TRANSFORM | Big Thinking on Digital Transformation by Hall & Partners

ISSUE

BIG THINKING ON TRANSFORMATION

Transform

HALL & PARTNERS

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TRANSFORM

Rapid change is the new normal. We live in a world where everyone around us is being disrupted and transformed by digital technology. It’s changing the way people value and interact with brands and the products and services they provide. The challenge is to see ahead, to anticipate and predict. If only change was a steady thing … unfortunately it’s not. You can look into the future and see change on the horizon and then, all of a sudden, it’s either upon you or running ahead. Everyone we talk to wants to find new ways to drive growth and stay ahead. They’re asking how they can transform their businesses, products and services. They want us to help identify the new technologies that can unlock innovation and create exciting new customer experiences. Spotting the right opportunities at the right time is critical. Too early then things fail to take off; too late then you lose any opportunity for competitive advantage. Timing is everything. Predicting future outcomes requires a clear understanding of the shifting environment you’re operating in. An ability to experiment, test and learn potential outcomes of different strategies is key. And, increasingly, to do all this in real time, at the pace of the organisation’s decision making. It’s no wonder – as we help more and more of our clients on their transformation journeys – that we hear the cry for the data and insight business to also transform itself. We all need to transform, to move forward and embrace the new opportunities ahead of us. I hope this magazine gives you some interesting stories on how others are transforming to help inspire you on your own journey.

VANELLA JACKSON Global CEO vanella.jackson@hallandpartners.com @vanellajackson

David Mattin, TrendWatching

takeaway

Trendspotting

A new relationship with Liam Laville, Just Eat

live tracking

armchair athlete

Richard Owen, Hall & Partners

Mike Swiontkowski, Blizzard

Tracking is dead â&#x20AC;Ś long

Esports: the rise of the

Entertainment

Thomas Walker, eBay

right and the rest will

A leap of faith

Get the user experience follow Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Arcy King, Hall & Partners Health

Powered from the inside

Change for the better

out

Nadim Samara, OMD UAE

Stuart McDonald, Centrica

Contents_ 20

In brands and blockchains

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time women took the

we trust

wheel

Christian Purser, Interbrand

Rhidian Taylor, Jaguar Land Rover UK

Tricking the brain

Cheaper, faster, better?

Ben Taylor, CASSETTE

Sam Eccles, RAPP

The new dialogue around

Brands: itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to act

arthritis

James Cockerille, Rokkan

Olivia Belle and Phillipa Williams, Versus Arthritis

A new kind of village

Humans to the rescue!

Heather Fraser, IBM Institute for

William Green, University of Leicester

Business Value

School of Business, and Robert Cluley, Nottingham University Business School

highlights_

Just Eat has transformed the takeaway world. Liam Laville tells us how

Jaguar’s Rhidian Taylor believes the car industry needs a new approach to advertising

Richard Owen expounds a transformative data and insight ecosystem for today’s marketers

Ben Taylor explores the exciting world of virtual reality in the healthcare space

eBay’s taken a leap of faith, putting its customers in control. Thomas Walker reveals all

HALL & PARTNERS

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TRANSFORM

Ben Taylor is the

Christian Purser is

Head of CASSETTE, the

Chief Executive Officer

creative technology

of Interbrand London.

division of experience

He’s worked extensively in both advertising

CASSETTE creates immersive experiences

and branding but spent the lion’s

for brands, consumers and employees

share of his career in the digital

through a range of digital technologies

industry. Prior to joining Interbrand,

including VR and AR, mobile apps and

Christian was Chief Digital Officer at

much more.

M&C Saatchi.

D’Arcy King, PhD is

David Mattin is Head

the Managing Partner

of Trends and Insights

of US Health at Hall

at TrendWatching where

& Partners. As a

he helps people build

behavioural health

organisations that

psychologist and strategic healthcare

matter, products that customers love

consultant, she leverages her extensive

and campaigns they can’t stop talking

launch experience and clinical acumen

about. He sits on the World Economic

to support the development of results-

Forum’s Global Future Council on the

driven, insight-led brand strategies

Future of Consumption.

and evidence-based solutions to drive transformational outcomes for clients.

Heather Fraser,

James Cockerille is

MRPharmS leads IBM’s

former Chief Strategy

Institute for Business

Officer at Rokkan and

Value, Healthcare and

an author with more

Life Sciences where she

than twenty years of

develops thought leadership on topics

worldwide experience across 80+ brands.

including stimulating collaboration

He works regularly with executive

among life sciences, healthcare and

leaders on issues of integration,

non-traditional parties, and the

organising for action and defining the

impact of emerging technologies on the

purpose of their organisations.

healthcare ecosystem.

contributors_

marketing agency, TRO.

Liam Laville is Global

Mike Swiontkowski

Insights Controller for

is the Director of

Just Eat, overseeing

Global Research and

brand and consumer

Consumer Insights at

programmes across

Blizzard Entertainment,

eleven key markets. Previously he held

a position he has held since 2016.

a global CMI role within a major FMCG

Previously, he was Director of Consumer

player working across the refreshments

Insights for Activision and held

category, as well as working at brand

research positions at Arbitron (now

and advertising research agencies.

Nielsen Audio) and Westat.

Nadim Samara is CEO of

Olivia Belle leads

OMD MENA. His career

the transformation

at OMD started 14

change programme at

years ago, rapidly

Versus Arthritis,

progressing from

the ambitious new

planning to analytics and now to agency

charity pushing to defy arthritis.

management. With responsibility for OMD

She has previously held leadership

offices across four countries, his key

communications roles in health, social

focus is on employee and client growth.

care, disability, and children and youth charities, always seeking to amplify the voice of beneficiaries.

Phillipa Williams

Rhidian Taylor is

is Director of

National Communications

Communications

and Channel Planning

and Marketing at

Manager at Jaguar Land

Versus Arthritis,

Rover UK. He transforms

helping change how people think about

brands through insightful and

arthritis, making sure it gets the

differentiated marketing communications

priority it deserves and ensuring that

and brand strategies, balancing

people with arthritis know where to go

creativity with insights and data to

to access help and support.

deliver immediate commercial success while improving longer-term brand perceptions.

HALL & PARTNERS

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TRANSFORM

Richard Owen has 25

Dr Robert Cluley is an

years’ experience

Associate Professor at

in using smart

Nottingham University

technologies to drive

Business School. His

better insight. As

research on marketing,

Hall & Partners’ Chief Transformation

advertising and technology is widely

Officer he’s currently on a journey to

published and he is the author of

encourage and embed change, applying

Essentials of Advertising.

technology to accelerate business

Sam Eccles, Managing

Stuart McDonald’s

Partner at RAPP Group,

career has spanned

helps brands use the

20 years in customer

most appropriate

insight roles in media,

technology to automate

retail, financial

content production. Described by

services and utilities. As Director of

clients as “game changing”, data and

Insight and Marketing Effectiveness at

creative work seamlessly together to

Centrica Plc he works closely with the

deliver mass-personalisation on a

individual business units to increase

global scale, with significant cost

customer-centricity and improve

efficiencies and speed-to-market.

the efficiency of their marketing investments.

Thomas Walker is Senior

Dr William Green is an

Director, Global Brand

Associate Professor at

and Customer Insights

University of Leicester

at eBay. Responsible

School of Business. His

for ensuring the

research on innovation,

company’s strategic decisions are

practice and technology is widely

guided by a rich and holistic base of

published, building on industry and

market and consumer insight, Thomas

public sector collaborations.

and his team are working to modernise eBay’s foundational research and insights platform.

contributors_

strategy and deliver financial targets.

DAVID MATTIN — HEAD OF TRENDS AND INSIGHTS — TRENDWATCHING – @DMATTIN – @TRENDWATCHING

THINK

YOU

CAN’T

THE

BIG

CAN

NOW.

YOUR

THING?

SUGGESTS

FORESIGHT

YOU

TRANSFORM

BUSINESS,

MATTIN

PREDICT

FIRST

DAVID PUTTING

HALL & PARTNERS

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TRANSFORM

If you could choose one magic power, what would it be? For most CEOs, senior executives, innovators and marketers, the answer is surely easy: the power to see into the future. To know what’s coming next for business, technology, society and culture. The power to see the next wave before it crashes into you. That’s always been a key business challenge. In a 21st-century environment of dizzyingly rapid change, it’s the central challenge. But generating meaningful answers to the question ‘what will people want next?’ can feel impossible. But there is an approach to this question that can be embedded in any organisation. It’s low cost and simple. And it’s uniquely suited to the challenge posed by an environment of accelerated change. I’m talking about trend-driven innovation: the practice of spotting and applying

Trend spot_ ting

consumer trends. And it should be a part of the foresight and innovation toolkit for any business in the 21st-century. GET OBSESSED WITH WHAT WON’T CHANGE The practice of spotting new trends

Human beings are motivated by a set of

in consumer behaviour, mindset and

basic needs and wants that are extremely

expectation starts with one simple

stable over time: convenience, value,

observation. Yes, we’re living at a moment

security, status, fun and so on. How

of rapid change. But amid all that change,

does that core truth help us? Powerful

we’re still the same old humans with the

new trends emerge when some change

same old human needs. To spot or predict

in the world – a new technology, a new

new consumer trends, stop fixating over

economic moment, a new mindset, or

the next flashy technology and start

something else – unlocks a different way

obsessing with what won’t ever change:

of serving one of these age-old basic

human nature.

needs.

