iMediaWorksConnect by @iMediaMichelle

The Next Frontier

A lethargic Austin morning greets me as I prepare to start another day as a SXSW newbie.  I move through my morning routine thinking about the days events to come, my mind wandering from to do list to all the faces I had met the night before.  As I start my shower, my head continues this daily conversation, until my eyes make an unexpected discovery.  I see that an 800 number and its URL mate have been prominently displayed on the face of the showerhead.  I’ll have to admit that I blinked.  Twice.  Now for the techset, this may not be that strange to find a brand other than the shampoo bottle present during one of their more personal moments.  But wearing my average consumer hat, it definitely caught my attention.

Staring at the showerhead, I began to think about what the brand, Speakman, intended by putting their information front and center on the product.  Of course, this would be immensely helpful during installation of the product in case any problems arose.  But once the piece was affixed and working, what then?  Did Speakman still want to hear from me?  Was this supposed to be an invitation to start a conversation?

During his SXSW09 plenary talk, Tony Hsieh stressed that customer service that delivers happiness is the core of his company Zappos’ culture.  Zappos’ focus is on building a lifelong relationship with each customer, one call at a time.  For Zappos, the 800# is one of the best tools for creating branding opportunities with their customers.  Contrary to many in the industry, Tony wants customers to call his company and his people to spend time with each customer, regardless if it relates to a direct sale.  The conversation rather than the transaction between brand and customer is most valued.  If people can call Zappos from a hotel room at 2am looking for a hot pizza, then shouldn’t someone be encouraged to call or tweet Speakman from a 7am shower just to share their gratitude for the rainforest spray power setting?

Now this is where things get bumpy.  Can we start to expect shower liners with advertising callouts, branded entertainment or coupons?  Touchscreen technology is exploding – its already finding its way into our living and dining rooms, the elevators we ride each day, the gas pumps we congregate around – are the shower walls next?  Imagine catching up on your iTunes shopping while getting a deep conditioning on your split ends.  Or better yet, being able to place your coffee order for pick up at Starbucks as you finish shaving.  But at what point do we say that certain spaces are “off limits” to brands?  Or, does it depend on the context?  Another SXSW09 panelist, Jamie Monberg, stated that you have to be thoughtful on where you place your assets and on the interaction you want to create.  To me, the best interactions result in great stories.  And how you create opportunities to appropriately generate and share those stories with consumers will be the main challenge for brands facing an increasingly digital world.  The right way can endear you for life.  The wrong way can get the door slammed in your face, with a slim to none chance for redemption. 

For now, we’ll have to wait and see how brands and consumers explore this next frontier.

The Story Begins

I’m sitting on the plane headed to Austin for SXSW and next to me is a little boy.  As I strike up a conversation with him, I discover that he is flying alone.  But not his first time he confidently assures me.  Our conversation turns to his love for Xbox.  Halo 2 is the easiest to play he says.  What about Xbox 3 the man in the other seat asks?  Didn’t play it.  Why, too violent?  Nah, he says, my dad’s xbox was broke.  Our little solo aviator goes on to tell his seat companions about his iPod (doesn’t have any music yet…maybe Tony Hawk eventually).  He has a pair of Bakugan Balls.  They keep him company.  See how they can hang upside down?  He tells me they stick to metal pretty good.  He recently got a new one from Walmart.  The other one is from his best friend Trenton.

As we’re talking I’m reminded of my own childhood solo flights to Puerto Rico – back when you could still check your bag for free, expect a hot meal in coach and not have to put your personal liquids in little plastic bags.  Everything about flying seemed like the coolest big adventure.  Watching the in-flight movie and reading a book where my entertainment mediums of the day and Snoopy was my travel companion.  I connected with others by simply talking to them, but my family and friends were left behind – out of the conversation.

Looking around now, you can’t help notice that we live in a world of endless devices which are our sources of information, entertainment and conversation.  Mobile phones, iPods and Gameboys are the steady travel companions of both young and old.  The conversation has now migrated beyond your seatmate into a digital world that always travels with you.  It used to be that getting on plane, train, bus, ship or car meant “checking out” for the next foreseeable future.  Now, your family, friends and larger community get to share the journey (or most of it) with you.  Through several of my friends who have already made their way to SXSW09, I was able to get the highs and lows of their journey via Twitter and Facebook.  Some cases good – you can avoid making same mistakes or take similar advantage of something cool.  Some cases bad – you really wish you didn’t have to hear about their 2am reverse encounter with the Taco Mac enchilada special.

All said, we now have a jillion stories being shared; each spawning a multitude of connections that are not just my family and friends, but acquaintances, colleagues and the exponential people I don’t even know yet that will somehow cross my path.  Brands are part of these connections too – willingly or not.  No one knows how all of these connections will fit together just yet.  That’s the interesting part.  The next adventure will be to see how all of the pieces will come together to create larger stories and who is a part of these stories.

For me, touching down in San Antonio was only the beginning of another story.  How it unfolds and is told is still to be determined.  For my little solo aviator, he just wants to make it home in time for Cartoon Network.  Thank goodness for Tivo.