Publicis on how to 'address crap' for digital success
Tobaccowala shared his tried and true advice yesterday in New York City during a keynote at the OMMA conference.
The Denuo name is meant to inspire “freshness” and “newness” and the “futures practice that stands inside one of the world’s largest communications agencies” claims to help its clients “master the future first.” While Denuo’s own marketing spin may aim to inspire via esoteric wordiness, the consulting group’s CEO inspires the old fashioned way, from real-world experience.
Over the past seven months Tobaccowala has logged over 100 flights to visit partners, clients and prospects at more than 100 companies around the world. To what end? Tobaccowala was tapped by Publicis earlier this year to create a “plug and play” emerging media consulting arm: Denuo.
According to Denuo it offers a “holistic difference, three distinct but interconnected spheres of influence": strategic consulting, ventures and partnerships and catalyst and activation.
Over the past seven months Tobaccowala applied Denuo’s “holistic difference” to itself with the goal of developing a plan of action for the new 15 person practice within a practice. Tobaccowala encapsulated his experiences yesterday into a three prong game plan for making “tomorrow’s business models tangible today”:
1) Throw out your plans,
2) Addresss crap,
3) Enjoy the ride.
THROW OUT YOUR PLANS
Gone are the days of three year and five year business plans. After all, YouTube, Flickr, MySpace…were not even on the radar three years ago! Sometimes, internal strategy groups just get in the way by slowing things down with an “extra step in the process.”
Shifting Sands are Troubling Marketers
Time Shifting--On-demand programming;
Place Shifting--Digital erodes boundaries;
Shape Shifting--Compartmentalization and standards eroding;
Power Shifting--Individual leverage rising;
Speed Shifting--Steady state bye-bye.
ADDRESS CRAP (Get rid of “crappo” language)
Percolation won’t cut it in an espresso era.
Can’t think your way to future, have to do your way to future; iterate to learn.
Mind your API: the future is a network, plug and play and work as a network.
We’re PEOPLE, not consumers, not users or some other form of lowlife; WE create, edit share, retransmit…
Target Audience? Am I meat to be hunted?
360 surround? I feel like I am trapped.
Hard Core Accountability
Outcomes
Return on Objectives
New Metrics
Interaction (not always a click, a buy or a lead)
Consideration
Intent
Net Promoter (number of brand advocates minus the number of people who hate you)
ENJOY THE RIDE
Iterate to Success Through Jazziness
Improvise,
Play off of other people’s music,
View company as a software release,
View marketing as a facilitator (marketing is being outsourced to people; when we buy a car now, we self-market to our selves).
AUTHENTICITY
Tobaccowala concluded his presentation by underscoring the need for authenticity and cited the model Kate Moss as an example to be emulated. Why Kate Moss?:
Value system,
Sense of self,
True,
Transparent.
Tobaccowala said that Moss doesn’t “shill for anyone” and, as a result, she is favored by coveted demographics. Tobaccowala noted that short-term gains from “selling your soul” may yield long-term losses.