Three Minds On Digital Marketing @ Organic

image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mc_sensei

Do you believe in the power of grammar to move consumers?
In Canada, there was a recent controversy around the song "I Believe," the official anthem of Canada's Olympic broadcast media consortium. The lyrics go like this: "I believe in the power of you and I." The songwriter chose the word "I" over the correct word "me." Red pens were drawn; angry grammarians cried foul and forecast the apocalypse. The story was picked up by most of Canada's major news sources.  

Now those who create content know that it's an evolving, made-up language. Breaking the rules of grammar and contributing to its evolution is fun and part of the job. But rule breaking should always be part of a calculated plan to create something relevant and exceptional. Otherwise it can be interpreted as negligence or laziness. And that can lead to bad press like in the case of "I Believe."

Joanne Buckley, a professor at the Centre for Student Development at McMaster University, launched a technical attack on the song's language. She said, "Of course, we grammarians know that the words should be 'believe in the power of you and me' since 'of' is a preposition and takes an object."

But, in the court of popular opinion, Canadians didn't seem to care. We allow artists and song writers to break the rules all the time. The lyrics drew fire because the brand, in this case a consortium representing Canada, is expected to know better. A double standard applied. It's not fair. It's reality.

The best way to defend against bad publicity is to avoid the dubious mistakes that wake the cranky grammarians. No one attacked Snickers for making up the word Hungerectomy. And Koodo mobile wasn't called out by the Strunk and White set for inventing Big Billification.  

If you want to break the rules, do it in grand fashion. Go all the way. Do it with purpose, in a way that will create something exceptional and not be mistaken for illiteracy. And believe in your power to move consumers.

John Ellis

Editor's note: This is a counterpoint to Jonathan Cohen's statement about the evolution of information communication and how it is impacting the dissemination of information.

The Internet as a Tool
The Internet is not an evolutionary leap in the history of human communication - at least not yet. It is an important tool that magnifies what has already existed. Subsequently, the web hasn't intrinsically changed human behavior but it has offered more immediate access to information that consumers use to make decisions.

The Internet is also a tool that offers the opportunity for mass collaboration, which will probably be viewed as its most valuable attribute when historians look back upon the 21st century.

But during these waning moments of the second decade of the Internet (aka web 2.0), the web is a planner's paradise. The Internet is a platform to broadcast our human narcissistic tendencies. Social exchanges are a way to gather real-time and real customer feedback inexpensively. Opportunities for real-time response offers additional insight and it can dramatically change how brands are perceived in the digital conversation.

Rethinking the Planner's Role
To take advantage of these strategic communication opportunities, planners need to re-think their fundamental approach. The audience is networked - they can communicate in real-time to each other AND we can eavesdrop on those 'conversations'. The role of the planner becomes less about 'the brief' and more about 'the framework' for real-time, authentic, transparent communications, powered by the brand. An interconnected audience also means that companies need to think about communication much more broadly than the silos of PR, Advertising and Marketing.

Revise the Planning Process
Traditional marketing planning has been a deductive reasoning process since its inception: what is the problem we must solve through communication?  A hypothesis is developed (generalization) and data is obtained to support it, frequently through focus groups and other observed behavior. This process is implicitly flawed by bias - both consumers and the planner.  
Database marketing offered the introduction of inductive reasoning into 'below-the-line' communications planning with the introduction of marketing analytics. Planners are able to observe actions to identify what is happening, not seek/ask opinion to identify why the (user) thinks it's happening. Bias is reduced, although not entirely removed, particularly when validating the data-based insights with a focus group.

The web offers the potential to eliminate bias, provided planners revise their insight process to leverage this powerful tool. Instead of the linear progression approach with a finite end implicit in both deductive 'traditional' account planning (pyramid) and inductive analytics-oriented approaches (inverted pyramid), a digitally-centric approach to planning should be viewed as an ongoing process (rather than finite). Planning becomes an ongoing series of diverging and converging inflection points (double-helix) that can start anywhere: with a generalization based on a sentiment, a collection of specific actions (clickstream analysis), conversation sentiment (generalizations), velocity of content spread (data points) and so forth - all mapped in real-time.  In this model, there isn't a real 'beginning' or 'ending' as the planning process, like the subsequent communication, is continuous.

Keep Asking
The questions planners need to ask are the same as we have always asked, starting with: how can we make best use of the (new) media for the message?

Lori Laurent Smith

Here is a simple/smart/humanistic approach to hiring. Specialized has a position for a graphic director that needs to be filled. Instead of just posting the position with copy the creative director added a video of himself talking about the position and who their looking for (a rock star of course). With just a quick watch, the viewer is able to understand the attitude, style, and lifestyle the company houses (wasn't over done, glitzy, or too corporate).

Most hiring managers and companies forget: half of the interview process is selling a candidate on the culture, the opportunity and the people they'll be working with. This video takes a proactive approach to culture pre-sell before the interview even takes place and is likely to attract high-quality candidates.

