Web 2.0 or: How I Learned to Stop Overanalyzing the Term and Just Love the Idea

You probably wouldn't expect to hear this from a creative director who regularly helps come up with concise, relevant and, well, creative ways to explain complicated matters, but I have to go on the record and say that I'm not particularly fond of co-opting largely technical concepts as marketing buzzwords, particularly without understanding the original concept.

"Web 2.0" is one such concept.

Originally meant to describe advances that have led to the Web network operating as a platform, Web 2.0 has become a commonly used shorthand to describe popular online tools such as blogging, RSS, podcasts, webcasts, wikis, widgets, online video, and social networking. Trouble is, because of the cache surrounding Web 2.0, marketers are attributing the term to nearly anything new to pop up on the Internet.

We at McBru admittedly use the term and its variations too. Along with others in the industry, we mash up PR and Web 2.0 as "PR 2.0" to describe the area where traditional public relations and new media are intersecting: communicating with target audiences through blogs and social networks, editing wiki entries, distributing news releases and other communiqués through RSS feeds, and so on.

Regardless of what label we want to pin on it, it's clear that the continuing explosion and proliferation of these emerging media is becoming more relevant and important for technology marketers.

Much of our attention, culture and commerce continue to pace this constantly evolving digital ecosystem. It's impacting our lives in countless ways every day. To say the least, discovering how to reach out to audiences through new channels seems to be pretty top of mind for all marketing, advertising and PR professionals these days.

These emerging media undoubtedly offer technology companies new ways to extend their brands and engage with their customers. They truly present the potential to communicate in fundamentally different ways. All that said, the more things change, the more they stay the same (but back to that point in a minute).

Handwringing 2.0

With all of the promise these new media offer comes a lot of hype. Hype about the next hot thing that may or may not live up to the promise. For example, will our semiconductor clients do business via their Second Life avatars by next year? Or are virtual worlds mainly sweet spots for the software development companies we work with? Point is, with great change can come even greater anxiety.

There's a lot of handwringing going on as the once tried and true mechanisms are seemingly losing ground to the new wave of media options.

For instance, I could get into the ongoing debate about print versus online advertising. Yet, I don't think it's an either/or discussion. Personally, I still love print, and I'm sure many of you do, too. I still read the newspaper every morning (weren't newspapers supposed to be long dead by now?). I always have a big pile of magazines on the end table at home and an even bigger pile of trade publications on my desk at work. Humans have been interacting with the printed page for the better part of a millennium now. I'm a human and your customers, last time I checked, are still humans, too. Communicating with humans via printed materials should still be effective among some members of your key audiences at least for the next several decades.

Despite print's continued importance, the digital train has long left the station. And, as someone who has worked in both for years, I enthusiastically say, "Bring it on."

I'm a problem-solver. I've always loved immersing myself in a brand, getting my head around a marketing objective, and finding the place where art and business goals meet. So, for me, "new media" means even more tools to consider for solving our clients' interesting challenges. And even more value to add.

Despite the rapid pace of change, I can say for certain that one thing hasn't changed. Regardless of the mechanism used to deliver it, the need for smart, compelling, well-executed creative remains at the heart of any communication. Which is the point I started to get at earlier...

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same 2.0

You've heard the saying: "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Well, my twist on the adage is the more things change, the more critical it becomes that we keep sight of what's still most important.

By definition, good creative is work that ultimately delivers on business objectives. And in order to do so, it needs to engage your audience by communicating something relevant and of value to them. To be most effective, good creative is part of an ongoing, consistently delivered mix of communications that ultimately helps build a relationship between your company and your customers.

To paraphrase, "It's the creative, stupid." It sounds simple enough, and it is. But at the same time it's something that has always needed constant repeating. And that hasn't changed.

Consider this gem from a recent article on effective digital advertising by Jack Neff in the 3/17/08 issue of Advertising Age (I was reading the print version of it, BTW). As one of his "Five Platinum Rules for Effective Digital Ads," he lists, "Optimize creative ... Much if not most of the variation in campaign effectiveness comes from the creative, not the media buy." This points out is that what remains at the core of any brand communication is engaging, relevant concepts and creative execution. Again, that's something that hasn't changed.

The idea of creating, for instance, a successful viral video or social media campaign is exciting, no doubt. But is it something that philosophically aligns with your brand? Is the medium an effective way to reach your target audience and deliver a message that will resonate?

Get excited about new media. Explore and be on the lookout for new and innovative ways to reach your audiences. But in all the excitement and the rush to the new, be careful not to lose sight of the fundamentals.

In order to get to effective, breakout creative solutions, with truly out-of-the-box thinking, you first have to define the box.

No Creative in Search of a Purpose 2.0

"No creative in search of a purpose." It's a longstanding mantra here at McBru. And within the context of new media, it seems more relevant than ever.

Basically, it suggests that, regardless of what Marshall McLuhan said, the medium is not the message in marketing. Meaning, unless a particular creative execution supports a concept that ultimately supports a business goal, it's not working.

It's true that a cutting-edge execution, by association, can help convey that the company delivering its message that way is also cutting-edge. But unless it's done with purpose, it can backfire, thereby damaging your company's credibility. The analogy of the out-of-touch dad (something that, BTW, as a cool dad, I know nothing about personally) who starts using words like "phat" and "homey" in front of his kids and their friends to try and look hip is a good one. Since the dad isn't being true to who he is, it comes off looking lame and out of touch — potentially damaging his overall parenting credibility in the process.

Start with the purpose: Identify the communications objective, target audience, strategy, key message, supporting rationale and tonality. Then, and only then, does the creative layer into the process.

Conclusion 2.0

Emerging media, new media, or even Web 2.0. Regardless of what you call it, the immediacy and interactive nature of these mediums is presenting technology marketers with an opportunity to fundamentally evolve the way they communicate to their audiences. They make the need for engaging creative solutions as critical as it has ever been. And they make the need for adhering to the fundamentals even more critical than ever before. Because the more things change the more they stay the same — except when they don't.

Thanks for reading,

Randy Wilson
Creative Director
McClenahan Bruer Communications