A world full of screens
Joel paints a picture of a world that’s filled with screens – far more than the four business currently focuses upon:
“The basic dilemma for marketers is this: there are now too many screens to count. Set aside PCs, tablets, smartphones, and TVs (connected or otherwise), for a moment. Your car, your thermostat, your washer and dryer, your refrigerator are all on their way to being “smart” as well – connected to the internet and to each other, featuring screens that offer up all sorts of information, from usage data to content, like a fridge that suggests recipes based on the food stored inside”.
Marketers are either too stunned to act, or misguided in how they should proceed
This technological transformation has left marketers in a messy situation. Apparently only 45% still don’t have a mobile presence. And among those who do, they all to often ask the question, “How can I advertise on all those screens?”, when they really should be asking, “How can I create useful apps (services/experiences/utilities) that make life easier, more interesting and more gratifying for people whichever screen they choose to focus upon in the moment?”
Set a different course for your organization
When your brand is driven by empathy, purpose and emotion, your marketing organization rethinks what their job really is. They are more likely to think beyond old-school advertising and embrace the new multi-screen world of usefulness.
Here’s why:
- By being encouraged to adopt a more empathetic attitude, they will be better able to focus on the higher-order needs, interests, values and aspirations of people.
- By having a common, higher-order purpose (one that goes beyond profits and shareholder returns), they will better see the emotionally meaningful role the brand (and they as employees of the brand) can have in people’s lives.
- By evoking a set of specific emotions, they will be better able to engage people through feelings that win attention, earn loyalty, influence decisions and generate word-of-mouth endorsements.
Make amazing things happen within, and around, your brand
Once empathy, purpose and emotion are the basis for brand behavior, amazing things can happen.
Your brand will cut across all the screens, and create emotionally meaningful moments for the one set of eyes that are in constant motion, from screen to screen.
