How modern marketeers look at the world

How modern marketeers look at the world

Humans think in metaphors, in images, in mental models.

The way we look at things, the way we classify things, define our actions towards those things.

The way we look at things, the way we classify things, define our actions towards those things.

First we define the classification, then the classification defines us.

The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) or Dewey Decimal System is a library classification system, first published by Melvil Dewey in 1876.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewey_Decimal_Classification

Do you remember libraries?

This is how „religion” used to be classified.

Christianity

Other religions

Class 200: Religion

The way we classify thingsdefines our actions towards those things.

Imagine we have our own company. It makes ballpoint pens.

Imagine we have our own company. It makes ballpoint pens.

We are asked to come up with new business opportunities.

Make more colors.

Make more colors.

Combine colors.

Make more colors.

Combine colors.

Make it fashionable.

Make more colors.

Combine colors.

Make it premium.

Make it fashionable.

Now stop thinking about the company as „we make pens”.

Now stop thinking about the company as „we make pens”.

Think of the company as „we make throwaway stuff”.

And suddenly this becomes possible.

The way we classify thingsdefines our actions towards those things.

This is a great Nintendo game: Paper Mario 3D.

Mario starts out as a flat character in a 2D-world.

But has the ability to ‚flip’ into 3D.

By flipping to a different view, he sees layers of depth not perceived before.

The way we look at things, defines our actions towards those things.

In the previous century, we marketeers looked at things a certain way.

In the previous century, we marketeers looked at things a certain way.

Let’s call it the analog

view (pre-digital).

It was the century of mass.

It was the century of mass.

Mass production, mass media,

mass communication.

It was the century of mass.

Mass production, mass media,

mass communication.

They only way for a marketeer to look at his audience was through the lens of mass media.

Communicate with customers

through mass media. Hope to

see the indirect effect in sales.

Communicate with customers

through mass media. Hope to

see the indirect effect in sales.

No direct impact or contact with customers.

So we used extrapolation.

!

‣ do research (focus groups, polls… )

‣ define one (or two or more) target groups

‣ extrapolate these in personas

‣ define an insight for this persona

‣ craft message based on insight

‣ broadcast your message through mass media

How extrapolation works

customers: messy reality

customers: messy reality

extrapolation

customers: messy reality

3 target groups

extrapolation

customers: messy reality

3 target groups

extrapolation

extrapolation

customers: messy reality

3 target groups

insight message

extrapolation

extrapolation

!

‣ reduce the layers of depth in our customers

‣ simplify by generalizing in personas

‣ simplify persona behavior in 1 insight

‣ basically flatten your world view

How extrapolation works

It’s like looking at a 3D-world with 2D-glasses.

We had no other means of segmenting.

We compensated that flattened view by broadcasting.

customers: messy reality

3 target groups

insight message

mass media

extrapolation

extrapolation

compensation

We compensated that flattened view by broadcasting.

By shouting long and hard enough.

We compensated that flattened view by broadcasting.

By shouting long and hard enough.

It worked.

Then came digital.

We no longer need to identify our target audiences by extrapolation.

Our customers are identifying themselves - by their behavior on digital platforms.

How many people watch tv?

!

‣ select representative sample

‣ „1500 families”

‣ extrapolate: 618.107 viewers

How many people visit site?

!

‣ use analytics

‣ measure

‣ exact: 135.735 visitors

Extrapolation is the crude tool we had to use in analog times.

Digital thinking allows us to stop extrapolating personas and start using exact behavior as marketing tool.

Indirect behavior

!

‣ newspaper X is read by persona Y

‣ persona Y is interested in our product

‣ extrapolate indirect behavior

Direct behavior

!

‣ use context

‣ search words, click path, open rate, social behavior

‣ use direct behavior

!

‣ stop using extrapolation as a crude tool;

‣ use exact data;

‣ move away from indirect influence: demographics -> broadcast -> behavior;

‣ work directly on behavior;

‣ personalize communication on a mass scale;

‣ automate personalization.

Digital thinking allows us to

Common misconceptions!

!

‣ this is not about television vs. online

‣ it is about digital thinking vs. analog thinking

‣ it is about thinking in measurable behavior vs. extrapolated personas

‣ (television will soon be digitized…)

Misconception 1:

!

‣ this is not the end of creativity

‣ it is about using behavioral data, not extrapolated personas as basis for creativity

‣ humans will still need to creatively interpret data

‣ creative use of behavioral data will win

Misconception 2:

!

‣ this is not the end of insights and strategy

‣ you still need strategy and insights

‣ insights will be based on exact data and behavior

‣ we will need to ‚program’ insights so they can be used in real-time and on massive scale

‣ each measurable action gets its own insight

Misconception 3:

Digital thinking allows us to see layers of depth not perceived before.

The way we look at things, defines our actions towards those things.

!

‣ from analog to digital thinking

‣ from extrapolation to data

‣ from personas to behavior

Change your perspective

Change your view. Stop extrapolating. Start thinking digital.

When I was a kid, I built imaginary worlds with Lego.

Questions?

!

bart@wijs.be @netlash www.wijs.be