I think I made a mistake.
We’ve said we do “digital brand strategy.” We’ve talked about what that means. And I still think there’s still a lot of truth to all that. But it doesn’t tell the full story, and I finally realize why. Digital is a medium. And that makes digital brand strategy a medium strategy (medium being the singular of media, not wedged between small and large).
Some might say it’s a semantic difference, but I’m coming to realize it isn’t.
I had this epiphany while attending a session at SXSW when the presenter said digital is a series of ones and zeros strung together and delivered to your computer, cell phone, or whatever. Interactive means people interact. It’s medium-agnostic. You can interact with a website, a physical button, and people. More importantly, interact is a verb. I interact with this switch and that light turns on. Or I read your blog post and interact by commenting on it. And I interact with the cashier by giving them money for a delicious burrito.
For me, interactive used to mean “web.” So I rejected it, thinking digital meant web, mobile, kiosks… and while that is true, it leaves out a crucial part of the equation.
Conversations aren’t digital. They might be had over a digital medium, but conversations are interactions. And interactive brands are brands that don’t simply push their marketing message out to the masses. They have conversations, they have a give and take, they interact. Interactive brands are the ones who will make meaning through these interactions.
Substance isn’t a digital brand strategy agency. We’re an interactive brand strategy agency. We concept and figure out ways for brands to interact with people, no matter what medium. Then we design and build these interactions, no matter what medium.
The more we remind ourselves of the difference between digital and interactive, the more we think about the interaction and less about the media. And this allows us to build interactions between a sales force and their customers, between a skier and a mountain, and yes, between people and a website.
Oh, and the next challenge is redefining what “strategy” means. What an overused word.
Awesome perspective. Strategy is simply a well-coordinated set of activities. And to define those tactics takes insight, listening and playtime. And then we have to put that all into action. Strategy is so passive — action is what matters. So maybe you are an interactive brand action agency.
Or just a company of sweet hot human driven activators. That is what I want to be.
2:50 pm / 19 May 2009
I like your take of the differences of digital and interacitve. I think it is a great way to position an agency!!
3:59 pm / 19 May 2009
Here here! I couldn’t agree with you more. One of my favorite examples of this are the Saatchi & Saatchi Quicksilver bus stop ads. They made the ad an actual skateboard ramp! Now that is an interactive experience that I will remember.
http://cubeme.com/blog/2007/04/25/quiksilver-bus-stop-by-saatchi-saatchi/
11:23 pm / 19 May 2009
I never understood why digital is used. At North I was dubbed the “digital director”. A clock in 1960 was digital.
Therefore, your decision agrees with me.
3:11 pm / 20 May 2009
Great insight into the differentiation of digital and interactive. I also agree with you that the semantics matter.
Knowing the depth that “digital/interactive” brand strategy reaches into an organization, can that strategy be isolated to a single medium focus? I think it is there that your new definition of interactive as “interactions between company and customer” really has strength because it is not limited by medium. It is fundamental.
3:12 pm / 20 May 2009
Great post, Stephen. I will now always enjoy thinking of “digital” as being just about a size medium right between small and large. Looking forward to the strategy conversation.
3:17 pm / 20 May 2009
Stephen, You are absolutely right about using “interactive” in breaking limitations: interactive can also be a touch, a stare, an energy wave, etc. I view “digital” as a transmission/transformation medium. Yes, simple ones and zeros that allow us to use electricity impulses through an electronic circuit. Then with logic and design we can program certain conclusions that dynamically create more complex patterns of information. Digital for me is the medium that allows us to use/create/program wired and wireless devices that promote new ways of perceiving the world, communicating with others, conducting business. The beauty comes when we are able to harmonically integrate these devices into any interactive medium communicating in new ways that map our understanding of relationships.
11:02 am / 21 May 2009