IFA 2012 - Everything will be connected to everything

My love-hate relationships with trade fairs continues after my visit to the IFA. Why is it that at these fairs products like the 84 inch 4k Bravia televisions from Sony are so bloody impressive? Why is it that Samsung can proudly present their home connection framework, even though it is not sure when exactly this will become available in Europe and actually make you feel good about it? The design of the trade fair booths sure help convincing you here. But the overwhelming amount of visitors plus the long stretches you have to walk, get on my nerves quickly.

Anyway, a stroll for a few hours on the first day revealed a lot about the current state of innovation in the world of multi-media and consumer white goods. How does this affect branding and the way brands interact with their clients and with other brands to create meaningful branded interactions and eco-systems. Here are my 7 Branding Strategy thoughts.



1. Brands can't do it alone but some keep trying

There was something not right with the Sony stand. Their 84 inch 4k screen technology is mighty impressive, no doubt about that. But in the main area on their booth they focused primarily on their media own devices and eco-system. The presentation felt like an Apple system. Closed and totally focused around their own products, even though their tablets are based on Android, i.e. on Open Source software. But they kept going on about how Sony would enhance your music experience because al your music would be available on all your (Sony) devices instantly and how you can share photo's with friends. Yes, it will sure enhance our lives but so do the products and services of a gazillion other Brands. What is your real USP here then?

So somehow it feels wrong that you don't see a single other smartphone or tablet on their stand. It was as if entering a different political system when walking into the hall Sony that had completely occupied. The security guards at the entrance all of a sudden get a different symbolic meaning...


My recommendation for Brands in any field would be to forget about the 'I am all the Brand you ever need' attitude and accept that you can achieve much more if you connect in certain areas with niche players.



2. Washing machine marketing is a lot of fun

When you get to explain stuff like PowerFoam technology, VarioPerfect, PureCycle, LogiControl, SoftSurge, Vibration Reduction Technology, Direct Drive Motor, Ceramic Drum, ProTex Plus, having a job as a washing machine salesman must be a lot of fun. 

I talked to a guy on the Samsung stand who told me how PowerFoam technology would reduce detergent use by 70% and provide me with 'dry-cleaner' like results. How does he know that I am actually satisfied with my dry-cleaner? 

In addition I will be able to connect my washing machine in the future to a household communication network that allows me to start and stop the machine from anywhere in the world. As said, not available in Europe yet but soon to come. Apart from practical issues, such as: who will actually load the machine so that it makes sense to start it at a distance, I am yet to be convinced that this life enhancing technology is what I need to be happy. Nevertheless I am sure that the value of this use-case and the value of having connected appliances will become clearer soon.

Samsung Smart Experience, connecting all household appliances.



Back to what this means for Branding. When you look at all the proposed home-networking systems it is clear that again we will see a mash-up of services and products, which means a similar mash-up of Brands, Brand Strategies and Brand Values. Although Samsung wants you to believe that you can do everything and more with their system only, I am expecting the consumer to choose systems and solutions that they can mix and mash-up themselves, unless the User Experience and Value Proposition is so spot on and seamless as the one offered by Apple. But it is hard to see which Brand has the visionary leadership to take Apple's crown.


Brand Strategy will require thinking as to how screen real estate is shared when the screen sits in a car from Brand A, the information comes from a Brand B device and the connecting network is managed by Brand C.


Relevant links

Samsung Connected Devices

Telekom Connected Consumer Products



3. Telekom 'Joyns' the home dots

Of course you couldn't mistake the Telekom booth for any other brand thanks to the magenta carpet stretching across the complete thing; über-branding as usual, not to be missed. 

Telekom is seriously trying to revolutionize the Telco industry e.g. with Joyn, the new Message standard. Although that is interesting, even better is their Home Network standard, called 'Smart Connect'. 

Where Telekom really tries new concepts is with their Qivicon Start-up. This partner based business model that is actually more in line with the future if networked businesses as other providers offer. Telekom's model is based around connecting interfaces that partnering companies, among which we encounter Miele and Samsung, can use to allow their products, e.g. washing machines, to be operated by and share information with apps. 

This network has its own Branding, i.e. Qivicon, so interesting enough Telekom moves to the background as Brand. Ultimately Qivicon should generate its own revenue through the interface licensing, according to the sales person on the booth.

Interesting question in this case is of course if building start-up Brands is part of the future Strategy for Telekom and to what extent this will be part of their overall Brand Strategy, including the B2C part. A case to be closely watched from a branding perspective.


