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CARTE BLANCHE

POWERFUL BACKING

Towards the end of May, American Express introduced their new brand platform: “Powerful Backing: Don’t Live Life/Don’t Do Business Without It”. With the help of agencies Mcgarrybowen, Ogilvy, Mindshare, Digital, and Pentagram, American Express brought their ideas to life. Their global campaign consisted of video spots, outdoor ads, out-of-home ads, and interactive artwork done by local artists.

The curation of the exhibit’s immersive experience did a great job of demonstrating the brand’s message that “American Express has your back in life and in business.”; they’re here for you every step of the way. This campaign highlights the role that AmEx plays in this new blended lifestyle that people are living. AmEx is keeping up to date with their customers, being supportive, and proving that they are more than just a credit card company. They are a brand that will be beneficial to every part of your life and/or your business.

THE GALLERY

American Express Canada worked with the Toronto art organization Well and Good to launch a pop-up art gallery in downtown Toronto to promote their new brand platform. The Live Life Experience exhibit integrates interactive storytelling into the campaign in that the art reflects the message that the brand aims to convey. My journey through the gallery began with a curated exhibition of compelling paintings by various local artists. As I moved further into the gallery I was transported into physical versions of the paintings I saw at the beginning of the exhibit. There were multiple rooms that showcased the different ways that AmEx is able to become an important part of your life.

THE ROOMS

Don’t Travel Without It. The Travel room had a tent made of flags from around the world and an interactive string map mural where you could pin your dream travel destinations.

The Travel Room

Don’t Relax Without It. The Miami-Vice-meets-Toronto vibes of the Beach room had a hammock, an imitation beach, and gorgeous neon lights; it was a hidden gem in a fast-paced city that hit me with a wave of relaxation.

The Beach Room

Don’t Imagine Without It. The Crystal Throne room made me feel like I stepped into a painting and the Fantasy room’s tiny house and ethereal neon artwork made me feel like I was being transported into another world.

The Crystal Throne

Fantasy House

Don’t Play Without It. Experiencing the Play room’s swing set and rocking animals was like going back in time to my childhood.

The Play Room

Don’t Entertain Without It. A “secret” part of the gallery hidden behind a concealed door led to the Entertain room with the floor, ceiling, and walls covered in mirrors and had a loop of digital art on a massive screen playing in the background. Reminiscent of Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrors exhibit, this “secret” was one of my favourite rooms in the gallery.

The Entertain Room

Don’t Eat Without It. A giant bowl of ramen caught me pleasantly by surprise in the Culinary Room, complete with oversized chopsticks and pillows of soy sauce packets. Diving into the best kind of comfort food at such a large scale was quite fun!

The Culinary Room

Don’t Have Fun Without It. The exhibit ends off with a mysterious slide that delivers you as an “idea” into a vivid foam pit inside a giant brain.

Slide Entrance

EXAMINATION OF EFFICACY

I found out about the Live Life Experience through Facebook and Instagram. I follow BlogTO on Facebook and saw a post of theirs promoting the pop-up gallery. The post caught my attention because I am an art enthusiast; I have multiple memberships to different galleries in Toronto and the USA, support and follow local artists and designers, create my own art, and have a substantial passion for the arts and design. Social media ad targeting made itself present through my Instagram feed as well; I quickly tapped on the “Learn More” section of the post because I, of course, wanted to learn more. Acquiring tickets was an experience in itself. Through different social media platforms, AmEx Canada released ticket codes: a limited amount of access codes to get free tickets. These codes were the only way for a person to obtain tickets to this event, which sent AmEx’s target scrambling to grab their tickets first. The pop-up aspect and the “rarity” of these tickets evoke the Prestige trigger of Sally Hogshead’s Fascination Triggers; through all the hype, the rarity of access, and the momentary nature of a fleeting pop-up gallery, the perception of this event is one of uniqueness. With the hashtags #AMEXLIFE and #LiveLifeExperience, the hype continues to build as people post on their social media about this awesome, immersive experience.

I think the artwork curated for this show translated the big idea of “Don’t ____ Without It” so well. BlogTO even called it a ”surreal adventure playground”. The themes of food, adventure, travel and play are present throughout the gallery, presenting different ways that American Express can be used. Together, each room and every piece of art showcases just how integral the support of a brand like American Express can be to your life.

Don’t live life without it. | American Express

SOURCE LINKS

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, DATA IS MONEY.

AD TARGETING ON SOCIAL MEDIA

I’ve noticed that I don’t receive as many ads on my social media when I’m using a laptop or desktop computer. I try to only go on Social Media when I’m not busy and have time to relax and just enjoy some Me-Time. I’m okay with it at times like this because the way these platforms go about integrating ads into my newsfeed or timeline isn’t too interruptive.

