GDPR is a hot topic right now. We have guest blogger Will Kemble-Clarkson, from business consultants Ctrl-Shift, to tell you the five areas that businesses need to get to grips with. In case you’ve missed the recent coverage, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is coming into force a year from now for businesses, and consumers alike, it is easily the most important, impactful regulation in recent times.  Rooted in harmonising consumer rights across Europe, it strengthens consumer rights around how data is collected, used and shared as well as introducing a raft of new regulations that put consumers in control of their data. Considering GDPR has been active regulation (but not enforced) for over a year, it has taken a while for businesses to take it seriously.  As it hovers into view, web-chatter around GDPR has been climbing to a crescendo, and yet the impact the regulation will have on businesses has yet to fully sink in.   Make no mistake, this is not a matter to palmed off to your compliance team and here’s why. We’re moving from a world where businesses can, and do, capture and use customers’ data in ways these customers don’t know about to run much of their core marketing operations, to a world where business can’t.  If businesses want to use the data, they’ll have to engage their customers in a conversation about their data (hard to do) and then convince them that the way that data is uses delivers good value to them (near impossible when it comes to marketing-related uses). That means no more marketing, omni-channel tracking, web analytics, CRM, profiling and anything else that isn’t absolutely core to delivering the service the customer thinks they’ve signed up for. Put simply, the way marketing used data today is all about to come to an end. So whilst compliance teams will be focused on ensuring that their businesses are meeting minimum viable GDPR compliance by the May 25th 2018 deadline, other key business functions such as product, marketing and customer experience, have to step in to understand the implications for how they operate. Businesses that fail to grasp this wider point when designing their GDPR response, risk a far worse consequence to their business than a whopping regulatory fine – they risk haemorrhaging their customer base.   Here are five parts of the regulation that we see as critical for the wider business to get to grips with: Consent:  This is the beating heart of the regulation – the obligation for businesses to ensure that their customers understand what data is being collected, how it’s being used and get their affirmative, unambiguous consent to use it.  No more pre-ticked boxes, bundled permissions and suchlike will be allowed, marketing are going to have to think carefully about how they present their case for access to customer data.  GDPR also requires that businesses make it as easy to withdraw consent as it is to give it, so the permission will need to be earned and maintained. Profiling: Customers will have the right to opt out of any form of automated profiling, which impacts everything from CRM and direct marketing to customised pricing.  This will push businesses to be transparent about how customers’ data is being used and, critically, whether the value being created is balanced in the favour of the customer or the businesses. The right to opt out of marketing: Once this is requested, all marketing must stop immediately.   Consumer research has indicated that over 60% of customers will refuse permission for marketing which means, with the right to be forgotten (see below), businesses will permanently lose access to the majority of customer data which will kill growth and costs will go up, especially acquisition costs, hammering margins. The right to be forgotten: Once a customer has decided to leave, they can request that all of their data is erased.  The technical implications of deleting data from a multiplicity of databases aside, this will also impact systems that rely on the data to power CRM, pricing and other core resources management function. Plus, from a marketing perspective, it also means retargeting past customers will be impossible. Data portability: Customers will be able to ask for a copy of their personal data in a machine-readable format. Whilst were still awaiting regulator guidance on exactly how much data and in what format (e.g. API versus CSV file) this is going to drive competition.  Sectors that have become complacent in the face of consumer inertia, financial services for example, could find GDPR increases the chances of disintermediation. Customers will be able to give competitors access to their data to create a new value layer around the customer; possibly leaving the incumbent business with all the costs and the new service with all the margin. If you’re reading this as someone responsible for any part of the customer experience and it comes as, if not a surprise, then much more than you’d expected then you have some hard yards to travel over the next 12 months.  However, providing you follow some core principles in your response, then you should be fine. Step One: Move, because the deadline won’t and you may have to make some fundamental changes to how you develop and deliver marketing campaigns. Step Two: Build a foundation of knowledge around the data. Run a data audit to identify areas of risk, where data is being used in a non-compliant way.  