What is Digital Marketing and How is this Affecting Our Future?

Posted on November 5, 2015 by adriangstewart

This was the question posed at the recent CIM digital marketing summit.

In October 2015 the Chartered Institute of marketing held its third digital summit in London at The British Museum, London. The keynote speakers explored digital transformation, the current state of the nation and the importance of culture within digital marketing. Here are some of the more salient findings.

digital-marketing

We live in a society that is fueled by constant change. People now seek answers from alternative sources rather than from the brands themselves. We now look to opinion leaders, bloggers and social media in general to gain advice, whereas previously we would go directly to the brand for answers.

“Culture is the patterns of behavior that are encouraged or discouraged by people and systems over time” – Ned Morse.  Ash Roots, Director of Digital at Direct Line Group, believes culture is where you spend your money and your time.

Six crucial elements needed in the culture of a digital team are:

  • Role model leadership
  • Agility
  • Customer-focus
  • Innovative and experimental
  • Open and collaborative
  • Data insight
  • Consumer touchpoints

To truly engage with a consumer, you not only need to know each of your consumer touch points, but also the knowledge of which touchpoints are most effective for your brand and how best to utilize them.

Here are the six pillars of customer experience:

  • Personalization – knowing your customer and designing an experience tailored to their needs
  • Time and effort – creating an experience which provides a simple buy system
  • Resolution – assume the customer is always right. Then take a proactive approach to fixing the situation
  • Expectations – responding to brand promise
  • Integrity – acting with the interests and intentions of your customer and staff first – and in doing so build trust
  • Empathy – the ability to put yourself in the shoes of the customer and react accordingly
  • Entertaining marketing

For those of us who are familiar with digital marketing there were no ground breaking revelations at the summit. However, the big take away for me was that the majority of UK businesses are still finding their way around the digital landscape and determine which channels are most suited to their organizational needs. In most cases the advice and guidance of an agency would be the  most effective way to answer that question.

Adrian G Stewart

Adrian G Stewart

 

 

 

 

 

Adrian G Stewart

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Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Posted on October 24, 2015 by adriangstewart

I have just read the Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein.

Behavioral economics, is a new area of research combining economics and psychology and has repeatedly documented how our apparently free choices are affected by the way options are presented to us.

The main insight from Nudge is that no decision is “neutral.” Whether it’s a restaurant laying out food or a business offering its employees a list of mutual funds in its pension plan or the government presenting different Medicare options, whoever presents choices must frame them in some way. The framing will affect the decisions. Even small and apparently insignificant details can have major impacts on behavior. Some ways of presenting the options may give a gentler “nudge” than others, and we may think some settings are neutral only because they are so familiar to us. But whoever is presenting the choices will inevitably bias decisions, in one direction or another.

Rational economic man carefully weighs up the pros and cons of the scheme and makes his decision. But a real person, afflicted by both a ‘status quo bias’ and what Thaler and Sunstein dub the ‘yeah, whatever’ heuristic, the differences are pronounced. Opt-in schemes have participation rates of around 60 per cent, while otherwise identical opt-out funds retain between 90 and 95 per cent of employees. It is no wonder that Adair Turner, in his report on pensions, urged legislation to push pension schemes to an opt-in default position and that policy is moving in this direction.

Irrational humans also tend to follow the crowd, which means that peer comparisons form an important part of the ‘choice architecture’. Showing people how much energy they are consuming compared with their neighbors can reduce energy use. It also helps to put a smiley face on the bills of those consuming less than the average and a sad face on those consuming more. There’s something slightly absurd and trivializing about such strategies, but Thaler and Sunstein have good data to support their claim that ‘everything matters’ when it comes to choice environments.

There are definitely ethical and political questions that need to be answered with some of the scenarios described and that for me was one of the most interesting aspects of this topic.

Adrian G Stewart

Adrian G Stewart

 

 

 

 

 

Adrian G Stewart

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Open All Hours

Posted on August 16, 2015 by adriangstewart

After graduating I joined IBM as a mainframe salesman –

The IBM employee handbook stated that we all had “a job for life”, and we were looking forward to it. The internet and mobile phones were yet to be invented, when we left work in the evenings or weekends that was the end of work. Basically, we lived a double life, there was working and there was not working. Sometimes work colleagues would socialize after hours but these were usually family events and work was almost never mentioned.

