Tim Pile has an extensive pedigree in marketing. Like many marketing people he launched his career in the vast empire that is P&G and then went on to run the marketing rule over some hefty financial organisations. So it was virtually nailed on that his presentation at Media Pro would throw up some interesting nuggets.
There was no disappointment. He immediately launched into a punchy and almost revolutionary delivery: brands have lost trust among people and most are inherently boring, and the last thing people want with brands is a relationship.
He then dug in even deeper. The Occupy London campaign which has seen protesters camp on the steps of St Paul’s cathedral in protest at reckless financial misadventures is a symptom of how brands have lost trust, he said. The protesters might say it’s about systemic rot but there is no escaping the fact that banks have probably never been held in such low esteem, within living memory at least.
Pile went on to spell out how brands need to re-engage with customers: “Customers don’t want to be managed and they don’t want relationships, they want engagement,” he said. True. The day I have a relationship with, for example, my mobile phone provider is the day I abandon all hope as a human being.
Engagement is the key to winning back trust and this is where social media channels can be utilised. But, naturally, the marketing concept has got to be a good one. The distribution channel, after all, is simply the distribution channel whether it’s a rich-media ad, social network posting, tweet blasts or even a mobile application. It doesn’t matter if everyone is talking about the new channels it’s the idea that’s got to be the thing.
For example, Virgin Money tapped into the zeitgeist, by launching an online game Lose Your Anger. It’s a fun game where you get to smash up a bank before the police arrive. Virgin Money targeted the game at a 20-something audience. The branding was not up-front and in your face but discrete. In another example, a car manufacturer released a mobile app that allowed smart phone users to ‘pimp their car.’ A user took a photograph of a car and then using the app customise the photographed car to suit their tastes.
These examples, and others, show how some brands are using new social media to engage with their customers. In other words, they really get it. Perhaps one of the classiest examples of good social media usage is Intel’s The Chase. It’s visually very strong and hooks you in right until to the end and the message hits you between the eyes.
The ultimate point – and one that we fully endorse and spend lots of time and energy facilitating at Catalysis – is that before you do anything in the world of social media you need a good, solid idea. Once you have this you can then do something, funky, edgy and original with social media channels.