Inspired by a recent conversation with the most awesome Edward Boches, I wanted to take a minute or two and talk about the evolving role of planning in agencies. Granted there are countless posts on “what is planning”  from people far wiser than I, but I will make my little attempt here to talk about some actions we can start really implementing.

First of all awesome folks like Mr. Boches, John Winsor, Ben Malbon, Gareth Kay, Faris Yakob, Mel Exon but to name a few are leading the charge to a smarter way to approach the strategic process. All of these folks inspire me everyday to push forward and continue to try to be that “catalyst for change” (urgh, gross marketing language. Apologies). Now it’s time to start taking what we’re learning and making the change happen.

As planners, we started understanding our profession as the “voice of the consumer”, which is still relevant in some respects. However, that has changed because the consumer has their OWN voice now (gasp, I know). So what to do? Well, we’ve evolved to embody a business consultant/strategist all in the neat little package of creative thinker/inspiration. Throw in some savvy research abilities in there and you have the role of a planner in many of agencies. Whoa.

At the nifty little planning conference back in October, the rally cry began for us to really start to CREATE more and bring more to the process. Adrian Ho and Rob White from Zeus Jones challenged us to think about Modern Brands.  How do we integrate all the “new” mediums, technologies and ways people are connecting into our work? Jason Oke and Gareth Kay redefined how we think about “Connections Planning”, Frank Striefler (with myself in a supporting role) reminded us that advertising doesn’t matter as much as we like to think and challenged us to create value by investing in people/ideas and breeding advocates. And if you were like me you started with SO much enthusiasm and excitement to “make stuff”. And then reality hit. And now it’s 6 months later…

I pose a few ideas that I feel have helped changed my perspective of what I do. I don’t want to sound preachy (but inevitably will), because I’m far from perfect. But I do feel that if we start thinking about things we can start doing we will unearth something really quite neat. I encourage you to chime in with your thoughts, it’s only the start of the list. And I hate the sound of my own voice…

Experiment, play and understand. Be a voyeur, better yet, be a participant…there are so many interesting experiments and fun things going on the interweb. Chatroulette terrified me, so I made friends try it for me and report back (some things scary, some things insightful) or participate in web experiments like the wildly awesome the3six5 project or little scraps of paper, (great explorations in lifestreaming and creative processes) or set up a Kickstarter project for your community. There’s so much to do, but you must be willing to  try. Inspiration for a great connections insight could very well lie in this kind of experimentation. And if not, it’s just fun. And no one can take this knowledge away from you.

Be social. Talk to your friends in the industry and almost more importantly, far outside of it (hello lovely people!). Engage in social media. Start talking, eventually people will listen. Or die trying. There are so many incredible people in the Tweetverse to learn from. Some are stateside, many from outside. I discovered Made by Many through Twitter, and find them hugely insightful and inspirational. Learn from new folks with divergent perspectives, it makes you better. Listen from within as well (media, PR, creative, digital, search…), insights are everywhere if you’re open to them.

Think content strategy. Now. Yes, it’s one more thing that we need to get a (fast) handle on. The essence is that we have a whole “changing world” of communications and social media is a massive part of it (duh). And if you’re anything like me, scrambling to figure out how to integrate it into your “normal” strategic processes. It’s building models to shape our thinking around creating a cohesive content strategy. Models that will likely need to change within the time you “start” the deck and finish it. Accept it. Breathe. Iteration.

Note, not talking about a “social media” strategy, but a content strategy. It’s less about the medium itself- it’s not *just* about having a mere “presence” in social, but doing something worthwhile in the space. Of course you have to understand where it goes to make something truly relevant and engaging (with the “right” people), but helping to shape those inherently ’social ideas’ (thank you Gareth Kay) that turns into content is hugely important part of what we can do.

