Disruptive brands and digital whirlpools

David Baddiel is not, perhaps, the first person you might expect to see as the concluding speaker at a conference on brands and digital marketing. And, with the soundtrack to Baddiel’s opening gambit nothing other than 1996 anthem collaboration with Frank Skinner, ‘Three Lions’, the audience were forgiven for thinking they’d wandered into the wrong event. Yet the session, curated by Chris Clarke, international chief creative officer of Digitaslbi, proved not to be about the relative merits of releasing a catchy, football-themed hit.

Instead, Baddiel’s talk at Marketing in the Maelstrom proved to be a thoughtful discussion on the relative merits of extending creativity to the realms of social media.

And the notion of the unexpected was a theme which carried on throughout the entire afternoon and into the evening.

Digitaslbi’s New Front 2016 event was held on 14 October in the bustling, historic surroundings of the Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane. Aptly named Marketing in the Maelstrom, the afternoon covered all manner of digital trends and challenges. This, all while encouraging the audience to recgonise that individual audience input is just as, if not more important, than the rise of the digital-first brand.

Atul Choudrie, CEO of paid survey mobile app start-up, OnePulse, began proceedings. In today’s instantly connected world, Choudrie says, consumers don’t have the time or inclination to spend 20 minutes filling out an online survey. OnePulse remedies this through bringing surveys to an app and instantly rewarding the participant – no promises of a £20 Amazon voucher prize draw here.

To demonstrate, the Marketing in the Maelstrom audience was asked to download the app and do a quick OnePulse survey. 30 seconds later, the results appeared on the screen behind Choudrie, bringing benefits to both business and consumer.

In a slight change to advertised proceedings, assistant director of the Greater London Autority (GLA), Andrew Collinge, shared insight into how and why the government is developing London into a ‘smart city.’ Data and tech, Collinge argues, is one of the biggest potential facts in changing the lives of Londoners – now, and in the future. Free and open data sharing source, the London DataStore is undoubtedly a huge step forward in informing both authorities and the public about changes to the capital.

Yet, says Collinge, being savvy about which data is actually used should be the next major change. While transport benefits hugely from apps such as CityMapper, which cuts down journey times and can prevent unnecessary public transport use, other challenges in the capital should be next on the list. Rogue landlords and changes to adult social care, Collinge says, should be priorities on this list.

Media strategies for the future was an insight into the phenomenon of journalistic disruption. Speakers from instant photo and journalism source, UNILAD, LGBTQ+ UK and world news outlet, Gay Star News, and entertainment media company, Mashable, discussed the challenges associated with connecting to a multi-platform audience. Identity is also hugely important in the new journalistic landscape.

All outlets agreed that the new benchmark for easy-to-consumer journalism is fast becoming the number of shares an article gets, rather than how many likes or comments it receives. The more people are sharing content, the more people identify with it – if they say the want to read it, keep producing similarly popular content. As Tris Reid-Smith, editor-in-chief of Gay Star News, put it, none of these rules are new. The main thing is maintaining audience appeal, while ensuring the content being disseminated doesn’t become stale.

A later session of the day discussed how challenger brands make a mark in their respective sectors – some of which are saturated with content. Particularly striking was Jimmy Cregan, co-founder of iced coffee-based start-up, and his admission that living his company’s motto – ‘Keep your chin up’ – helps him stay optimistic about his brand, and about his life, always.

There was also input from Sam Michael, designer at digital-first, app-based bank, Monzo. Michael explains how Monzo is aiming for 10% growth per week, with a business model which negates the need to visit a physical building. As banking enjoys a rich heritage, largely based in high-street locations and impressive buildings, Monzo is truly disrupting the status quo. For this brand, digital is its home; it reception to future trends will determine later success.

Culminating with insight and wisdom from Baddiel about pitching humour to an audience on social media, Marketing in the Maelstrom proved to be a thoughtful, engaging and informative afternoon.

The diverse array of speakers elucidated the difficulties and intricacies of marketing and communicating primarily through the digital sphere. And, with the age of digital disruption just beginning, proved an invaluable source of inspiration for any business, brand or journalist to which the move from print is already posing a challenge.