Enough about us being in a recession people. There’s so much talk as though we are already in one, and about what tactics to take as a result. But yet no one is talking about WHY or HOW we we got here. And how we will get out. Josh and Charlene from Forrester have their ideas, and I totally agree, not just as a Forresterite, but as a consumer.
We all might be pinching pennies in an economic downturn, but we’re all going to have the same amount of free time, and the same desire for entertainment and communication. And where’s the easiest place to go to fulfill that need? Online! Josh and Charlene describe this as the difference between advertising dollars that build awareness (traditional) vs. ad dollars that build consideration (interactive).
In an economic downturn, social networks, interactive campaigns, and brands that participate in conversations, rather then try to market messages, will succeed.
There are other things to keep in mind as well. Here are some ideas I’d like to add to the Recession To-Do List:
- Low-priced, mass quantity consumer goods. Consumers might spend less, but they’re much more likely to purchase low-cost goods, as a way to still get what they want. In this environment, the Targets of the world will rise, will Apple, and firms that charge a premium for design, will fall.
- Open brands. Along the lines of social media weathering the economic storm, brand that stay open, participate and respond to consumer conversations, will fair the best. I’m evoking Kelly Mooney’s Open Brand idea here, but probably in not the most accurate way.
- Monetize social media. If interactive marketing will stay strong, because it’s cheap and measurable, agencies need to put all their internal research efforts into new ways of calculating the ROI of their social marketing efforts. So that interested clients will be sold easily on the idea. And companies should look for new ways to draw revenue from social media.
- Experiences, not just products. Way back when, Ted Schadler at Forrester wrote a great report about designing consumer electronic products that tie to a larger experience, like iPod+iTunes, rather than just selling products. More than ever, this is crucial, so that consumers have incentive and reasons to keep participating with a brand (the way they do with the Nike+iPod Sports Kit), and continue micro-transactions, as a new revenue stream, the way they do with XBOX Live, and Guitar Hero.
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just look better.
But customizing Myspace profiles with a template or silly color scheme does not. And lots of young people are catching on to that. Young people are more design-savvy and creative than ever before. They know good design when they see it.
And they realize MySpace is over — it has become a breeding ground for ridiculous banner ads, heavy-handed marketing messages on sponsored profiles, and the occasional sex offender.
Which is why lots of kids today have made their MySpace pages private, and choose to customize their personal space with sporadic thoughts only their friends will get and a few images they really hold dear.
This past week I was at home with the flu. Which means I wasted way too much time on myspace while I had nothing better to do but feel sick.
Danah Boyd’s excellent article about socio-economic class impacting who uses MySpace vs Facebook might have a role in who chooses the more elegant design aesthetic of a simple myspace page. But it’s just one piece of the puzzle.
On a lighter note, I also noticed 18-22 year olds are kind of in love with l o w e r c a s e letters. It’s all they use on their myspace profiles. No suprise. They do look better, and more customized.
Bottom line: kids don’t customize their pages much any more. Templates and silly colors are lame now. It’s much more about what you say, than how you say it.
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Rummaging through old course notes I took during grad school at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center, I came across this simple list of “themed entertainment principals.” Whether its a video game, or virtual world you’re building, these three design principals are ones to follow:
- Know your story. From the dramatic arc you create, to the details of character backgrounds. Know the people, place, and events of the narrative you’re using. If you’re designing a Web site for instance or online interactive experience, thorough, well-researched design personas are key.
- Tell your story using every means possible. Every element of your design should work to support your story. Anything that detracts from enriching the narrative, or helping the audience engage with the experience, will hurt your design. The clearest case I’ve dealt with of this, is when i worked on Guitar Hero. Every element of GH1 helped to support the full “rock star” experience. From the typography in the metagame screens, to the way we placed the notes in the game to feel like you were played a real guitar.
- Know your audience. The “know thy audience” principal is such a obvious one, but so often sidelined because of business requirements, or silly non-sequiturial design decisions. Usability is fundamental — and ease-of-use comes only when design teams have a clear pictures of their users and their goals.
So, while they might seem obvious, they’re easier said that done. But… good principals to keep in mind nonetheless.
So many large organizations today have executives and managers that focus all their time and effort on evangelizing, rationalizing and internally marketing corporate strategy and decisions among employees. With internal blogs, memos, company meetings. Bruce Temkin would probably call these types “psychotic.”
It’s a logical thing to do when you need to get an army to rally behind one battle cry. But it’s not a smart approach — so much is lost this way.
Some companies even do this outwardly, trying to justify poor marketing strategies:
“Chase executives are forgoing the brand anthem spots typically used to introduce campaigns, focusing on their products and capabilities instead. But the new ads are intended to create a consistent image.
“Energy is a thread that you will see throughout the work. It’s upbeat, it’s contemporary, it’s modern,” said Bill Borrelle, the Mcgarrybowen executive in charge of the Chase account. When “Chase” is used as a verb, he noted, it “has a lot of energy and pursuit behind it.”
Oh, give me a break, Chase. Mark Hurst explains why the above is downright silly. Executives really need to listen more, through open, collaborative channels, and mindsets. Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., the guys behind one of the most successful new video game franchises (Guitar Hero), understand this. When I worked at Harmonix there was an employee b-board set up in the intranet, where we could post everything from a funny you tube video we saw, to new design ideas and critiques of how the current product was working.
Everyone from the CEO to the interns posted, and was heard equally. Granted Harmonix was a lean firm of 90 people then, but that’s the approach large firms need to evoke. Or else they just become big, stupid Goliaths chasing after the wrong things.
