Five Questions on the Digital Creative Evolution

Just as the Internet is forcing us to look at new equations in media (as we examined last month in “The Death of the Page View”), digital platforms and channels require marketing messages that recognize the need for user engagement. Static, one-way conversations are dead. Consumers base their brand perceptions on every element of the experience. Digital experiences need to deliver on the brand promise from the first click to the last.

To share some ideas for driving user engagement through digital creative, I spoke to Olaf Czeschner, Chief Creative Officer, Frankfurt, Germany. Our international colleagues bring a refreshing perspective since their markets have different design sensibilities and different degrees of technology penetration.

Q: How do you think the advent of consumer-generated media will affect the role of the creative agency, short-term and long-term?
Czeschner: Consumers have always generated content. During the last couple of years they integrated the digital communication channels firmly into their lives and published their opinions to the Web 2.0 audience that is growing constantly.
Creative agencies and clients have to come up with concepts that use this constant flow of information for their brands. Who could be a better, more credible ambassador for a brand or product than a consumer who is a loyal fan? But how do we identify this loyal fan? How can we give away responsibility to certain users and enable them to persuade others? This is a paradigm shift that calls for courage from clients and clever ideas from agencies.

Q: Which, if any, new digital palettes and technologies particularly excite you? What do you think of the accelerated adoption and penetration of online video?
Czeschner: Video content – enabled through new technologies and broader bandwidth – will be one big challenge for agencies. Tearing down borders between information, animation and video within a truly interactive environment will lead to an exciting user experience that goes far beyond a 30-second TV spot. Stories can be told in a never-seen-before way and involve users in a thrilling dialogue with brands.

Q: The creative process has centered on the 30-second spot, but we now see a new opportunity for digital creative to re-orient the creative process. Do you believe this is true, and how will that change the dynamics between digital and traditional agencies?
Czeschner: I firmly believe that “digital thinking” has become indispensable for successful marketing concepts. Consumers don’t think in channels but pick naturally the offer that connects the most with their lifestyle and needs. It can come from Web sites, mobile, in-game advertising, blogs, podcasts and much more. Traditional agencies are very experienced in understanding brands and telling stories. Digital agencies have built up know-how and real understanding of the digital realm. The creative process should start with a nucleus of creative people – no matter which organization they belong to – who understand both and come up with integrated ideas that reflect the modern users’ lives, not the structures of agencies.

Q: You have said that story line will become increasingly important in digital advertising. What do you mean by that and why is it becoming more important?
Czeschner: I like stories. Most people like stories. It’s entertaining to listen to a good story. It makes people think, makes them laugh, surprises them. Good stories get people involved. Involvement is more and more difficult to achieve because of the over-saturation of messaging all around us. Our vision of digital communication is to connect all relevant media with a bigger story line, where the single elements tell only a part of it but the smart interlocking of all of them delivers the complete, more powerful message. The total becomes more than the sum of its components.

Q: How are you approaching mobile from a creative perspective, taking into account the smaller screen and arguably shorter attention spans on that platform?
Czeschner: The mobile phone is very personally connected to its owner and his or her everyday life. As a device, it has a lot of potential for creative concepts. The costs of technological challenges such as screen size, resolution, and competing international standards slow down development and limit output – sometimes it seems there’s not much content beyond ring tones and wallpapers. That will change. Brilliant examples are showing the way. We strongly believe that mobile applications have a bright future, especially because the borders between mobile and the Web will continue to blur. You can see this now in technologies such as the iPhone and Flashlight. To have the whole Internet in your pocket or the palm of your hand is a thrilling vision.

Dave Friedman, President of the Central Region for Avenue A | Razorfish, is a monthly contributor to CHIEF MARKETER. Contact him at [email protected].