Images © myfreda.com

WATCH

INNOVATIONS

HOW

ABOUT

EXAMPLE?

So how can you use that simple principle

Way back at the start of 2017 we spotted

to start spotting new trends?

a cluster of innovations in the retail space. They included Finery, an AI-fuelled

The fastest, easiest and most powerful

virtual assistant for online clothes

way is simply to look out to the world of

shopping. And Freda, a UK startup that

innovation – the new products, services,

uses AI to understand a woman’s fertility

campaigns, brands and business models

cycle and deliver tampons accordingly.

being launched now – in search of ones

These innovations were all leveraging

that serve a basic need in a new way.

a recent change – the maturing of AI – to serve the basic human need that is

When you spot a cluster of innovations

convenience.

that meet this criterion, that’s important for a couple of reasons. First, that cluster

That prompted us to identify a trend

can signal that some change in the world

we called a-commerce, all about how

is allowing a new way to serve an age-old

consumers are outsourcing key retail

human need. Second, those innovations

behaviours – hunting for the best product,

will send the same signal to consumers

negotiating the best price, sorting delivery

who use them, or simply become aware

– to AI and smart digital services. We’ve

of them. Over time, those innovations and

watched the a-commerce trend evolve for

others like them will change consumers,

over 18 months now, and seen some huge

giving them new behaviours, new

players respond to this powerful emerging

attitudes and, crucially, new expectations

customer expectation. Walmart, for

of the world around them. And that

example, just launched its own AI-fuelled

means new expectations of brands and

shopping concierge, Jet Black.

businesses, including yours.

HALL & PARTNERS

BECOME

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TRANSFORM

TREND-DRIVEN

ORGANISATION If you’re looking to transform your business in 2019, here’s the transformation I think you should make: become a trend-driven organisation. The people inside your business see a maelstrom of innovations every day – new products, services, campaigns and more. Becoming a trend-driven business is simply about teaching your people to see all that through a simple lens – change … basic needs … new customer expectations – that allows them to spot new directions of travel. Do that, and each of your employees can be empowered to start generating meaningful thinking on where the expectations of consumers are heading next. You can become a business that runs not only on insight, but on foresight. That’s a profound transformation. And once you start to see the next wave of customer expectations before it crashes into you, you can then ask the second set of powerful questions. What do these new expectations mean for us? And how should we respond?

WE’RE LIVING AT A MOMENT OF RAPID CHANGE. BUT AMID ALL THAT CHANGE, WE’RE STILL THE SAME OLD HUMANS WITH THE SAME OLD HUMAN NEEDS

LIAM LAVILLE — GLOBAL INSIGHTS CONTROLLER — JUST EAT — @JUSTEATPLC 16

A NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH TAKEAWAY

HALL & PARTNERS

JUST

EAT

HAS

TRANSFORMED TAKEAWAY LAVILLE THIS

WORLD.

LIAM

DESCRIBES A

HOW

HAS

SEAMLESS

EXPERIENCE ITS

THE

DISRUPTOR

CREATED

—

FOR

ALL

USERS

Sometimes the most effective

users. Our customers want a fast, fuss-

transformations occur when a business

free, personalised takeaway service, one

embraces innovation rather than

which anticipates their desire and knows

meticulous design. We look for and

their favourite dishes, as well as when

explore emerging micro-behaviours, we

they’re most likely to order. And we try not

design solutions that serve those needs,

to clutter them with unloved menus.

we develop working prototypes and test them, quickly. We would rather test and

The restaurateurs who use our platform

fail 100 times than scale stupidity. That’s

– and we have 100,000 of them in 13

how Just Eat has pivoted in just a few

countries around the world – want to

short years from performing a simple

know when and where peaks will arrive,

function – simplifying the ordering of

who enjoys which dishes, what pricing

takeaway meals – to engineering a data-

works best and how they can maximise

fuelled ecosystem with relationships

their resources by predicting tastes,

at its core.

orders and behaviours.

We’d always intended on having these

And there are also the courier services

relationships when we launched more

who need to plan ahead to keep both

than a decade ago but hadn’t quite

sides of the process happy – creator and

anticipated how we could be central to

consumer.

the building of them. And, in turn, the building of the business and our profits.

In essence, we’re now a company that joins all of these elements into a

By using artificial intelligence and new

seamless, mutually beneficial experience

technologies we’ve been able to create

by capturing and analysing the data with

an extraordinarily intricate profile of our

remarkable accuracy, using machine

TRANSFORM

Images © Just Eat UK

learning, chatbots and smart algorithms.

our rocket fuel in this transformation.

We utilise technology to make the

It’s given us the ability to be predictive,

takeaway process feel more relevant,

not just reactive. To be viewed as a

instinctive and personalised. And always

contributor to the eating experience rather

function in a way that enables us to learn

than just a facilitator. To be an innovative,

perpetually, and to target our users more

disruptive player improving what was

productively the more data we have.

once an occasionally frustrating and haphazard experience and making that

By listening to our

as seamless as possible.

customers and partners

We’re embedding AI and machine

we’ve created an entirely

customer care chatbot can now respond

new business model

learning across our platforms. Our to and take actions to resolve simple customer queries without having to get a human involved, freeing our people to

However, the transformation isn’t just

handle the more complex or sensitive

smart – it’s been grounded in business

requests. As our customer base grows, AI

need. Everything we do has to be about

enables us to scale where humans can’t.

growth, as well as keeping our partners satisfied. If those who make and deliver

We’re developing contextual awareness

the food don’t grow, then neither will we. If

for our app too. Take Alexa and voice

those who order the food aren’t satisfied,

recognition, for example. If a customer

then they won’t want to come back.

wants to reorder something they ordered last week, our response needs

Commercial instincts have driven this

to be different than for a customer who

transformation. And data has been

ordered two months ago – we can flex

HALL & PARTNERS

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TRANSFORM

Data has been our rocket fuel in this transformation

the customer journey to meet each

measuring and then analysing their

customer’s specific needs.

behaviours, we’ve created an entirely new business model.

It’s all about ensuring we deliver a seamless online ordering experience

You don’t always need to plan

for customers – building more

transformations such as this. Sometimes

personalisation into our product or

using new technologies, while being

predicting exactly when a customer will

smart and agile enough to change tack

want their meal – which in turn helps

according to the needs of partners and

restaurants optimise their processes, and

customers, can lead you to solutions you

couriers know when to arrive at

hadn’t anticipated.

a restaurant. For us, it’s simple. We’ve taken away the Just Eat is now as much a relationships

hassle of takeaways, from their kitchen

business as anything, seeking to optimise

to your home. We’ve used innovation to

these connections rather than influence

improve the human experience. And we’ve

them. The insights accrued from the data

made eating not just a mutually beneficial

have given us the ability to transform.

experience but a relevant and personal

Just a decade ago we started out as a

one too – so we can deliver on our vision

functional app – groundbreaking in its

to serve the world’s greatest menu.

way but still limited in scope. Gradually, by

Brilliantly.

listening to our customers and partners,

CHRISTIAN PURSER - CEO LONDON - INTERBRAND - @INTERBRAND 20

In brands and

blockchains we trust

HALL & PARTNERS

CHRISTIAN EXPLORES

TRANSFORM

PURSER WHETHER

GENERATION

THE

HERALDS

ERA

FOR

TRUST

INTERNET

TECHNOLOGIES OF

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

BRANDS

NEW

The utopian vision for the internet has given way to more of a dystopian reality

and governments, NGOs, media and corporations for a number of years. In a recent global study, when consumers were asked about their expectations of a company CEO they overwhelmingly prioritised ‘ensuring trust’ over all other

I became a part of the internet revolution

factors, including the quality of products

in 1995 with a dial-up modem, a

and services.1

newsgroup reader and Netscape 1.0. It was a brave new world – a magical

Trust is the foundation of commerce and

universe of technology, transparency,

a critical factor in building strong brands,

freedom of expression and shared

yet it’s at an all-time low. The internet is

human experience.