To the Qivicon website

4. Screens, screens & more screens, how to stand out





The television screens and touch screen monitors are overwhelmingly impressive. It is interesting to see how visually how underwhelming in comparison the audio brands look. 


Globally leading brands such as Yamaha and Teac were present but they have somehow difficulty impressing you in the same direct fashion as the television giants do. Sure, everyone doing something with audio is now offering some form of media and audio streaming for at home. 


But pure sound players occupy relatively little floor space at the IFA. This is probably also the reason why Branding is so much a visual exercise and much less a sound thing. Only the largest brands have sound logo's and even their these evolve very slow. 


Will this ever change? I don't have the stats here available but it seems in this world that human beings are more visually oriented and less guided by sound so it is probably the correct reflection of how consumers tick.


So back to screens. I think I've never seen so many screens being used on a consumer electronics trade fair, apart from the gaming and computer fairs maybe. If you take the countless screens on smart phones, refrigerators, remote controls, climate systems and even garden appliances into account, it becomes clear that we're living in an increasingly 'screened' environment. With recent trends as mega-super-sized television, 4k+ pixel resolution and 3D (even without glasses) it is clear that in the visual space brands still have a lot to explore.


Big question is how Brands can make best use of these new technologies and if there are ways of enhancing the visual 'on-screen' brand look and feel through sound, haptics and scents.

See the Sony Bravia 84 inch screen

(oh and btw, since when has Sony's website turned into a e-commerce shop? Looks & feels like what Nokia did about a year ago in Europe and it felt totally off...

5. Where were Google, Microsoft & Nokia?


Another observation or actually more a question is: where were Google, Microsoft and Nokia. The first is one of the major players in a networked world and has some reputation damage to repair, specifically in Germany. They were there in 2010 with a Keynote speech but as far as I could see they were absent this year.

The other two were absent too, even though you'd tend to think that the IFA would be the perfect opportunity to show off the results of their now two year partnership in the Windows Smart Phone area. Saving costs or incurring opportunity costs. Sure is, less eyeballs on your Brands at least at the IFA.



6. The best innovation are invisible


It is often said that great design should be experienced and is therefor ideally invisible or unnoticeable. It is so good that you accept it and use it right away. 


I would say that the best innovations are those you also hardly notice. The best example is I think Panasonic's induction based wireless charger for electrical cars. It was on display in what looked like a go-kart after a major playground crash and you could easily miss it. But as published in a long-term test article with the Nissan Leaf in Car Magazine, one of the biggest user problems currently is dealing with the dirty electrical cable after a charge. 


Panasonic's system proposes a wireless system consisting of two blocks, one mounted underneath a car and another surface-mounted at a charging station. When the car moves over the surface-mounted charger and stops right above it, the 2 blocks are pressed together so that the car batteries are charged using wireless induction based technology. Gone are the dirty hands and the always entangled wire.


Again the relevance for branding is also here that Panasonic proposes a solution to the car-industry and that this in turn means that car and supplier brand will have to find a way to co-exist, something that Bosch has done for years already in the automotive sector. 

7. An Apple a Day


When you are Apple your omnipresence is such that you don't even want a booth I guess. Apple products were literally everywhere: Bosch showed an interactive manual on an oversized Apple iPad screen. Every manufacturer of audio and hifi equipment has an iPad docking something-system on offer. Most of not all smartphone apps are of course available for iOS. You so much expect to see the iPhone/iPad user interface on every booth that you tend to overlook it.

Is that bad for Apple as a Brand? For now I don't know. It is true that the new iPhone5 rumored to have a different connector. That means that all you're old docking station needs a replacement or (if at all possible) an adapter... A tiny but substantial Brand initiated annoyance. This will certainly raise a few eyebrows but will this be detrimental to Apple's Brand Equity? That remains to be seen.


So...

My visit to the IFA was inspiring in the end and it is reassuring to see that Digital still moves as fast. Brands can only ignore the side-effects of digital interaction and interconnectivity at their own peril. Consumer touchpoints based on touchscreen experiences are the new reality. The new motion sensors and face recognition technology will take this to the next level. The IFA only confirms that Brands have to stay digitally tuned and networked.

Marketing vs. Sales

What's the worst hire you can imagine? To me it is hiring a sales guy to run a marketing department. Running a group of marketeers by holding sales numbers in front of them every single day might work in a call-center setting. But it kills the more strategic, relationship and story telling initiatives that marketing people thrive upon.

I recently experienced first hand what can happen to a marketing team when this type of mismatch becomes reality. It has led me to further analyze the opposite dimensions between Sales and Marketing strategies and their associated tactics. Why exactly are they opposites of something that companies need both in equal amounts. The results for now is the MASA - Marketing Sales - Framework. The reason why I developed this framework is to understand better how mobile e.g. would fit into today's marketing & sales activities. 