Once you have mapped out the risk areas, then cross-reference this with how becoming compliant will impact your business area if no action is taken other than the steps required by GDPR, i.e. asking customer to consent for profiling without changing how that profiling might improve the customer’s experience. Step Three: Agree your GDPR for Growth strategy: with constraints of time and resources, where are the hotspots to focus on, where will you aim to achieve minimal viable compliance and where will you drive to improve the customer relationship through creating better data-driven services. Step Four: Test, Learn and Iterate. Apply the same practices you use to develop new products and services: understand what your customers think of how you use their data, explore design options for consent journeys.  You are operating in uncharted waters so make sure you’re able to adapt to what you learn. At all times, ask yourself what does the customer want?   GDPR is complicated and there are still areas where the guidance on what constitutes marketing is not clear. But if you can keep the customer at the centre of your decision making process then you will at least be compliant with the spirit of GDPR, even if not the letter – which the regulator, and more importantly, the customer may forgive you for. #data #gdpr #regulation

Another month, another trend. Here at OneFifty, we’re continuing to live social trends, with veganism , gin , outdoor cinema , and craft beer amongst ones we’ve experienced so far this year – purely for research purposes, of course. As summer draws to a rather underwhelming conclusion this year, most people will consider September a fairly drab month where it’s too late to hope for a bit more sunshine, but too soon to start posting Christmas memes on Facebook. What did we all do last September? Well, social data would tell you that we actually did quite a lot, most of which correlates with our monthly trend: the ‘life reset’. What is the life reset? Earlier in the year, we looked at the ‘health reset’ , where people pick up their abandoned new year’s resolutions in a second attempt to adapt their lifestyle for the better. The life reset is similar, but takes a number of different forms: renewing, restarting, upgrading, and starting something new. Renewing September is the month where people renew subscriptions or memberships. There is a 256% difference in Twitter conversation around rail cards and Oyster cards between September and March. Similarly, September is also the second most popular month (after January) for people searching for gym memberships on Google. Those who are interested in rail and underground transport are predominantly in the 25-34 age bracket, with very little difference in interest from men and women. This is also true of those interested in gyms. Interestingly, these two demographics of people share one thing in common: their location. These young adults renewing their travel and gym subscriptions are primarily based in London or other major UK cities, indicating that there is a city ‘lifestyle’ adopted and curated in September. This could possibly correlate with new jobs starting around this time of year (Twitter conversation shows Aug – Sept is the second most popular time during the year to move house), bringing with it a migration of people to the cities. Restarting Perhaps the most significant thing which is restarted in September is school. Since June, mentions of 'backtoschool' on Twitter have grown by 8,246%, reaching a peak of 20,700 mentions on 5th September alone, whilst on Instagram we estimate that 'backtoschool' has been used globally 4.6M times on Instagram this summer. Somewhat surprisingly, 36.3% of Twitter posts during this period showed positive sentiment, whilst only 19.1% showed negative sentiment. In addition, the two month period leading up to the end of school this year only saw 857% increase in ‘end of school’ conversation; 330% less than the increase in ‘back to school’ conversation. This indicates that people (students, schools and, unsurprisingly, parents) in general look forward to going back to school more than they do the summer holidays. Upgrading This is the month when people choose to upgrade their phones, a decision no doubt made with Apple and Samsung’s encouragement. Since 2007, Apple have released a new iPhone every year, and since 2011 launches have regularly taken place in September. On average, iPhones are now searched for on Google 1.7x more in September than they are in March (with Samsung phones searched for 1.2x more). Tech bloggers seem to have a big sway over audiences and their choice to upgrade – last September, 80% of blog sentiment* around the new iPhone release was positive. Interestingly, and perhaps as a result, phone contracts are also searched for more on Google in September than in any other month (1.22x more in 2016), with mentions of new phones/phone contracts with network providers increasing by 185% this month: another type of subscription which can be used alongside travel