How the world has changed in my lifetime. No longer does any organization offer “a job for life” and mobile technology ensures that we are all remain connected, potentially 24/7.  What is the impact on us as human beings in this Brave New World?

A recent Mental Health Foundation survey found:

  • One third of respondents feel unhappy or very unhappy about the time they devote to work.
  • More than 40% of employees are neglecting other aspects of their life because of work, which may increase their vulnerability to mental health problems.
  • When working long hours more than a quarter of employees feel depressed (27%) , one third feel anxious (34%).
  • As a person’s weekly hours increase, so do their feelings of unhappiness.
  • Many more women report unhappiness than men (42% of women compared to 29% of men).
  • A large number of respondents reported a negative effect on their personal life, including lack of personal development, physical and mental health problems, and poor relationships and poor home life because of the amount of time they spent at work.

How did we do this to ourselves?

In the west we seized on new technology as a way to build competitive advantage. We would implement new technology and by doing so we could respond to customers more quickly, our technical and sales staff would be available longer hours. Senior staff would be available all hours. Of course over time any significant competitive advantage was eroded as all organizations adopted the latest technology.

It’s not the technology that’s to blame, it’s human behavior. Technological change simply outstripped social change and our ability to absorb and adapt.

Wealthy-Victorian-Child-and-Family

I don’t know how or when we will change, but I believe we will. Thirty years from now I hope my grandchildren look back on this era and laugh at our bizarre behavior. We will no doubt appear as unfamiliar to them as our Victorian ancestors appear to us.

Adrian G Stewart

Adrian G Stewart

 

 

 

 

 

Adrian G Stewart

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It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good.

Posted on July 16, 2015 by adriangstewart

The Iran nuclear deal framework was a preliminary framework agreement reached between the Islamic Republic of Iran and a group of world powers: the P5+1 (the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council–the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, and China) plus Germany), plus the European Union.

On July 14, 2015, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the P5+1 and EU, a comprehensive agreement based on the April 2015 framework, was announced.

According to Press reports, the implementation of JCPOA followed by lifting of all the UN Security Council sanctions as well as all economic and financial embargoes by the US and the European Union imposed on Iran’s banks, insurance, investment, and all other related services in different fields, including petrochemical, oil, gas and automobile industries will be immediately lifted all at once.

The ministers of foreign affairs of the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, France, China, the European Union and Iran (Lausanne, 30 March 2015).

The ministers of foreign affairs of the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, France, China, the European Union and Iran (Lausanne, 30 March 2015).

These sanctions have prevented civilian airlines based in Iran from obtaining western-made planes and spare parts. As a consequence, operational safety has often been pushed to the limit.

Before 1979, Iran had only experienced 189 airline fatalities but in the time since, that number has grown to at least 1,672. However, now that a deal has been reached to limit Iran’s nuclear ambitions, a new opportunity is presenting itself to suppliers such as Airbus and Boeing. Both of whom are eyeing a market opportunity estimated at close to $20 billion to upgrade the ageing civil aviation fleet in Iran.

When you compare the average age of the Iranian fleet with other airlines, the magnitude of the problem is obvious.

chartoftheday_3656_iran_s_chance_to_upgrade_its_ancient_aircraft_n

The vast majority of civil aircraft are leased, because of the operational advantages and tax benefits. Quite who will finance Iran to give them access to Airbus or Boeing technology remains to be seen.

While some in the US are arguing against signing the Iranian agreement and easing sanctions against Iran companies such as Boeing and their powerful lobby in Washington DC will not be among them.

Adrian G Stewart

Adrian G Stewart

 

 

 

 

 

Adrian G Stewart

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Censors or Custodians of the Comments?

Posted on June 19, 2015 by adriangstewart

The debate about comment sections on web sites can be as divisive as the comments themselves. Recently The Verge and The Daily Dot closed their comments sections because they’ve become too hard to manage.