The MASA Framework in words
When looking for opposites in approach between marketing and sales I quickly got to the a list of interesting dimensions but let's first start by making clear what marketing is.


Marketing Marketing in the classic sense is about targeting your customer with the right price for the right product at the right moment at the right place. Sales is about facilitating the actual delivery and the final transactions, i.e. getting paid for what your products and services on offer.
But how does that map out in the strategic sense? Here are the opposites that should make that clear.


Individual vs. Mass
In an ideal world your product or service is delivered at the right time, place, price and location for EACH of your customers. In reality we have to take a couple of short cuts and assumptions to make that a cost effective process. 
In Sales the objective is to sell as much as you can to as many people as you can. 


Pull vs. Pull
From individual to Mass it is a small step to Pull vs. Push. if you're product is really needed the clients will find you and pull your services or products towards them. In Sales the assumption is to push the message through as many channels as you can. The word Spam comes to mind.


Pricing vs. Branding
When you're brand does not justify a premium pricing is quickly the other argument to convince clients to buy. This is clearly what's happening to Nokia smart phones in many countries. Although feature wise and from a cost perspective these phones are comparable to iPhones and most Android devices, they often sell for ridiculously low prices. The Nokia brand has lost its mojo and a sales strategy is put in place to save the bottom line. 


Reach vs. Targeted
Sales is about reaching your audience in as many places with a standardized message. Marketing is as per the Individual vs. Mass approach, more about optimizing your products for your consumer's desires or the other way around (think iPad), creating a need that nobody had before and filling it in at the same time with the right product or service. Targeting in this setting goes beyond segmentation. It is more about timing and location and about understanding your client from a use-case perspective.


The MASA Framework
I created the the following graphic to illustrate the MASA Framework. It serves also as a way to classify the various communication channels that both Sales & Marketing teams use to execute their strategies. 

How MASA can be useful


When putting this framework in front of clients, the first reaction often is; 'well that springs no surprises'. I think that's fine because it serves as a tool to connect the dots between e.g. a companies mission statement and its current Marketing & Sales strategy.
Here are a few examples.


Mission Statement
If you are in the business of selling health products to consumers you definitely need to have a Sales strategy. But if your Missions Statement says you want to become the trusted advisor that people turn to to improve their health you seriously need a marketing strategy. Connecting both to the Mission Statement becomes easier using the MASA framework. It is easier to combine Mass Advertisement and Pricing strategies with building up a reputation as a health advisor. Using the framework in discussions with a client we quickly identified opportunities by reshuffling tasks among existing resources and introducing new elements on the website. 
In a later stage the development of an advisor application for iPhone and Android is in the planning. The app will not only be a source of information but it will drive sales by serving up targeted products to users with a certain profile only. We're still debating if that would imply a price reduction but by looking at the balance between marketing and sales and the expected move upwards in image the pricing becomes a less important topic and serving up a good quality product with good references becomes more important all of a sudden.


Hiring the right people
Discussing the current marketing and strategy plan using the MASA framework will help you to understand whether you're dealing with a sales-guy trying to polish up his image in an interview by presenting himself as a marketing expert, or the other way around.


Fitting mobile into the mix
As Maarten Albarda VP of Global Connections at InBev said at DeMexCo "The future is mobile, and nobody has really cracked that yet. Is it just another screen for distribution or is it more than that?"
The MASA framework can help finding the best way to integrate Mobile as both a Marketing and Sales tool into your business. You will quickly understand whether it has value by serving as a loyalty channel or tool. As a marketing director you may have wondered about the value of a mobile site. By looking at the Reach versus Targeting and Pull vs Push aspects it might be clear that a mobile site should be more personal and should be based on a Pull mechanism more that a standard website.


Understanding the Luxury Business
In the luxury business the acquisition of a product is often the result of a long preparation process in which the client dances around the brand, touching it through various channels to then time the ultimate moment of buying himself into the brand's reality when he or she is ready. It is here where Sales are almost a no-fly zone. Mass advertising, selling on Price and Pushing the product to the market is unthinkable. So if Mobile is going to be added to the Marketing mix it should be about Pull, Targeting, Individual tactics supporting the Brand. Now while this seems a no-brainer, with the MASA framework it will be easier to take a decision e.g. about m-commerce, i.e. direct sales of your luxury products.


