Extraordinary Experiences: How Planning Inspires Greatness

IxDA Chicago | April 21, 2010

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We areCritical Mass.

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Tonight’s discussion

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What is planning?

What’s our take on planning?

What’s next?

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1

What is Planning?

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It’s about bringing people – real people – and their needs and desires, into the development of anything that’s meant to be used by them, in a creative way.

The goal is to inspire more focused thought, care, attention, listening and imagination by the people who make the things we all use.”

“

– Adrian Ho, co-founder of Zeus Jones

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Why does planning matter?

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1. Consumers are in control

2. Too much info., not enough insight

3. Brands need an ambassador

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So what’s the problem?

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“Am I the only one not getting the problem here?”

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Apply social science methods to marketing & design problems

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USER EXPERIENCE

PLANNING

STRATEGIC DESIGN

PLANNING

ACCOUNT PLANNING

1960s 1980s1970s

Roots

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Pollitt Chiat Newman Doblin

Hall of Fame

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Pollitt Chiat Newman Doblin

Hall of Fame

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Pollitt Chiat Newman Doblin

Hall of Fame

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Pollitt Chiat Newman Doblin

Hall of Fame

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(Mis)perceptions

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“Isn’t the traditional agency creating the brand positioning?”

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“A website is a drop in the bucket compared to the brand’s

marketing efforts.”

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“Doesn’t planning just mean time and money?”

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“The web is about rational information seeking – who cares about connecting emotionally?”

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“It’s digital. We can fix it

after launch.”

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“Why can’t planners just ask people what they want?”

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* Landscapes R

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* Landscapes

* Outdoor scenery

R

R

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* Landscapes

* Outdoor scenery

* Famous people

R

R

R

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* Landscapes

* Outdoor scenery

* Famous people

* Wild animals

R

R

R

R

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* Landscapes

* Outdoor scenery

* Famous people

* Wild animals

* The color blue, then green

R

R

R

R

R

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* Landscapes

* Outdoor scenery

* Famous people

* Wild animals

* The color blue, then green

About the size of a dishwasher

R

R

R

R

R

R

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2

Our Take on Planning

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15550+

81

YearsEmployeesOfficesMission…

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Extraordinary Experiences

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We create Extraordinary Experiences for these brands

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Path to Extraordinary

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Critical Mass Process

1. Discovery

2. Definition

3.

Design 4.

Develop 5. Deploy

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Critical Mass Process

1. Discovery

2. Definition

3.

Design 4.

Develop 5. Deploy

Planning Focus

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Observations, online surveys, competitive advertising, blogs, shop-alongs,

Mintel, focus groups, stakeholder interviews, conversations with people on the

subway, articles from the NY Times, Forrester research reports, online

communities, shopping, industry newsletters, category experts, books,

magazines, drive-alongs with truckers, creation of personas, field-based

research techniques, ethnography, analysis of web server log data, summative

evaluations or benchmarking of technological products, user research

projects, participatory design techniques, testing applications for mobile

devices, online communities and social computing, in home interviews,

brainstorm sessions, conversations with clients, dine-alongs, chat rooms,

proprietary tools like Curious, walk down Michigan Avenue, projective

exercises, semiotic exploratory, ideation sessions, panel discussions,

conversations with industry leaders, trend analysis, walking left instead of

right, chatting with the guy at the bar…

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3

Two Case Studies

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Help design engineers

choose the right part

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Creating user empathy

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Sparky Cohen

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Choosing the wrong partcould cause…

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Helping engineers specify electronic components

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“Extremely Satisfied”

91% recommend

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“Your website has the easiest to access, most readily available information out there. This is the one site I know I’ll find what I need and where it will be. You have no idea how sorry you make the other companies look.”

— Chris Price, Tyco Electronics customer

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What’s NOT a “Craft” Beer?

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Convince craft beer fans to give a mega beer brand a chance

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For craft beer drinkers, it’s all about taste

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Strategy:

Tasting is believing.

Taste, talk, repeat.

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Website9.7 million impressions in first 3 months

YouTube Thousands of user comments

Hundreds of user-generated videos

Media placements Drove brand awareness of the product

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American Ale doubled their forecasts from initial first-year sales expectations

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4

What’s Next for Planning?

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Future looks bright –and it’s approaching at the

speed of light

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A discipline, not just a job title

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5 tips for digging deeper

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1. Listen actively

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2. Revisit the insights

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3. Find an in

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4. Think big

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5. Get out of the office

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Discussion

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1

Do you typically work with planners as part of your

process? Why or why not?

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2

What role does branding play in the work you do?

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3

What’s the ideal working relationship between a planner

and IA/UX designer?

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Books

Truth, Lies and Advertising by John Steele

Eating Big Fish by Adam Morgan

Websites & Blogs

From the Head of Zeus Jones

Account Planning Group: APG.org.uk

Institute of Design: ID.IIT.edu

Videos

Redscout’s video series on planning

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