Many more companies were making the effort to create culture videos when the economy was strong and a talent shortage made it harder to attract high-quality people. A chees-ey but impactful video - created by Micrsoft interns - documents an employee taking advantage of 30 Microsoft perks during one day at work. Keep in mind, this video was posted in early 2008, so these perks may no longer be offered - but it certainly makes a compelling case of everything Microsoft does for their employees.

Video could have many other applications during the interview process. Many candidates are starting to use video resumes as a "warm" introduction of themselves - as opposed to a near-anonymous resume or phone call. And many companies (including Organic) are currently considering the pros and cons of pre-screen video interviews - asking candidates to answer a pre-determined set of questions to get a sense of whether they're a fit for a position - and allowing the hiring managers to view on their own. This allows for both scheduling flexibility and time savings.

All of these techniques help give a clearer impression - for both the hiring manager and the candidate - of not just whether there is a qualification fit... but is there a culture fit.

Casey Riggleman
Traci Armstrong

Adaptive Path, an experience strategy, user research and design firm recently announced the completion of their Mobile Literacy project. They studied mobile device usage in rural Gujarat, India.

As the lead Experience Architect for Chrysler International, I'm anxious to learn the full findings of their study. One tidbit of information agrees with what we learned researching our International mobile users. (Check out the Jeep South Africa site on your phone -- or shrink your PC browser.)

In many parts of the world, low cost mobile phones are more often used than PCs to access the Web. In fact, many international users do not own a PC, so they access the web exclusively from their mobile devices.

So what does this mean for those of us trying to reach these audiences? Here are three crucial tips to consider when planning:

1. First and foremost, do not ignore the need to create an exclusive mobile website. While many users will attempt to access your sites from their mobile devices, this will only lead to frustration. It's very likely that parts of the architecture, page weight, and technology will not work in a mobile web browser.

2. Take the time to consider your navigation and architecture. Top nav, side nav or however you've structured your navigation does not translate to the mobile architecture. Instead, you'll need to create a nested architecture and rely heavily on breadcrumb trail navigation.

3. Be ready to pare down your content. Your mobile website shouldn't be simply a modification of your existing site. Leave out information that isn't relevant to a user on the move. It's not a likely that a mobile user will browse for extended periods of time, so it's important that you surface the information most relevant to them.

Anthony Viviano

For some, it's coffee. For others, it's thinking about what awaits them at home. And for a select few, it's about what is at home. For those like Molly Layton, working from home has it pluses -- including being able to take a break from the digital world to enjoy time with her favorite co-worker: Riley.
 

It's hard to have a bad day when there is a dog curled up on your feet. While it can sometimes be difficult to conduct business as usual, it is not impossible.  I recall more than a few conference calls that were interrupted by some fierce barking on my end, usually at the postal delivery service. I'm blessed with great co-workers in both my home and business offices though, which means once everyone has shouted "Hi Riley," and laughed a bit, we've always been able to get back to the business at hand, with the mood of the participants noticeably lightened.

Pets are generally patient creatures - they also possess an uncanny ability to intuit or sense when owner stress levels are rising. Once they pick up on it, they seek to intervene. You may be able to put them off for a little while, like postponing an internal meeting, but the longer you make them wait, the more disruptive they tend to become. It is, I would say, generally perilous to ignore them.

The results of taking their urgent calls, and following their lead, so to speak, can be surprisingly productive. Sometimes Riley and I play, sometimes we go off leash and tear up the park, and sometimes we just wander and sniff every little corner of this fabulously smelly world. Often I find that complex problems (that no amount of time spent in front of my screen have solved)  miraculously resolve themselves in my head while my body is in motion.

Spending time like this, I've begun to see that the break from work is just as valuable as the time spent working. I'm grateful for my office manager, Riley, who helps me to get back on track, whenever I begin to stray.

But what about those of us who work in an office every day? There have been plenty of studies that show pets in the work place are beneficial. Many sources (including the American Humane Association) state they can:

1. Improve morale
2. Increase productivity
3. Inspire better performance
4. Reduce stress
5. Lower absenteeism
6. Increase willingness to work longer hours
7. Act as ice-breakers during client visits
 
And it looks like many companies have tried it out. If that's a requirement for you, use Simply Hired to find your next dog-friendly employer. When offices do allow you to bring in your pet, they usually have policies -- to keep it fun. Guidelines like only on certain days/times, sign up sheets, "three strikes you're out" in regards to accidents, no barking, must be clean and on a leash often apply. 

Organic, Inc. is the first company I've worked for that offers pet insurance -- in both our U.S. and our Canadian offices to help cover the costs of your pet's healthcare. At first, I thought it was silly. Since, I've come to believe it says a lot about the company.

A happy puppy is just as cheerful as the new mom bringing in her newborn and provides a pleasant lift in the atmosphere.
 
Are pets the break we need to pull us out of this interactive universe and clear our heads? Does your office allow pets?
 
Molly Layton
Sarah Jo Sautter

image credit: Kate loves Bar Pt

I recently came across an article that had me questioning the validity of my position as an Experience Architect. A San Francisco-based Interaction Design Firm, Cooper (a la Alan Cooper) asked "Is Interaction Design a Dead-End Job?"
 
