The One Video All Marketers Should Watch

The above video is a presentation given by a couple of staffers from the small experience design consultancy Adaptive Path to employees at Google.  It's a compilation of thoughts that has been synthesized into a book titled "Subject To Change".  The reason why I'm saying marketers should watch this video is because I'm convinced that many marketers still don't understand the basics of customer experience and how this integrates with marketing efforts (which it does).  And the reason why is because I've noticed lots of perspectives floating around the marketing industry positioning customer experience as if it's a "new form of marketing", when in reality it's always been the oldest and most effective.  Adweek's Brian Morrissey reports that brands like Google and Craigslist have become successful icons because of their investments in user experience.  Havas media lab calls Google's strategy "revolutionary":

"Yet Google obviously invests heavily in its brand. Its home page may have nothing but a search box and links to Google's services -- which means the company is forgoing tens of millions of dollars in advertising -- but it's doing something more important: putting its customers first. Untargeted ads, even simple text links, goes the rationale, would put too steep a cost on its users.

This decision is "revolutionary," wrote Havas Media Lab director and London economist Umair Haque on Harvard Business Online in February. "By choosing to invest in consumers over advertising, Google is a living example of a deeper truth: The future of communications as advantage lies in talking less and listening more."

The biggest challenge that today's marketers face is understanding HOW to overcome the obstacles that get in the way from creating user/customer/consumer experiences that people want to make part of their everyday lives.  Everything has changed.  Years ago, Starbucks was celebrated as a brand that understood this—today, it's customers are less loyal and it's stock price is reflecting this.  Blockbuster promised to transform our living rooms into home theaters—today, media consumption including movies is fragmented.  Marketers today are faced with a choice.  As Seth Godin points out, we can choose to become liars—spinning fabrications around inferior products and services who depend on traditional marketing to make themselves appear more appealing.  Or we can be honest, and figure out how to actually make the product, service, and brand better—so marketing initiatives will become a natural extension of the experience a customer has with that brand.

Is this the job of the company, the consultant, the agency, the brand?  If you want to thrive in an age where basically we're all spoiled and demanding—then the reality is, it's all of our jobs.  So watch the video and think about which side you choose to be on.

PS, if there are any Adaptive Path peeps reading—you should give this presentation to marketers in addition to companies like Google who do a pretty decent job of doing the things you talk about.

Comments

[Michael Leis]

Great post! So great to see videos and commentary like these. It might be that so many old-schoolers are so caught up in their own ignorance of the technology or the workings of their product that they can't see the experience for the trees.

[Wal]

Took the time, great insights. Thanks for sharing.

[Sean Howard]

Hey David,

Great post! It's a great call for a shift forward in marketing thinking.

The challenge is many-fold, as I'm sure you would agree. So many marketing groups have NO impact on product or even service levels. And with CMO's having an average life expectancy of often under a year, it means that marketing is about quick wins, glitz and anything that creates a short term spike in sales.

All of which oppose design and human centred thinking around building better products that service real needs.

[Edward Cotton]

David,

Not sure this an either/or issue.

I think marketers need both.

They still need to a find a way to talk about a great product- word of mouth can do a lot, but great ads can do a lot more,

For example: Apple's iPhone is a great product, but the advertising does a nice job at showcasing the unique experience.

I agree experience is a massive new area that many are ignorant of , but not all advertising has to be a lie- it can be a dramatic celebration of a great experience.

Ed

[Vincent]

Great post David. For those who are interested they've also posted a slidecast (http://www.slideshare.net/brandonschauer/the-long-wow-358486)
which lays out an experience-centric approach to fostering and creating loyalty by systematically impressing your customers again and again.

[Robyn]

Hi David, another thing Google does is provide a blog service free to users... especially for those who are not so highly technically oriented. And, you're not obligated to have ads or in any other way. I like Google's "no strings attached approach" that many other companies miss!

[Jim]

Great post David. Adaptive Path is quite active and I've become familiar with their work via www.diabetesmine.com.

Their experiential and outside in approach is a health does of reality many companies need.

[Adam Kayce]

Interesting video - I enjoyed it a lot. To stay engaged for a 50-minute video shows that they're doing a great job communicating some great pieces.

And yet, as much as I respect the Adaptive Path folks, I think their definition of "Meaning" is way, way off.

Meaning is more than having a bunch of "wow", or peak, experiences strung together. That's exciting, sure, but does having a number of interesting touchpoints really add meaning to my life? Spice, sure. Meaning, though? Not unless those experiences serve to deepen my understanding of life, in some form.

I believe 'meaning' is something that strikes deep into the core of who we are, not just moments of 'hey, that was cool!'

[oppositionradio]

Hasn't this presentation been around for a loooong time - I know I was disappointed paying to see this exact presentation last summer after having seen it on you tube months prior....