Immediate Futures Article From Cate c 1221466663463849 8

8/12/2019 Immediate Futures Article From Cate c 1221466663463849 8

1/424 Admap September 2008 World Advertising Research Center 2008

THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION hasnot just arrived, it has well and trulysettled in. Traditional communica-

tions channels have mutated, fragmentedand diversified to create a spectrum of

media experiences that give consumersunparalleled options and freedom ofchoice.

Of paramount importance in this hasbeen the emergence of a new type ofmedia social media. Through the likes ofWikipedia, YouTube, MySpace, Flickr,and so on, anyone anywhere can createand share content. Our virtual profilesbecome an intrinsic part of our identities.Relationships are born, lived anddestroyed in this new digital space.Through our global emerging-media

research Wave, we at Universal McCannhave witnessed first-hand how quicklythis phenomenon has been embraced.

Our definition of social media has hadto evolve with each wave of research andnow incorporates any form of digital

technology that empowers the consumer.During an average week, a typical fre-quent internet user is now more likely tobe found instant messaging or watchingonline videos than travelling on their

local bus (1).And its not just the young, early

adopters who have welcomed socialmedia into their lives; its everyone. The4554-year-old travel enthusiast whorelies on a whole host of holiday reviewsand blogs before planning their nextadventure is the norm rather than theexception (see Figure 1).

The old world order of a few talkingto many, through prescribed meansand measures, has been turned on itshead. People can no longer be dictated

to by those in control; they willconsume content beyond what is fed tothem in a regulated fashion. The masseshave revolted and are now decidinghow, where and when they will engagewith you.

CatalystSocial media have in essence become thecatalyst for a consumer metamorphosisthat has resulted in a seismic shift inpower. A new type of consumer has

emerged: one that holds sophisticatedviews on content, products, marketingand brands. This consumer wants to enterinto a two-way dialogue; one where theywill listen but, crucially, one where theywill be heard.

For marketers this means the tellingand interrupting model is all but over. Wenow have to listen. The sounds of peersreviewing content, products being ratedand online support forums have revolu-tionised the way we understand whatmakes people tick.

These developments have presentedan intriguing conundrum for communi-cations strategists and planners. Whilethe digital era has uncovered a myriad ofcommunications channels, each comeswith its own set of possibilities and

focusthemediamix

How a new approach enables media researchers to involve consumers in forward-looking media and product thinking. Cate Connolly, Universal McCann, explains

Communications planning in the21st century


2/4September 2008 Admap 25 World Advertising Research Center 2008

pitfalls, and not all are appropriate foradvertising. But the rules of how, whenand if at all to use social media channelsare determined not from within theindustry, but by the new gatekeepers: theconsumers. And if we cross the line,theres an army of empowered consumerswho will not suffer silently.

In a world where consumers are think-ing, interacting and behaving differently,we need to evaluate their interests anddrivers in a whole new way. This putsresearch under considerable pressure toadjust to the demands of modern commu-nications and media strategy andplanning. As innovation and creativityassume prominence across all aspects ofmarketing communications, the require-ment for research to delve deeper andproduce more discerning insights intoconsumer media attitudes and behaviourhas never been more acute.

What we didWe realised that in order for strategists andplanners to navigate the new landscape, toblend traditional with social media anddeliver the type of outstanding communi-cations solutions that we strive to provideto our clients, there were two new keyquestions we needed to investigate.1. How are media, entertainment andmodern technologies incorporated into theday-to-day activities of audience groups?2. Given the plethora of communications

and media options available, what expec-tations and motivations drive or coulddrive consumers to engage with brands?

If we could provide solutions to thesequestions we could take full advantage ofthe possibilities with which the digitalera is presenting us without trepidation.What was clear was that the answers didnot lie in our standard research tech-niques and tools. While these are effectivefor many aspects of communicationsplanning, the pace and nature of changewas beyond what they were designed

to capture.It became clear that the key to uncov-ering answers was at the heart of therevolution itself. We would have to startlistening: we needed to find a researchtechnique that engaged and empowered

consumers. By working with participants,not as customers of our clients or theircompetitors products, but as informedconsumers of our product media, mar-keting communications they couldultimately help us create innovative rele-vant marketing solutions.