in some ways partially to blame for this implosion of trust but, as is often the

More than twenty years on, the utopian

case, technology is both the problem

vision for the internet has given way

and the solution. The next generation of

to more of a dystopian reality, with

internet technologies is already gestating

mass government surveillance, bulk

and is based on blockchain technologies

collection of personal data, constant data

– technologies that will hopefully start to

breaches, burgeoning fake news and

rebuild trust in our institutions, precisely

rampant commercialism. And rather than

because they are more ‘trust-less’.

creating a system of trust, the economic

1 Edelman

incentives of the current internet have

A blockchain is simply a digital ledger,

created a system where privacy and

a record of transactions and data.

profitability are in conflict. We’re no longer

The clever part is when these digital

the users … we’re the product.

ledgers are public, decentralised and permission-less, which means there’s

Trust is in decline everywhere you

no central authority that has the power

barometer 2018,

look. Multiple studies have shown an

to change transactions and data within

p. 29

ongoing decline in trust between people

the ledger. Bitcoin is a good example of

global trust

HALL & PARTNERS

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a decentralised permission-less ledger.

blockchain can provide the trust layer. In

Nobody owns bitcoin and, due to the

many cases the user will have no idea

difficulty involved in the blockchain’s

that they’re interacting with a blockchain,

cryptography and the power required to

only that the data they’re seeing is tamper

mine a block, it’s currently impossible to

proof and has been verified as correct by

change records on the bitcoin blockchain.

multiple parties: bridging the gap between

The bitcoin ledger is immutable.

a brand’s claims and the evidence

TRANSFORM

that these claims can be trusted to be So what’s the connection with trust?

accurate and correct.

Well, blockchain technologies and these immutable ledgers are now being applied to many industries where trust is a factor in value exchange and value creation. From supply chain integrity to social media, finance and artificial intelligence, there are hundreds of blockchain projects being worked on right now by

Wherever there’s a potential trust issue, blockchain can provide the trust layer

the next wave of disruptive startups with trust at the core.

It takes many years to build a trusted brand but just a few short days or weeks

Closer to home, in the advertising space

to damage that trust. Trust 2.0 will be

there are projects dedicated to finding

ways to rebuild trust in the media industry,

opportunities for those brands that seize

using blockchain to tackle problems such

the trust agenda, along with a new wave

as ad fraud, brand safety and viewability

of disruptors with trust built into the core

through blockchain verification.

of their business model.

Wherever there’s a potential trust issue,

In brands and blockchains we trust.

or an application where trust makes a product or service more valuable,

RHIDIAN TAYLOR — NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS & CHANNEL PLANNING MANAGER — JAGUAR LAND ROVER UK — @RHIDIANTAYLOR

It’s time women took the wheel

JAGUAR’S WHY

THE

RHIDIAN CAR

TAYLOR

INDUSTRY

TRANSFORM

ITS

ADVERTISING

NEEDS

APPROACH

HALL & PARTNERS

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

TRANSFORM

Earlier this year, the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) released a call to arms to the advertising business to stop stereotyping women. This caught our eye at Jaguar because we know the car industry has been one of the worst offenders. According to the WFA research, 25% of ads feature men only while just 5% feature women only.1 And research undertaken by Unilever in 2015 showed that 40% of women don’t relate at all to the women they see in advertising. The car industry has certainly been guilty of this. Think about the car adverts you’ve seen recently. There are so many clichés: mountain roads, a city at night, the moment where a car splashes through a stream (especially if it’s an SUV) … and a man in the driving seat looking pensive 1 Gender Bias in Advertising, Research, Trends

and determined. Some car ads don’t feature a driver at all, but their tone and cues are unmistakably masculine. If 40%

and New Visual

of women think advertising doesn’t talk

Language

to them, you’d be hard pressed to find a

There are so many clichés: mountain roads, a city at night, the moment where a car splashes through a stream ... and a man in the driving seat looking pensive and determined

HALL & PARTNERS

—

TRANSFORM

sector where that’s more apparent than

with making our brand more relevant to

the car industry.

women, including transforming the way they’re portrayed in our advertising.

And yet, nearly half (42%) of all new cars are registered to women.2 What’s more,

In the last year, we’ve run several

women influence 85% of all car buying

campaigns with women in lead roles. The

decisions, so even when they aren’t

Jaguar E-PACE Bend the Rules campaign

the buyer women nonetheless have a

features the ‘Mistress of Mischief’, a

significant say.3 But still these female

character cheeky enough to drive the car

buyers and influencers are largely ignored

who uses her wiles to get away with all

by car advertising.

the things we wish we could.

Some car ads do show women but all

A Breed Apart – the campaign for the

too often they’re in small (‘shrink it and

Jaguar I-PACE, our first all-electric car

pink it’) cars, on the school run, going

– takes a more cinematic approach. All

shopping or showing how practical the

about how Jaguar people stand apart

car is for families. And frequently women

from the crowd, the striking ‘Bond girl’

appear quietly in the passenger seat while

walks with a life-size computer-generated

the man takes the wheel.

jaguar before driving her I-PACE in a dramatic electrical storm: “It’s just

Recently at Jaguar we’ve been trying

electricity – nothing to be afraid of”.

to change this, not just because it’s the right thing to do but because it makes

We believe our advertising is changing

great business sense. Only one in ten

perceptions and building emotional

Jaguars is sold to a woman which seems

connections. We’ve got more work to do

a nonsense when women are buying over

but it’s a strong start that we hope others

40% of new cars. The journey begins

in the car industry will follow.

2 The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Ltd (SMMT) 3 Auto Alliance, Who Drives a Household’s Buying Decisions

RICHARD OWEN — CHIEF TRANSFORMATION OFFICER — HALL & PARTNERS — @TRANSFORMSTUFF — R.OWEN@HALLANDPARTNERS.COM 28

HALL & PARTNERS

—

Tracking is dead... long live tracking HALL

PARTNERS’

TRANSFORMATION RICHARD DATA FIT

AND FOR

OWEN,

CHIEF

OFFICER, EXPOUNDS

INSIGHT TODAY’S

ECOSYSTEM MARKETERS

As you drive through the leafy countryside

making capability: we know what we’re

of Warwickshire, on your way into Royal

spending on marketing, and we know

Leamington Spa, there’s a pleasant but

how much money we’re making, but

innocuous row of houses that represent

we’ve absolutely no idea what happens in

the typical early-1990s new builds of

between those two points – so we can’t

middle England. The development is

fix mistakes or do things better to make

notable for nothing on the surface, but

more money, more effectively.

perhaps in time there will be a blue plaque placed there, for this is the late-1970s

If we’re being true to the idea of the blue

birthplace of tracking research as we

plaque, then perhaps the full story is only

know it.

told when we add a second date to mark the death of tracking as we know it. While

Before the builders moved in, this spot

it probably won’t be today, the patient is

was home to the humble beginnings of an

definitely in intensive care and looking

idea – from two marketing executives at

like they won’t make it out alive, or at

General Foods – that grew into the most

least without major surgical intervention

successful market research methodology

and extensive plastic surgery. Whatever

ever invented. Mr Millward and Mr Brown

emerges won’t be recognisable, and that’s

saw an opportunity to create a service

something we should all be celebrating.

that would solve the gap in their decision-

TRANSFORM

Cause of death: data. The entire point of

in real time? The scales were falling from

a tracking study was to try and know the

the eyes of the budget holders.

unknowable. To understand what people were seeing, feeling, thinking and doing

No more then, the necessity for such

in the absence of any other data beyond

insight? Not quite. While the need for

spend and sales. Over time though, it

tracking as envisioned by Maurice and

became not the means to an important

Gordon some forty years ago is dying,

end, but the end in itself. To have a tracker

the requirement for clients to have

was almost as important as what you did

continuous insight so they can make

with it. A security blanket of information …

marketing decisions in real time is more

just in case. They became long, arduous

important than ever.

and inflexible. The transformation is underway. From

We can retain control of the consumer insight conversation and keep our clients running at the same speed as their customers

the idea that one single source of primary market research will tell you everything, to an ecosystem powered by data and insight – where it’s more important to connect data smartly than it is to collect data efficiently. Where always-on pulses around the brand metrics that matter are joined together with social pulses to see what the world is organically saying, customer pulses where transactional data shows us what everyone is doing, and

Because the industry didn’t reimagine

communications and experience pulses

quickly enough, clients started calling

that measure media effectiveness in the

it out. How many decisions were they

right way, at the right time, with the right

making based off ‘the tracker’? “Very

method. Hint: these are not 25-minute

few”, was the cruel, but fair, response.

online surveys.