and gym subscriptions to argue that September is the month of renewal. With the release of the iPhone 8 scheduled to take place on 12th September, it will be interesting to see how conversation inflates this month as a result. Starting something new As the weather worsens (if that’s possible) and the days get shorter, people spend more time indoors – and in front of the TV. That’s why September is also a popular month for a new wave of TV programmes to hit our screens. Last year, conversation around Poldark and its lovable (?) main character soared to 8,300 Twitter mentions on its first night, and was driven every week by the airing of each new episode with an average of 4,575 mentions each Sunday. There were also 2.6x more Google searches for the series in September. How will we live the trend? Four members of the team have decided to take up the September life reset challenge, each one either renewing, restarting, upgrading, or beginning something, all in the service of social data research. We’ll let you know how we get on! *of positive and negative mentions only #reset #september #socialtrends #trends

Robots. Cars which park themselves. Hairbrushes which optimise your hair care. Last week’s Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas had them all. Analysing the social media conversation provides interesting clues to which of the showcased products and technologies will make the jump to consumer’s hands, and which will be left languishing on drafting boards and warehouses. Looking at the numbers on Twitter the term CES or 'CES2017' had 10.2 billion potential estimated impressions. A modest increase from 9.8 billion impressions in 2016. The 2017 chatter comprising 820,000 unique users was overwhelmingly male dominated, with 600,000+ of them male. This ratio was consistent across all products, with even the female-focussed “Smart Brush” by L’Oreal still seeing a male/female ratio of 68/32 male/female. Those of you who are worried about a robotic uprising may have even more nightmares that it is only a matter a time before we are ruled by these overlords. This sector tripled in the amount of noise it was making on Twitter. Last year there were 6,200 tweets which referenced the term “robot”, whilst this year it rose to 16,000, with impressions rising from 32 million to 160 million. Self-driving cars also enjoyed similarly explosive growth. Last year the whole car sector at CES generated 18k mentions with a reach of 124 million. This year tweets just referencing self-driving cars got 25,000 mentions and had a potential reach of 213 million. Faraday Futures were the runaway winners this year. They managed to gain 40% more noise than their next biggest rival – Toyota. For those looking to escape the winter blues, virtual reality (VR) was a big hit this year, with nearly 50,000 people having some reference to VR. This was a popular sector but much of the conversation focused on how the technology was moving on and wasn’t necessarily linked with specific companies. Small companies, especially those not focused on the consumer, failed to gain significant traction on social media. For instance, Usens, a startup which aims to sell  directly to developers and not consumers only managed to generate a disappointing 21 tweets. Drones, however, saw a notable decline, and only managed 74m impressions in 2017, down from 229 million (a drop of 68%). The amount of users who referenced drones dropped from 16,000 to just over 3,000. It seems this year’s offerings simply didn’t excite the public as much as last year’s, or that the tech has lost the novelty value. It is interesting that TV manufacturers have managed to remain relevant even against the backdrop of staggering advancements in AI and robotics. Potentially because TV’s are far more accessible to the average consumer and specialist knowledge on the subject is not required, which sees both mass consumer outlets and consumers alike discussing them – a pattern not seen in all product categories. The (relatively) poor performance of many of the niche VR companies show that if you are too technical people find it hard to engage, even if that sector is ‘hot’. #daa #dataanalysis #technology #CES #trends

What drives people to actively support a business? To follow it, advocate it, recommend it? Don’t worry, this isn’t one of those “5 things to learn about building customer champions’ posts. Undoubtedly a superior experience can, on a functional level, elevate a company’s standing with a customer. But on an emotional level, it’s about a mission, a cause, a purpose. And, perhaps, suffering. Yes, the suffering which goes into creating a business, growing a business, and running a business. The latter sounds counter-intuitive, but has the narrative arc of noble intentions > initial success > setbacks bravely overcome despite darkness > culminating in a happy, reflective ending. It’s one well-trodden by Hollywood and novels alike. Or consider sport: is Lionel Messi’s popularity not at least in some small part due to the seeming improbability of his outrageous talent, when the slight, shy figure stands next to the positively athenian glamour of Cristiano Ronaldo? No-one can support something unless they feel there