London, UK. Frederico Roberto (Executive Creative Director at Interweave)
“Our purpose is to create user centric brand experiences in real time, for real people”. How do you achieve this?
By literally placing people at the center of the experience. And I don’t mean physically only. I mean, all of who they are, their interests and past perceptions, their emotions and expectations, and knowledge of the wider context of the world. And then play with that. Through research, we can understand much of this. Through observation, see it with our eyes and experience it. And through technology you can increase the impact and reactiveness of anything you set yourself out to do. All of this together, makes one hell of a human experience.
What ingredients should a brand experience have in order to be effective?
There is no one-formula that dictates success. This said, we know, invariably, what we need to try to tap into in order to make it as effective, memorable and positive as possible. We know it needs to be surprising, it needs to prompt some sort of positive reaction. It needs to – ideally – be something that’s shareable (nowadays, it does play a big role). It should add something to people’s lives even in that very moment: a new teaching, a new experience, a new piece of info. Something that people can take away forever with them.
In this age of oversupply, how do you grow well-positioned brands?
Again, there is no one-formula to this. Rather, a mix of tactics and bigger strategies can come into place for a well-positioned brand to thrive. Innovation plays a big role, to keep the brand fresh and interesting. But it MUST address real problems or needs. Otherwise it’s just fluff. It should push, for a marketing and comms perspective, for a market growth. If the whole market grows – including competitors – then everybody grows. Including, obviously, said brand. Partnerships with other well-position brands for added value to people’s lives. People are not one-dimensional. A mattresses brand can tag along with a musical brand of some sort. Just as an example.
If an experience was effective in the local market, is it possible to replicate this same experience globally and expect equally effective results?
As with everything, it depends. If we’re talking about a global brand with a same global perception and role, let’s say NIKE for instance, then the human truth(s) that experience will tap into, is invariably consistent throughout the globe: “everybody can be an athlete”. However, we know that’s one thing to be an athlete (to use the same example) in Mozambique and another thing is to be an athlete in Canada or the UK. So obviously, we’ll need to adapt to the context and play with people’s expectations and needs in each one of the markets. The secret is in the nuances really, that should stem consistently from that one universal proposition.
How do you achieve universal ideas, those that could work well in India or in the UK for example?
I hope this doesn’t sound wrong, but we people are very simple: give us something to do, something to aspire to and something/someone to love (and be loved), and we’ll do just fine. And in that sense, having that framework is literally, the blueprint in which everything else sits on. Addressing one, two or the three of the goals above should be a stable to any strategy of brand experience, anywhere in the world.
All creative action should be measurable?
Absolutely. There are really only 3 types of goals: Brand Awareness, Brand Building and Brand Engagement. All have different purposes and all have different metrics and impact in the business. Ideas always play in these 3 territories. Sometimes they dabble in the 3 at the same time, but really, an idea should have a specific focus of brand awareness, brand building or brand engagement.
Are media and actions that are not measurable doomed to disappear?
I don’t think it’s a question of disappearing. I think it’s a question of not even being contemplated in the first place. Commercial advertising and communication have a very clear role in the whole marketing mix of a brand or company. We do work about people, with people and for people. A reaction from the other side is always expected, as if it were a conversation. If the availability from the people on the other side of the fence is non-existent in the first place, then why even bother? We can shout all we want. We’ll not spark any interest of any kind. And it all starts by having something to say. A product that adds value. It’s not rocket science. Which doesn’t mean that’s not bloody hard work. It is. And when it pays off, it’s amazingly rewarding.