Moderating comments is a significant task at many news organisations. Comment sections can also attract racist and sexist remarks.

Trolls spoiling it for everyone...

Trolls spoiling it for everyone…

If you enable comments, then as an organization you have to engage with those people who comment, and if you’re not active and by active I mean responding and moderating, what ends up happening is the mob shouts down all the other people on your site. On a site that isn’t properly moderated it becomes about silencing voices and not about opening up voices and having a dialogue between the organization and its public.

Many organisations do police their comments sections. They engage with users in ways that stimulate conversation and where appropriate the tone is often light hearted. Offensive remarks are deleted and those users are blocked. This level of engagement takes time and effort so for some organisations it just isn’t economic.

Where it isn’t economic to maintain an open and respectful online environment then the organization should close down their online comments capability and refocus their efforts onto social media. Which also requires pro-active participation but is less susceptible to trolls. The organisations channels of communication must remain open and be maintained. But clearly the future of the online comments sections is now under scrutiny.

Adrian G Stewart

Adrian G Stewart

 

 

 

 

 

Adrian G Stewart

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Electric Vehicles – has the consumer love affair grown old?

Posted on May 16, 2015 by adriangstewart

In the USA the electric vehicle press is dominated by upbeat stories around EV ownership and the joys of gas (petrol) free driving.  This however is no longer the full story…

Recent research shows that of those EV owners who are now trading in their EV – only 45% are buying another EV,  which is down from 60% three years ago.  Maybe peoples financial situations change and they simply can’t afford an EV ? But that can’t be the main reason because fully 23% of those trading in their EV went on to buy an SUV!

Electric Vehicles

For Sale – one careful owner…..

Now I might expect EV owners to switch model or even manufacturer but to go back to gas or diesel quite surprised me and I started to wonder why I was so surprised.

The answer I think lies in my opening remark….the EV media machine supported by a large base of proactive owners creates a distorted view about EV adoption and the passion of EV ownership in general.

What we might have assumed was a sea change in buying behavior looks like being something more temporary.  Are lower gas prices and the promise of long term oil price stability the cause of this decline in the desirability of EV’s? – Perhaps – I don’t know the answer but it warrants investigation.

New EV sales are down too, in the first quarter of 2015 EV’s and Hybrids accounted for just 2.7% of new car sales…compared to 3.3% of new car sales for the same period last year.

“September I’ll remember –  A love once new has now grown old.”

Adrian G Stewart

Adrian G Stewart

 

 

 

 

 

Adrian G Stewart

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Ex Machina – the movie.

Posted on May 2, 2015 by adriangstewart

Battlestar Galactia  introduced us to Cylons – artificial beings created by man and determined to destroy man.

Number Six - a Cylon from Battlestar Gallactica

Number Six – a Cylon from Battlestar Gallactica

 

 

 

 

Ex Machina contemplates advanced machines that speak, move, think and feel. The prototype aptly named Ava has been developed by the creator of BlueBook, a billionaire search engine eccentric. He has programmer Caleb Smith flown in by helicopter to his remote lab. The purpose of his visit is to ‘test’ the creation and determine whether Ava has gained artificial intelligence.

Ava - from Ex Machina

Ava – from Ex Machina

Ava and Caleb bond and their interaction flourishes as the feminine bot demonstrates increasing physical and verbal repartee.  When Ava finds decommissioned earlier models of herself she fears for her own mortality, “Can I be switched off?”

Written and directed by Alex Garland. As the movie unfolds we wonder, who is testing whom?  You will have to go see the movie to learn if there is a conclusion to this warning tale…no spoilers here.

Here is the Ex Machina web site.

Adrian G Stewart

Adrian G Stewart

 

 

 

 

 

Adrian G Stewart

 

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Video Killed the Radio Star (and maybe one day the TV Star).

Posted on April 25, 2015 by adriangstewart

When the  Buggles sang that Video Killed the Radio Star….what better choice could there have been for the first ever music video to appear on MTV.

