Insights into Brand Experience

Up until recently, you'd be hard-pressed to find the words "user experience" and "book" in the same sentence. With the Kindle, Amazon was arguably the first company to begin that discussion. Prior to January 27, there was much speculation and anticipation that Apple would open that discussion up more with the introduction of their tablet device, the iPad. Unfortunately, what Apple presented during its much-hyped keynote was more of an incremental step forward in the e-book experience. Why? – The iPad uses the ePub format for books, which doesn't allow for rich media.

Rather than sit idle, publishers are working hard to create custom apps to bring readers the future of the book. Well, that's at least what we were all hoping. This week Penguin Books showcased the first next-gen efforts of the book publishing industry, and all I can say is, "Wow!"

It seems that marketers are finally starting to realize that delivering valuable, relevant content to consumers has some merit. In truth, this has been going on for years, and I'm surprised that there continues to be a debate about it.

Beyond welcoming content from your brand, today's consumer expects it—whether it comes in the form of how-to guides and videos, a consumer electronics video blog, or an iPhone app that helps you remove stains.

This shift is something that we've been talking about at Sequel for a long time. There's a saying we have when speaking with new clients, "You're now in the content business."

Interesting video here with Verizon's CMO on their marketing strategy.

While the other networks drove their business by (mostly) promoting their new sexy handsets, Verizon's message was always about the network. Everyone on the other networks find themseves constantly thinking about Verizon (or more specifically about that chap with glasses) when they plead into their phone with frustration "can you hear me now?" Genius.

Earlier this fall, and against our advice, a client pulled back on what had always been an important investor communication. After disappointing year-end results, the CEO believed it was simply not worth the investment. His stark perspective was this: Do without the project or another FTE.

It's hard to argue with brutal reality. Nevertheless let me try.