David DeCheser

What do you do?

I’m responsible for connecting strategy, business goals, and brand to the living, breathing, digital experience. To accomplish this, I lead the creative and user experience teams for our interactive practice. That means I’m responsible, ultimately, for the success of everything we create in this space.

What new types of challenges are your clients facing today?

With the advent of social media there’s been a radical shift of power from brands to consumers. While this has enabled deeper customer relationships and unprecedented insight, it also challenges a brand’s legacy. Companies now have to think about how user ratings or crowd-sourcing product development affects the way their brand might be perceived as innovative or authoritative.

Other than social media, where else are your clients focusing their online efforts?

Definitely in the mobile space. The ease of use and appeal of the iPhone has really demonstrated that mobile computing can have a mass appeal. Rather than seeing mobile as being a bare-bones port of their website, clients are realizing that they have a digital platform that multiple channels can access and deliver in a more native and optimized experience.

What does all this technology mean to a branding agency?

It means that we approach all of our engagements, branding and otherwise, with the knowledge that, today, all brands are inherently digital and interactive. As the branding agency, we’re better positioned to structure that open and multidimensional dynamic than an interactive agency is.