Beyond The Promise - Day 1, Introduction

Pieter Goiris kicks off the day by asking if everyone would be so kind to unplug his digital self, due to some technical sensitivity of the speaker system. And then it's pedal to the metal.

The sessions are with small audiences, which is exactly the purpose of this seminar, because it invites people to start the dialog.

Brand > Message > Media > Results - The traditional advertising model still stands strong. The 'media' pillar is subject to some changes, which is good. The new model Pieter evangelizes is in fact non-linear. Proof is connected to Change and position and engagement, Position and Change are connected to Engagement and Proof. It's in fact a model where the strategy towards the consumer is more interactive, so that brands find their place seamlessly in the life of those who adopt them. It's about Experience, about a different approach towards the media to engage.

Dominique Poncin is going to illustrate what Pieter tried to say. Well, he said it already, but Dominique will match this theory with some practical cases.

Why is experience so dear to us? It's the new awareness, the new KPI to measure your brand's health. The orthodox version of awareness is challenged by three evolutions.

1. Touchpoints become untouchable. Consumers can use social networks to broadcast their findings, touchpoints for message-delivery - creating experiences that impact touchpoints.

2. Advertising feels increasingly boring compared to other media content.  Traditional content providers are using new technology to increase interaction with their audiences. (example case: The Apprentice - twitter users could vote/speculate during the episode who would be fired at the end of the show, increasing the feeling of betrokkenheid.

3. People are increasingly interested in what's beneath the surface (of the brand) - example: Apple

Example: Greenpeace vs Apple (ceci n'est pas une pomme verte) - where Greenpeace showed that Apple's products are in fact not so nature-friendly, despite the brand name's fruity intentions.

Other examples:
*Sony Bravia and the buzz building towards the shooting of the commercial.
*Adidas: the originals series got launched because of the huge fan-base from back in the 80s, and now these 'old' new shoes are representing a fair share of the product revenue.
*Apple : I'm a Mac - I'm a PC
*Nike: The running shoe with the chip: connect your music to your foot, but at the same time measure your progress and exchange your data online.
*Dell:  ideastorn - vote for new ideas, top 10 ideas are actually put

Recap:
Experience is an antidote against these evolutions
Touchpoints become untouchable
Brand campaigns feel increasingly boring vs broadcast media

3 cases to illustratre the use of experiences as the new awareness

VW Night Driving - Extend the experience around the new VW Golf in a way that is
aspirational, credible & accessible.

Results 70K visitors on the campaign site, 800 members in the social network group.

Example 2: Simpsons: The Movie.

An experience which ran the extra mile for the movie launch.

During a month, 12 traditional 7/11 supermarket were turned into a Kwik-E-Mart, including some products from the series itself (donuts, squishee drinks and so on)

Results: 7000 uploaded pictures to Flickr, 380K search result matches in Google.

3: Nike Football Camp

Cross-platform digital training experience (Boot Camp)

Experience Take-Outs

• experience vs awareness

• accessible vs aspirational

• participants vs consumers

• doing vs messaging

• live vs pre-recorded