Re-think the brief. It is what we do, I’ve come to accept it. Changing what a brief means can be a great means of starting to change the paradigm. Realizing that the “piece of paper” isn’t going anywhere (except for perhaps an iPad brief, which would rock my world), we’ve got to think about ways to express and inspire in fun new ways. A video montage?  An offsite? Perhaps dressing up and rapping a brief? OK, perhaps not the last one. But that would be awful entertaining… Also realize that there is no “passing of the baton” anymore–the brief is just the beginning for us. It is the era of the iterative brief. Evolve, be flexible, and know when to stand up for what you believe in when you have to. I know this is redundant, but it’s really about creating ideas/stuff, not just the set up or “the deck”.

Be genuine, treat your teams with the utmost respect. There was a disturbing article in AdAge recently that talked about  the brief writing process and it actually made my stomach turn. “Talk to the Creatives on Your Shop’s Team Like They’re in Kindergarten” Needless to say it was riddled with self-righteousness and ridiculous claims that things need to be dumbed down for briefing/development. There’s a difference between making things understandable and digestable and being childishly simplistic. We lose key ideas if we make things too simple–sometimes three words just won’t cut it.

Don’t be afraid to consider yourself “creative” You are by trade, in a creative profession. Some of you will think this goes without saying, but there are some who are afraid of tiptoeing over into creative strategy. While this is just my opinion, creative thinking should come from every orifice of an agency. Don’t limit yourself. If it’s an authentic part of who you are, don’t hide from creativity. Be fearless (you’re gonna get shot down a few times), be open to conversation and take the time to learn from your creative department.

Put some madness back into method. Wise words from Devika Bulchandani when talking about how planners are often seen as putting method into madness, the reverse is really what is true. Take a bunch of disparate pieces of information (consumer insights, connections insights, digital technologies) and try your hardest to pull together. It’s not easy and I can’t say that I’ve done it perfectly myself quite yet, but it is our constant challenge.

Again, I welcome more ideas, recognize that this list is HARDLY exhaustive, so let’s start creating together.

Recommended watching: RedScout’s series on the future of planning.  http://vimeo.com/redscout

(image via Behance Anna Rusakova)

Healthcare is one of the biggest issues facing North America right now–regardless on where you fall on the political spectrum health care (I’m Canadian, so it’s no real secret where I fall..) it is one of the few things we can TRULY say is a matter of life and death. What about designing a better healthcare experience? This is a massive question that designers and healthcare professionals around the world are attempting to address, and by no means will even come close to answering here, but I hope to at least get you thinking on it…

A great post from Frog Design started with this note from Florence Nightingale:

“It is a curious thing to observe how almost all patients lie with their faces turned to the light, exactly as plants always make their way towards the light; a patient will even complain that it gives him pain ‘lying on that side.’ ‘Then why do you lie on that side?’ He does not know — but we do. It is because it is the side towards the window.”

Healing begins and ends with a human experience. It’s something that rarely gets the attention it should. Whenever you enter a hospital-regardless of how “good” it is-it can be mind boggling how cold and as a result, downright frightening, the experience can be. But it doesn’t have to be. We know so much about designing better tools, better technology, better experiences, it’s about time we all start thinking about how to make the patient experience just a bit better.

Evidence Based Design is a term that’s incredibly important to this sector and essentially boils down to having any innovation be subject to a process as stringent as a clinical trial. Which makes some mind-boggling design innovation just a bit slower…but it’s not impossible.

Now I’m not talking about a Frank Gehry monument, it’s about using technology to design better experiences. London designers Priestmangoode propose hospital wards modeled on health spas and beds like those in first class airline cabins. It’s an interesting experiment, and in the least it gets you thinking about the future and what it may look like.  They have a compiled a great manifesto on health to get you thinking more about the impact of design on health care (here). It would be so amazing to see technology and design find that perfect intersection for the world of health care. And maybe, just maybe we can get a health care bill passed to boot (sorry, political undertones…)

Images via Deezen

In theory, social shopping seems to be the wave of the future– location-based apps that show some promise, but have yet to really carry out “greatness”. Crowdsourcing and shopping however shows a lot more (immediate) possibility. From a strategic perspective (sorry, throwing “that face” on) crowdsourcing for RETAIL can be a great way to get consumers to feel a PART of the process. Ah, the democratisation of fashion.

