THOUGHTS ON COMMUNICATIONS PRODUCTS

Remember back two years ago when we used to talk a lot about Youtube and online video. Back then in my blogs, and many other blogs, it was common to embed a lot of video. This was a very good example of a communications tool that made using video online really simple.

YouTube was sold to Google, but the lesson for me was how new digital tools - such as Youtube - could create separate companies that were worth a lot of money. And also generate a ton of traffic.

I mention all of this because I read my friend Brian Morrissey's post this morning about a new British agency called Analog Folk focusing on building 'Communications Products.'

As the ad industry scrambles to build the next Nike+, a new agency sees a chance to specialize in building long-lasting brand platforms -- and take a piece of the action. A half-dozen executives...have joined forced to launch AnalogFolk, a shop that is dedicated to what it is calling "communications products" that meld digital technology with real-world interaction. Unlike regular bits of ad messaging, a communications product is sought out by consumers, even bought, the shop believes. "We need to be thinking of communications as a product rather than something that has finite value that decreases over time," said Matt Dyke, a founding partner and head of planning at DDB London. "You do a Super Bowl ad, then it loses value and eventually peters out."

I think this is an interesting venture considering that hundreds of new online video companies have launched with thousands of programs, business models, tools and services. The result…it has never been cheaper to make communications tools, communications products, widgets, etc BUT, never been harder to get attention.

I suppose the challenge for an agency that is dedicated to developing communications products is twofold. 1. Help companies develop these products. 2. Market these products.

Both seem to be solid forms of revenue generation.

What's interesting to me is not so much a focus on 'communication products' but the activation of long-standing and inactive consumer data-bases. The one thing that really makes sense today is to develop communications tools that enable you to activate millions of names and emails on thousands of databases that remain in-active and gathering dust.

This is where technology firms + creative thinkers + marketers + advertisers will come together to form new business partnerships and new revenue streams. At StrawberryFrog we are in partnership with about a dozen very respected global brands to do just that. It's very much the wild west out there.

The reality is that no one firm has all or any of the experience to pull this off alone. The businesses that will be able to provide the best solutions for clients are those who have a broad network of specialist firms. But more, companies that have an open-source culture that encourage the gathering together of dynamic individuals and small firms to create communications tools, communications products, service-tainment concepts that really work over time and don't just suck money.

In this mix will be people rarely if ever seen in traditional communications firms - business building specialists who know how to write business plans that will lead to new forms of revenue generation for advertisers and not create simply a cool sink hole for wasted marketing dollars.

Why is this important? Because if you are a client that is thinking of getting into the communications products business, you could do a lot worse than to study the fast growing internet brands like Etsy, Yelp.com, Zillow.com - that have attracted and activated users - and are helping them build more community and brand loyalty through a web show. That makes sense, but how do you do it still needs to be worked out. Communications products are fascinating, but continue to be a very difficult place to be as an advertiser, let alone an entrepreneur.

I'll let you know how our R&D work proceeds with our clients and with the consortium of dynamic partners we have brought together to build these new communications products/tools/service-tainments into viable businesses.

Comments

[Andre Galhardo]

Jean Baudrillard wrote about Communications Products many years ago:
"There's no product communication. We should think of communication as a product itself - to be produced, distributed and consumed"
Couldn't find the exact quote, sorry ;)
Anyway, loved Analog Folk's concept - good luck for them.

[Brian Morrissey]

Great thoughts, Scott. It's an interesting idea, but I agree that pulling it off is super-difficult. After all, I always wonder why nearly two years later we haven't seen "the next Nike+."

[Nishad]

Agree fully Scott

I think there is an opportunity for a Creative Generalist kind of person, who could bring these four different kinds of people you talk about together to produce the next wave of interactions, entertainment, loyalty, whatever.