Digital technologies allow brands to connect with customers in new ways, but true value is created through meaningful connections, not just websites or apps. An effective digital strategy focuses on understanding customers and using design to bridge the brand's purpose and promise with each customer's unique journey through storytelling that engages the customer as reader, character and narrator.
DAVID FOSTER WALLACE
STUCK WITH ME BECAUSE IT’S A REMINDER OF HOW HARD IT IS TO SEE THE CONTEXT WE EXIST IN
CONTEXT IS DIGITAL
WHAT DO WE MEAN WHEN WE SAY DIGITAL?
PARTICIPATION, NOT JUST USE
ANTICIPATION & MEMORY, NOT JUST ACTION
VALUE & MEANING, NOT JUST FUNCTION
ONE EXAMPLE OF THAT
LATE NIGHT FREAK OUT A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO
VOCAL USER INTERFACE (Siri, Cortana, Alexa etc.)
NATURAL LANGUAGE GENERATION (Quill)
WHAT WILL WE DESIGN?
IF WE WANT TO BE CHANGE AGENTS FOR OUR CLIENTS & BRANDS WE NEED TO EMBRACE THAT CHANGE MORE DEEPLY OURSELVES.
CHANGE ISN’T GOING TO STOP ANYTIME SOON BECAUSE THIS IS A SHIFT IN CONTEXT
THIS IS OUR NEW ROLEAS GERRY Mc GOVERN SAYS, “IT’S LESS ABOUT CONTROLLING THE DESIGN AND MORE ABOUT DESIGNING THE CONTROLS”
ASK WHO HAS WORKED ON A WEBSITE DESIGN PROJECT
EACH ACTIVITY IS IMPORTANT,
REQUIRES SKILL, EMPATHY, ENTHUSIASM, UNDERSTANDING
A LOT OF THESE ITEMS USED TO BE A JOB, NOW THEY ARE A STEP
WHATS IMPORTANT IS HOW YOU CONNECT THEM
HOW THEY INFORM, INFLUENCE, INSPIRE EACH OTHER
AND HOW YOU DESIGN THE DANCE BETWEEN THEM
IF YOU’VE EVER WONDERED WHY DESIGNING A WEBSITE IS EXHAUSTING, ITS BECAUSE THIS IS THE WORK.
THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE.
BUT CAN WE DESIGN BETTER WAYS FOR THIS TO HAPPEN
CAN WE MAKE THIS A NEW DANCE?
WHEN WE DO DESIGN MOVES FROM A CRAFT TO A PRACTICE,
AND THAT’S WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE IN A TIME OF RAPID CHANGE AND AN AGE OF CONNECTION
IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT’S AN AGE OF CONNECTION
BUSINESS SPENDS A LOT OF MONEY ON THIS, THEY CALL IT INNOVATION, R&D, SYNERGY… BUT ITS JUST DESIGN
DESIGNERS ARE DRIVEN TO CREATE ORDER AND MAKE MEANING
DESIGN AS A PRACTICE—NOT A CRAFT—WILL ENABLE YOU TO MAKE MORE MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS
And that’s critical because as design gets more integrated into business, having a proven set of tools and methods can set you apart.
SO I THOUGHT I’D SHARE THREE KINDS OF CONNECTIONS THAT WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO DESIGN AT OUR AGENCY
CONNECTING AROUND PURPOSE
CONNECTING PERSPECTIVES
AND HELPING PEOPLE MAKE CONNECTIONS THROUGH STORY
CONNECTING AROUND PURPOSE
What do we intend to make? Shared purpose to build a shared language and commitments across teams and time
2x2. MAP THE CUSTOMER AND BRAND PERSPECTIVE
FIND THE THREADS AND THE TENSION
BRIDGE THE TWO BY FRAMING THE STORY
EXAMPLE FROM A HIGHER ED CLIENT
TRY DIFFERENT WAYS OF LABELING THE AXES TO UNCOVER A WAY TO FRAME THE JOURNEY
THEN YOU CAN BUILD YOU BRIDGE THAT ENABLES A JOURNEY, IN THIS CASE
FROM CONFIDENCE TO COURAGE – AND THAT CAN INSPIRE THE CONTENT, THE DESIGN AND MORE
ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL CONNECTIONS WE CAN DESIGN
STORY GIVES YOU THE ABILITY TO WALK IN SOMEONE ELSES SHOES ON THEIR JOURNEY
EMPATHY, INSIGHT, INSPIRATION – CORE OF DESIGN
MORE ROLES TO STORY THAN READER,
APPLIED THIS IDEA TO A STORY FOR A CLIENT OF OURS IN THE CHILDCARE SPACE.
CONNECTING WITH STORY GIVES THE STORYTELLER MORE OPPOROTUNITY, MORE EMPATHY, MORE RESPONSIBILITY
WE HAD A STRATEGY THAT WOULD HELP BUILD DEEPER CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS, BUT WE NEEDED TO HELP BUILD INTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS FIRST SO RATHER THAN WRITING A V.O. WE CREATED THE NARRATIVE AND ASKED OUR CLIENTS TO BE THE STORYTELLER
I’ll SHARE THE STORY WITH YOU TODAY
The customer journey starts with questions: Parenting questions, Professional questions, Personal questions.
Our customers are entering a new phase of their lives. It’s an amazing joyful time, but also a time where they have to find a new way to balance the personal needs, professional obligations and the challenges of being a new parent. So they build networks of support.
If we activate those networks from the first engagement, introducing teachers, parents… we start to build relationships. Those relationships will grow outside of the classroom, but they will be centered around the child.
From the first day we have an opportunity to teach, learn and grow with the family. To share experience, and insight so it reaches beyond the classroom and into the families life. So that over time, as the child grows we have a role in helping our customers be the best parents they can.
Because with the right relationships, each day is an opportunity to understand your child better and extend learning deeper into the live of the family.
And as time passes, there are big moments, and small moments. And by understanding each one and responding consistently we can earn a place in our customers lives.
Because this is not just an education transaction. For parents, this is an emotional investment in the future of their family. Our role is to be a partner is education, care and parenting. To prepare not just the child, but the family for their future.
Businesses need alignment & inspiration to make sustainable connections between their capabilities, tools and data.
THAT’S THE PRACTICE OF DESIGN.
WE CAN MAKE THINGS MORE RELEVANT
MORE FLEXIBLE, MORE HUMAN
NOT TWO HYDROGEN DEPTS AND ONE OXYGEN DEPT.
And neither does yours.
DIGITIAL IS A CONTEXTUAL SHIFT THAT REVEALS THE TRUTH OF OUR WORK.
THANKS FOR LISTENING