Nielsen recently conducted a study to better understand the audience that will grow into the first wave of virtual reality adopters and content consumers.

In 2000, the Wired article The Future Does Not Need Us called into question whether machines were quite the panacea we hoped they were. It was possible, said the author, that this dependence on machines was not going to a good place.

More recently, Ralph Nader, writing in the Huffington Post, asked whether Bill Joy’s concerns were still valid. According to Nader, 70% of the volume of stock trading in the U.S. is now driven by computers and their algorithms. That means machines now have considerable influence over how the markets themselves are run and traded through the instructions they operate under.

While much is made of the fact that automation and robotics will continue to drive the inefficiencies and human error fallibilities out of systems, it’s not just repetitive jobs that are threatened. According to Fortune, a company called Automated Insights has programmed the creation of earnings stories and sports stories that show up in newspapers around the world. That company’s computers churn out 3,000 earnings stories per quarter for the Associated Press at an average cost of less than $8 per story. Now, instead of releasing 300 earnings stories per quarter, Fortune observes, Associated Press is able to release 3,000. Automated Insight’s ambitions, it seems, are even higher. Their goal is not to create one story for a million people but rather to release a million specialized stories for one person—all driven by data. The ultimate goal is complete personalization of each person’s news feed.

There’s the potential future of content marketing and social media right there – less about real interaction and reaction and more about scheduling, as the machines turn content into automated drip-feeds that are as fulfilling as content fast-food. As algorithms decide how brands will react to all sorts of prompts and requests from customers, brands are less and less about what motivates people and increasingly about pre-decided choices. It doesn’t take much imagination to transpose the power of the trading floor to that of media selection – media spends monitored by machines and adjusted in real time to hit pre-selected reach targets. And it takes even less to see that data-powered computing could make marketing more specific, personalized and dull than it is now.

Thomas Davenport, writing in WSJ, says concerns that the machines are taking over are misplaced. He predicts that “structured, codified, routine, predictable tasks [will] move toward computers [while] other kinds of tasks that involve emotions, creativity and a human interface stay with humans.” He’s probably right. But perhaps not in the way he meant. It’s entirely possible that organizations will seek to remove the emotions, creativity and human interface from how they market. The development and management of brands will become structured, codified, routine and painfully predictable – if brands choose to trust what they perceive as market intelligence over human intuition.

Isn’t it ironic that businesses persist in talking about the need for differentiation and customer responsiveness at the same time as the ways in which brands deal with customers and campaigns become more systematized, less personal and more ubiquitous?

I’m not for one moment suggesting that we should go back to an analogue way of doing everything. I’m not even being a Luddite. I am suggesting that when you take the human factors out of brands, you remove much of their intrinsic interest. There are now whole industries where any of us can undertake tasks without any human contact. This isn’t marketing. This is transacting. It’s auto-responding. It may go faster, it may cost less, it may be available anytime – but it’s also boring, predictable and impersonal. Because humans don’t want pre-planned answers. They want responses that stem from someone reacting to pain, need, hope, interest, conversation, ambition, worry … They want a story for that moment, not one that’s built around keywords. They want to be understood, not just acknowledged. That’s what makes encounters interesting.

At some point in the future we could lose that in the bid to make our brands react automatically and do more things. The power of big data is that it gives us what feels so much like greater insight. The danger is that it could tell us so much that we don’t think we need people to make brands work.

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Don Draper does not exist in the new world of marketing. What exactly does this new world look like?
Well, it is a converged world full of large and tiny touch screens, data as insight, people yearning for experiences and meaning rather than consuming things, and an emerging “do it yourself ” collaborative and remixed economy powered by user-generated content, production, design, and feelings, with a heavy emphasis on a company’s reputation and culture instead of monetary capital. In other words, everything you’ve come to learn about what makes efficient or successful marketing is actually inefficient and incorrect.

Marketing today doesn’t look very different from how it has for the last half century, nor has it truly disrupted itself inside and out mainly because of the attitude of marketers and advertising agencies. No industry disrupts itself. That’s why it’s important we look at how people other than those who call themselves marketers behave. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing several of them for my book and what they have to say will help you prepare for the new normal.

Advertising agencies are also difficult to trust for innovative answers or solutions because, in wanting to stay the course that had historically made money rather than charting a new future, they made the biggest mistake in modern business: they defended themselves instead of going forth and conquering. As a result, agencies blew four opportunities to remain relevant:

1. They missed the digital train. They ignored the dotcom industry, thinking it would go bust.
2. They ignored search engines because they didn’t ask “What if” questions about where the world could be headed with smartphones and location-based technology.
3. They ignored social media marketing because they thought people would only use search engines and platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn wouldn’t ever be as big as the “big media” of cable and network television.
4. They were late to the content-marketing game because they didn’t understand why people used the social web and Internet in the first place. It was hardly to make friends with brands; it really was a place to connect and learn.

