As a car guy, I have on occasion fiddled with optioning out cars online which I never intend to buy.  Usually, this means that when you select different wheels, paint colours, and a sunroof, these are reflected on a 3D model of the car.  While that’s great, it’s also somewhat unsatisfying because I always want to see what my car would actually look like in the real world.

Mercedes has the answer with it’s new car configurator which takes users through a series of images on Instagram, eventually arriving at their perfect car.

First of all, because of the 3D nature of many other configurators, using them on mobile devices is a huge pain and often impossible.  No such worries here.  And suddenly Mercedes turns all those users, who normally would just make a car on their configurator then leave, into sources of earned media as they share and discuss their setups.  It’s a brilliant way to make a conversation out of a traditionally isolated activity.

However, unlike a regular configurator, this one does not show prices.  I believe it’s for the best though.  Most users are not looking to buy a car when they use the configurator.  It takes months for your bespoke vehicle to come off the assembly line anyways and MSRPs aren’t negotiable online like they are at a dealership.  Adding prices would just take the fun out of it.  Plus, the purpose of these configurators apps has always been to drum up interest, not create sales directly.  And what better way to do the former than to have people share their new dream Merc with their friends?

Over the last few years, as companies have looked for a competitive edge when it comes to their social media campaigns, the medium, and particularly social listening, has become more and more fast-paced.  Tweets which are well timed and relevant to followers have the ability to garner huge attention and go viral in minutes instead of hours or days.  The epitome of this is Oreo’s legendary “You Can Still Dunk in the Dark” tweet, which was made within a few moments of the power going out at the Superbowl.

But where does this race to become faster, more relevant, and to reach users in unusual circumstances end?  john st thinks it never will.  Or, they do think it will but they might

The moral of the story?  Content is king.  Trying to be faster is only useful if the message is particularly engaging and engaging content usually takes time to create.  And let’s be honest with ourselves, Oreo’s tweet was pretty great, but they are just a cookie brand.  Did the tweet really send people rushing to the shops for Oreos and milk?  Probably not.  More likely, it just made Oreos seem little bit cooler than they were before.  Which is great but how much of purchase behaviour for cookies is governed by the coolness of the brand?  I suspect very little.  I would rank “flavour” and “texture” far above “wittiness of social media campaign” for my purchases of baked treats.

I could be wrong of course but unless Oreo’s business is set up to register every time their cookies are scanned at a cash register, I doubt Oreo could prove otherwise.

In my last post, I introduced the SoDA report and commented on the criteria Forrester Research developed to summarize the qualities of successful branded apps.  However, I did not get to discuss the far more promising list proposed by Harvard Business Review:

1. Add convenience
2. Offer unique value
3. Provide social value
4. Offer incentives
5. Entertain

1, 4 and 5 are self-explanatory but 2 and 3 might require some details which are not evident from the name of the criteria alone.  Offering unique value entails providing clients with features in apps that aren’t available through a website and the most obvious way to do that is to use features that are specific to a smartphone or tablet rather than a desktop.  GPS, QR scanning, tilt sensors and many other device-specific features are some of the most obvious, and often the most compelling, ways to build unique features and value into apps.  Social value in this case generally ties into cause marketing and other initiatives which allow users to become part of something bigger than just the usual consumption-fest.

What I really applaud HBR for is that, rather than vaguely describing abstract qualities of successful apps in a cohort, it has actually provided useful, practical advice through it’s criteria.

Want people to adopt your branded app?  It can’t just be a re-skin of your website that’s been better optimized for mobile or tablet users.  It has to have a function that utilizes the device in a way that makes a particular task easier or specific information more readily accessible when needed.  Numerous consumer brands with their own retail locations have done extremely well by allowing their clients to scan barcodes or QR codes with their phones to see reviews on stock before buying, or providing complimentary items and enhancing the shopping experience.  A real-life Amazon recommendation service if you will.

And while these features are useful, to keep people using the app time and again, you need to keep them engaged.  Providing social value through initiatives, entertaining them and providing exclusive incentives are fantastic ways to do so and all 3 methods can be leveraged for maximum user acquisition and retention.

If I ever have to design an app, these 5 qualities will absolutely be part of the checklist that will guild me through the process.

This year’s eagerly-anticipated SoDA report was just released.  The 44 page document has some gems but are buried in anecdotal opinion pieces, as in previous editions, that can be a bit wishy washy.  Many readers, including myself, would rather they provide real discussions and comparisons of practical advice and differing approaches to social and digital advertising that have emerged over the year.  So I thought I would distill some of my favourite snippets of the report.

Of particular interest to me is the comparison between the criteria for a successful branded app developed by two highly-respected institutions: Harvard Business Review and Forrester Research.  The former recommends branded apps:

1. Add convenience
2. Offer unique value
3. Provide social value
4. Offer incentives
5. Entertain

While Forrester recommends apps are:

1. Useful
2. Usable
3. Desirable

I can’t help but think Forrester mailed it in on this one, and I don’t believe this is a new theme for them.  Many of their treatments of digital and social media have attempted to be the first on the scene, as they try to establish Forrester as the same definitive force online that it is in classic advertising media.  Unfortunately, they seem to rush their analysis like a company pushing it’s product to market for a first mover advantage, only to discover that that advantage is worth nothing if the product is poorly conceived.  Their criteria could be used for pretty much every consumer product that currently exists and Forrester’s explanation of these criteria does not reveal these to be overly simplistic labels.  They truly are saying “Well, it needs to not be hard to use, it needs to do something people want, and they need to want it for them to use it”.  Thanks guys.

Read the full SoDA report here: http://www.slideshare.net/sodaspeaks/the-soda-report-volume-2-2014