was suffering, or challenges in its creation. That goes against conventional B2B marketing, in particular, where the traditional playbook has been the swan method. Seamlessly gliding above the surface, whilst below the waterline feet flap violently. Now that’s interesting when one considers ‘social business’, which has been a buzzword du jour from 2011 until recently, when it has begun to decline. That tailing off is doubtless due to its abuse by many, who heralded it as some utopian alternative to conventional business. It was loosely defined but loudly trumpeted by adherents who, unsurprisingly, had job titles which featured it. But, actually, there is something in a way of doing business which is social at its heart. In our minds, that means the following: Building a business premised on solid underlying data insights on the reality of how people behave These behavioural models then allow one to organise your operations to meet those needs, emotions and patterns Likewise your internal operations – organised around actual patterns of human behaviour, rather than management theories, (which to borrow Thaler, work in the world of perfectly logical ‘Econs’ but not emotional, flesh and blood humans) Being more open about how we do things – based not on an airy belief in the value of transparency for its own sake (although there is some merit in this), but because: Reciprocity principle – if we openly give to others the benefits of our experience, we will be rewarded in kind Accountability – we aim to be excellent and showing ourselves, in all our glory and flaws, allows others to hold us to account (same principle as effective dieting and gym going – as discussed in this week’s Undercover Economist) So, we’re going to be sharing regularly on this topic. That in our mind, is the essence of social business – to  be more human as an organisation, to discuss our triumphs, but also our challenges. To show our suffering, as we strive to bring together architects of what comes next. Because that’s the way we’ll create real supporters. Hopefully people like you, reading this. #Thaler #startup #excellence #advocates #humanbehaviour #openness #Business #transparency #advocacy

For those of you that don’t know, we at OneFifty have identified a different trend each month from veganism to gin (we like to keep things interesting). This month, it’s Marble . With 2.4M hashtags on Instagram and its large use amongst influencers (check out Natalie Glaze , Twice The Health or Tally Rye ), marble is most definitely on trend. But why has marble become so big? Who better to give us a better understanding of this trend than an insider to the blogosphere… Enter Abi . Writer, photographer, cat lover, blogger, interior-design addict, AND lover of all things marble. She writes These Four Walls. Her social visual identity, defined by Abi herself, is “a blend of Nordic minimalism and English bohemia”. One look at her instagram or blog and you can clearly see how marble complements that. We sat down with Abi to look at where this marble trend came from, why it did, and whether she thinks it’s hear to stay. Why do you think marble has become so popular with influencers? Marble is a classic material that just works so well in all sorts of settings and compositions. From contemporary homes to rustic flatlays, marble can complement a range of different tastes and styles. It also provides a bit of background texture, without being so fussy that it overpowers photographs. When did you start using marble on your Instagram and why? I have a lot of marble in my home, which is where I style and shoot a lot of my images, so it evolved naturally in a way; it was never really a conscious decision. That said, I do like the way it adds a cohesive look to my gallery; my gallery has a cool tone and features a lot of grey, so marble works in well with that. The fact that marble can be used so diversely has also led me to use it a lot; I’ve used it to photograph everything from Christmas decorations to summer cocktails. What would you say is your favorite marble item? I have a lot of marble in my own home from tables and countertops, to chopping boards and bowls. My favourite marble pieces would have to be my two marble chopping boards from Rose & Grey, and Rockett St George, both of which I love and use all the time. The one from Rose & Grey consists of half marble and half wooden materials which produces a striking contrast – one section smooth and cool to touch, the other rustic and warm. They’re wonderful to style, and they’re unbreakable, which is a bonus (I’m rather clumsy!). Do you think the use of marble will continue to grow? Definitely, I don’t think it will ever go away. Sleek white marble is one of those timeless, elegant materials that looks beautiful on everything from kitchen worktops to bathroom floors. Especially as the marble trend has grown, it’s become easy to introduce elements of marble through accessories, and there are lots of affordable products on the market at the moment. It’s been around for thousands of years and as we’ve seen, it works in contemporary settings as well as historic ones. What’s the next big thing that Instagrammer will use to pretty up their images? Over the last year or so, there’s been a move towards Instagram images which are a little more ‘real’ – images that are pretty without being perfect. As a result, I could see backdrops such as gently crumpled linen becoming increasingly popular, materials that represent the beauty of the perfectly imperfect reality of instagrammers. Classic? Check. Versatile? Check. The must have material for all your instagram photos? Double check. So there you have it; it seems that marble is here to stay. #blogger #instagrammer #socialtrends #marble #trends

