Google+ is sweeping the Internet. In just a few short weeks Google+ has more than 10 million users. That’s pretty quick traction for a social network. With another social network added to the deck and the same limited hours in a day, the question remains, “If Google+ is a viable player in the social networking market, what existing network will suffer?”
It seems as if Google+’s aim is at Facebook. That’s the company that is challenging their online dominance and has always drawn the most comparisons whenever Google’s social presence was mentioned. However, my first reaction is that Twitter could suffer first.
Personally, I’ve found that my time on Facebook has remained about the same, but my time on Twitter has decreased as my Google Plus time has increased. Like Twitter, Google + is open and there are no restrictions as to whom you can follow and who can follow you. Your feed can be filled with strangers who just think you are interesting. Of the 124 people who have put me in a circle, 52 I have never met in real life or spoken to on Twitter (or another social network). This tendency to have strangers following me is much more similar to the dynamic of Twitter followers than my Facebook friends.
On Thursday, July 1, 2010 I abruptly quit my job. I walked up to HR at 5:00pm and put in my two weeks. It was not a premeditated move. I just felt that it was time to move on. Friday, July 2nd turned out to be my last day at my old job as I was escorted out of the office before noon. Thus, when I woke up on July 3rd it was the first day Demeter Interactive was my full time job.
Demeter Interactive started out as a one-man company. I set out to build the company I had envisoned ever since I knew I wanted be an entrepreneur. Shortly after I started and landed my first client, I joined forces with my co-founder Gaia Dempsey. We were introduced to one another by a mutual acquaintance at a lunch. One lunch later, Demeter Interactive officially became a two-person start up.
Over the next few months, Gaia and I began to gel and our company began to take shape. As two first time entrepreneurs, we endured numerous growing pains. We learned not just to be marketers, but business owners. Regardless of our inexperience, Demeter Interactive continued to mature and grow.
Today, Demeter Interactive is one year old. 365 days in business. It’s been a wild journey thus far…and it’s been a fantastically fulfilling journey as well. I am so excited for what the future holds for Demeter Interactive. Gaia and I have put in a lot of hours and created a solid foundation for the future. We have so many exciting things on tap for Demeter Interactive.
Finally, I’d like to thank everyone who has supported Gaia and I during this first year. Starting a business is infinitely more difficult than you ever imagine. The support we received is what has enabled us to reach one year and it is what will help fuel us to year ten. We hope that you continue to follow Demeter Interactive as we move on to year two.
Embedded in a blog somewhere, on simply surfing YouTube, you might come across a video that appears to be made by a medical firm that has the power to change people’s lives, that can do more for patients than what you think is possible. The video describes possibilities for people who have lost limbs, hands, and eyes – and these people, rather than being devastated, are filled with hope, joy, and even triumph. Here is that first video:
If you click through to YouTube you will see that the video is titled Sarif Industries TV Spot. That title may start to generate some interest. “Huh, I’ve never heard of this,” you think. At the end of the clip, the call to action is to check out the Sarif Industries website.
A cursory glance at the site reveals more video content, links to News, Press, a stock tracker, and an invitation to explore “The Road to Here,” and “Experience Augmentation.” Looks legit.
Digging deeper into the site, you find links to articles tracking the “History of Augmentation.”
Aha! The story seems to be fitting together! You can start to see how a company might take all of these disparate medical advances and put them together to achieve one overarching vision of body augmentation.
There’s even a clever function on the site that allows you to “preview” your own augmented body by taking a photo of yourself posing behind a particular augmentation, so that it appears you have replaced a hand or an arm with a bionic superlimb. How awesome!
Now stop. If you look no further, you will be completely amazed, your emotions may be running high, you’re filled with ideas and possibilities. Many people stop at this point. They blog and tweet about the video, and share the pictures of themselves on Facebook. This effect is what this brilliant creative ad campaign counts on for its viral spread.
But some people don’t stop. They want to learn more. And that’s when they see the button: “To learn more, visit Deus Ex.com.”
That’s when you realize, that this is an elaborate ad campaign for a video game called Deus Ex. The website, the video, the images of augmented superlimbs – these are all part of an intricate fictional world that has been created by a video game company to fully immerse you in the story of the game.
Now you wonder, “Could the articles be elaborate hoaxes too? They seemed so real.”
