Letter from New York: Quick... make me feel something!

Digital is hard... and part of the challenge is to move away from the impulse to create and then measure its impact, predominantly as an activation vehicle, with direct short term ROI.  Clicks are not meaningful.  Likes don’t necessarily lead to “lift”. Even broadly adopted new channels don’t (yet) equal the reach of the gold standard of TV. So what is a brand to do?

We know that 5-Star marketing relies on creative ideas that move people emotionally rather than attempt to persuade. But the smaller the cognitive space that digital media occupies in consumers’ ever shorter attention spans, the harder the task of connecting emotionally

Here in the US we are seeing some pretty interesting test-and-learn examples... and my favorite is the DIY home improvement retailer, Lowe’s, which has created marvelously playful, six second Vine Videos they are calling “Lowe’s Fix in Six” .

These deliriously helpful posts for general household fixes just make you smile (and actually are remarkably informative.)  There is no “buy this at Lowe’s” nor any “Buy one get one free”.  Just funny and super helpful hints... 'surroundingly' branded!

Lowe’s has linked to the Vine videos from their Pinterest page, which features a much bigger array of quirky joyful “fix it” recipes.  Arguably the tip of cleaning dirty outdoor grills by soaking them in coffee for an hour, or removing water stains from wood by spreading them with real mayo for four hours (who knew?) doesn’t boost short term sales at the retailer one bit.



But I LOVE these. They make me HAPPY... and I am going to read them all... and if I am going to think of a DIY partner for all my household “OOPS!” moments, who else but Lowe’s?

They made me feel something joyful,  VERY quickly, to lasting effect I suspect.  A tiny step towards building long-term fame. Oh, and I just shared this with you  ☺... so even if you are NOT on Pinterest... or NOT actively watching videos on Vine... I have spread the word about the Lowe’s Brand.  Get it?

Any other brands you know who are trying hard in digital, and making you FEEL something?  Send us examples @BrainJuicer with  #digitalishard.

Susan Griffin is CMO of BrainJuicer, a global brand strategy and marketing consultancy. She is  based  New York, and leads international marketing for the firm.  You can reach her at [email protected]