[ ]squarethinking

Discover how i hope to change from a circle to a square through the Squared online course in the next 6 months. Oh, and other random thoughts about stuff!

[claredougan]

The Great Ethics Debate!

Just for fun (!?), Squared invited January cohorts to participate in a live debate about privacy and data use policy. Our group was assigned to date the for motion for the subject of 'Facebook's Privacy and Data Use Policy is an unnecessary restriction upon its users rights".

Not being of a legal mind i found reading these policies pretty mind boggling, however a group approach meant that we were able to submit our one pager proposal for debate. 

The four groups that were chosen for the debate did so with superb speakers and solid proposals and i applaud them for all of the extra time and effort they put in to polish their proposals within a two week period!

[claredougan]

Module5: Future gazing...

Squared Module 5 was all about change and the Future. Pretty apt as this was the last module on the Squared Journey!

As we have all discovered over the past 6 months, the digital revolution is like a  runaway train, relentlessly changing direction and forever going forward. Some of the trends coming up are below:

Collaborative economy - where products, service and marketplace combine to create successful company models that are assisted by its users - one example being GiffGaff where customers provide customer support, marketing and product development.

Content curation - where content is gathered and packaged to present specific subjects tat consumers may be interested in - just like Pinterest is allowing by use of the scrapbooking idea for both customers and companies alike

Unboxing of the TV - interactive TV, not only being able to view what we want when we await it - but tailored to our own preferences and bringing us all relevant and interesting programmes. Who needs boxes of DVDs when we can rent a film, consume it and not have to dust it on the shelf?

Real time - wouldn't it be great if you could get realtime deals where you are? Flashsales in realtime benefit both business and consumers, fitting relevant deals to business needs

Internet of things - fridges prompting you to order milk when you are low, being able to to control your lights and heating via your mobile device are all things that a few years ago would have been unusual. Now we are beginning to see the rise of acceptance as these products help us like our lives. 

Bearing these things in mind onto the final assignment;

Analysing the impact of the digital by looking at its past and predicting where the future...now where did i put my crystal ball...?

Well i couldn't find it so Blue Group 4 had to pop on the thinking caps!

We were assigned the Telecomm's sector and got down to researching both past and future disruptors that have and will change the way that we are able to communicate, allowing us all to talk and share with increasing speed and distance. Once we had a historical timeline we were tasked to present our findings in an infographic. This was surprisingly tricky to do, even with some designers in our group, as distilling down trends to stats became our challenge. Conclusions for the future of telecoms fell into 5 areas;

The internet of everything

Super-fast connectivity

Infinite growth

Infinite networks

Personal data  for more relevant content

Teamwork and collabroration came easily for the majority of the group, with exception to one member, who we barely heard from! I guess i have been spoilt in previous modules and couldn't understand the lack of drive and commitment that the rest of the group shared.

The design stage of the graphic fell to two members and we shared the workload and produced a good solid graphic! 

[claredougan]

Module 4: Does your data talk to you (or do you just hear voices in general!)?

To be honest, just over a month ago I asked myself this question and the answer was an emphatic NO! (to the data talking, not just voices in general). Module 4 of the Squared Online course saw me entering the world of head scratching and mild panic a.k.a. - Google Analytics and AdWords! Having only used the standard pull up analytics from work - set up by a colleague far more analytical than I am - I felt distinctly ill-prepared for this module. Nonetheless, and with a new group to get along with to-boot, we set to the task of analysing and drawing insights for the ‘We are squared’ website, specifically to drive traffic to the site and generate leads. Areas to analyse were; mobile, traffic, location, conversion and AdWords. Although there was no specific class on analytics on the live classes (which seems a bit random) we could self-serve the Google online tutorials. Needless to say it took me hours to get my head around the seemingly limitless ways to cut and dice the data to get the general understanding of how to use the tool, impressively powerful and full of data-wizardry! Like a fog cloud lifting, things finally seemed to be making sense. Focusing on traffic, I was able to come to the same conclusions as my other group members and felt more confident in understanding and interpreting what data was say - Can you believe it! Pulling together our findings and insights we were able to join up a rounded number of recommendations that would fulfill the objectives and finalised the project to deadline. I can honestly say that my group for module 4 & 5 are complete stars, with co-operation, support, motivation and understanding of different peoples strengths. I am lucky to be in group 4 and look forward to the final module…and then a rest!

