Written by: Christiane Schaefer
For the second time, MITX organized FutureM in Boston, which comprised of five days filled with over 50 events dedicated to the future of Marketing. From September 12-16, 2011 the marketing innovators and doers of Greater Boston were trying to grasp the latest trends in marketing. So what is next in marketing?
Personally, I could take a lot home from Jessica Greenwood’s (Director of Contagious) peek into the future. During the FutureM opening night she explained her 6 marketing guidelines:
1) Innovation only counts when it improves experiences
Jessica pointed out a great example: In Korea, the grocery store Tesco is trying out a different shopping approach. Instead of having to face the terrible after work shopping experience with overcrowded stores and long lines at the register, consumers get the chance to go to a “virtual store” on their commute to work. Tesco put pictures of grocery products and their mobile code on a wall of a subway station. With the help of a phone, the Korean consumers can take a picture of the product codes they want to buy while they are waiting for their train. Once the virtual shopping is complete, they can submit the order online and get the grocery products delivered as soon as they are back home from work. I think this is a great example of fulfilling the needs of consumer. They can now do their shopping from wherever they are and whenever they want.
2. If it is there, then use it.
Heineken gives us a great example of this principle. They are the official sponsors of the UEFA Champions League, the premier club tournament in European soccer. Instead of being satisfied with just the sponsorship, Heineken created a “dual screen” initiative, which engages the consumer with the brand. They launched StarPlayer, a digital game that can be played at home while watching the soccer game on TV. It creates a social interactive experience for the consumer and involves real time decisions. Besides StarPlayer, the contract with the Champions League allows Heineken to use other marketing elements such as merchandising and TV break bumpers.
3. It’s not the platform but the emotion that counts.
As a result, it is important to focus on the enthusiasm, not necessarily on the platform. It is especially essential to create a sense of community. A nice visualization of this guideline is “Museum Of Me” by Intel. It basically collects all of your pictures, videos, friends, and posts on facebook and creates a 3-minute movie which guides you through your museum made of facebook memories. Just at the end of the movie I actually realized that it is an advertisement for Intel’s Core i5 processors.
4. Check if the advertising is for actual people. Do you like it?
Jessica’s advice is to ask yourself would you tell your friends about the advertising campaign and could you explain it to your Dad?
5. Make sure advertising is useful, relevant or entertaining.
Of course, the best case would be if advertising contains all three attributes.
6. Be brave and make mistakes.
If you find the courage to make mistakes, you can learn from it and you will get better at what you are doing!
