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.

“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.”

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.

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

As part of their continuing coverage of Advertising Week 2008, AdWeek has brief, but insightful recap of the first Facebook Spark Series discussions. Money quotes:

• “The definition of a big idea, said Rei Inamoto, co-chief creative officer of AKQA, differs on the medium. “It’s what you do [rather] than what you say that becomes the idea,” he said.”
• “Advertisers have been putting up brand pages on Facebook, but this is a “complete misuse” of the space, according to Richard Ting, vp and ecd, mobile and emerging platforms group at R/GA. He likened that to a billboard set up on the side of a street. What are missing are the elements of utility and entertainment all at once, he said.”

Eric Green of Grow Interactive has a good interview with Marktd about their work with The Girl Effect, a movement led by the Nike Foundation to help give hope to girls living in poverty around the world.

We spend the bulk of our time creating channels to promote brands and their goods, so when an opportunity comes up to create change for the benefit of others, we welcome the challenge.

Ian Tait put together this great video about the innovative marketing tactics Radiohead continues to break new ground with.

Basically it’s all about how I don’t like Radiohead, but how, through being interesting and innovative, they’ve made me like the ‘idea’ of Radiohead. Imagine if normal brands could do that. Make you care about products you don’t even like that much. I reckon there’s stuff we can learn from the ‘head.

My Online Marketing Presentation About Radiohead from iaintait on Vimeo.

The push and pull between traditional creativity — centered on the big idea and storytelling — and the disruption caused by digital technology has only just begun to play out in advertising. “Your Internet technology person will be as important as your creative person,” predicts Mark Kvamme, a venture capitalist with Sequoia Capital, the Google backer, and founder of an early Web agency. “It’s a data game, a speed game.”

“The best marketing is built on a deep idea that makes an impact and makes a difference, and everything supports the idea,” says Jim Stengel, global CMO of Procter & Gamble, which is being honored as Client of the Year at Cannes this week. “It’s getting artificial to break things into silos. I’d like to see more things like the Titanium. None of us sit here and say we’re going to launch a new initiative with a great print idea — it’s always what’s the idea behind the brand.”

It’s crucial for a bank to have a Web site. It’s also crucial for a bank to have ATMs, checking accounts, and computers that keep accurate records. But every bank can claim to meet these basic service requirements. What banks really need is some way to show prospects and customers that they are different from their competitors. Differentiation is essential for marketers seeking to establish an enduring bond with their customers.

And here lies the dilemma. The factors that have typically had the greatest impact on customer engagement — and that have offered service marketers (including banks) the greatest opportunities to exceed customer expectations and differentiate the customer experience — are the “people” factors.  But these human interaction opportunities are the ones that are being reduced or, in some cases, eliminated.

What we’ve found is that an engaging digital experience can meaningfully support engagement to the bank that provides that experience. However, anything less than a highly satisfying Web site experience generates customer disengagement. Engagement isn’t built by experiences that are merely OK.

This point is reinforced in an April Advertising Age discussion of the impact of micro-interactions. David Armano notes that “Micro-interactions are the everyday exchanges that we have with a product, brand and service. Each one, in and of itself, seems insignificant. But combined they define how we feel about a product, brand or service at a gut emotional level.” Little things mean a lot.

Well, for starters, unlike my experience on Grainger, many advertisers aren’t focused on building the digital applications that people want to use; they’re focused on somehow cramming marketing into them. Some kid comes up with the next YouTube, Facebook or mobile platform, and most advertisers want to figure out how to market on it. Instead of designing and developing useful applications that could give brands the opportunity to insert themselves meaningfully into our lives, we get cutesy but useless “Sprite Sips” on Facebook, ubiquitous banners in all shapes and sizes and microsites that you won’t likely return to. And I’m talking about digital advertising — never mind traditional.

As agencies and our clients strive to add value to the lives of the average consumer, user and active participant, it’s helpful to think about how we can do this in a framework I like to call the “Three U’s of Advertising in the Application Economy.” They are:

1) Usefulness. Any experience is useful when it’s meaningful and serves a purpose.

2) Utility. Utility is interaction that delights us in some way.

3) Ubiquity. We are living in a fragmented world with what seems like infinite touch points available to us.

But don’t take my word for it. You won’t want to miss reading the rest of the article here.