Agencies missed these four trends and will continue to miss many more because of the group-think and conformity embedded in their DNA.

What agencies failed to realize is that marketing is more than messaging. It’s more than advertising. It’s more than broadcasting. It’s more than simply return on investment (ROI). Agencies also failed to realize that marketing isn’t devoid of math anymore. Nor should math reduce creativity to a Post-it note on a social platform instructing visitors to “read more,” “learn more,” “download more,” or “watch more.” People aren’t responsive to what sounds like commands from a military general.

If anything, math makes marketing more creative, not less. Marketing in a disruptive sense is the way we all can and should use data to build more meaningful products, create alliances to solve the world’s most daunting problems, get people to adopt new ways of thinking, solve customer problems, and rethink how business and possibly the economy will operate differently in the next decade.

Even David Ogilvy, one of the godfathers of advertising and the inspiration for Don Draper’s character in the cable television show Mad Men, knew that data would be more relevant than creative efforts alone. Ogilvy was as much a futurist in this area as anyone else. To me, he was one of the first disruptive marketers. It’s a shame his beliefs don’t resonate in our world as much as they should. When reading the following passage, replace Ogilvy’s phrase “direct response” with “disruptive marketing”:

“In the advertising community today there are two worlds. Your world of direct response advertising disruptive marketing and that other world, that world of general advertising. These two worlds are on a collision course. You direct response people know what kind of advertising works and what doesn’t work. You know to a dollar. The general advertising people don’t know. You know that two-minute commercials on television are more effective, more cost-effective than 10-second commercials or 30-second commercials. You know that fringe time on television sells more than prime time. In print advertising, you know that long copy sells more than short copy. You know that headlines and copy about the product and its benefits sell more than cute headlines and poetic copy. You know to a dollar. The general advertisers and their agencies know almost nothing for sure because they cannot measure the results of their advertising. They worship at the altar of creativity. Which really means originality. The most dangerous word in the lexicon of advertising.

They opine that 30-second commercials are more cost-effective than two-minute commercials. You know they’re wrong. In print advertising, they opine that short commercials sell more than long copy. You know they’re wrong. They indulge in entertainment. You know they’re wrong. You know to a dollar. They don’t. Why don’t you tell them? Why don’t you save them from their follies? For two reasons. First, because you’re impressed by the fact that they’re so big and so well paid and so well publicized. You’re even perhaps impressed by their reputation for creativity, whatever that may mean. Second, you never meet them. You’ve inhabited different worlds. The chasm between direct response advertising disruptive marketing and general advertising is wide. On your side of the chasm I see knowledge and reality. On the other side of the chasm I see ignorance. You are the professionals. This must not go on. I predict that the practitioners of general advertising are going to start learning from your experience. They are going to start picking your brains.”

I share more about this and many other topics in my new book, Disruptive Marketing.

The Blake Project Can Help: Accelerate B2C and B2B Brand Growth Through Powerful Emotional Connections

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By Alice Korngold, Co-Editor, Giving Thoughts, and author, A Better World, Inc.: How Companies Profit by Solving Global Problems…Where Governments Cannot, and Jean Case, CEO, the Case Foundation Created in 1997 by digital pioneers Jean and Steve Case, the Case Foundation invests in people and ideas that can change the world. The Foundation is particularly […]

Sony used over 1500kg of multi-coloured glitter in its latest explosive commercial for BRAVIA 4K HDR TVs. Watch as an enchantingly grand, derelict old building comes to life, bursting with bright white balloons, the ad crescendos into an incredible multi-coloured glittery explosion

The ad perfectly encapsulates the beautiful detail of Sony’s new BRAVIA 4K HDR TV range and the brilliant colour reproduction. “More Brilliance. More Beauty.” is the mesmerising ad’s strapline

A mixture of drones and handheld video cameras were used so that viewers could experience the colour explosions in clear detail
For the soundtrack, Sony collaborated with UK singer-songwriter Tom Odell to re-record Cyndi Lauper’s famous track ‘True Colours’

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Sony launched a new advertising campaign which showcases the incredible picture quality of its new range of Sony BRAVIA 4K HDR TVs. These TVs give you the best possible picture quality whatever you’re watching, the smartest user experience with Android TV, and are stunningly designed.

Shot in 4K, the ad made by American director Andre Stringer, together with DDB Berlin, brings to life a forgotten, derelict casino in Romania using 4000 balloons and over 1500 KG of glitter in the visually enchanting setting.

Opening with a single white balloon entering an empty building, the casino gradually fills with balloons and mesmerises onlookers before the balloons explode in a cacophony of colour as glitter cascades around the casino.