And largely because they now had the missing information they used to rely

This ecosystem is a place where, once all

on the tracker for: the eyeballs, the hits,

the relevant data is connected, predictive

the clicks, the transactions. Under close

analytics maps the current reality

scrutiny the value for money from the

and shows the pathways to follow to

tracker didn’t hold up against all the

maximise future success. And ultimately

other investments they needed to make

predicting the future by providing clients

to get a handle on all the new data. And

with real-time market simulators where

why spend so much on insight when the

scenarios can be played out in a safe

marketing teams could get their hands on

environment before money is spent on the

the same data, faster, and respond to it

real thing.

HALL & PARTNERS

S M A RT T O O L S

PRE

—

TRANSFORM

D I C T I V E A N A LY T I C S

CON

N E CT E D DATA

A LT

NCY

YS - ON PULSE WA S AL

STRA T

As insight practitioners we remain in

in the organisation and allows marketers

charge of the why. Everything in this ‘data

to make the decisions they need to.

is the new oil’ world shows us all of the

And with less time spent on manually

whats that traditional tracking used to

collecting and reporting data, more

do, but it doesn’t tell us the whys. We

time can be spent on connecting it and

can now surround our connected core

spending time with our clients, offering

with smart tools that harness always-on

the kind of higher-value strategic advice

communities, mobile, AI and NLP to give

that can truly have an impact on changing

us the ability to survey hundreds of people

a brand’s fortunes.

in minutes, conduct focus groups at scale in hours, or run experience ethnographies

For the agencies and clients daring

in days.

enough to adopt and adapt this new kind of ecosystem, there’s a brave new

This means that at Hall & Partners we

world of continuous insight to enjoy, and

can retain control of the consumer insight

a completely new approach to breathing

conversation and keep our clients running

life into the old tracker. We could then

at the same speed as their customers.

drive back past our mythical blue plaque

Fresh and focused insight – provided

in the Midlands that celebrates ‘the birth

in real time via The Hub (our pioneering

and death of tracking’, and scrawl at the

insight news service) – has more impact

bottom, “hang on a minute…”.1

1 The author of this article does not advocate vandalism of public property

MIKE SWIONTKOWSKI — DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL RESEARCH AND CONSUMER INSIGHTS — BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT

— @BLIZZARD_ENT

ESPORTS: the rise of the armchair athlete BLIZZARD MIKE TO

SWIONTKOWSKI

HALL

ABOUT

ENTERTAINMENT’S

HOW

PARTNERS ESPORTS

TRANSFORMING INDUSTRY

TALKS

THE

IS GAMING

HALL & PARTNERS

—

TRANSFORM

Images © Blizzard Entertainment OWL Grand Finals 2018

What big developments have you

What is esports and how is it

seen in the gaming industry in

transforming gaming?

recent years? Esports is competitive gaming One of the most exciting parts of working

where highly-skilled gamers play in

in the gaming industry is how quickly

organised, multiplayer matches. These

things can change. In recent years, most

rapidly growing events range from

games have shifted to becoming always-

small tournaments among friends

on live services that change regularly with

or communities, such as the fireside

new content and features keeping players

gatherings our fans run themselves for

engaged long after a game has launched.

our game Hearthstone, to the highest

Esports and live streaming of gaming

level of competition watched by fans

overall have also become much more

globally, both online and in-person. The

mainstream.

Grand Finals for the Overwatch League took place in a sold-out Barclays Center in Brooklyn this summer and was broadcast on ESPN. In what ways has Blizzard adapted to this? Blizzard has been involved in esports for a long time, helping establish some of the first highly organised tournaments in the early 2000s with our game StarCraft. At Blizzard we now have staff devoted fulltime to managing a wide range of esports programmes across our different games, from amateur level through collegiate to professional. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re passionate about esports and our goal is to continue building best-in-class programmes and teams. One recent example was the debut of the Overwatch League earlier this year, which set a new precedent for how a premier esports league could be run and proved that fans would be interested in a new model with location-based teams, inspired by the way professional sports leagues are organised.

HALL & PARTNERS

What are some of the

How do you see

unexpected challenges to have

esports evolving in

emerged with esports?

the future?

Esports truly is global in appeal, which

Esports is here to stay.

presents a number of challenges when

The popularity of different

trying to create programmes that can

games within esports

simultaneously meet the needs and

will continue to shift and

desires of all the continents across

everyone involved in

the world. Scheduling and travel are

esports will continue to

unique challenges that sports leagues

learn new ways to improve

who operate or appeal to only one

their programmes, events

continent do not face. Our audience also

and broadcasts. Every week esports

expects different things from an esports

seems to grow in popularity, attracting

broadcast vs. traditional sports broadcast

new investors and consumers. I fully

or livestreams of gaming personalities,

expect this trend to carry on for quite

and this continues to change. We’re often

some time, with new major players

doing some things for the very first time

and partners entering and continually

in esports, so it’s difficult to know if it will

changing the esports landscape.

—

work or not until we try it. Do you have any advice for Has esports changed your

brands facing transformation

consumer base and, if so,

on how to adapt to evolving

how has this impacted your

consumer needs?

approach to marketing? Don’t just hope a new change will It’s starting to change the consumer base

pass. Take the changes seriously and

as we now have different types of fans

do your research on evolving trends

we need to think about more often. We

in your industry with consumers and

have some people who play our games

experts. Use that information to make

and follow our esports programmes, and

informed decisions on how your brands

others that only do one of those things.

could or should change to adapt to the

Previously, we could focus on our active,

transformation. The answer may be “don’t

lapsed, and potential new players. Now

change the game plan”, but you should

we also have active, lapsed, and potential

at least do some research to make that

new viewers in the mix, and we need to

informed decision now, or you may look

think about marketing and developing

back in just a couple of years and be too

content for them differently.

late to the party.

TRANSFORM

BEN TAYLOR — HEAD OF CASSETTE — TRO GROUP — @HELLOCASSETTE 36

HALL & PARTNERS

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

TRANSFORM

TRICKING THE BRAIN BEN

TAYLOR

EXPLORES THE

EXCITING

DEVELOPMENTS AND

GROWING

POTENTIAL OF

VIRTUAL

REALITY

HEALTHCARE

THE SPACE

SnowWorld’s SnowCanyon is designed to be used with the new VR helmets (HTC VIVE). Image by bigenvironments.com, © Hunter Hoffman, www.vrpain.com

Virtual reality isn’t for everybody, and it’s

you are physically standing on the floor

certainly not suitable for every situation.

the visual effects are so immersive they

There’s nothing worse than using tech for

will trigger a sense of vertigo. In this

tech’s sake and shoehorning a piece of

instance the technology can be used

VR in where it’s not needed. It doesn’t add

extremely effectively to treat a range of

any value and subsequently falls very flat.

phobias, through incremental exposure in a safe environment.

However, there are certain conditions that are ripe for this type of technology,

At the more extreme end of the scale, the

and many areas of healthcare fit

technology has proven to be so immersive

the bill. Virtual reality is perfect for

that burn victims have experienced a 50%

communicating complicated messages,

pain reduction after being placed in a

consolidating vast amounts of

virtual cold environment for 20 minutes.

information into small, bite-sized and

SnowWorld was the first virtual world

memorable chunks, and immersing users

designed to help alleviate the excruciating

in new environments.

pain levels suffered during wound care procedures1 – opioids alone just weren’t

1 VRpain.com 2 wearecassette. com/omnicomhealth-vr-heart

To understand the true power of virtual

doing the job, particularly disturbing when

reality you need to try it for yourself.

the patients are children.

The total immersion in a 360-degree environment, combined with sound

We’re only just scratching the surface

effects, will trick your subconscious

with using virtual reality for patients, but

brain into thinking it’s somewhere else.

already there are cases where it’s been

Standing on top of a 30-story building in

used for phantom limb treatment, PTSD

Global Investment

our ‘virtual heights experience’ is enough

and autism. In a recent case, VR was

Research

to make people scream. Despite knowing

used to help children overcome the fear

3 Goldman Sachs

HALL & PARTNERS

—

TRANSFORM

of receiving a vaccine injection. In the VR game, children were transformed into a heroic figure, about to receive a powerful shield. Actions in the game carefully matched those in the real world, reducing any fear or anxiety, and allowing a nurse to administer an injection with minimal

disruption.

