Here are several excerpts from an excellent article by Garrik Schmitt, VP of experience planning at Razorfish, Super Bowl Shuffle: Why Marketers Will Shift to ‘Platforms’:
Unlike a website, banner, Facebook application or 30-second (Super Bowl) spot, a platform is an always-on digital environment that allows brands to run specific or multiple programs. The goal is to meaningfully engage consumers on multiple levels. For some brands, that means creating an immersive experience with integrated commerce. For others, it means enabling consumers to connect with each other in valuable, unexpected ways.
But for marketers, the real winners this year will be the brands who have built these platforms to engage consumers well after this year’s Super Bowl becomes a distant memory — there are another 364 days to worry about after all. Here’s a look at some of the more interesting platforms in play today…
- Community Action Platforms
- Crowdsourcing Platforms
- Commerce Platforms
- Brand Experience Platforms
- Social CRM Platforms
These are just a few examples of the kinds of platform moves brand marketers will make in 2010. There will certainly be more — especially with the rise in mobile and emerging technologies such as “touch” and augmented reality. The big question, however, will be whether brand marketers look to extend or “distribute” across existing social and experiential platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and their ilk, or will they create their own platforms? The smart money should be on both. It’s one thing to “fish where the fish are” but quite another to create experiences that will sustain consumers once the hubbub of Super Bowl Sunday has faded way. Creating an always-on platform for consumers is a winning play for the Monday morning after.
For much more, including examples of each of the above platforms, check out the complete source article.