Source: Pexels Stock Images

FACEBOOK

I mainly use Facebook for communication, usually on my laptop and sometimes on my phone. From what I’ve noticed, my Facebook feed mostly consists of friends, family, peers, and coworkers sharing memes, events, or birthday greetings. When I’m active on the platform itself with my own posts, it’s usually via sharing posts from my Instagram page. I think Facebook does an amazing job at being a proper Social Media network; I see so many people sharing things with each other and interacting with pages and brands.

The advertisements that I’ve gotten on Facebook are not too intrusive, which I appreciate. On my laptop I only came across two ads on my Timeline, both fairly far apart from another. Interestingly enough, they were both food-related promotions. On my phone I came across two different ads, but this time they were fairly close to one another on my Timeline. The first was sort of food-related with Instacart promoting grocery delivery services; the second was for Indigo’s Spring into Summer Sale. The CTA for the desktop ads were to simply like a Page whereas the mobile ads prompted me to “Shop Now”.

Desktop ads on my Facebook timeline.

Mobile ads on my Facebook timeline.

INSTAGRAM

Instagram is probably the platform that I’m the most active on. I use Instagram for communication and consumption. I rarely ever use Instagram in the desktop format; almost all of my interaction with the platform is through my phone. When it comes to Mobile, Instagram has definitely gotten things right. The app’s interface doesn’t have any fancy bells or whistles; its simple design lends itself best to the platform’s content. They keep it simple with heart shaped likes, very straightforward direct messaging and commenting systems, smooth and interactive story functions, and an uncomplicated yet still creative posting process for photos and videos.

I personally don’t use Instagram in a desktop format unless I’m doing research; almost all of my interaction with the platform is on mobile. While researching I found no targeted ads in the desktop format, but I cam across multiple ones in the mobile format. The ads that I most recently received range from fashion (Zaful, Lucy in the Sky), perfume (Fumescent Lounge), and an egg donation service (Egg Helpers). Seeing some of these ads on my feed makes a lot of sense to me; I follow fashion accounts and I like stuff that smells good. The Egg Helpers advertisement kind of makes sense to me; I’ve definitely talked about that topic before.

Mobile ads on my Instagram feed.

I actually like the way Instagram integrates ads into my feed; because of the simplistic and straightforward design of the platform, ads just look like any other post from accounts that I already follow. Sometimes I don’t even notice that an ad on my feed is an ad unless I see specific functions like “Learn More”, “Shop Now”, and purchase tags.

Purchase tags function on Instagram. Similar to tagging an account in a post, but for products.

TWITTER

Twitter is a very social platform. I’ve seen memes start, tweets go viral, people finding love, and people educating others. Twitter is literally all about people just talking to each other. I used to be very active on Twitter, but recently I prefer to spend my time on Instagram. It just seems too cluttered lately. Most of my interaction with Twitter is through mobile, but I sometimes use the desktop format as well. I appreciate the design of the platform with its simplicity being similar to that of Instagram. Promoted tweets look the same as regular tweets, so ads on Twitter look like they belong on my feed.

Interestingly enough, I scrolled for quite a while in the desktop format, but couldn’t find any promoted tweets. In contrast to that, I came across ads in the mobile format fairly quickly. I’m not too surprised that the ads I received were not very eye-catching or relevant, seeing as I’m not too active on this platform anymore. The first one I saw was from the Ontario Liberal Party. This ad felt like more of a general targeting than a personal ad catered to me specifically. It seems to fit the targeting criteria of general geographics (lives in Ontario) and demographics (millennial age). The Liberal Party’s ad doesn’t have a very strong call to action, simply using hashtags and a video is not eye-catching enough to keep my attention or motivate me to take action. The second ad on my Twitter feed was for KRAFT Peanut Butter. The targeting for this ad hit the nail on the head a little better because it felt a little bit more personal (I really like peanut butter) but also a little weird (I also researched KRAFT for an school project last semester). The call to action is stronger in this post as well, with a button to “Tweet #KraftBearHugs”; this action prompts the viewer to help KRAFT in its efforts to raise money for SickKids with “bear hugs”.

Mobile ads on my Twitter feed.

IS THIS APPROPRIATE OR TOO FAR?

It’s understandable that Indigo would advertise itself to me through social media. The obvious reasons are that I am already an avid lover and advocate of the brand and its products. I shop there constantly, spending a decent amount of time browsing through their online store and physically in store. A more subtle reason for their targeting me personally is that I also did some research on it for a previous article. I find that their targeting is appropriate and makes sense because my internet activity and personal interests align with their targeting criteria.

As an ad student, it’s strange to be active on social media after doing research for school projects. Weird brands, or ones that are hard to advertise, or simply ones that don’t interest me are promoted on the platforms I use. My internet activity makes it seem like I am interested in these brands and products; but it’s just weird because I’m not actually that interested in them. It’s just for school.

