The Digital Arms Race

It used to be a dog-eat-dog world, but that was during a time when people actually had dogs. Nowadays, we’re more likely to see someone own three smart devices (read: phone, tablet, and watch) than have a single dog. To be fair, you can raise a virtual dog on those devices for free anyway, but that’s not the point. It’s time to change the adage and call it a tech-eat-tech world.

It doesn’t matter if your background is in advertising, marketing, or even sales — we’re all involuntarily caught up in The Digital Arms Race (TDAR). So what can be done to come up ahead in the digital war? We’ve got some ideas to make sure you come out, guns blazin’.

1. A - B - C

Analyse before creating. This fundamental is also the most important of any digital strategy you may have, and as crazy as it sounds, could determine if your strategy is a go or a no. Find out what your consumers like and what resonates well with them before coming up with content. This way, you can be sure your content will be well-received.

2. C - D - E

Content driven entertainment. We all know social media is a necessary part of any campaign now, but it’s important to remember that content posted should have purpose. This is because Google rewards quality content that possesses the best value to your readers. Simply put: The better your content, the more visible it’ll be on Google.

3. F = g2

Fad = Gamification squared. This fairly new trend of gamification aims to turn mundane systems and processes into engaging activities that are actually enjoyable. Remember a few years ago when Foursquare was all the rage, and people would “check-in” at locations just to earn points? This encouraged the continual use of the application, similar to how we like and share content on Facebook. An easier way to implement this would be with emojis and stickers, since we all love using these expressions in our day-to-day conversations. One example would be Kim Kardashian’s widely successful ‘KIMOJI’ — people love the cheeky emoticons, and using them only serves to further the Kardashian name.

If you think about it, these can even be broadly applied to other aspects of work. For example, take a look at our execution process. We start with exploring “sticky ideas” (Abc). At this stage, we analyse the various ways to raise the experiential nature of our event or campaign, before creating an experience that will be enjoyed. Then, we consider context (Cde). How will our event or campaign be relevant to the consumer? How do we make sure whatever we do has a purpose? Lastly, we create authentic engagement by ensuring that the event or campaign resonates with the consumer, thus encouraging them to spread the message. That’s F = g2 for you.