If one went solely on trade media articles, you could believe that a) ‘influencer marketing’ had swept the marketing board, and was as prevalent as TV advertising, and b) that it’s often conducted illicitly, without suitable transparency about content which is paid for and not. Is disclosure of paid influencer marketing a problem? Well, articles like this are creating a narrative that it is i.e. it isn’t happening sufficiently. A trawl through Instagram, Twitter or YouTube will show it through common sense. News stories like this one show it. How widespread is the problem? Quantifying it is difficult. Reading this chart, one could believe that either sponsored content has risen markedly, or that disclosure has risen markedly. Looking purely at enforcement is always misleading – a rise in those cited by the ASA (or others) is often a reflection of the organisation, or a stakeholders’ agenda, less the prevalence. Subjectively, based on spending all day everyday consuming social content, I’d estimate there are as many undisclosed as there are disclosed. A big part of this has come with those who approach the ecosystem without solid social media backgrounds. PR agencies and publicists are prime offenders – in their traditional work disclosure was never required, whereas those who have always dealt in digital or paid media have this in their DNA. What should be happening? Well, read this post if you want to understand the law around this. But a lot of the problems come from: ‘Bad actors’ – those who are consciously subverting the rules Those who are just oblivious – this is often those who aren’t professional social content creators Double standards – there is a higher standard being demanded of social creators than we enforce of journalists. Take this, as an example – shouldn’t this be disclosed that it is, directly or indirectly, essentially paid-for? Access and content is provided to the media outlet, in return for blatantly commercial credits. It has no news value. Am I mis-led as a consumer? No more or less than a blogger saying how wonderful a restaurant who gave his or her dinner for free is. Confusion. So I get to go to an event for free as an influencer. Does that mean I have to disclose I went for free? If I get sent a product for free, express my own opinion, of my own volition, do I disclose? If I do disclose, is it enough to say ‘thanks xxx’. If I post something without disclosure, linking to something with disclosure on it, is that OK? The solution, as ever, is common sense, and transparency. Do what the audience would expect. So, if you got paid to post, say so. If you chose to post, but got some goods or services at below or off market rate, indicate that aspect, but that it’s your own opinion. What are the other problems around influencer marketing? Well, the first is the phrase. But you can read about our objections to that here. The second is about the lack of understanding about why people are buying it. For many it’s a scale play, not truly about influencing behaviour. Those doing it to hit eyeballs are likely picking the wrong route – it will usually be more expensive than conventional social advertising. Working with social content creators is cost-effective only if there is targeted insight about their ability to generate marketing outcomes with your target audience, or if it drives brand outcomes advertising cannot (e.g. advocacy). The third is the way it is damaging the quality of social content, and distorting the ecosystem. Noticed those instagrammers and bloggers who put ‘lifestyle’ in their bios? Now ask yourself, have you ever heard a consumer say “I just love reading lifestyle blogs’? No. Of course not. Those words are a signal to social marketers – which indicates what that creator is really doing – creating content to attract commercial partners, not to entertain their real audience which got them to that point. There are creators who are essentially creations of their agents – in the way that the 90s and 00s saw music and reality TV stars summoned from thin air. This trend does no one any favours: the creators, the consumers or brands. What’s the solution? Consumers are savvy to this. Media-literacy is extremely high amongst those often-termed ‘millennial’, and in focus groups we’ve run, they’re entirely relaxed about creators and brands working together. Clearly everyone should be abiding by relevant UK law. But we also need consistent policing. Consistent in enforcement, but also consistent between traditional and social spheres. But moreover we need to stand up for a quality social ecosystem – one which is as it began, based on peer connections, and influence and scale being earned through genuine value creation. Brands and ‘influencers’ alike have a responsibility to make this happen. Let’s not mess it up, eh? On a really practical level, that means everyone standing up, and calling out non-disclosure in all spheres, whenever and wherever we see it. We’e walking the walk, as you can see here. Join us. #spon #socialinfluencers #promotion #ad #disclosure #advertising