For me personally, ad targeting on social media fluctuates between appropriate and barely crossing the line into too far.

#ad school #mobile ads #desktop ads #ad targeting #social media #analyzation #facebook #instagram #twitter #brands

ACCESS IN CYBERSPACE.

Any retailer that doesn’t have a mobile-friendly website doesn’t just risk losing out on sales. A poor mobile experience can lead to basket abandonment, or worse - a lost customer for life. — Nikki Gilliland @ Econsultancy

MOBILE WEBSITES VS APPS

Many popular brands have apps nowadays, but for those who don’t want to download a full app, mobile sites are the way to go. A customer might refrain from downloading a brand’s app because it’s just too much of a hassle. Why bother cluttering your phone with another app when you can just go to a quick and easy mobile website? Consumers are “using mobile devices to inform every purchase, regardless of category or price”. With the everyday consumer being constantly on the go, mobile searching has become more and more popular; and with this increased popularity also comes an increased demand for better mobile UX.

SOURCE: Is Your Website Really Mobile Ready?

INDIGO BOOKS & MUSIC INC.

Indigo’s mission is “To inspire our customers and those they care about with life-enriching products and experiences.” One way that Indigo inspires life-enriching experiences for their customers is through a well-functioning mobile website.

SOURCE: Pexels Stock Images

MOBILE UX: FINE FUNCTION

The first step customers usually take on a mobile website is to search. Whether it’s for something specific or just for browsing a favoured category, a well designed mobile website will have a prominent search function and proficient navigation tools. These features are very easy to recognize and access with simple symbols located at the top of the website. No text is needed to indicate what these straightforward icons symbolize, leaving no room for unnecessary clutter.

Desktop vs. Mobile site comparison. SOURCE: Indigo Books & Music Inc.

The aesthetic design of Indigo’s mobile website is easy to navigate with its minimalistic appearance. A pleasant sans serif typeface and dark lettering on a light background make the site easy to read. The categories in the pop up sidebar menu are labelled clearly and make for user-friendly, uncomplicated navigation.

SOURCE: Indigo Books & Music Inc.

Little details like a tiny “return to top” arrow make the user experience much more effortless and convenient. It’s something simple, but still helpful. It’s not too interruptive or “in your face”.

SOURCE: Indigo Books & Music Inc.

Search functionality is very important for a user-friendly mobile website. Starting a search with as little as three letters leads to multiple options. From various categories to potential titles and products, Indigo’s predictive search aids the consumer in a quick and easy mobile shopping experience. For even further assistance, there are many search filter options for more a specific exploration of Indigo’s wide selection of products.

SOURCE: Indigo Books & Music Inc.

Product details are essential to the buying process of a mobile shopper. Even while inside the store itself, customers will often look up reviews on items they might purchase. Indigo does a great job of clearly displaying ratings, reviews, location availability, and extra details and specs of their products. Outside of the physical store, Indigo makes it easy for mobile shoppers to easily add a prospective purchase to their cart or wish list.

SOURCE: Indigo Books & Music Inc.

MOBILE VS. DESKTOP

Both versions of Indigo’s website are very cohesive. They flow well together and the consistency ensures a unified aesthetic that solidifies the company’s branding. The user experience that the mobile website provides its customers is similar to what is expected from the desktop website. With matching aesthetic and design that is more compact, quick, and efficient, Indigo’s mobile website was developed for on-the-go consumers.

#ad school #analysis #indigo #mobile #desktop #SEO

BE CONTAGIOUS OR CAMOUFLAGED.

Can virality be created or does it just occur by happenstance? Is some content more contagious that others and why? Virality occurs through a combination of chance, happenstance, and persistence. If your content is lucky enough to appear at the right place at the right time at the right amount of times, it goes viral. Virality also occurs when people share stories and feel as if they’re in on a secret. Some content is more contagious than others because they trigger and evoke certain emotions and feelings; they were better created to generate a stronger response. Think about it psychologically; your content should appeal to your audience ethically, emotionally, or logically. If it makes them care, feel, or think, it will be shared.

Does virality even matter? Why or why not? In my (obviously expert) opinion, virality doesn’t matter as much as it seems. The reason why things go viral is because these things elicit feelings that in turn drive us to share with each other. And voilà: virality. What’s important isn’t how many views a viral video got, it’s what the video is about that made it so viral. People share when they feel a connection; if they connect with the content, they are more inclined to share it.

Viral content: what does it look like? What does it say? In 2012, YouTube makeup artist Lauren Luke (panacea81) posted a video titled “How to look your best the morning after”. Lauren Luke is known for her many makeup tutorials, with over 500 000 subscribers and 100 000 000 views on her channel. In this video, the artist starts her video with highly visible and painful looking bruises, which are the base of her makeup tutorial. This video is really a PSA about domestic violence and abuse awareness disguised as a makeup tutorial to teach you how to cover up facial injuries from abuse. As a part of the #dontcoveritup campaign by Refuge, Lauren Luke made this video to do her part in raising awareness for the issue of violent domestic abuse.

