Digital reality: The gap between online and real-world activation

Dove's "Real Beauty Sketches" and the Australian Metro Train's "Dumb Ways To Die" are campaigns that every agency aspires to. The common denominator in this kind of work is that it is digitally-led, shareable and founded on compelling, content-rich ideas. But it also moves beyond the "digital canvas" and into everyday conversations and behaviour.

Digitally integrated

What was traditionally referred to as below-the-line activations and point-of-sale is still a massively important marketing channel, especially in South Africa. Unfortunately the most common way of making this communication "digitally integrated" is by slapping on an SMS shortcode, a Twitter handle and a Facebook URL. This is inadequate when the digital space is one massive competition for attention.

However, South Africans who are already in store are a far more captive and receptive audience than those scrolling through their Facebook and Twitter feeds at work. They are using their mobile phones at the point of purchase to compare prices, read online reviews and get friends' input.

The potential for consumer engagement is most powerful at this "Zero Moment of Truth" (when a purchase is made) and on the social-digital channels used to inform that purchase decision. So why are we not focussing on bringing these two channels closer together?

Imagine brands linked social platforms to rewards programmes at sign up. For example, every time you purchased something at Pick 'n Pay and used your Smart Shopper card, you would qualify for additional points by sharing your purchase on your social networks. Niche target markets are especially ideal for this kind of interaction, as they allow for a higher level of customisation.

Sharing and status

NATIVE VML recently developed a project for General Motors called "Isuzu Trail View", which mapped several of South Africa's most popular 4x4 trails using similar technology as Google's street view. This allowed 4x4 enthusiasts to see every inch of a trail before they attempted it. They could also contribute via social networks their own tips about the trail at the exact co-ordinates, making the Trail View site a richer, deeper experience.

This is not just applicable to retail or niche environments either. Think of the number of people at bars or restaurants tweeting or Instagramming their drinks and "good times" with friends. The principles of sharing, status and egotism that form the foundation for social media are most evident here.

Promoters may be collecting data and doing giveaways, but we are not digitally tapping into and amplifying brands at this point of consumption. There is a gap for creating memorable brand experiences that straddle the "real world" social occasion and its "virtual" equivalent.

Consumer engagement

A table talker that says "hashtag your favourite whisky to win" is not impressive or worth sharing online. A brand manager or ambassador who pitches up at the venue simply because I shared a photo of all my friends drinking Jameson? That is impressive, and it is something that will be shared and remembered by every one of those friends. Never underestimate the power of a real-life interaction and the ripple effect it can have.

Unlike the predominantly brand-building platforms of TV and radio, below-the-line activations and social media share a very powerful common goal - consumer engagement. And true consumer engagement is about putting the "social" back into social media. For what is social media if not an online representation of one's life events, connections and interactions?

It is time we shifted our focus from digital integration with above-the-line communications and start focussing on where the consumer exists by creating work that lives in people's lives.