As part of OneFifty’s veganuary journey, we’ve been speaking with vegan content creators. Following our interview with Vegan Family TV, we’ve also chatted to up and coming Vegan content creator, Ash from Eat Plants.  Ash is keen to challenge his body – his current goal is to obtain the same cycling power to weight standard as a world-class athlete. Ash met us at the Veggie Pret in Soho (hopefully a vegan Pret will be opened soon!) and shared some of his vegan journey with us: Why did you start being vegan? It was due to the health benefits and vitamins that could be gained from a vegan diet.  The idea that diet can have so much of an effect on your body, made me research the benefits of different food groups. Veganism came out on top. Your body gets so many vitamins from a plant based diet. How did you find becoming vegan? One day I ate a steak – the next day I became Vegan. Once I became vegan I didn’t have any cravings for meat. Now all I want is veggies. What’s the biggest benefit of a vegan diet? Veganism goes hand in hand with exercise. It helps with my aim of trying to hit world-class power-to-weight ratios on a bike (you can learn more in Ash’s video here). I know my form has improved since turning vegan. I have also notice my immune system is a lot stronger. I just feel so much better and healthier – even my eyes look less sunken! Biggest frustration about being vegan? When people consider a vegan diet they only concentrate on what they would miss rather than what they would gain. When someone argues that they will miss burgers too much, they don’t understand that their cravings will change over time. You will no longer crave burgers you will crave vegan food. All cravings are a product of your environment. How can you see the spread of veganism continuing? There will be a generation shift. A rebellion from children against their parents for making them eat dairy and meat. People will see the purpose in becoming vegan and that will drive them to maintain a vegan diet. They will see the benefit and results that other people get from a vegan diet and will follow. Has being vegan ever affected you in any social situations? To a large extent, no – if your family care about you they will understand. There was one instance eating out with a group at a Beefeaters. As you can imagine they had nothing vegan on the menu. After some tooing and froing I finally ended up happy with a baked potato and beans! What motivates you to share your vegan journey on social media? I want to help people to help themselves. If I can show people the benefits of a vegan diet they will follow.  I try and be as candid and tell the truth.  It also allows me to show people that a vegan diet doesn’t have to be boring, my most popular content is vegan pizza! #youtuber #interview #socialmedia #influencers #vegan #veganism #veganuary

You don’t meet many people called Sedge. Nor many people like Sedge, for that matter. Social media, trainer-obsessive, Northern fashion gadget heads don’t come around too often. But they’re undeniably cool. Sedge could easily be the face of the emerging generation of senior marketers, who focus on evidence, people, and therefore results at scale. Her current role, as Global senior social & community manager at ASOS , is testament to that, having shaped and grown a social marketing programme which provides benchmarks for effectiveness and evidence-based creativity. She began studying Fashion Marketing and Communications BA Hons at Nottingham Trent before beginning working life at Red Bull, embracing mobile at Three UK, before beginning her ASOS stint. It’s probably not coincidence that all are brands lauded for their consumer-orientated, content-focussed and socially-driven marketing programmes. Understanding the user mindset takes many forms. Whilst her gig-going, sneaker-collecting lifestyle is certainly attuned to some of the ASOS demographic, she notes “ Personally, I just like trying things and learning what works, what doesn’t, what consumers relate to and switch off from.“ The blending of personal and professional is something a newer marketing generation often showcase as a positive, away from the traditional work/personal distinctions. She finds serious motivation in “getting more people working in our industry and helping students to realise the job opportunities and potential that’s out there to kick off their careers in the right way”. There are frequent platitudes made about how fast moving social media is. Sedge has lived some of that firsthand: “Well, when I started it was all about Facebook and blogging… now look at the social ecosystem! The platform that fascinates me the most right now is Snapchat – market share/monetising from the off is pretty groundbreaking for a social network. The way they’re taking unconventional approaches to brand presence(s) is