B2C Lessons: 7 Key Brand Strategies for the Era of Digital Convergence

The ever-expanding era of digital convergence has seen a growing rise of integrated media and technology ventures, from multi-channel networks (MCNs) to social talent incubators, app ecosystems, next-gen tech accelerators, online publishers, short-form video providers, mobile gaming platforms, and audience development hubs. Given the endlessly evolving nature of modern technology, the industry landscape continues to become more fragmented, fueled by ongoing investments in innovation and the pursuit of the next Killer App. As a result, the current state of the digital economy is both highly dynamic and volatile.

This environment measures success by continual growth which, in turn, is based on the steady progress of product and service design. The focus on test-and-learn processes and iterative optimization across key growth areas represents an integral part of this business context. The majority of new ventures emphasize the value of content in their offering which is crucial, yet no longer exclusive, to long-term viability.

In fact, the major players have all cultivated multiple features at the intersection of media, culture, and technology to launch, sustain, and expand their position in the digital economy.As brands grow their presence in the direct-to-consumer space to more effectively reach and engage their audience, it is vital to gain an understanding of the best practices that shape digital transformation.Niche Audiences: The notion of the mass audience has effectively become a remnant of the past in the growing multi-platform economy.

While a small number of mainstream platforms like Facebook and Amazon command the lions share of digital attention, the growing access to the web has led to the rise of numerous consumer touch points. By shifting focus from one to multiple niche audience segments, brands can develop meaningful connections and organic synergies with consumers. At the same time, they can ensure growth via user aggregation and the creation of a network that emphasizes various experiences.

Community Management: To effectively create a space for consumers, both mainstream and niche, to return to on a regular basis, it is vital for brands to treat them not just as a passive audience but as an active community. Essentially, this means that brands need to facilitate the interaction between consumers and service/product. The web is social and conversation is the most valuable currency.

Case in point, the startup Victorious builds mobile apps for superfans of digital stars. Each app represents an interactive news hub where creators and fans can interact, collaborate, and engage in creative endeavors.Multi-Platform Presence: The initial focus of digital players was the cultivation of a unique consumer experience in a single branded environment.

The website served as the core online identity of a brands digital presence. However, as major platforms have moved into direct-to-consumer publishing, the focus on one consumer destination has become less viable. To capture and engage consumer attention, brands need to invest in a multi-platform presence across social media, mobile, and over-the-top.

For example, Buzzfeed completely changed its digital approach resulting in explosive ongoing growth.Dynamic Offering: Dynamic pricing and advertising features are key to sustaining a more varied and engaging experience for consumers. Twitch and YouNow, for instance, enable its users to send donations to its creators which creates a fan-driven monetization engine that goes beyond the static subscription model.

Likewise, startups like Vessel experiment with new digital ad design in order to pioneer the next stage of the pre-roll and Snapchats Discover section showcases the possibilities of mobile user engagement through high-quality video and smooth touch navigation.Content Flow: Content is King. High-quality programming and the focus on building long-term IP remains an important part of audience development.

At the same time, it is vital to ensure a steady stream of content to sustain engagement at all times. YouTube Gaming and Twitch consistently push live content to heighten the audiences sense of involvement. Likewise, Netflix lets videos play on an ongoing basis and Facebook has enabled auto-play to turn streaming into an everyday practice.

This trend towards pushing content needs to be balanced with a variety of programming through multiple genres to be effective. Influencer Strategy: The demand and supply side in the new content economy has been effectively leveled. The result is an oversaturation of content that complicates the effectiveness of direct-to-consumer distribution.

To cut through the noise, brands increasingly rely on social influencers who represent the next stage of mainstream IP. Yet, focusing on one-off deal activations rarely leads to success given the rapidly changing content landscape. Therefore, brands need to develop systematic and structured relationships with social influencers ideally, as both content creators and creative directors.

UX Design: Another core element of establishing brand presence and engagement in the digital world is navigation. To ensure that consumers can find, access, and interact with brands, it is important to create a seamless and easy-to-use ecosystem. Brands thus need to invest in the development of user experience design.

The global success of Netflix, for example, can be explained through its clean and simple interface design. In fact, since content has become a standard offering, the value of UX Design has only increased. Consumers actively look for the best digital experience that makes them come back.

Going direct-to-consumer requires the integration of all of these key features. As the landscape grows more competitive, consumers expect state-of-the-art service design as an integral part of a brands online presence. As such, the convergence of media, culture, and technology needs to drive the long-term strategic development of brands.

It is the new playbook of the digital economy. 18 is the innovation research facility of Havas, headquartered in Paris, with offices in Los Angeles, Bogota, Seoul, and Tel Aviv. Together, we are building a satellite network of innovation hubs to be 18 months ahead of new developments in the converging industries of media, culture, technology, and data science.

In each office, we connect with established market leaders, first-rate universities, and startups. RELATED QUESTION Why don't hotel rooms have ceiling lights? My hotel building is over 100 years old, so we have ceiling lights.

We also need a ladder to change a bulb 11' from the floor. It can take 20 minutes for 1 bulb! This is one reason that we have changed to the longer lasting (and more economical) low-energy bulbs.

I would be delighted to have wall lights instead. Retro-fitting them would however be even less economically sound. Higher than average ceilings mean ladders to change the bulbs in ceiling fittings, and this extends the maintenance time and convenience for staff enormously.

Even normal height ceilings mean that a chair is needed to swap a bulb out. Wall fittings are so much more convenient for both staff and customers, reducing the time taken to get light again! As Michael Forrest Jones says - anything other than a simple bulb swap requires the power to be cut to the whole circuit (which may be more than just a few rooms).

This makes it very awkward to do emergency repairs after dark! -- Been there done that. Go with wall fittings that can be isolated in-room!

In short: I have ceiling lights. I don't like them, as they are awkward for maintenance. Replacing them would be expensive and extremely difficult - basically a total rewire of the hotel lighting system.

Design engineers are not stupid. they note the first 2 points!