Digital Utility or Branded Experience

A rather large conversation on the creative side of digital advertising is which is more important and effective, utility/marketing or branded/experience?

I feel the best way to illustrate the differences is through examples. Below is a brand experience video for the band Devo created by Mother Los Angeles.

The Devo site and film give off a wanky, dharma initiative vibe that is very distinctive and memorable. Although it doesn’t immediately discuss the product (music) it created a point in the mind of the consumer to make the gradual perception change of that music brand. It inspires the consumer to find out more and potentially purchase it; but, more importantly, it gets the consumer to continue using the brand if they liked the advertising.

Here is an example of a marketing micro-site for Clorox Whiten Your Whites.

The site is paired down to getting as many emails as possible, to the point that it ends up not feeling genuine or interesting. It shouts at the consumer a potential to win something if they give over their email (to be distributed Clorox coupons via email). Although the consumer may or may not use this product from the coupon, the likely-hood that they would be interested in learning more about future products is not likely.

In the end what is more important and effective, utility/marketing or branded/experience? Ultimately it would depend on the goal of the campaign/product; but, for any brand be it a band or a massive retailer, developing a long term relationship with a consumer will potential yield much higher returns and for a longer period of time.

Account Manager's Portfolio

I once read an article that proposed account managers should be required to use a portfolio of work when interviewing. I agree.

Being a young creative in the industry, I see how frusturating it can be to work with an account manager that poorly interprets a clients feedback consistently or simply says yes to everything a client wants. Often the reason for this seems to be that the account manager is judged on how much new business they can get from a client and if they simply do exactly everything the client says they should, hypothetically, be rolling in the dough.

However, if they consistently give the client what they want instead of bringing the agencies expertise to the table to enhance their clients work (involving push back) the work can become stale, sales can plateau and eventually that client will find a different agency they can refresh their brand. The best campaigns out there takes a brilliant creative; but, an even smarter account manager that can sell the work and help the client understand why this move is the best for them.

If an account manager is required to show a portfolio of work they sold through to the client, an agency can quickly see if the account manager is simply a yes man or worth their weight.

Account Managers I want to work with sold these ads through:

Levi’s O’Pioneers///W+K

Nike +/// R\GA

Target’s Sign of the Times///PMH

HBO Vouyer///Big Spaceship

Skittles Pinata///TBWA

Starbust Berries & Cream///TBWA

Sprites Lymon///Crispin + Porter