[claredougan]

Module 3 - Bringing a brand to life digitally

So our Squared Module 3 encouraged us all to consider the multi channelled journey that customers go on and the triggers and motivation that converts intention and research to purchase…something all companies put much skill and resource into!

The world around us is expanding and with it our horizons on how and where we purchase. We are all becoming savvy about price comparison and the need to research the best product for the job, especially after the tougher economic climate that we have experienced. With technology advances we are also able to use mediums such as tablets and mobiles more as they have become faster, smaller and connected.

With this in mind the possibility for companies to interact with customers all the way through their shopping experience has never been so great. Long gone is the day when you went to your local shop to purchase and took the first item that fit the bill. Regardless of wether you are buying habitually, on impulse or after research the line between buying on and offline is definitely getting blurry! We are info

Brands realise that customers want more than just a product, they want to bond with it and feel like they are part of something. Take Nike+ Fuelband, a product that challenges you to train smarter, connect with a Nike+ community where you can challenge friends, set personal goals, share your success and even describe your day! All this with the main goal of tracking your daily activity and present it back via an app for personal fitness.

Another aspect that we were introduced to was the Google Adwords and search and display marketing. This is the section that i personally struggled with at first! When a customer is searching online for products the adverts/display that appears as suggestions are all linked by a rapid online traded media space. These search queries allow customers to receive appropriate content which in turn makes the leap from research to purchase considerably more likely. 

Our M3 assignment drew all of the learnings into one place by developing a digital strategy for a high end hair colouring product. Within the customer profile we were able to identify our customer persona, build their customer journey and provide a step by step digital plan that would drive awareness, evaluation, sales for the product and build loyalty and advocacy for the brand. We decided to split into small groups again in order to maximise time, helping and challenging each others findings and finally pulling together our 10 slide pack. I felt that most of the group pulled together well, but again technical difficulties and time frames meant that we did overlap some of the work. One thing that I felt was difficult was in working on a digital strategy and not having the customer journey or persona fully fleshed out! We did pull this all together in the last week and we were able to submit the presentation comfortably in time!

I enjoyed and appreciated the work and help from all of my team mates and am now looking forward to module 4 where it all gets analytical!

[claredougan]

Module 2 - Its all about teamwork!

I thought i would start with a picture, seeing as they are worth a thousand words! No, i haven't been on a motivational skydiving course, it what Module two was all about!

Working together on a pitch to create a online business idea which would hopefully disrupt the market that it sits within. Initial tasks consisted of coming up with an idea each and then choosing the most viable for the brief, taking time frames (3 weeks) to produce a 12 slide presentation with a narration for a 'Dragons den' style presentation!

Initial ideas were shared pretty much to the agreed deadline between the 8 group members. Some being realistic, others non-starter as they were already in existence and others amazing concepts but total 'moon-shots' that would take the 3 weeks to spec out the actual business concept!

We democratically voted for which we thought was the best idea for this particular brief and we chose 'The Sole Practitioner'. The concept in a nutshell is to cut out the need for expensive premises and overheads - namely the equity partners that take the lions share of the fess paid. 

It would also enable qualified and registered sole practitioners (lawyers) to work autonomously from any location as they would have a entry point for their services, currently a serious barrier and support them with marketing services to boost their online presence within the site. 

Advantages for clients would be flexible hours for contact, using online video conferencing similar to Skype, ability to browse and view online profiles with customer testimonials and rate cards.

My group held together well within the slightly frantic and tight deadline timeframes, splitting into two groups to focus on revenue and concept areas. Some individuals took on more responsibility and other had difficulty with other working commitments, but in the main we managed to get it all done to a high standard within the deadline.

It was a interesting module for me, learning about how online businesses and mobile savvy users are changing how businesses and industries are shaping businesses. Some examples, amongst many is how Skype has transformed fixed line telephone businesses like BT, or of online streaming music businesses like spotify which has disrupted the sales of Cds, not to mention companies that anticipate and guide users into buying something that they never reven ealised that they needed, such as Apple unveiling the iPad.

I learnt in this module about developing business models, and the key fundamentals that need to be considered when putting together a plan. Good guides to go with is the lean startup model. Specifying market opportunity, customer segments, key markets, activities and resources, revenue streams and cost structures all play a large part in testing if a concept is good enough to be viable. i have learnt how to identify the real value proposition for an idea and to research into competitors and devise a differentiated way to market by using different online mediums. Mobile users are becoming more sophisticated, whiting to have instant access at their fingertips on a 24/7 basis. To be able to provide this new generation of savvy, price conscious and demanding customer, businesses have to create sophisticated and multi-channelled online digital strategies to attract and befriend potential customers, knowing that they can easily switch at any point they choose. It is this mobile strategy that i have yet to learn much from and am looking forward to module 3!