Reality Heart for Omnicom Health Group

While patient treatment is a fantastic use of VR, so too is patient education. Healthcare practitioners often have to convey very complicated topics to patients – on procedures, a condition or the drug they’re administering. These messages can sometimes be a scary moment and VR can be used to clearly communicate the most important points, visually demonstrating an operation or how a drug will work. Our ‘heart experience’2 transports users to a museum-like space where they can view an anatomically correct beating heart. The user can walk around and step inside the 2m high heart, see the clapping valves, and understand how the condition atrial fibrillation affects blood flow. This type of experience demystifies the medical process while giving important insight into how the body functions and, in this case, the importance of treatment via medication. With the estimated market for VR in healthcare expected to hit £3.9bn by 2025, we’re bound to see more innovative uses of this technology over the coming years.3 From patient treatment to remote surgery or wellness experiences, the rapid advance in hardware technology will open up new areas previously inhibited by cost. Get ready for an impact on a mass scale.

To understand the true power of virtual reality you need to try it for yourself

SAM ECCLES – MANAGING PARTNER – RAPP GROUP – @RAPP_UK

Cheaper,

better?

HALL & PARTNERS

SAM

ECCLES

SECRET: CREATIVE

THE

LETS

TRADITIONAL

PRODUCTION

—

A AGENCY

MODEL

DEAD

As Ferris Bueller smirked straight down the lens before bunking college, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Having positively galloped through the last 25 years, working with some brilliant folk developing campaigns across many sectors, I couldn’t have imagined how fast and far things would change. While consumer expectations are forever rising, with a clear majority responding to hyper-personalised experiences across multiple touchpoints, many brands and agencies simply aren’t internally structured to deliver the goods.

TRANSFORM

As an industry whose sole purpose is to change people’s thinking, and ultimately behaviour, the familiar ‘manual’ ways of working simply aren’t fit for purpose. Clearly, most brands and agencies know this, and many are investing heavily in off-the-shelf technology to try and deliver one-to-one communications.

what’s

the

problem?

Our growing ranks of marketing scientists have increasingly sophisticated tools to make sense of the signals to provide deeper understanding of consumer behaviour. But that’s only half of the solution… In order to deliver data-driven masspersonalisation – or omnichannel communications – we must also be able to automate creative content production at scale. It doesn’t sound very sexy, but it’s more vital than ever.

HALL & PARTNERS

—

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As in most sectors, any level of automation is initially viewed with scepticism as it could affect the way teams are structured – and possibly ‘the craft’. However, as the big players continue to buy or build technology platforms that promise to ‘solve marketing’, there remain clients that haven’t taken the leap for fear of becoming wedded to a single platform. Only too recently did I stop thinking Don Draper was The Man and actively embrace the automation technology available, to understand what it can – and can’t – do to transform marketing. Ultimately, by providing the marketing technology that connects consumers with the most relevant content, we can (finally) deliver on the promise of ‘cheaper, faster, better’. Don Draper wouldn’t recognise the place!

Only too recently did I stop thinking Don Draper was The Man and actively embrace the automation technology available

FOR ADDITIONAL TRANSFORMATION CONTENT GO TO WWW.HALLANDPARTNERS.COM/TRANSFORM WHERE YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;LL FIND EXCLUSIVE ARTICLES AND VIDEOS FROM BRANDS AND AGENCIES

HALL & PARTNERS

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

TRANSFORM

TRANSFORM HEALTH, our sister publication, brings together some of the most influential thought leaders to explore how healthcare companies and brands are transforming. Read about the latest digital healthcare trends, the future of cancer care, the exciting role played by virtual reality in digital therapeutics, and much more.

THOMAS WALKER — SENIOR DIRECTOR, GLOBAL BRAND AND CUSTOMER INSIGHTS — EBAY — @THOMASDWALKERJR 46

HALL & PARTNERS

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

TRANSFORM

A leap of faith EBAY

HAS

TRANSFORMED WAY

GATHERS

INSIGHT, CUSTOMERS CONTROL. WALKER US

HOW

THE

PUTTING IN THOMAS

TELLS

Customers are in the driving seat, using video and instant feedback to tell us what they want to tell us

Too often the insights that brands receive are the insights they’re looking for rather than the insights customers – or potential customers – want to provide. They ask the clever questions they want to ask, frame discussions according to business strategies and then draw suitable conclusions. The whole process can, at times, feel a little too comfortable and the

There are no 20 to 30-minute

insights they generate potentially fail to

questionnaires, only insights that come

uncover deep human truths.

from free-flowing unstructured data that we sift through. Instead of structuring

At eBay we’ve been experimenting with

questions as if we know how consumers

something a little different. Instead of us,

think, we glimpse into their minds with

as a brand, being in control of insight-

greater clarity because, by being allowed

gathering, our consumers are. Through

to talk on their terms, they willingly

AI-enhanced platforms that utilise

allow us in.

open-ended questions, customers are in the driving seat, using video and instant

For instance, at eBay we’re constantly

feedback to tell us what they want to tell

trying to improve our platform and the

us – insights that resonate with them,

way people interact on it. The shared

that they feel and experience.

experiences have to be positive. Our AI-fuelled insights process allowed us to

Marketers very often talk about being

track the emotions people felt when they

disruptive but then pull back from the

were on the site or were considering using

precipice. This time we really took

it. And that emotional analysis will help us

that leap. This approach disrupted

to make the right kind of changes.

our thinking, planning and processes but it provided nuggets of truth that

Not only are those conclusions more

conventional quantitative closed-end

meaningful because they’ve originated

surveys never would.

from our audience – rather than us

HALL & PARTNERS

prompting them – but we’ve reached

in the way they want and know how. They

them faster. We’ve become more

feel more empowered and we’re finding

knowledgeable, more agile and more

more insightful truths.

—

TRANSFORM

connected because of the way we’ve transformed our insight-gathering process. Unpacking, analysing and then reacting to those findings is making our brand even more highly valued.

The potential of AI to transform the insights industry is enormous

AI is still in its formative stages but its

There’s a tendency in the industry to try

potential to transform the research and

and over-quantify everything. It’s therefore

insights industry is enormous. The key is

very uncomfortable when you don’t have

to give up control, embrace uncertainty

a solid framework that allows that and

and allow our processes to be disrupted.

instead must rely on interpretive analysis. But using AI technology to do this enables

By using video and open-ended questions,

us to find human truths faster. We need

we’re letting consumers talk. And

to experience that discomfort, to embrace

leveraging technology to mine for insights

that challenge of allowing customers

rather than relying on traditional questions

to provide their own responses and lead

and scale points. We’re getting to the

us to the answers, rather than be

heart of things by enabling consumers to

prompted by traditional research and

articulate their feelings about the brand

insights methodologies.

D’ARCY KING — MANAGING PARTNER — HALL & PARTNERS US HEALTH — @DRDARCYKING — D.KING@HALLANDPARTNERS.COM 50

Get the user experience right

and the rest will follow

HALL & PARTNERS

TECHNOLOGY

THE KING THE

TRANSFORMS

HEALTHCARE URGES

SPACE, NOT

D’ARCY FORGET

PATIENTS

When we talk about concepts such as

Technology can clearly add value to

transformational innovation in healthcare,

people’s lives but we’re not there yet.

I wonder whether enough of us who work

We’re just at the start of the fourth

in media industries truly grasp what that

industrial revolution and our goal

means from the perspective of the only

right now must be to simplify the user

group that really counts. Patients.

experience.

They’re fortunate to benefit from new

When you have a condition such as

technology and tools that enable them to

diabetes or cancer, life can become

take control over their lifestyles without

overwhelming, the daily stresses stack

having to always consult a medic.

up. The last thing you need is for your

However, we can sometimes become so

life to become even more complicated

blindsided by what technology can do

with technology. We need to meet people

that we forget to ask whether patients

where they are, see them as consumers

will accept it in the first place. We fail

rather than just patients … demanding

to understand how they will use it, if it

consumers who want simpler lives and

complicates their lives rather than assists

the kind of data that can help them

them, if the ensuing data is revelatory

predict problems before they happen.

or if the purpose of the technology truly satisfies their needs.