With this in mind, we developedImMEDIAte Futures (IF) to help uncoverthe various paths to brand engagementthrough communications. IF is funda-mentally a qualitative tool that mixesconsumer ideation with ethnography toreveal new perspectives on marketingcommunications channels and how peo-ple use or interact with these touchpoints,a brand or category, and each other.

The methodology was developed bySchuyler Brown of Skyelab and JamesMairs of Burnt Peaks, and adopted by us asa means of generating strategic, action-able insights into the communications

habits of specific target audiences.Schuyler Browns background is in trend-spotting and strategic planning, while

James Mairs is in television, marketresearch and reality-based programming.

Because Skyelab and Burnt Peaks wereoften working with subcultures andgroups of consumers considered to beinfluencers in their fields, they aban-doned the tired constructs of traditionalresearch to create something much moreinspiring. The people they met were morelike characters than consumers. Throughtrial and error and a lot of experimenta-tion, they determined that people aremore real, more candid, more creative,and more open when they believe theyhave a role in helping you, the researcher,tell better stories. As a result they beganincorporating the principles of story-telling and gaming into theirethnographic explorations.

Their work encompassed the same atti-tude to consumer engagement and wasuncovering exactly the kind of insights

that we were hoping to embed in ourapproach. We began to work in conjunc-tion with them to develop IF as a

%

Thinking about using the internet, which of the following have you ever done?

FIGURE 1

Internet usage

Base: Active internet users

0 20 40 60 80 100

Subscribe to an RSS feed

Upload a video clip to

a video-sharing website

Start my own blog/weblog

Download a podcast

Leave a comment on a news site

Upload my photos toa photo sharing website

Leave a comment on a blog

Manage a profile onan existing social network

Visit a photo-sharing website

Read personal blogs/weblogs

Read blogs/weblogs

Watch video clips online 82.9

72.8

67.5

63.2

57.3

54.8

52.2

45.8

45.1

38.7

38.5

33.7


3/426 Admap September 2008 World Advertising Research Center 2008

technique that would incorporate thelearnings from working with these influ-encers so that they could be used to solvecommunications issues.

We have found that by using a varietyof tactics we can put consumers in situa-tions where they can be creative andinnovative in their own use of media tosolve problems. By making the actionsand occasions for media usage more delib-erate and conscious, we can engage inconversations that might otherwise neverhappen.

The core areasIF deliberately does not use classic focusgroups. The full IF process employs anarray of qualitative techniques to max-imise experiential learnings in a variety ofcircumstances and settings. These notonly help unearth understandings andinsights, but allow us to probe and chal-

lenge key issues.The first stage is to screen respondents

individually, using filmed mini-depthinterviews. It doesnt require the partici-pants to be influencers within a category;we just want them to be the particular tar-get audience that our client is trying tounderstand. Participants do, however,have to be willing to engage fully with allaspects of the process, be articulate andhave strong opinions on media, commu-nications and marketing.

Once the right people have been iden-

tified, between 8 and 12 of them areinvited to take part in the next stage, andthe research proper can begin. Essentiallythere are two constituent parts.1. A group workshop or co-creation ses-sion for all participants, during which thegroup collectively creates and discussesmarketing communications solutions toa challenge. The workshop singles outviews and motivations on media, enter-tainment and technology.

IF allows for the unexpected by notemploying a heavily moderated process;

instead, we support communication plan-ners and strategists to work directly withparticipants in order to ensure theyunderstand any problems and challengesbeing addressed. Participants can there-fore assist in mapping out the tensions

that exist between the media and com-munications they consume, and,impressively, start to identify those theythink are appropriate to use for advertis-ing and marketing.

A typical session would see them map-ping their own communicationsbehaviours, debating their choices andmotivations with others. The maps andissues raised can then be used in a groupactivity, where they can create a productwithin a given category and devise acampaign to launch it.