By using a combination of different shooting methods and angles, the ad sets out to capture the brilliance and beauty of 4K HDR through the juxtaposition of pure white balloons and the glorious colour of the glitter, culminating in a stunning explosive climax.

As well as the TV commercial, the campaign will encompass cinema, VOD, digital, out of home and point of sale to convey the core message, ‘More Brilliance. More Beauty’ and celebrates the exceptional colour, contrast and detail delivered by the new range of Sony 4K HDR TVs.

The accompanying key visuals were shot by high-speed photographer Fabian Oefner who attached a noise sensor to the camera shutter, so that it triggered every time a balloon popped, helping him to achieve incredibly detailed and striking images.

Shuhei Sugihara, Head of Brand and Product Communication, Sony Europe, says of the advert: “Whether through our products, or through our marketing, our company’s philosophy is to satisfy people’s curiosity.

“Our new TV commercial continues BRAVIA’s legacy of adverts. From balls, bunnies and flower petals to balloons and glitter – Sony has always used striking colour and visual beauty to showcase its range of televisions. The creative direction of this footage was based on the same idea and we hope viewers truly feel something from this beautiful image, which uses a million glittery details to truly demonstrate the difference our 4K HDR TVs provide in terms of colour, contrast and detail.”

In true Sony tradition, music was an important consideration and given the nature of the commercial, Sony worked with Tom Odell to create a haunting new version of Cyndi Lauper’s classic track “True Colors” renamed as “True Colours”. The music licensing division of Sony Music was involved for the music and artist consulting as well as the song production in high resolution audio. True Colours will be released as a single on all relevant digital platforms on September 30th.

Mr Odell said: “When I saw the advert I thought it was beautiful. And I love Andre Stringer’s (director) work, so was keen to be involved. True Colours by Cyndi Lauper is one of my favourite songs, and it was a joy to sing it and put it to the picture. The lyric has always struck me as one with a very unique message; to be yourself and to be proud about it. In that spirit, I hope you love it as much as I did recording it.”

Alice Bottaro, Creative Director at DDB Berlin explains: “Shooting this commercial required weeks of preparation and a lot of effort from special effects and production design partners. Glitter is a very challenging element to work with, even more so because we wanted to show the particles in all their detail and brilliance. We’ve also been very lucky to get such a beautiful location: during the film, you really experience how the glitter turns this abandoned casino into a place full of colour and life.”

The Credits:
AD AGENCY: DDB Berlin
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Alice Bottaro
COPYWRITER: Chiara Chessa
ART DIRECTOR: Jacopo Biorcio, Alan Dindo
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Gabriel Mattar
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Jemima Jordan
PRODUCER: Jens Mecking, Marcus Wetschewald
CREATIVE AGENCY: Myles Lord
CLIENT SERVICING: David Barton
DIRECTOR: Andre Stringer
POST PRODUCTION HOUSE: nhb studios Berlin
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Tempomedia

In 1973 Colonel Steve Austin was an astronaut who suffered severe injuries in the crash of an experimental spacecraft he was piloting for NASA. Arriving in the trauma center on the brink of death, doctors believed they had a chance of saving him, but only if they performed a series of radical surgeries never attempted before. Using unproven technology that had never been tested on humans.

The plan that emerged was desperate, hurried and well ahead of its time. They would rebuild him, replacing his right arm, both legs and left eye with bionic implants. Natural would meet artificial. New would merge with old. If successful, the transformation would save one life and push medical science beyond its known limits.

Could it work? They had to try.

For many hours Steve’s fate swayed from the edges of life to death and back again. Uncertainty was the only constant. Then, at dawn of the third day they had the answer. In near disbelief, the weary team of doctors witnessed medicine’s miraculous leap forward. Steve Austin would not only survive, he would become the world’s first bionic man. Possessing new abilities that far surpassed human norms. He was better than he was before. Better, stronger…faster.

Dramatic transformation on the hit television series The Six Million Dollar Man was never intended to serve the modern marketer or make a marketing point. Until now.

Often, radical events are required to push us into the mandate of change. Change as we know is not popular and few embrace it easily as the grasp of the familiar is just too tight. Even as disruptive marketing forces loom.

Unlike Steve Austin’s fictional circumstances, the change required of brands today is very real. It is all around us and at odds with many comfort zones. Brands must become better, stronger…faster to earn a place in the future.

Courage, commitment and strong leadership are needed to navigate the uncertainty of change. The following six insights will help you succeed in what can be a very dramatic journey…even one against all odds.