—

TRANSFORM

And for doctors, we need to create

transformational. If the human body

technology that supports their profound

becomes our primary data platform,

desire to help people. They pursued a

technologies to predict, manage and

medical career to deal with patients face-

prevent disease are now not just possible

to-face, not spend a large proportion of

but becoming the new normal.

their lives glued to technology. However, tech adoption and long-term If we’re to be truly effective to patients

use are very poor. In far too many cases,

and healthcare providers we need to get

people are being asked to interact with

in their heads, minds and spaces. That’s

an app or other tech, but they get nothing

what will help us to be transformative.

in return – there’s no value exchange, no reward, no improvement in their day-to-

So while we need to embrace

day lives. The technology cannot succeed

experimentation and risk-taking to

in such circumstances.

develop these technologies, we also need to ensure that we build capabilities

Still, there have been some successes

that go beyond traditional healthcare

of late, especially in examples

delivery and provide simplicity, relevance

where individual health data can be

and value in people’s lives. There will be

automatically collected, tracked and

barriers and biases that get in the way of

shared. For instance, a company called

effective use of these technologies and

Onduo has a digital AI behavioural health

that’s where we must concentrate our

change programme that seamlessly

efforts. Not marveling at what technology

integrates into diabetes patients’

can do but devising ways that we can

everyday lives, collecting data inputs from

persuade users, stakeholders, payers and

wearable devices, self-reported data, and

professionals to embrace that technology.

community and coaching interactions to provide supportive feedback in real time.

Innovative technology used in as

This data can also be aggregated at a

seamless a way as possible can be

population level to drive predictive alerts.

THE EFFORT, ANALYSIS AND DECISION MAKING THAT MOST OF TODAY’S TECHNOLOGY REQUIRES IS STILL TOO MUCH FOR MOST USERS

HALL & PARTNERS

Or take Nanowear, which has developed

are subject to cognitive biases in every

revolutionary undergarments that collect

interaction we have. So understanding

continuous multi-channel ECG, heart rate

people’s conscious (rational, reflective)

and respiratory rate data from the wearer.

and unconscious (implicit, automatic)

If the user choses to opt in to share their

motivations helps us to understand

data with their healthcare provider, the

why people do what they do. If we don’t

sensors automatically send that data to

understand how they think, why they

a mobile app and then on to a web-based

make the choices they do and what they

portal for review by a doctor.

fear, then the technology will not work as

—

TRANSFORM

effectively as it should. The effort, analysis and decision making that most of today’s technology requires is still too much for most users. To counter that, we need to understand – like these two examples – the biases and barriers that may get in the way, especially when working in collaboration on the path

OUR GOAL RIGHT NOW MUST BE TO SIMPLIFY THE USER EXPERIENCE

to transformative innovation. Transformational change isn’t just about Almost all of what influences our

the shiny bells and whistles. It’s about the

behaviour is subconscious. We rely on

interaction of technology with the choices

our experience, memories, environment

we make, the biases we hold, and the

and instincts to make decisions and

behaviours we show and keep hidden.

OLIVIA BELLE - DIRECTOR OF TRANSFORMATION - PHILLIPA WILLIAMS - DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING - VERSUS ARTHRITIS - @VERSUSARTHRITIS 54

The new dialogue around arthritis

HALL & PARTNERS

OLIVIA

BELLE

PHILLIPA OF

THE

JOURNEY GIVING

TRANSFORM

AND

WILLIAMS

VERSUS

—

ARTHRITIS CHARITY’S

TOWARDS PEOPLE

ARTHRITIS

TRANSFORMING PERCEPTIONS

WITH

VOICE

AND

SOCIETAL

Images © Versus Arthritis

Transformation can sometimes be a

– enabling them to come together with

predictable, safety first affair. New logos,

the aim of increasing understanding and

mergers that allow for pooled resources, a

having a more visible and vocal societal

tweak of the brand purpose. Not so much

conversation about the impact of the

transformation, as a bit of a change.

condition. Arthritis, for them, isn’t just

Which makes what we’re trying to do at

an inevitable consequence of ageing

Versus Arthritis different and bolder. We’re

as some might view it but a debilitating

not just transforming who we are but how

condition that afflicts 10 million people

we work, support, engage and campaign

in the UK alone. And governments,

for change. We’ve torn down the walls and

employers, stakeholders and healthcare

are empowering communities of people

professionals are very often not dealing

who live with arthritis to talk about their

with the physical and emotional impact of

experience, how they are ‘versus arthritis’

living with arthritis sufficiently, scratching

in their own way. In doing so we’re

the surface rather than truly getting to

becoming more relevant and trusted as a

grips with the issue.

brand, our work is more meaningful and our actions more empowering.

By creating a new organisation – merging Arthritis Research UK and Arthritis Care –

We’ve effectively transformed ourselves into a listening organisation

we are transforming not just ourselves but the public discourse. As a result, people will feel involved in a way they hadn’t in the past – emboldened, more ambitious, more willing to volubly talk about their condition. Though we’ve built on the legacy of both

Aside from all the other functions we

charities and the different skill sets of

fulfil, we’re facilitating a new dialogue

employees, we’ve effectively transformed

within society among people affected by

ourselves into a listening organisation.

arthritis. Not just those living with it, but

We’re encouraging others to express

also their friends, colleagues and family

themselves, put their heads above the

HALL & PARTNERS

—

TRANSFORM

parapet and share their experiences, alongside the work the organisation is doing. It’s a shift that’s not easy to make – as any brand going through a similar transformation will attest – but it is one that’s continually teaching us things we hadn’t anticipated. If charities do all the talking instead of the people who need our help, the impact of the message is lessened, the

We’re transforming the way people with arthritis see themselves because we’re empowering them

engagement is limited and the trust is diminished. Trust is such a vital issue in the sector right now and we’re finding that giving those who live with arthritis

In the end, we’re transforming ourselves

the chance to express themselves in a

into an organisation that’s better able

more authentic way is already changing

to deliver changes because we’re more

attitudes.

inclusive. And we’re transforming the way people with arthritis see themselves

People with arthritis are being encouraged

because we’re empowering them.

to talk about the reality of their condition in a way that was often denied to them in

We’re still at the beginning of that journey

the past, mostly due to societal norms.

and it’s difficult to predict where it will

And there’s a new-found validity in what

take us. But if a core purpose of a brand

they’re discussing – in particular, the

such as ours is to change attitudes, we’re

need for better access and support. And

making real headway – among the public,

because those messages will be less

stakeholders, people living with arthritis

‘owned’ by us as a charity, it means that

and indeed ourselves.

we’ll become better listeners to those we’re here to support.

It already feels like quite a transformation.

JAMES COCKERILLE – FORMER CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER – ROKKAN – @JAMESCOCKERILLE 58

Brands: it’s time to act

HALL & PARTNERS

ADD

CONNECT

JAMES

VALUE, IN

ADVERTISING

NEEDS

WAYS.

COCKERILLE

TRANSFORMATIVE

USEFUL

SUGGESTS

NEW

—

APPROACH

Welcome disruptions As assaults on our attention become

We see this in the form of expanded

increasingly fragmented, marketers need

experiential marketing budgets, the

to make wiser investment with their

relentless quests to strike cultural gold

dollars. That doesn’t mean just finding

through a viral YouTube hit, and myriad

efficiencies through cheaper media,

other ways. But experiential can’t scale

programmatic or even measurement.

and chart-topping videos are rare– not to

Instead, the very nature of where and how

mention both are inherently ephemeral,

traditional ‘marketing dollars’ are applied

and neither are sustainable, brand-

needs to shift.

building strategies.

We need to move from what is obviously

There is another less obvious approach

advertising toward more welcome forms

worth considering. Let’s call it ‘substance-

of content – from mass consumption

based’ brand marketing. It applies the

toward interactions that are innately

principles of product and service design

personal; from shifty distractions toward

to a communications strategy that’s

forms of cumulative benefit. In other

intended to grow a business, product or

words, companies are no longer welcome

service.

to knock at our doors. They must show up with real gifts.

TRANSFORM

Using substance as the starting point We can use the example of marketing a new AI assistant like Google Home. Despite the excitement around AI, a substance-based approach assumes that products have not reached maximum

For example, we might decide to create

utility. Indeed, few products can stand

100 online videos that serve as both

up to that test as nearly all suffer from

humorous ‘what if’ ads as well as user

outdated, locked-in ideas at the inception

tutorials that could be indexed on the

phases. For home-based AI assistants,

product’s website. We might consider

we’d start by assuming that the way we

amplifying the films within an online

interface with them might evolve or that

community where frequent AI assistant

the skills they’re capable of will expand.

questions are asked, or placing them in locations where the brand can leverage

The point is to not rely on messaging alone but to take on the task of creating usability

them to improve the assistant’s results. An ambitious outcome might even be a piece of gifted hardware or custom app that extends the ecosystem of the original device. The result is work that is more impactful

The substance-based brand-builder would

and exciting in its scope, and a more

look for ways to expand the effective

innovative brand. But the deeper payoff

range of utility in a way that both builds

is in the quality of connection with the

awareness and amplifies the value of

audience. By improving usability, we’re

the offering. Whether that’s through

accomplishing something that one-way

developing new digital products, leaning

communications can never do, no matter

into owned media or forging partnerships,

how hyper-targeted – that is, enhancing

the idea is to focus on utility to hit both

the product itself.

goals at once. The point is to not rely on messaging alone but to take on the task

Substance-based marketing achieves

of creating usability.

a shift that Mark Bonchek and Vivek

HALL & PARTNERS

Bapat articulate in their Harvard Business

of those that merely illuminate – the

Review paper, The Most Successful

trifecta of product, brand and user.

