Why the way we connect is radically different from ten years ago
Perhaps one of the most defining moments in recent tech history occurred in 2013 when Microsoft bought Nokia. Once the world’s biggest phone maker, the Finnish business was ambushed by Apple, and there was little left for then-CEO Stephen Elop to do than admit defeat. Breaking down before the media during the announcement, he admitted, “We didn’t do anything wrong – but somehow we lost”.
However, according to Tyler Greer, the director of global sales strategy at advertising intelligence experts Exponential, Elop did do something very wrong. “He failed to design his way out of a catastrophe called Apple, which better understood design,” he points out. “They understood what the needs of the time were and created a beautiful interface and tools that matched human behaviour. Nokia got wiped off the face of the earth.”
For Greer, not only did Nokia fail to address a challenger to the market, they fundamentally misunderstood what made the iPhone redefine a generation. And that all just came down to its design. What Steve Jobs created was not merely a telephone with some nice features, but a fully-fledged computer that allowed users to access the world with the swipe of their thumb.
The lessons behind the ascension of Apple have long stayed with Greer. “As marketers, we need to recognise the needs of the brands we represent,” he argues. “We need to understand human behaviour. The way we connect and communicate is radically different to what it was 10-to-15 years ago.”
Having spent the bulk of his career at media agencies, Greer joined Exponential in 2012. On paper, the company is described as a digital advertising platform that delivers content-rich experiences to relevant audiences. In short, it aims to make digital ads stand out amid the internet clutter. And, according to Greer, the only way to do this is to put design and creative at the forefront of every campaign.
Earlier this year, Tyler was a regular guest on Mumbrella and Exponential’s sponsored podcast, The Point of Connection. Click above to listen.
As such it’s only fitting Greer is relaying his philosophy to a room of senior Australian marketers at one of Sydney’s edgiest hotels – the 1950s-inspired QT. Explaining why design still matters in an era of reach and targeting, he says: “There is a myth that millennials don’t like advertising, but the reality is nobody likes it. We tolerate it; we accept it. Sometimes something appears in our feed we just so happened to be looking for. But by and large, we can live without it.
“We’re not just competing with every other brand in advertising. We’re competing with everyone in the world.
“If we design campaigns that are comfortable for people, which allow people to interact as they wish to, the brand ultimately benefits and finds favourability. People do not want to click on banner ads. We know that. And that’s why when we use them, we take performance-based campaigns overlaid with the best data we can find, and at a very affordable price.”
It’s an idea that sounds simple enough, but even amid a growing backlash towards traditional banners – one-quarter of Aussies currently use ad blockers – many marketers and their agencies are still wearing blinkers.
“We don’t think people spend enough time designing campaigns for the channels in which they operate. What we tend to do when our campaigns fail to gain traction is blame the market conditions rather than the work we put in ourselves.”
He recognises there are fundamental flaws in the premise of banner ads, describing them as a “real interruption to the consumer journey”. He adds: “When you’re on a site, that’s where you want to be on. To move off that page is actually a big deal.”
Essentially, he explains, when an intrusive banner ad causes a consumer to accidentally click and diverts them from what they’re doing, it takes away their control. And its power and control that digital advertising should be returning to the consumer, not taking away, he argues.
“Personalisation is very hot in advertising right now,” he says. “But it’s often misinterpreted. It’s not simply about using someone’s name and the product they looked at to re-target them. That’s frequently seen more as harassment. Personalisation is about control.
He elaborates: “Personalisation is the entire digital experience, from your phone, to social media, to the way you deal with your insurance, set up your healthcare and interact with your LinkedIn profile. All of this gives you control. That is what we expect from the world right now and that is the truism of digital media. It’s the most important thing that there is. And we can design advertising experiences which reflect this truth.”
As a summation, Greer moves from the early-2000s to the mid-twentieth century by drawing an analogy with the Charles Eames lounge chair, something he believes is emblematic of design’s importance to marketers.
“One of the things Charles Eames had to say about design is that recognising the need is the primary condition for design,” he explains. “At the time in the mid-20th century that was for the hard-working man to come home at the end of the day, put his feet up, reflect, and that’s what Charles Eames designed for. He recognised that need.
“Creative is functional now and that means we have to understand the channels we’re in. We must design it accordingly and understand the audience and how they interact with their interface.
“Eames said everything connects eventually. It’s the quality of those connections that matters. That’s where we come in. We can create connections between brands and audiences that are week and fleeting or we can make something that’s robust, creative and meaningful.”