Fast Forward 36 years! According to Neilsen the average American is still watching plenty of television even if much of it is time-shifted content from cable and broadcast sources. In Q4 of 2014 the average American is watching about 149 hours of TV each month so about 5 hours per day typically.

However, that number is down from the 155 hours per month in Q4 2013. As you might expect watching video on the web is up three more hours each month compared to 12 months earlier.

Much of that content is high quality original web internet content created courtesy of big budgets shows such as Orange is the New Black and House of Cards.

"Orange is the New Black" starring Taylor Schilling on Netflix.

“Orange is the New Black” starring Taylor Schilling on Netflix.

 

 

Meanwhile there is no accepted way of measuring this viewer leakage – so while people may be watching on mobile devices, advertisers are not prepared to pay for something that cant be quantified.

Bottom line TV watching still dominates – but the trend continues to mobile devices and so called OverTheTop content.

Adrian G Stewart

Adrian G Stewart

 

 

 

 

 

Adrian G Stewart

 

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How to Fly a Horse – Kevin Ashton

Posted on February 21, 2015 by adriangstewart

How to Fly a Horse  – a first book from the man who coined the phrase –  The Internet of Things….

In How to Fly a Horse, Kevin Ashton tells stories about great inventors to illustrate that creating is not magic, but instead it is a step-by-step process of identifying and solving problems. The creative process takes time, work, and tenacity. In each chapter Ashton tells the story of a different person and draws conclusions using science, history and philosophy. Ashton exhorts the reader to use his or her own creative abilities to help make the world a better place. He does not merely describe the actions of others; he calls upon us all to take actions of our own.

HowTo Fly a Horse

How to Fly a Horse does more than just describe the creative process—it provides insights into human behavior and seeks to inspire and motivate us to be ever more creative.

In this short video Ashton gives you an insight to this, his first book.

Adrian G Stewart

Adrian G Stewart

 

 

 

 

 

Adrian G Stewart

 

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Experiential marketing is often dismissed because of assumed cost and risk. Is it time to reset our assumptions?

Posted on February 14, 2015 by adriangstewart

Experiential marketing can be as simple as hosting an event that exposes your clients to your staff – the ones that clients don’t normally interact with. This is a highly effective way to convey values and enthusiasm and build deeper relationships with your clients. A critical success factor – one of the things you absolutely have to get right – is to set crystal clear goals and make sure some if not all are measurable.

Yes, measuring experiential marketing is not easy but it’s not impossible. Clearly the metrics around engagements and data collection are easily measured but what about the softer aspects?  It’s important to track the viral effect (word of mouth) – both during the experiential campaign and afterwards as the effects decline.  Again there is no substitute for metrics as these will not only help you evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign but will also greatly aid planning of subsequent campaigns. However, don’t allow the goals and metrics blind you to any unintended consequences that flowed from the campaign. Whether they are favourable or adverse you need to remain open minded about the campaign effects.

Harley Davidson Livewire

Harley Davidson Livewire

Executing experiential campaigns by using in house staff is always tempting as it can appear to reduce costs. There can be real benefits to bringing in external staff. A good example is the recent Harley Davidson – Project Livewire the Tour Experience.

This road show toured the USA during 2014 and exposed the Harley Davidson faithful to Livewire, an all-electric motorcycle. Clearly this was a big budget campaign – not least the production of at least 50 prototype electric motorcycles. Harley Davidson brought in an external team to manage and staff the Tour Experience. This was a smart choice in more than one way. By using an external team, not familiar with Harley’s product plans the team were unable to stray off brief and leak information about what the Livewire might cost or when if ever Livewire would go into production. Harley also made a big push to engage using social media – encouraging people who had ridden Livewire to share their experience via social media and have an opportunity to win Livewire gear. At each location local journalists also had an opportunity to engage with the product and then write copy – this ensured steady stream of “My Livewire Experience” content was generated throughout the year.

Whether you are Harley Davidson or a small law firm – experiential marketing can be a powerful tool and is well worth considering.

Adrian G Stewart

Adrian G Stewart

 

 

 

 

 

Adrian G Stewart

 

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