited for an online strategy:

• Short and to the point – easy to consume during the work-day.
• Compelling visual storytelling
• Built to be shared – each video gives the full pitch in just a few minutes, and then provides a call to action or web site for more information.

That said, any idea why this approach seems to be all the rage right now? And are there others in this design genre that should be added to the list? I would also add some of the spots from GOOD Magazine, but it doesn’t look like their videos can be embedded.

UPDATE

And thanks to @beautifulthangs for the reminder of the video I had blogged about earlier for the Declaration of Human Rights:

Small Brands Teach Big Lessons
“…They found the more they listened and engaged with their customers — each spends hours each week personally responding to e-mail messages and even don bacon costumes on the road to hand out samples — the more sales they made, the more buzz they generated.”

10 Pieces of Content That Define Today’s Marketing Reality
From Seth Godin to Brian Solis and the Cluetrain Manifesto, Nick Fell catalogs 10 definite ideas for today’s marketing reality.

What Went Into the Updated Pepsi Logo
As much as $1 million or more?

As the Lines Blur, Digital Agencies are Taking the Lead
“Late last year, Forrester completed a study of several interactive agencies. The report’s author, Brian Haven, argued that interactive shops are closer to the consumer, in a better place to mine the rich insights and data available via the web, and in the right place at the right time to capture consumer behavior changes. Because of those things, interactive shops are poised to be the “foundation for all marketing efforts within the next five to 10 years,” he wrote.”

Welcome to the Social World – Shiv SinghWelcome to the Social World