Modcloth is a company that has taken on a nearly completely “social” model. From having consumers interact with “games” they set up through Facebook and Twitter (and no, there are no fancy apps involved, just good old fashioned interaction) to having consumers vote on their favorite pieces. A sample lives on the site for two weeks and consumers can “heart” it and at the end of the couple weeks, if there are enough votes, the piece becomes part of the collection. Simple ideas, but engaging and empowering. The empowerment aspect is something I feel is so often overlooked, particularly when speaking to young women. For some reason we are still stuck in the dark ages thinking that the only thing that motivates them are glossy images with loads of retouching and rail thin models. This kind of brand brings a realness to fashion. And it is NOT a dirty word.

Fashion is fun again. To young women who love the thrill of shopping (ahem), Modcloth is a fun, social space, where their voices are heard. Who needs that buyer? BE that buyer!

Visit Modcloth

Image via: Inc.com

Warby who?

Warby Parker people. And for all of us who relish in our four-eyed status (it’s the ONLY way for this gal!), but hate paying over $500 for a pair of new specks, these guys are a dream come true. Funky, vintage-inspired glasses for under $100. That in and of it self should be pure awesomeness, but hold on there’s more. Great value and good design? Check.

For every pair they sell they give one to a person in need (AKA the TOM’s model). Fantastic. Social goodness baked in? Check.

Now for their model. Completely web-based-tricky for something that relies so heavily on how it looks on your face. Their solution? Make it easy. You can try a pair on virtually-upload picture and see how the glasses look. Not perfect, so they also give you the option of having the ship up to 5 frames to you and trying them on. Completely free.

And if you need more awesomeness/”modern brand” talk. Just take a gander at their naming inspiration:

“We’ve always been inspired by the master wordsmith and pop culture icon, Mr. Jack Kerouac. Two of his earliest characters, recently uncovered in his personal journals, bore the names Zagg Parker and Warby Pepper. We took the best from each and made it our name.

Kerouac inspired a generation to take a road less traveled and to see the world through a different lens”

Enough said.

http://www.warbyparker.com

Nicholas Feltron, the amazingly brilliant designer dedicated to data, made famous by documenting his every action and encounter in extreme detail. While many of us chronicle our lives through our social media identities (facebook, twitter, foursquare…) for Feltron, it was something different. His mission is about learning and teaching. And the results are magnificent.

If you are smart enough to look beyond your own nose and wonder why on earth anyone would even care about such things, think of the kinds of things one could potentially LEARN from such an explorations. All kinds of information on motivators, behavioural triggers and emotion. Sounds more interesting now doesn’t it? A great quote from the WSJ:

Everyone creates data — every smile, conversation and car ride is a potential datapoint. These quotidan aggregators believe that the compilation of our daily activities can reveal the secret patterns that govern the way we live. For students of personal informatics, the practice is liberating because it shows that our lives aren’t random, and are more orderly than some might expect.

This isn’t a completely novel idea, it reflects the motivation behind Benjamin Franklin’s Virtue Chart-yet the final product he creates is mesmerizing-ly awesome. Feltron is an artist and he turns all this data into something of true beauty. Data visualization is such a fascinating art, and is growing in popularity by the day as we all become just a little more data obsessed in our everyday lives. Feltron is a true master of the art.

I’m waiting for my letterpress copy (yes, I’ve already ordered it).

Order yours here:

http://feltron.bigcartel.com/

Eagerly awaiting but until then they have shared a few images of the process:

(Images via: Swayspace Blog)

It has been years of “being the year of mobile”, but finally 2010 seems to be shaping up to be THE year it lives up to the hype. As all the stars begin to align-devices and carriers as well as the exponential growth of mobile web browsing-more nifty applications are popping up that are changing the retail landscape.

