planning for networks

Planning For Networks Graeme Wood

What are Media?

MIT Exec: “you can call it anything you like, as long as you don’t use ‘computers’ or ‘communications’” Negroponte: “how about ‘Media’” MIT Exec: “You mean like newspapers and Madison Avenue? Yuck, all yours”

Nicholas Negroponte on naming MIT MediaLab, 1981

What are Media?

The MIT Media Lab applies an unorthodox research approach to envision the impact of emerging technologies on everyday life—technologies that promise

to fundamentally transform our most basic notions of human capabilities. Unconstrained by traditional disciplines, Lab designers, engineers, artists, and scientists work atelier-style, conducting more than 350 projects that range from

neuroengineering, to how children learn, to developing the city car of the future. Lab researchers foster a unique culture of learning by doing, developing

technologies that empower people of all ages, from all walks of life, in all societies, to design and invent new possibilities for themselves and their

communities.

What are Media?

From To

But why stop there…….

"Mixed Media: Oil on Canvas" So the media used are oil and canvas.

And by looking at what is left when you remove the oil and the canvas, you can see what they were

intermediating In this case, nothing physical

They are intermediating a person's view of the world and place in a culture

Michael Faraday discovered the theory of electromagnetism His discoveries were of little practical use at the time, as they

were just theories He gave them practical application by building the first

electric motor He intermediated them

This gave people access to his work, without having to understand his theory

The electric motor is a medium for his knowledge

NB. These analogies borrowed from Dr Cesar Hidalgo, MIT Media Lab

Media = Content + Community

Idea People Transmission + =

Advertising is the last thing you should do

Ideas that solve

problems

Communities that tell stories

Brands promote stories



Apes don’t groom to look pretty, they do it to bond Humans don’t tell stories for aesthetic reasons

We do it to bond

Content is a medium, not a message

Content’s not king. If you were going to a desert island & you had the choice of taking your friends or your DVDs, you’d take your friends. If you didn’t,

we’d call you a sociopath. Content isn’t king, content is just something to talk

about Cory Doctorow

Social networks are about people, not content

The opportunity is to create something to talk about

Content is a means, not an end

Strong ties

Weak ties

Ideas are spread by people through networks

Collaboration is our evolutionary advantage

How Networks of People Make Decisions

We are super social apes

We form tribes around shared interests We change our behaviour by copying others

We rely on other opinions to guide our own

Mapping: Different directions for different decisions

System 1 (subconscious)

System 2 (conscious)

Individual

Copying

System 1 vs System 2

Individual vs Social




Individual

Copying

Is Is Does Does

Human (adult)

Behavioural Economics

Neo-Classical

Economics

Human (Infant)

People I know People like

me

Nudging and UX Design

AIDA Marketing

People I want to be like




Individual

Copying

Is Is Does Does

Human (adult)

Behavioural Economics

Neo-Classical

Economics

Human (Infant)

People I know

People like me

Nudging and UX Design

AIDA Marketing

People I want to be like

Pulling apart social decision-making



Individual

Copying

Unconscious copying

Unconscious thinking

Conscious copying

Conscious thinking

Cars Fashion

Insurance FMCG

Different models for different categories



Individual

Copying

Purchase Frequency

“This is a brand for me” (Category average)

Coffee

Newspaper

Music

Fashion

Shoes

Cosmetics

Flights

Holiday

Mobile

PC

Jewelry

Car House

Insurance Mortgage

Bank Acct

Credit Card

Deodorant

Milk

Cereal

Detergent

Supermarket

Beer

Wine

Mapping categories by social behaviour

Highly visible social cues Low level of rational

thought

Social cues linked to value. Rational processing

linked to cost

No social cues Begrudging rational

thought

Low social cues Branding offers a

substitute for actual popularity

System 1 System 2

Individual

Copying

Marketing paradigms by category

Weak tie network copying 1.  People I know 2.  People like me

3. People I would like to be like

Classical purchase funnel decision making. Social at

awareness level (eg aspiring to status

symbols). Strong tie networks an influence on

purchase

Influence by experts and people we don’t know (eg

review sites).

Low interest in product, so network spread

requires aligning brand to a related category that people do care about

System 1 System 2

Individual

Copying

Role of friends, acquaintances and experts

Navigating by the map – Media imperatives

Media Creation Media Distribution

Media Optimisation Media Partnership

The brand is a part of the cultural category it operates in, so product

news is inherently spreadable. Friends are a key source of influence

Eg: ASOS, Burberry, Converse

High value purchases that define how a user portrays herself to the world. Media

dramatises the brand lifestyle, and product fans are a media channel.

Eg. Audi, Xperia, KLM

Low frequency purchase, but in market for short time: hence begrudging rational

thought. Low product differentiation. Experts are a key source of influence, therefore are

the media that should be optimised. Eg. AMEX, Money Supermarket

High frequency, low value, habitual purchases. Few category cues to copy, so

advertising is a proxy for actual popularity. Low product interest/high category interest means media should be made in partnership

with the things people do care about. Eg; Peroni, Cravendale, Coke

Unconscious Conscious

Copying

Learning

Unconscious Conscious

Copying

Learning

Navigating the Map – role of media and community

Existing Community

Created Community

Entertainment

Utility

Lifestyle/Aspiration focus

Brand offers social value

Brand offers rational/price value

Brand finds a role in consumer interest via partners

Brand already has a role in consumers’

interest

Product focus

Inherent in product

Inherent in culture

Advertising Strong Ties Weak Ties Experts PR Reviews Price

Conscious Copying

Aspirational emotive cues – lower weights

required to maintain

popularity

Practical rather than social

impact (more relevant in-

market)

Purchase and usage help

define personal brand

People like me > actual expertise

Limited role in generating

awareness or trust without

greater personalization

Reading reviews:

practical > social. Leaving

reviews, social > practical

(Audi, VW, Skoda are the

same car/different badge)

Conscious Thinking

Low levels of category

awareness give ads a key role in

shortlisting – but awareness !

= trust

Actively request information from known

experts

Social stigma attached to

seeking information personally:

limited role of Twitter

Huge importance –

either genuine experts or

forums

Primary role in awareness and shortlisting pre-

research

Key in defining perception of

post-purchase. Importance

dependent on category

Low level of category

interest makes pricing the

default discriminator

Unconscious Copying

Largely used for speed of

spread, or to create stories for catalysts

Belonging to a tribe, and

projecting a personal brand (as part of that

tribe)

The source of cues to copy

May be tribe catalysts -

May be tribe catalysts

May be tribe catalysts n/a

Unconscious Thinking

Lack of other social cues

means advertising is a powerful but

expensive proxy for popularity

Post-purchase - Potential to

generate low level loss

aversion by switching

n/a Almost entirely media-based – eg celeb chef

Journalist and blogger impact

limited to category fans, with limited potential to

spread further

n/a The default for this sector

Implications for marketing

Media creation (using talent and

experience to create ripples from fans to mass) Helping personal brand

curation

Media distribution (stimulating and distributing mass

advocacy) – splits down by in or out of market

Media optimisation In market: (ensuring the right experts are heard). Out of market: NPD to turn usage into comms

Media Partnership (finding areas of

association with things people do care about)

Role of media/communications

Create culture Tell stories outside of the purchase cycle

Create products to turn usage into media

Find the thing people care about (react to culture)

Ambition: what are we trying to do

System 1 System 2

Individual

Copying