Every time I see a brand promoting themselves with a tech-based campaign, I find myself wondering “Is the tech really necessary? Will it boost brand engagement & sales?”. In the majority of cases, I think the answer is no.
There seems to be a trend in brand marketing at the moment to use technology for the sake of it, similar to when brands started using Facebook – ‘it doesn’t matter what we’re doing, let’s just make sure we have a Facebook page’.
This constant drive towards tech means that as consumers, we are encouraged to be even more attached to our smartphones than ever before. Sure, some apps are extremely clever, and smartphones are clearly here to stay, but I wonder how many of us wish our friends weren’t constantly taking photos, tweeting etc. while we were trying to catch up over dinner?
McDonald’s & Pepsi jointly released an app, called ‘#BFF Timeout’, designed to get people to put their phones down and enjoy the company of their friends (the irony here is not lost on me), so there are signs that brands are aware of the risk of the Impersonal Device.
The ‘Impersonal Device’ is an alternative name for smartphones; designed for connectivity, but increasingly and ironically a tool for distraction, social-promotion and occasionally – dare I say it – narcissism. And the smarter they get, the more we risk losing touch with the human side of life. We risk our digital world dominating our physical world and, most pertinently, the living breathing person sat on the other side of the table.
In marketing terms, the risks in tech-based campaigns are two-fold; firstly, the quality of the creative execution may be jeopardised as a way of accommodating the technology (a flawed approach). The most memorable (and awarded) campaigns tend to be ones with a clear insight that triggers a strong emotional connection to the ad. For example, in the MasterCard Priceless campaign, the ‘Dad’ isn’t
tweeting during the baseball match, he’s focusing on enjoying quality time with his son. Lucy Jameson, CSO at Grey London, recently wrote about the importance of focusing on people when creating campaign strategy, a viewpoint which is corroborated by the undeniable success of MasterCard’s campaign.
Secondly, as the majority of campaigns are looking for a change in behaviour from their audience, the risk of investing in a digital solution is quite high. 99% of apps are only ever used once. That’s right, once. Granted, many of these are gimmicks, but if your goal is to drive brand loyalty, apps seem like a very risky route to go down, not to mention a nightmare for your ROI stats. You’re more likely to succeed by finding a deep-rooted emotional insight connected with the use of your product, and letting this drive your execution.
As marketers, we must be careful to take the time to remind ourselves that technology isn’t always the solution. There is no doubt that it is a brilliant thing, and by no means should be ignored or disregarded, however we must be careful not to use tech just for the sake of it. Shoehorning tech into an emotive concept can ultimately detract from the core message. We are better off reminding ourselves of the meaningful things in life – showing our target audience that we are human too – rather than making a device designed for connectivity gradually alienate us from those most important to us.
By Jack Wheeler.
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