—

TRANSFORM

Brands Focus on Users – Not Buyers. The 1

authors argue: “Where traditional brands focus on positioning their brands in the minds of their customers, digital brands focus on positioning their brands in the lives of their customers”.

New marketing requires that value emerges in addition to novelty or entertainment

The former, they contend, are ‘purchase brands’ while the latter are ‘usage

We must continue to fight against one-

brands’. It’s a timely distinction that has

way communication. In a digital age,

exciting implications for how marketing

every marketer can act intrusively, and

is accomplished. If purchase brands play

every consumer is similarly empowered

the polite courtier, usage brands woo

to shut out intrusions. That’s why new

through actions. In other words, their

marketing requires that value emerges

communications efforts add utility.

in addition to novelty or entertainment –

Brand-building through

delivering utility, timeliness, renewal and return on a person’s time that adds value.

a usability lens

If we do this well, a brand’s promise and

1 Bonchek, Mark

proof will accomplish what they should.

and Bapat, Vivek.

When changing our orientation toward a

They will thoroughly become the same

The Most Success-

substance-based model, the user must take centre stage. As the shift toward digital marketing continues to prioritise micro-targeting, we must also engage individuals in ways that expand – instead

thing.

ful Brands Focus on Users – Not Buyers. Harvard Business Review. Web. 7 February 2018

STUART McDONALD — DIRECTOR OF INSIGHT AND MARKETING EFFECTIVENESS — CENTRICA — @STUEYMAC 62

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POWERED FROM THE INSIDE OUT TO

PUT

FRONT NEED

THE AND

CULTURE SAYS

CUSTOMER CENTRE

CHANGE FROM

THE

WITHIN,

CENTRICA’S

McDONALD

YOU

STUART

There’s little debate that customer

business decisions. But, crucially, it

experience is the new business

doesn’t mean that we should do this at

battleground, as companies look for

the expense of key business metrics.

ways to differentiate. Despite this acceptance that putting customers at the

At Centrica we have the added

centre of operations makes sense, 2017

complication that the company is made

research carried out by the Institute of

up of seven different business units and

Customer Service in the UK shows that

many group functions. To start with we

there’s still a large discrepancy between

undertook extensive internal and external

the aspirations and the experiences of

analysis to determine the opportunity

customer-centricity within organisations.

that could exist by becoming more

At Centrica, we’re no different.

customer-centric. There’s a belief that, as an organisation, we are customer-

Being customer-centric is more than

centric. However, our analysis shows

understanding customers and their needs

that we currently don’t receive the value

and stating they come first. It means

that we should from a relentless focus

making customers a priority. It means

on the customer, and that utilities brands

ensuring all colleagues are aligned in

still have some way to go to compete

the common goal of creating a superior

on experience against some of the

customer experience. It means making

established leaders.

customers the focus of all-important We decided that rather than creating a workstream designed to promote and

UTILITIES BRANDS STILL

engage on behalf of the customer, our intention would be to encourage ideas

HAVE SOME WAY TO GO TO

from within to increase the engagement

COMPETE ON EXPERIENCE

showcasing and publicising the work

AGAINST SOME OF THE

businesses. We did this by establishing

ESTABLISHED LEADERS

at an individual business unit, by that’s already happening around the

HALL & PARTNERS

a ‘coalition of the willing’ – a group of colleagues across the different business units who believed we needed to change, who shared our vision of the end goal, and who would act as catalysts of change to bring to light the activities that we want to encourage.

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WE NEEDED TO CREATE A MECHANISM FOR OUR COLLEAGUES TO GET CLOSER TO OUR CUSTOMERS

These activities will be framed within the best-practice behaviours that customer-

part. The tools are split into effort

centric organisations follow, and shared

levels: low (e.g. mystery shopping of

across the company. The approach

competitors), medium (e.g. NPS follow-up

we decided to take was two-pronged:

calls) and high (e.g. customer safaris).

a bottom-up view guided by data that

We’ve also introduced a response

focused on fixing customer pain points;

mechanism (a postcard in this instance)

and a top-down cultural shift to put the

that will be collated centrally to ensure

customer front and centre.

that insights are shared and acted upon.

For customer-centricity to build into

Our focus now is to bring this to life

everyday process, at all levels of the

across Centrica by using our ‘coalition of

organisation, we also needed to create

the willing’ to act as instigators in their

a mechanism for our colleagues to get

business units and promote the culture

closer to our customers. They needed to

from within.

experience customers first hand, ideally in their environment – not just learn about

Our belief is that this approach will be

them from PowerPoint decks.

transformative, and that the sum of the parts will be much greater than a single

Rather than central ownership, we’ve

group-led initiative alone. And while this is

created self-serve tools to enable all

a journey we’re only just embarking on, we

levels across the organisation to take

know that it’s a critical one.

HEATHER FRASER - GLOBAL LIFE SCIENCES AND HEALTHCARE LEAD - IBM INSTITUTE FOR BUSINESS VALUE - @HEATHEREFRASER 66

A new kind of village

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HEATHER THE

FRASER

NEED

FOR

—

SOCIETY

AND

TRANSFORM

APPROACH

LONELINESS

HIDDEN

RISK

EXPLAINS

BUSINESS

THE

TRANSFORM

THEIR –

AGEING

The aged population is currently at its

costs associated with loneliness in

highest level in human history, and rising.

this older age bracket that represent a

With almost a third of the populations in

looming major public health concern.

the US, UK, Canada and Brazil expected

Age UK has warned that if the problem

to be over 60 by 2050, the impact of an

isn’t addressed, “it can become chronic,

ageing population and the consequences

seriously affecting people’s health and

on society have been well documented.

wellbeing”.1

And the proportion of older citizens is even higher in Japan, Germany, Italy

Loneliness is usually triggered by some

at 40%. But while media coverage has

sort of loss. For the older adult, the

mainly focused on the complex and

initiators of loss are often associated

increasing health demands of the older

with bereavement or physical loss, such

adult, there’s one risk factor that’s often

as mobility or hearing impairment. An

ignored – that of loneliness.

equally important trigger is the impact of retirement where the social interaction

While it’s true that loneliness doesn’t

of work is lost, as well as professional

discriminate by age, it’s the hidden

identity.

1 Campbell, Dennis. Loneliness among over-50s ‘is looming public health concern’. The Guardian. 25 September 2018

Over 9 million people in the UK – almost a fifth of the population – say they are always or often lonely5

The impact of loneliness isn’t limited

trials have been found to produce a 40%

to the individual but extends across

increase in happiness among care-home

families and caregivers, the health

residents, sparking memories and new

system and society as a whole. From a

conversations.

medical perspective, loneliness is often

2 Yeginsu, Ceylan. UK Appoints a Minister for Loneliness. New

converted into physical symptoms as

At a national level, the UK appointed

a way of seeing a doctor, with frequent

the first ever Minister for Loneliness

visits for social interaction putting a

in 20182 to look at the problem from a

strain on limited health resources. Future

strategic perspective. The UK has also

solutions that foster greater connections

recently started piloting its Call&Check

among older adults will require better

solution,3 a community-based initiative

identification of those at risk. Academic

whereby postal workers augment the

institutions are actively studying a new

existing postal delivery infrastructure

cohort to identify traits and capabilities of

to provide a simple health check of

January 2018

‘resilient seniors’.

vulnerable older people at a personal

3 UK posties to

So, what’s the answer to this multi-faceted

successfully been supporting older

‘call and check’

challenge? Current solutions engage

residents in Jersey for the last five

on vulnerable

across all levels – individual, community

years. At the other end of the technology

and national – with technology support

spectrum, the University of California San

ranging from minimal to advanced

Diego and IBM Research are collaborating

complexity. Individual solutions tend to be

on a research initiative to allow seniors

focused at encouraging social interaction

to age in place4 – within their own

and shared experiences. US-based

home and community. By leveraging a

Rendever, for example, uses VR to create

mix of technology, artificial intelligence

York Times. 17

level. This innovative scheme has

and isolated Brits. Callandcheck.com. 16 October 2018 4 jacobsschool. ucsd.edu/news/

virtual visual experiences, transporting

and life sciences knowledge, the goal

es/release.

users to places that they can no longer

is to enhance the quality of life and

sfe?id=2328

physically visit. Their ‘expanded world’

independence for the older adult.

news_releas-

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Lacking social But no single organisation can solve this issue on its own. It’s going to take a ‘new kind of village’ – a societal shift that helps older people feel more connected with others in their community, that rebuilds their social capital. We need to drive insights that help detect loneliness earlier and intervene more rapidly and effectively.

connections is a comparable risk factor for early death as smoking 15 cigarettes a day6

This will require stakeholders from many industries to play their part in building a better-connected community for older adults. From healthcare providing active screening for early signs of loneliness, to utility companies identifying behaviour patterns that may indicate an isolation, through to automotive companies improving the individual’s mobility and engagement through self-driving vehicles. As the demographic of the world’s population rapidly continues to change, what part will your business play in building an ecosystem to prevent a loneliness epidemic among older adults?