In relevance to Jonah Berger’s STEPPS, this video applies the key steps of Emotion, Practical Value, and Stories. Sensitive issues such as domestic abuse very easily trigger an emotional response of empathy and compassion. Victims of abuse can sympathize with and relate to this message. Viewers who have not experienced abuse can still empathize with victims. We share information to help others. Having this video go viral is just one example of just how serious the matter of domestic violence is. Sharing this video with others raises awareness of a very serious issue, gives resources to suffering victims, and gives the public a call to action of how to help victims. “How to look your best the morning after” tells a secret story. On the outside, it is a simple makeup tutorial. Going deeper, it’s a much darker cry for help. Tell stories, especially important ones, and people will listen. The call to action and follow along tutorial format showcase this videos interactivity, with nearly 4000 comments and many shares that have generated dialogue about the issues of violent domestic abuse.

SOURCE LINKS

#ad school #virality #viral #analyzation

ENGAGE OR ENSLAVE?

If browsers/devices are not people, why are they so central to how we think about interactivity? Browsers and devices are influential to how we think about interactivity. We can interact with so much more on screens than we can with radio, tv, or print ads. Through clicks and gamification, digital is the way to go. Social media and video are the frontrunners of digital media advertising.

What are core functions/aspects that these devices offer for increased engagement? The core functions of smart devices and digital interactivity are internet, video, touch screens, apps, optimized search functions, and multitasking. These core functions have put digital advertising media into the top tier for increased engagement. The touch screen is especially important for smart devices and digital advertising interactivity because it has elements of tangibility, virtuality, and visuals. Both static and touch screens are great at displaying visuals, with the potential for higher resolution images and more vibrant colours available because of the larger colour gamut and evolving technology. Additionally, video on the internet has so much potential for interactivity with annotations and increased shareability. The internet itself has increased the quality and frequency of how we communicate with one another through social media. It is so much easier to share something we see on the internet with a large number of friends, colleagues, or acquaintances with just a few clicks. Compare that easiness to the tediousness of sharing print; physically sharing a newspaper article, for example, is only limited to face to face or “snail mail” interactions.

How have these enslaved us to assume that interactivity may only reside online or through a screen in the digital realm? We depend on our screens; we never leave the house without our smartphones. I personally rely on my iPhone for everything. I keep schedules for things from the most important dates to birthdays to plans for the next day. I am constantly on social media via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, and YouTube. I know a lot of people whose preferred form of communication isn’t through texting or phone calls; they feel much more comfortable using instant messaging systems like FB Messenger, Snapchat, or Twitter and Instagram direct messages. I’m even able to have multiple conversations with the same person across different platforms. We assume that interactivity only resides online through screens and digital media, but interactivity is not exclusive to digital media. It is only most associated with digital because that’s where interactivity has thrived the best.

Effective digital interactivity. Gamification theory in marketing and advertising relies on the underlying human urge to compete.; it taps into our primal desires of the need for reward. In the case of effective digital interactivity, Starbucks has done great job with Starbucks MyRewards. It’s not just a basic “buy ten of this and get one free” kind of rewards system. With two MyRewards tiers, Starbucks consumers can build up their points (stars) and use them to redeem a free drink or food item of their choice. Starbucks MyRewards members also have exclusive access to personalized rewards such as birthday freebies, extra stars, and special events and offers. Being a Gold Status rewards member is a tier that can only be reached if a member makes frequent enough purchases. This status is meant to make the member feel special and accomplished for being such a loyal Starbucks customer. It even comes with a personalized Gold card! When looking Yu-Kai Chou’s Octalysis framework, Starbucks MyRewards falls under the core drives of Ownership and Accomplishment. Members are motivated to keep earning stars; the anticipation of being rewarded with virtual and physical consumable goods is what keeps MyRewards members coming back for more.

Print is declining. However, is it less interactive than other media? What are the constraints? What are the benefits? As the popularity of print declines and digital becomes more prevalent, its constraints become increasingly unfavourable. Most importantly, even if an ad runs in a popular print publication, it might not reach much of the desired target audience. Although print media has an advantage when it comes to tangibility, publication testing, and target specificity, the cons outweigh the pros. The easy “shareability” of digital media has a much farther reach than print media. The increase in targeting millennials means a stronger need for digital because that’s what has been most effective with this generation. It’s so much easier to read an article on your phone versus a newspaper or magazine.

SOURCE LINKS

#engagement #advertising #creative industries #ad school #gamification #octalysis #interactivity #digital advertising #analyzation

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