2. Ethnographic studies or other tag-alongdevices such as video diaries, SMS updates,blogs, etc, where each participant isobserved, interviewed and filmed aboutmatters relevant to the clients communi-cation challenge. This stage plays a dualrole. We benefit from spending an extend-ed period of time with participants, takingnote of their considered responses to thechallenges we posed them, as well as thespontaneous. In addition, by observing

them in their natural habitat, we areable to validate the claims made in thegroup sessions.

This element can also be supplement-ed by additional tasks; from keeping avideo diary of when they are chewing

gum through to creating a club night andusing webcams to keep track of youngsocialites as they use communications tocreate a buzz around the event and makesure others attend. Each task ranges inscale, but all are specifically designed togenerate a further layer of insight into aspecific communications challenge.

There is one final ingredient that helpsshape IF and differentiate it from otherapproaches. Like other qualitative tech-niques the entire process is filmed.However the filming is not in any way anadditional element, it is in fact a crucialpart of the process. The results are present-ed as a documentary, which has an impacton the design of each individual project.

Essentially, IF helps us tell a story: fromindividual recruitment to group ideationsession to ethnography. When you beginto think about research as storytelling, youare forced to re-evaluate many aspects of

the process. Recruiting becomes casting.The process revolves around a mission orexciting incident. The insights come fromwhat people say and do. The end result is aproduct that is more engaging and moreuseful to advertisers and brand stewards.

Why it worksBeyond the individual components of themethodology, we believe IF is successfulat achieving its primary aim to under-stand the real role channels and othertouchpoints play in a brands life from a

consumers perspective. By empowering,observing and engaging with participantsin frank and open conversations aboutcommunications channels, we have achance to consider their impassionedresponses and derive more meaningfulinsights.

Transparency is vital to the success of IF.Consumers are increasingly cynical aboutmarketing, and the cloak and dagger/bigreveal research approach does nothing toassuage their misgivings. Participants aremade fully aware that the process is

designed to understand how they learnabout brands and how brands can invigor-ate and excite the learning process throughcommunications channels.

The ideation tasks are structured insuch a way as to encourage interaction,

focusthemediamix

People can nolonger be dictated toby those in control;they will consumecontent beyondwhat is fed to themin a regulatedfashion. The masseshave revolted andare now decidinghow, where andwhen they will

engage with you


4/4September 2008 Admap 27 World Advertising Research Center 2008

and groups are allowed to form naturallythrough common interests and attitudes,rather than being determined by the mod-erators. Participants are challenged tothink not just on a personal level but interms of their peers, to look for the simi-larities and differences in behaviours andattitudes that characterise them; to lay outthe rules of engagement with their partic-ular tribe.

In terms of execution, the biggest chal-lenge to a successful IF project is theflexibility it requires to see it through.Because IF is unconventional, it requires avery hands on approach. It operates at ahigher level and has more moving partsthan a traditional qualitative project or atraditional focus group. Moderators mustbe flexible enough to be able to adapt tothe ideas generated, but strong enough tonavigate the group in such a way that itdoes not become a fruitless task.

However, when conducted correctly,the approach has a wide range of practicalapplications. It is a great way to getdetailed and multi-dimensional answersto tough communication questions. Sinceit seeks to push consumers beyond theobvious, it highlights media behavioursand influences that the consumer mightnot be immediately aware of. It is also agood, effective way to invite the consumerto get creative with you, so it can beincredibly useful for cultivating anddeveloping launch strategies, and forinnovation projects.

Getting inside the mediaprocessBut the greatest benefit of IF is that it goesbeyond just tracking media usage: itallows us to get inside the media processand to start putting the trends we seearound us to work.

We can learn more about consumersby developing research that reflects theworld as they see it. It not only provides uswith a way of understanding media inno-vation and landscape change, but alsoaffords us a detailed grasp of the way con-sumers are changing in attitude andbehaviour, and an appreciation of the waythese attitudes and behaviours can beinfluenced and formed over time.

Above all, it allows us to get beyond theways and means communications chan-nels are used, to a place where weunderstand when and where we can usethem to create next-generation marketingsolutions.

1. Universal McCann Power to the People Wave 3.

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Cate Connolly is consumer

insights manager at UniversalMcCann [email protected]

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Immediate Futures Article From Cate c 1221466663463849 8