1. Change Leadership: Abandon Yesterday

The first step for a change leader is to free up resources that are committed to maintaining things that no longer contribute to performance and no longer produce results. Maintaining yesterday is always difficult and extremely time-consuming. Maintaining yesterday always commits the institution’s scarcest and most valuable resources–and above all, its ablest people–to nonresults. Yet doing anything differently–let alone innovating–always creates unexpected difficulties. It demands leadership by people of high and proven ability. And if those people are committed to maintaining yesterday, they are simply not available to create tomorrow.

2. Brand Transformation And Fear

What holds brands back from innovation and market leadership is the same element that holds people back: FEAR! As a species, we humans fear change. We can’t help our natural inclination for safety and security. It’s wired into the lizard brain at the base of the skull. We fear taking risks, making mistakes, not meeting plan, looking stupid. It’s far better to fit in, go with the flow, be safe and not freak out our fear-based bosses.

3. Strategically Pacing Your Brand For Change

Marketers struggle sometimes to pace brands to the speeds of consumers. There’s a tendency to believe that everything must change, change, change – and that brands that aren’t always adding or shifting will lose attention. All the talk of innovation and customer impatience fuels that. The reality is something different. Buyers need brands to be familiar and interesting, not one or the other.

4. Evolve Or Transform: 17 Brand Factors

No business these days can just sit pretty. But the extent and nature of changes confuses many. Brands evolve. Or die. But they must also retain something of what consumers know. Or they fade. So which is more important? And how should a brand act, when?

5. Ten Brand Keys For Persuasion And Change

So often it seems to me brand owners hope to bring about change rather than planning to bring about change. They see persuasion as an awareness issue rather than as a behavioral issue – often because they regard their product as the obvious choice that somehow, miraculously will spark a “road to Damascus” moment as soon as consumers encounter it.

6. Changing The Brand Culture – To What Purpose

Around 70% of large-scale change programs fail to meet their goals – and a key reason for that, according to Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini, is that organizations cannot resist managing the implementation of change rather than looking for ways to psychologically and systematically embed it. In effect, the authors suggest, most change programs are too late, too self-serving, too autocratic and too engineered to succeed.

The Blake Project Can Help: Accelerate B2C and B2B Brand Growth Through Powerful Emotional Connections

Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education

FREE Publications And Resources For Marketers

Learn when and why customers convert on mobile and how you can better capitalize on these moments.

There have been several recent polls in 2016 stating that public opinion doesn’t trust the media anymore. The feeling from the population at large is that the media doesn’t go deep enough, it doesn’t ask more complex questions and it doesn’t put enough emphasis on four areas important to consumers: transparency, accuracy, timeliness and clarity.

With the explosion of media fragmentation in the past few years, especially with the rise of podcasts, social media and new forms of content that didn’t exist a mere five years ago, many are decrying lower standards for journalism. This means when opinion-pieces aren’t labeled as such and native advertising exists in the form of an op-ed, people start to look away from the institutions they have trusted in search of greater meaning.

Trust is our main barometer in life. If you don’t have it you won’t last very long in a world being measured more by quality of network and reputation than size of wallet or revenue per share.

Brands can learn a lot from this scenario. For one, brands don’t emphasize any of the above four areas as important in their world. They are essentially blind spots. Yet consumers value that information more and more. Starting with transparency, too many brands don’t talk about how their products are made or how they may exploit people or the environment in the process of making those products.

Second, many feel they can skirt being accurate with how they position their product and company. But in a world where information is abundant, how long will it take people to find out they are lying?

Thirdly, timeliness on innovation hurts many companies who would rather protect legacy business models than find the future. This is why I root for disruptive upstarts all the time in the business ecosystem. While their innovation may not be beneficial to people’s livelihood’s and displace workers, they are trying to provide solutions that big companies are simply trying to sweep under the rug and pretend don’t even exist. Being customer-centric sometimes means innovating at the expense of your business model.

Finally, brands are terrible with clarity of why they exist and what they represent in the larger world. Remember Simon Sinek’s famous quote when thinking about the lack of clarity of so many brands: “People don’t buy what you do, people buy why you do it.”

My hope is that brands and the people who work at them don’t fall into the media trap that currently plagues that world. While the media may think it is immune from extinction, they should learn quickly from what affected the music industry in the late 1990s before they continue down a path of irrelevance. The best way for brands to navigate this new normal is to avoid the blind spots and the dangerous thinking that there is immunity from what plagued disrupted companies, and realize they could be next.

Learn more about how to keep your brand relevant in the 21^st Century in my new book Disruptive Marketing.

The Blake Project Can Help: Accelerate B2C and B2B Brand Growth Through Powerful Emotional Connections

Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education

FREE Publications And Resources For Marketers

Content marketing is a waste of time if it doesn’t generate leads for your brand. Learn how to make your content work harder with these handy tips.