In fact, discussion around these topics has heated up of late. Jesse James Garret, the infamous experience designer who coined the term "Ajax," recently made the bold statement that Information Architects (IAs) or Interaction Designers (IxDAs) do not exist. So where does that leave people like me who hold title of Senior Experience Architect on our business cards?
 
Both Cooper and Garrett arrive at the same conclusion. We're User Experience Professionals with titles such as User Experience Designer/Architect/Planner ... However you spin it, we think about the experience.
 
So what exactly does this mean?
 
Interaction Design as function is certainly not dead. Information Architecture as a function is also alive and well. The scope, however, has changed/expanded, and the functions are performed by more than just IAs or IxDAs. As a Senior Experience Architect, I work closely with and am sometimes mistaken for an Interaction Designer. An Experience Professional considers a task and all the touch points between a user and a technology. Our goal is to plan a seamless, intuitive experience from beginning to end. This entails structure, flow, and navigation. We also look at any interactive elements and try to make them obvious.
 
Lately, I've been following Dan Klyn who, among his many interesting observations, compares our architecture craft to that of a real architect. He quotes Walter Gropius who says, "Architecture is a mastery of space." So, the question Klyn asks is, "User experience design implies a mastery of __________?"

I submit that it still implies a mastery of space, but the definition of space is expanded. Good architecture considers the structure, the space, how one enters and what one experiences in the space. Emotion and art is involved. Comprehensive architectural design affects the structure, way finding, interior design and emotion.

A writer might see my role differently than a designer. An engineer surely sees my work differently than a project manager. But, when done successfully, experience architecture serves all of their needs.

How do you define Information/Experience Architecture? Do you think it's here to stay?

Anthony Viviano
 

image credit: grange85

In the troughs of advanced digital technology, there's still an underground group of people who are embracing the science of photography in its fundamental form. Yes, pinhole photography is alive. Our own Chad Stoller has been trying his hand at it since he received a 35mm pinhole camera kit from his mom as a birthday present.

I'm sure we've all tried to make one as a grade school experiment. But there are adults who take great time and skill to cultivate the perfect pinhole camera.

In celebration, Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day is this Sunday. Try your hand at something creative. Need some inspiration? Chad Stoller shared this site.

It has me asking: as technology simplifies our lives more and more, will the science behind how things work become lost?

If you were to build a camera, what materials would you use? Share your pinhole camera and photos with us.

Sarah Jo Sautter

Dan Klyn, a speaker at the IUE2009 conference, is an information architect by trade, and has sought out to create a book via collaboration around the lessons that IAs and XAs have yet to steal from "regular-old architects".

regular-old-architects seem to do a better job than information architects in the schematics-and-models phase of a project. their trade is an ancient one, and i suspect they've learned some things about the creation and use of abstract representations of design intent to secure client buy-in and sign-off.

His goal is to help those in the design and marketing profession avoid those dreaded client words: Now that I see it! It's this type of miscommunication and misunderstandings that leads to last minute changes and bad decisions, because the client didn't really understand until it was too late.

What can we learn from architects:
1. Start with the joints (points of stress)
2. Progressive disclosure: a logical, smooth storyline
3. Detail generates character
4. Embrace collaborative authorship
5. Get physical, get emotional

Sure, these are good lessons for information architects, experience architects, user experience designers, etc. But I would argue that there is a wider moral to be learned from each one of these points. We should all be testing out friction points in projects and presentations, spending our energy wisely on the pieces that create character, give our clients a reason to care... These five lessons from real architects teach us how to tell better stories and thus how to create better work.

image credit: Psycho Crow [Flickr]

Online privacy is a personal issue for people. Every inch we move into a more open and thus exposed web creates dozens of angry blog entries and Facebook protest groups. But ultimately, there are a lot of people out there that have come to accept the reality of their digital footprint. And far more out there that don't even know how to do anything in order to protect their privacy better.

So the question is: If awareness comes to more than the technically savvy few, is there a threat to data accuracy? And as data becomes more inaccurate, so does the relevance of contextual advertising, creating a new generation of people who rather just "shut it off", because it means nothing to them.

Should we be giving users more options to turn off ads, to turn off tracking? Or should we just be giving them better ads? And are those two things becoming mutually exclusive?

Today's marketer has to wrestle with a plethora of new platforms, channels, and delivery medium. She needs to deliver emotionally resonating messaging to online, offline, out of home, set top, personal computer, mobile, laptop, occasionally connected, touch sensitive, and always on devices.

A week or two ago, Randall Rothenberg's post on "heartbeats and mouse clicks" broke open a topic that has been seething below the normal work-a-day lives of interactive marketers for a long time. Randall opens his article with: Quick -- name four fantastic, emotionally resonant, culturally significant and successful interactive advertising campaigns from the past year.

How did you do? Did you find a campaign that really emotionally engaged you? That nameless visceral reaction to an idea, an image, a word, an experience. Like Randall, I couldn't name any. Nothing. The closest I could come was the RG/A Nike+ integration. I didn't have a visceral reaction to it, but the elegance and simplicity and the change in behavior it has wrought with me is certainly something that stands out.