[claredougan]

Squared Module 1 - an eyeopener..

Okay, so I have finished Module 1 of the Squared online course. I have to say that i have the feeling that i will be getting on my climbing boots and going up a steep, but refreshingly invigorating, hill in Modules 2 and 3!

Module 1 has enlightened me to how much of my daily life is connected to technology. Without thinking i can check the status of live trains (so i know whether to run or walk to the station), record the programs i love without having to remember when they are on and watch them when i choose, get new music suggestions that i may never have known about and to be part of friends lives in far flung countries without ever having to type an email or give them a call (god i sound lazy don't I?!) It all boils down to the fact that our lives have become, and will become, more frenetic and demanding. We choose to fill spaces of time that were once (for me) 'dead time'. I have found myself choosing to take the longer slow service train instead of the jam packed fast service so that i can get a seat and browse Google+ for interesting articles and work on course work. No longer am i happy to stare out of the window!

In the past month i have become more comfortable with the feeling of being out of my comfort zone, something that is bound to continue. 'The internet of things' was a completely new concept to me, but help from a fellow Square brought this to life - thank you Nigel Cliffe!

Of course i realise that pretty much every industry is touched by digital marketing and social media and that companies know they ought to have a social strategy and are desperately trying to find ways to engage with customers. The thing that surprised me was that companies are far more likely to succeed when they engage with customers on a truly personal basis. One example that stuck in my mind was the way that O2 responded on Twitter to their network outage problems. The 'Twitter Storm' that ensued had the makings of a PR nightmare, but the right approach led to O2's brand being loved by their own irate customers merely due to the responses being open, honest and above all else human.

Brand social presence is another area that is on my list to find more about.The Bodyform response to a facebook posting from a disappointed fella was highly amusing and made the company a personable brand, an example of great social content!

The digital world as we know it is continuing to change. Development of new technologies will undoubtedly enhance the world we live in, from the ability to micro-finance communities without the access to traditional banking methods to helping families look after eachother by installing innovative products that will help us all live more safely. Being able to program, change and update our home environment to suit our busy life styles and ultimately help us all cope with the pace of life as we journey forward!

My parting gift to you is how companies are enhancing their traditional routes for advertising their products. Video content is probably the most important content medium platform there is, with research showing that people retain 95% of the message of video, while only 10% with text. Rather than just telling the end user what the USP is they are demonstrating this in exciting and drama filled ways! Check out this video from volvo about precision and control on their trucks, i don't know about you but i felt mildly anxious at the end!.

[claredougan]

Happy sunday everyone!

It took a while to do, but here's my first youtube video for squared online. I hope you find it interesting, i personally found it really hard figuring out what anyone would actually find interesting about myself in 2 mins!

[claredougan]

A day in the life of a digital Dougan...i seem to use alot more at home than work, but was difficult figuring out statistics!

[claredougan]

Getting social...

An interesting class tonight. Has made me consider how much more I trust reviews over advertising and that the brand of the company really has a major impact on how I respond. Honesty and transparency are high on my list for those I want to follow and connect with so couldn't resist a smirk when reading the JP Morgan Twitter fail(!). Scary really as I work for an Asset Management company.

[claredougan]

[claredougan]

Everything squared

It seems like everything is turning square at the moment (even melons) so i thought i would jump on the bandwagon and follow suit!

Embarking on the Squared Online course has already instigated a 'New Me', finally signing up to Twitter and now my first blog! People who know me will say "please don't bore us online with your wittering, you talk enough drivvel as it is!" My response might be;

1. buy a set of earplugs

2. don't follow my blog

For those who can stand it, here is my reason for the blog. Having dabbled  in email creation through my job as a graphic designer i am now keen to actually understand the stategy behind email campaigns and in some way improve and contribute to the digital marketing team who i support.

Strategic marketing is all new to me apart from doing my degree a LONG time ago, which combined marketing and creative elements a bit like a Kenwood blender, so i am keen to learn as much as i can and put it to good use. This will be my sounding board and reflection station for the next 6 months and you never know i might even become a blog addict!