It is so much more than mobile coupons or SMS campaigns (they are definitely a part of it, but not the end all) it’s about utility. From finding the store you’re looking for using an app like Fastmall which will speed you around your mall experience (thank god, because I can never find a directory when I need it) or utilizing technology as Norma Kamali is, where you can read tags on their displays that tell you all the details of the piece that you’re interested in. And you needn’t ask a fussy sales person or worry about not making it into the store on time.

Another part of the shopping puzzle is the social element of it all. We’ve talked about social shopping before on the blog, but none have really taken off the way that something like foursquare has. However, integrating location based technologies/gaming (like foursquare) with the sharing element of a facebook and great things could happen. Shopping to many is a innately social activity (OK, ladies, you’re with me here), and many of us find ourselves texting friends at sales, sending pictures from a store of a pair of shoes you’re just not sure of yet and need that second opinion…brands just need to find the right way into the story.

Another prediction: Concierge type services will proliferate, and shopping will be made even more dummy proof. We won’t know what it was like to be without (mark…my…words…) Will we buy more as a result? Retailers certainly hope so, but moreover the bar will be raised for consumer satisfaction. And oh it will be glorious.

Image via NY Times

Hello all, resident Digital Misfit here.

Digital Misfit is a title I gave myself around work as I mess and muddle around with all things digitally good and try my best to be the best digital badass I can be (in the kindest, most Canadian sort of way). Apologies for being a bit silent lately, some potentially very fun things in the cooker, including a bit of an overhaul of this little blog space. As a result I may be missing for a bit longer (sorry mom). Can’t wait to share with you. It’s all delightfully scribbled on the back sheets of old briefs right now, all I need is a bit of technical prowess (yes techie friends, read: I’m coming after you for advice) I’m crossing my fingers it’ll work. And if not, I’ll be back on here soon, sharing more interestingness that comes my way.

In the interim, if you’re interested please follow my meandering thoughts in the twitterverse: http://twitter.com/thaz7

There are naysayers who believe that losing that elitist cache of the ever sacred “brand” will take away its inherent value. A luxury brand has no place being social.  I would argue the opposite. Like it or not, being social will increasingly become the marker of the value of your brand. It’s not about throwing up a twitter or facebook page, but finding that special social idea, like Art of the Trench, that will make your brand come to life for those who love it. Or look at Hermes (yes, you heard me right Hermes), who has started to dip their toe in the digital world, with quite a lovely site, which gives you the opportunity to design your own Kelly bag and interact in a quaint “Hermes world”. http://www.hermes.com/

It’s about people taking ownership in something, feeling as though they belong to this world of fashion-the new world is about inclusion, not exclusion. Approachability is not a dirty word anymore. Speak to people as people. Respect their intelligence.

Many wise people have written about the changing face of authority or influence in the communication model. The “death of the influencer” may be at times a bit overstated, yet there is a lot of truth to what the OLD notion of “authority” is. Today’s consumer doesn’t want a stogy fashion editor to tell her what she should be wearing. She wants to learn from her peer group-whether it be a “real life” peer group, or those she admires on Polyvore.  He will trust his peer group over all else (far above advertising per-say), and a close second, complete strangers she entrusts in the digital world. Companies like ModCloth are leading the way for fashion (“Be the Buyer”, constant social games/communication) and will continue to grow in relevancy as they mature. Will luxury fashion brands be able to answer the call? Innovate or die.

Up for it?

Information truly is everywhere, whether it’s customer reviews on yelp or epinions, twitter, your brand’s site, or the site of your competitors-if there are some skeletons lurking, someone WILL find them. Remember the days of the Better Business Bureau? (which is still alive and running by the way. albeit on life support) Consider the WHOLE  CONNECTED WORLD as the BBB. Anyone can say anything about your product/service. Sure, it’s at an individuals discretion on who to trust, just remember that even the opinions of strangers are trusted more than advertising (39% versus 14% -weber shanwick).