Aligning Marketing with Sales
The model can provide the basis for an alignment between Marketing and Sales. By understanding the differences in objectives and better mapping out the ownership of advertising versus social and narrowcasting versus campaigning the necessary alignment between both departments can be managed better.




The state of MASA
The MASA framework is still work in progress. I am looking at refining the dimensions and the 'Umfeld', i.e. the Advertising, Campaigning, Social Media and Narrowcasting part.
I'd be happy to see feedback from your side and start a discussion.




For further reading
Marketing Week - Brand guardians can bridge great divide
Marketing Insider - How to Align Marketing with-Sales

Harvard Business Review - The new Path to the C-suite

> Specifically the section about the Chief Marketing and Chief Sales Officer.

Do Mobile Marketing Agencies have a Future?

I had a really good lunch meeting with a great full service marketing agency the other day. The COO asked at some point whether channel oriented marketing agencies, such as mobile marketing agencies actually, have a future. Here is more or less what I answered.

Hybrid vs. Channel marketing

Where it was still cool last year to be or to work for a cutting edge innovative mobile marketing agency, this year the opinions are shifting rapidly. It is clear by now that offering specific mobile applications and site development services provide a certain value add but that from a marketing strategy perspective it is important to offer a broader range of services. It is also clear by now that mobile agencies are struggling. They reach a reasonable size 100 to 200 people with some form of a global presence. But from there growth seems to stall.

The problem in my opinion is that mobile can only to some extent be delivered as a stand alone channel. In traditional ATL marketing has been separated from digital or BTL marketing. A bunch of agencies have popped-up over the last 2 decades boasting a comprehensive 360º service or what I would call hybrid marketing. But none of these agencies have reached the size of the global players like DDB-Tribal, Wunderman or Ogilvy. 

Why is this? The eye-opener for me was one simple question asked by a client during a meeting. During this meeting we tried to convince them that a mobile site was an absolute necessity for the brand. If they really wanted to be present in the best way possible on all mobile devices than they would certainly need our mobile site and hosting platform.

The client simply asked; if you think that a mobile site is so important, can you also provide us with a site and platform solution that:

- Covers our marketing needs for both 'classic' online websites for PC's 

- Proposes an optimized experience for iPad and mobile phones with a focus on smart phones and...

- Facilitating the management of this 'hybrid' website from one single CMS

Although I would have loved to say yes at that point, the actual answer I had to give was of course, no we can't. We can deliver a parallel mobile site experience. In a best case scenario and provided you're willing to pay for the additional effort we can provide you with a site that is connected to your 'classic' site. We maybe able to leverage some of the classic online content but in reality it will require additional resources and workflows to optimize the content and use it via the mobile channel.

In short the client was asking for a more holistic approach that a mobile agency just can't provide. Today I must conclude that just a few agencies are able to deliver a full hybrid approach, including a well-judged creative use of the mobile channel.

Traditional and Digital

I haven't even started to discuss how to combine the traditional marketing channels and digital. There are beautiful examples and case studies of how social, mobile, print, tv and web were put to work for brands. Yet these examples remain few and far between since not many agencies are able to cover the full spectrum. A great many agencies and brands are still struggling with Facebook integration and twitter management. 

So where's the opportunity for mobile?

Mobile is no doubt the channel that will be more and more the first and most often used touch point with a brand. Then again it has its specific use and quirks, specifically when it comes to personalization and brand relationship. This element needs to be combined with the use-case aspects of all the other channels. A large number of attempts to combine web, print, tv and mobile  perspective have been taken already, the most interesting models being based on a use-case based strategy. Bottom line is that agencies can't get away with being 'just digital' or 'just classic' any longer. A full integrated hybrid approach is required. The impact on agencies are potentially significant since it requires a broader set of skills under one roof which may be difficult to manage from a supply and demand perspective in today's fast moving and volatile market. There are a few ways of coping with this volatility. One is to scale-up the agency services across borders and to have a workforce that is international and multi-cultural. Another one is to have solid but flexible parternship engagement with suppliers of specific services.

What all of this implies though is:

- Agencies need resources that are flexible, have a broad range of knowledge that runs from design to technology and from classic print to digital, including social media.

- Agencies need to considers strategies that allow full hybrid marketing services with in-house resources or via a network of freelancers or partners.

- Mobile is going to be more important than web, provided that we include tablets in the definition of the mobile channel.

- Agile responses to client needs with an ability to work with both marketing and IT departments on the client side - across al the marketing channels - are becoming more important than ever.

Questions or comments? I look forward to hearing from you!

For further reading:

The Full Service Agency Model is Dead - Meet the Connectors

by Craig Wilson.