But by that point it doesn’t matter, because you want to play the game and remain in the fantasy.
The Strategy
This is how this video game maker is effectively drawing in their audience of gamers. Hook, line and sinker. They have tapped in to the fantasy of extreme technological evolution, a world of perfect strength where injuries are simply opportunities for augmentation.
Now this may seem like quite the orchestration – they’ve gone so far to create the illusion that this is real. But isn’t that the point of video games? Isn’t the idea to convincingly simulate a complete other world, and aren’t they demonstrating to their audience how well they excel at it? In both form and content, the message is perfectly attuned to the target audience.
The Lesson
The effectiveness of this campaign relies on the initial excitement and confusion that is generated from blurring the line between fiction and reality. When you are drawn in, you can’t tell what is real and what is fantasy, and that is very seductive, particularly to an audience who loves the escapism of video games.
But what is the simplest kernel of truth that lies at the core of this campaign? The deepest lesson in here is not that all ad campaigns should try to blur the line between fiction and reality, but rather that an insight into your target audience’s psyche is more than worthwhile. What is their fantasy? What is the content of their hidden dreams? How can you communicate the fantasy in a way that demonstrates your understanding and creativity, and that will make it effortless for your audience to say yes, to be drawn in, and feel at home?
It is often a marketer’s first instinct to communicate exactly what the product is, what it does, and why you should buy it. But sometimes not talking directly about the product, but rather communicating in the language of desire and leading to the product, is a more effective strategy.
Try This At Home
Here is an exercise to get in touch with your audience’s desires:
Find a calm and quiet spot, and take a few seconds to clear your mind and your focus your energy. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Have a pencil and paper ready.
With your mind cleared and ready, think about the industry you are in as a whole. What are the most basic needs and desires that it serves or caters to? From this “zoomed out” perspective, list 5 completely random words or things that you associate with this basic need or desire. Don’t think about it too much, just write down what comes to mind. After you’ve listed your 5 words or things, jot down next to each item a word or a phrase that describes how it relates to the basic need your industry serves. The goal here is to create a highly simplified list that gets down to the core aspects of your industry.
Now, take a few moments to look at your list, and pick one word or item that speaks to you most clearly. With your chosen word in mind, write out a short scenario that involves that word or thing, and let the plot eventually lead to the discovery of your product. Try to incorporate the satisfaction of the basic needs and desires, tying it to the discovery of your product. Keep it simple, and stick to the core feelings and needs at hand.
This exercise should help you get in touch with the desires and fantasies associated with your business, so that you can use these ideas in your marketing mix. With all of the wonderful social channels for delivering content and narratives to your audience, think about how you can craft the narrative you just came up with into a marketing campaign that will reach your customers.
The Bottom Line
When it comes to your own marketing campaigns, it might not always be desirable or realistic to create a complete fantasy website and series of videos. But putting in the time to consider what your customer’s ultimate fantasy might be just the creative exercise your brand needs. What is the fantasy that your target audience wants to lose themselves in? Give them a taste of it, and they just might stick around to learn more about you, your company, and your products.
I came across this fantastic quotation today on Quora, which was shared by serial entrepreneur and game designer Mike Sellers:
An idea is not a design
A design is not a prototype
A prototype is not a program
A program is not a product
A product is not a business
A business is not profits
Profits are not an exit
And an exit is not happiness.
If you keep these things in mind as you build your product offering, you’ll already be way ahead of the game. Clearly defining your idea, prototype, framework, and product into measurable stages, and being honest about where your company currently stands on the spectrum, will help you be a much more effective entrepreneur overall. You will be able to build a better product plan, wisely determine your current course of action and goals, communicate better with your co-founders, employees, and investors, and iterate your product until it’s ready for market. Once you’re starting to get sales and profits, it’s also important to remember that operations is not the whole business.
The final point, “An exit is not happiness,” is crucial. If you’re in a business solely for the purpose of creating an exit, not only does it make that exit much less likely to happen – because building a functional, desirable product and a profitable business is extraordinarily difficult and without true passion nearly impossible – but you’re cheating yourself out of the opportunity to enjoy the journey and the people around you along the way.
Keeping this brilliant reality-check checklist in the back of your mind will help you get through the whole thorny process effectively and with your head on straight. Don’t make the mistake of mixing up categories, and it will save a lot of time, drama, and good money thrown after bad.
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