We all learned early on that honesty is the best policy, well that is truer than ever for brands. While this should be obvious, skirting the truth, or downright lying will get you no where but a black list fast, countless brands STILL fall victim. Tools like Twitter makes word spread easily and quickly. And if you haven’t heard, bad news always travels faster than good news…

This takes us back to one of those basic principles of “modern brands” (from the kind, smart folks at Zeus Jones) modern brands don’t make promises (that can be broken). They act upon their beliefs. Creating empty promises that sell “the dream” may be what Mad Men was  about, but is a dated and myopic way to approach brands in a modern, transparent world. Brands must do their part to establish beliefs and consequent actions that LIVE up to the story of what motivates consumers, not wax poetic about what they “could” do. Those who stop short will be left in the dust of a twitter feed. Simply stated: being just a pretty face will get you nowhere fast.

So how does a brand navigate this wickedly transparent world? To be gravely simplistic, start by listening. Tools abound (twittratr, twendz, how sociable? etc) stop and listen into the conversations around your brand.  Next, as a brand, you have to have the “come to jesus” moment. What have I done in my life (as brand) that could possibly come back to haunt me? Run a worst case scenario on it and if necessary, expose yourself as needed. Better come from yourself than a stranger. Great example is Patagonia’s Footprint Chronicles, where you find famously “good” brand, not being entirely “good” at all. They expose themselves and by doing so, gain credibility by showing how they are trying to make amends as well as take away the facade of perfection. Consequently, trust is established.

And haters listen up. Opinionated consumers aren’t going anywhere. They won’t be silenced. Social media isn’t a trend that will fade away-empowerment changed the game (yuck, marketing speak. Apologies). Twitter isn’t going anywhere, so no where to hide from the up to the nano-second updates of the modern world– it’s quickly becoming part of the “plumbing” of our digital ecosystem. Get used to it or go home.

Technology began as an austere, cold concept. Technology as we understand it going into 2010 has evolved so far from those fearful notions of Y2K in 1999. In 1999 computers and technology were helpful parts of life, yet still feared. Uncertainty, uncontrolled-lest we forget the sheer terror of the clock striking midnight December 31, 1999? What is this machine capable of when the numbers changed?  But times are a changing as we shift into a new decade. Technology is yet again re-born with a more human face. And no, I’m not talking about Max Headroom.

But how and why did this happen? Well, it started when innovation found a soul and beating heart. And then the magic began. The machine became less…machine-y. Thanks to brands like Apple, technology became approachable and easy.  Designed FOR humans and the way they interact and behave rather than just pure utility. Techno-phobes, who were plagued with deep-set fears of being unable to program a VCR began to dissipate. Technology became our friend and trusted partner.

Then this little thing called social media emerged. And suddenly (actually not so suddenly) technology wasn’t so scary any more. It became what connects us to other people, places and things in our lives that truly matter. “Googling” became the way to answer life’s great questions. And soon enough, life without technology was a distant memory.

I don’t often write about a single campaign persay, but this is going to be an exception. The Google Chrome work is just too good to not talk about here. BBH Labs London/NYC and Glue have put together a fabulous series of video vignettes in support of Google Chrome-bringing to life the heart and functionality of the Chrome browser.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC-2VGBHFQI&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

This is a case study epitomizes so many things that illustrate the “best in show” of campaigns: storytelling, a “big idea” (and to some degree, a series of smaller ideas that build into a big idea) and extraordinary creative execution.  Watching “the making of” is quite an experience. The meticulous (and potentially dangerous!) use of mercury, harpists delicately interpreting the finest motions (wearing a mask) and the absolute passion of the crocheting director is awe-inspiring. And it made cold technology something warm and inviting. It was a human experience. In that beautiful notion of life and art meeting technology. In a very Google sort of way.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Yf3pTFiUt4&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

What is a “google experience” –to anyone who attended the recent planning conference reading this, let’s go back to that session building apps for Chrome. We learned that everything about google is about solving user problems without ever disturbing the user experience. Seamless integration. But it always comes back to being about appealing to the most human needs in technology. This campaign is an artful, fun and approachable manifestation of that idea.

You MUST read this article from BBH Labs to get a true appreciation:

http://bbh-labs.com/google-chrome-behind-the-scenes