#18 Generation C – Saatchi & Saatchi Digital on the future of communication
August 3, 2009 by Jake Pearce
Tony Gardner – Head of Saatchi and Saatchi Digital New Zealand talks about the future of communication.
Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi&Saatchi has a particularly high regard for the quality of thinking coming out of New Zealand – so much so that Procter & Gamble have a special innovation unit based with Saatchi&Saatchi in New Zealand.
Tony makes the following points:
- There is a lot of ‘stuff’ on the internet – and a lot of it is ‘rubbish’
- However it is crucial to stress that one man’s rubbish is another man’s gold
- Corporates in particular risk making value judgements over what they ‘regard’ as rubbish
- Tony stresses the need for change – in particular the existing slow and drawn out process of generating communication (campaigns etc) which is not suited to the fast paced, ever changing modern world which we all live in
- In a fast changing world, more than ever – brands need a ‘lighthouse’ idea (per Kevin Roberts) which is a guiding principle for internal behaviour and external communicaiton
My thoughts on this issue
I agree with much of the above with one key issue – the concept of a lighthouse idea faces a number of key challenges due to the nature of Generation C.
- Historically, agencies have been paid to come up with the ‘big idea’
- Culturally,
- And clients have wanted to ‘control and manage the ‘big idea’’
- The challenge we have in relation to the light house concept is one of origin:
- In the future the ‘big lighthouse idea’ needs to be co-created between customer and brand
- This flies in the face of how both agencies and clients traditionally have operated
- And the fastest growing generation – Generation C – value co-creation because they are motivated by control.
We’ll come back to the future of communication – next week we’ll be looking at the future of banking, music and targeting Generation C influencers.
So – is a lighthouse idea enough – yes or no?
Comments
3 Responses to “#18 Generation C – Saatchi & Saatchi Digital on the future of communication”
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The concept of a ” lighthouse” is a good one ( Mike Hutch will be flattered Kevin Roberts finally found saw the merit in his idea) It is by no means a new idea but has always been the endpoint all planners and strategists seek when summing up any brand / idea ( aka over the years as brand essence, lantern, USP etc etc).
In the digital future the “lighthouse ” thought will be even more important in giving companys the confidence to hand consumers the co-creation role in the brand communication process.
I am doubtful however that the process can run as freely and as unencumbered by input from marketers as Tony Gardner suggests. There are many examples where the “consumer as co-creationist” has ruined brands and eroded them of long term positioning and culture built up over many years.
To me there is a potential major pitfall in the theory by digital agencies to “let things go and see how they turn out” …great brands weren’t and won’t continue to be built without clearer signposts for the creators than a whim for creative indulgence.
There needs to be created some sort of forum / brainstorm to ensure interaction between brands and consumers during the process rather than just leaving the co creation process to chance.
This was e-mailed to me by a senior advertising person who wishes to stay Anon
For any agency person saying “you as Marketers need to relax and allow us to move faster and try wackier things. You just focus on the Single organising idea”… I know that means “we as the agency really want to throw lots of unconnected but award winning ideas out there so Kevin will continue to love us”.
I agree with the concept of the SOA. I always have. The single organising idea or Lighthouse idea is bloody necessary. You and I have talked about this a lot. Brands need to figure out what they stand for and demonstrate that in all touch points, from the marketing to the call centre to the billing. The organisation (not just marketing) need to figure that out and make it come alive. Then they need to develop a 1 to 1 relationship with their customers (avoiding any agencies in the process, they will not help the conversation) and involve their customers in their brand constantly.
Final thought. Any attempt to tell Gen C what is cool on the web, or weed out the dross will turn them against you. The whole point of the web is that you, me, Gen C can watch what they want, ignore what they don’t want to watch, and through a truly democratic process throw weird stuff up into the public consciousness.
Last week everyone was talking about the dancing wedding intro. No agency could have developed that. If they had tried, it would have been ignored. That is what we all love about the web. Discovering for ourselves.
Hi there
It’s Revolution. Glad you enjoy the site. Cheers, Jake