Google creative director Ben Jones cites the need for marketers to improve their use of tech to improve storytelling
"There is a tremendous opportunity for marketers to draw on the best technology and stories available to create amazing brand experiences", according to Ben Jones, Creative Director of Art, Copy and Code at Google who added his views that "Brands are underleveraging this opportunity.”
Speaking to the attendees at the Business Marketing Association annual meeting in New York City, Jones continued: “We are living in a world of incredible media abundance. We should be able to reach audiences through TV, social media, radio, mobile and more but we have not adapted to this world of abundance. It is choice plus immersion. Give me what I want with the opportunity to be immersed in all of it. “
He noted that although the pace is fast, the reality is that media is getting longer, richer and deeper. Jones also stated his belief that one of the key ways an agency can harness this trend is by thinking in terms of story engines not storyboards: "Brands have to be more fluid, more socially fueled story engines," he advised.
“We worked with Nike during the World Cup. We thought we would be running the advertising before and after the Cup, not during as we assumed people would be watching the game. We found that people were watching the game and watching it again seconds later in instant replay. They were searching on a moment that they just saw or that was going on now. They were watching the game but wanted social commentary, reflection, or opinion at the same time. “
Jones stressed that marketers needed imagination to bring all of this together - in a world where individuals reach for their phones on average about 200 times a day.
“Why are we opening our phones 200 times a day?” he asked. “We did some research. We found that for the younger generations the phone represents a world of possibilities. The phone is a gateway to more possibilities and this is an incredible narcotic.”
Jones also claimed that the older generation is more anxious about the phone and is mired in the ‘fear of missing out’ syndrome. However, for the young, it is a different experience altogether, he added and explained that he realized this when working with a client – a car company struggling to sell cars to young people.
"The team realized that the possibility of buying a new car doesn’t offer that sense of freedom anymore for young people. They don’t find freedom in cars as older generations did; they seek that sense of freedom through their phones and the possibilities there."
Jones also insisted that agencies are missing out on this immense brand opportunity to help people shape the story they want to tell about themselves.
“We have to stop talking at people but talk with them. If you want to know how the lion hunts, don’t go to the zoo...Where will advertising be in five years? No one knows and if your agency says they know they are probably lying to you. Look ahead to the next six months. Push your team; push into the market, behavior is moving faster than we know. Be adventurous. Get out there. “
More details from the day can be found exclusively at The Drum's B2B news hub.