5 www.campaigntoendloneliness.org/loneliness-research 6 www.redcross.org. uk/about-us/what-wedo/action-on-loneliness

NADIM SAMARA - CEO - OMD MENA - @NADIMSAMARA 70

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â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

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Change for the better WITH A

THE

WORLD

CONSTANT

SWIRL

TECHNOLOGICAL

CHANGE, SAMARA OUT

NADIM SETS

THREE

STRATEGIES

KEY FOR

ORGANISATIONS STAY

AHEAD

Personalisation at scale has never been more important

Businesses have gone through

There are many such examples. For any

transformation driven by technology

company to survive today, it must reinvent

for decades. New norms of operating

itself through technology without losing

have emerged and many industries

sight of its purpose and what it stands

have been disrupted. As a result of

for. So, how do organisations stay ahead

the sharing economy, everything from

in this highly competitive landscape?

entertainment and music streaming businesses to hospitality and automotive

1. It all starts from within

have been impacted. Our own industry has even been completely transformed

Business leaders have to affect a cultural

through automation, AI and machine

shift and change in mindset. They must

learning.

lead the way by investing in people and upgrading their skill sets, embracing

And the pace of change is nowhere near

integrated structures and using tools and

slowing down.

resources with technology at the core. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re seeing more and more structures

Markets, governments and consumers

where marketing, sales, e-commerce and

are fully leveraging this disruption

IT are working closer together, not just

with a mix of digital technologies that

locally but globally through collaboration

accelerates the impact across society

platforms across different offices and

in a strategic way.

markets.

The result is that the end consumer

In a recent report by Emerging Markets

has access to products and goods both

Intelligence and Research (EMIR),1 87%

faster and more conveniently. This has

of marketers in the Middle East stated

put a strain on the many organisations

that transforming their organisation

that still have a traditional infrastructure

to be ready for a digital economy is of

and havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t evolved as fast as the

high priority, while 40% confirmed that

market. The rise of Amazon, for example,

having the right data and technology

has created an estimated 20% drop in

was the most important factor to drive

footfall in retail stores. Towards the end

sales growth. Processes need to be

1 emirintelli-

of last year, news of Sears closing over

implemented across all facets of the

gence.com

150 stores further validates this.

business.

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2. Creating seamless customer

relevant but also timely. It’s not just about

experiences

collecting the data but about using it

TRANSFORM

correctly. Personalisation at scale has Once the internal infrastructure has

never been more important.

been set, it’s about digitising the brand ecosystem and creating a clear blueprint of how all these platforms will create a holistic experience for consumers. From the website, search strategy, social media content and app to the new generation of comms instant messaging tools – the brand must create a seamless customer journey loop.

For any company to survive today, it must reinvent itself through technology without losing sight of its purpose

The key is to ensure that virtual brand

Ultimately, digital transformation has

experiences effortlessly translate into

helped marketers make better decisions

people’s real-life experiences. Human

through systematic measurement

interactions will always be key in any

frameworks. In that same EMIR report,

brand/consumer relationship, and tech-

32% of marketers stated ‘lack of

nology will only enhance and facilitate

resources’ for accurate measurement as

that experience, not replace it completely.

the barrier to using marketing analytics to track performance. This means our role

3. Personalisation at scale

as business partners is to help brands align their marketing objectives with their

The companies that have a deep

business objectives and make better

understanding of the consumer are the

informed decisions, through analytics

ones that stay ahead. And those that

models including month-by-month sales

can fulfil their promises in terms of

data audits, media, audience and brand

convenience, distribution and customer

measurement.

service are doing even better. This is where CRM technology plays an

Whatever your approach, in the long run

integral role – brands must make sure

it’s about being agile, responsive and fluid

their comms are not only contextually

– in both vision and action.

DR WILLIAM GREEN - ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR RESEARCH - UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS - @UNILEICBUSINESS DR ROBERT CLULEY - ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR - NOTTINGHAM UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL - @ROBERTCLULEY 74

HUMANS TO THE RESCUE!

WILLIAM

ROBERT

TELL GREEN

WHY

ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

PEOPLE

THAT

WILL

REMAIN

THE

CENTRE

THE

MARKET

RESEARCH

INDUSTRY AND

CLULEY

HALL & PARTNERS

When Henry Ford was asked what he

True insights won’t be found simply by

thought about marketing research, he

applying the latest machine learning, AI

responded that if he’d asked consumers

or clustering algorithm. People need to

what they wanted they’d have told him that

give meaning to data and communicate

he should make faster horses. For too long

effectively to decision makers. Humans

brands have followed a similar approach,

need to save the machines from

demanding that marketing researchers

themselves.

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use more data, bigger data, richer data, social data, transaction data, location data, mobile data, data, data, DATA! But data isn’t the problem. The problem is figuring out how to turn all the data we have into meaningful insight. It’s often assumed that technology will solve this

True insights won’t be found simply by applying the latest machine learning, AI or clustering algorithm

problem for us. AI will do this. NLP will do that. Machine learning will do the other.

What this really means is that successful

Let technology do the work.

brands must design new ways of working to get the most out of technology without

In our work we study how market

expecting technology to do all the work.

researchers are learning to use new

This involves cultivating new working

sources of data for the benefit of their

practices, relationships and thinking.

clients. One consistent and loud theme to emerge is that they think blind faith in

Bad technology usually doesn’t work

technology is dangerous and misplaced.

because it fails to fit with existing

The world is littered with examples from

conventions. This can have life-changing

high street brands that have failed to

impacts on users and brands alike. For

adapt to changes in shopping behaviour

example, in safety critical systems, like

brought about by new technologies.

medication-prescribing robots, poorly

But it’s also littered with failed or failing

designed technology can directly harm

companies that throw too much money

patients and lead to lethal human errors.

at technology in the hope that machines

In work-based systems, badly designed

will save them.

technology might not be a matter of

immediate life and death but can result

So, think about data as a process. It

in ineffective and cumbersome designs

doesn’t stop when you’ve implemented

that slowly erode brand value. It can

the latest data science technique, hired

create inefficient practices, a frustrated

a hot-shot programmer or bought some

workforce, poor user experiences and

new-fangled dataset.

eventually market failure. As people learn to work with new How can these damaging outcomes

systems, tensions will inevitably emerge.

be avoided? By putting human-centred

You’ll face trade-offs and uncomfortable

design (not machine-centred solutions)

last-minute decisions. When this happens,

at the heart of any transformation

it’s easy to think that your colleagues are

programme. There are three key tenets

simply resistant to change and force a

that can guide brands who want to

technological solution on them. If they

facilitate their people to make the most of

don’t like it, they can leave.

the new data-rich world and the necessary changes in organisation strategy.

But, in our experience, most people aren’t opposed to change. They just want

1. Research the context and practice

their leadership teams to appreciate

What do people do now and why do they

working practice and conventions. When

do it? What are current practices designed to achieve? 2. Design for and with humans What are the needs, abilities and limitations of the human actors that will use technology? There’s no point buying a faster car for someone who can’t drive. 3. Re-design collaboratively When a new technology goes live, there are bound to be unexpected consequences. Embrace these opportunities to re-design with the workforce.

Happy employees lead to great work and happy clients will spend more money with you

their organisational structures, existing this happens, technology and the working environment are designed around the needs of the workforce. This will lead to a happy working life and a productive workplace. And, as the service-profit chain model tells us, happy employees lead to great work and happy clients will spend more money with you in the long term. Ensuring marketers and researchers have all the tools, relationships and structures to work together with new sources of data is, in our opinion, the most effective way to unlock new insights. To ensure those tools, relationships and structures are effective, it makes perfect sense to incorporate human-centred design in the market research industry, with humans at the heart of technology.

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Research the context and practice

Design for and with humans

Re-design collaboratively

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connect with us_ Wherever you are, we work there too. And we hope to hear from you. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re ready to start a new conversation and help you on your transformation journey.