significant. As is the fact Facebook is learning and taking successful features into the biggest platform of all with features like User codes and Live streaming.” When it comes to myths which need debunking, she’s clear: “The idea that YouTube is for video is overly simplistic. Video is more fragmented than it’s ever been and an interesting one for people working in social – just think about the following: Snapchat, Instagram – Boomerang, 15/60 second videos, Hyperlapse etc… Video provides huge challenges and opportunities, but can’t be simplified just to YouTube (great as it is).” People often discuss the role of side-projects as routes for people to exercise their creativity beyond just their day jobs. “I’ve always firmly believed in it. I do some mentoring/lecturing on the side, I wrote a book ( 140 Ultimate Twitter LOLs ) and started a social slogan clothing label ( @SRSLYsocial ) .” That sort of passion is what makes a difference when it comes to depth of understanding in driving creative, user-led social approaches. As is a personal routine which lives and breathes social over the trappings of traditional corporate life: “My day looks something like: Instagram > Snapchat > Twitter > Facebook > Email > Instagram (then Instagram 701 times throughout the day) “. Perhaps a fitting conclusion to underline the generational shift she represents is when pushed for the thing which frustrates her most: “trying to run meetings whilst everyone is scrolling their Instagram feed”. The future’s not coming, it’s already here. And the face of its marketing probably looks a lot like Sedge. If you want to get ahead, read/do: Top twitter follow: amznmovierevws Top Instagram follow:  Danmedhurst or thecoolhunter_ Productive habit: If you see me chewing my hair… i’m on fire! Other than that, it’s white paper and post-it notes… everywhere! Unproductive habit: Trying to get all of my emails below 12 (the fold on Microsoft) before doing any actual work… gets me every time Favourite brand:  Nike . Nike. Nike. BUT, socially, Tastemade (if only I could cook!) This is our #ArchitectsOfNext series, where we aim to inspire others with firsthand insight into how people shaping innovative digital engagement models think and deliver their work. #ArchitectsofNext #asos #socialmedia

Paul Beadle is head of social media and digital communications at Nationwide Building Society, and demonstrates the practicality needed to make social work in a regulated, crucial and tough to market-in category. The stereotype of social media pros is that they’ve seen more of a keyboard than the world. Not so for Paul who began working life as an engineering apprentice, aged 16. That didn’t last, however, and fittingly for someone growing up in the shadow of the airport, he soon got a job as a copy boy at Heathrow Airport’s news agency. “I was always interested in writing. I used to take dictation from the reporters and send the stories via telex to national papers. I progressed to being a reporter and once tried to interview Prince as he was being hustled onto a flight under a purple blanket the day after his first appearance at the Brits. Being a hack taught me how to think on my feet and get your story down in the first 20 words, which still works well for social.” Journalism was followed by time as a financial services PR, and then embracing digital in South Africa, helping set up FS aggregator www.justmoney.co.za . This immersion in online brand building paved the way for his return to the UK in 2011, where he joined Nationwide to set up the first social media team at the business. Or as his son describes it – spending all his time on Twitter. Initially the challenge was simply to get going. The exploratory project needed not just channels opening, but, crucially for a financial services business, stakeholders to be convinced, cajoled and comforted. This was achieved with little money, and although he describes the first two years as “convincing people things wouldn’t blow up if we had a Twitter channel”, he also sees long-lasting benefit for the time spent working with compliance and legal teams to address their early stage concerns, and make them part of the journey, and ultimately supporters. Victim of his own success, he has more recently been “explaining to people that we can’t just use Twitter to tell everyone Nationwide is brilliant and then sit back and expect the sales to roll in!” This internal celebration is not surprising considering the struggles (public and privately voiced), which many financial services businesses have found getting the entire business behind social. He’s clear on why they’ve made it work: “With customer service, social follows the same compliance as any other service channel, so the governance process is the same and we have not reinvented the wheel. When it comes to content, if it is part of a wider campaign that is considered a financial promotion, then all the activity goes through compliance at the same time. There isn’t a different approach for social media. Where social activity is not financial promotion, then our Compliance department doesn’t get involved, but we have regular meetings to catch up and review content. So the key is getting your compliance and legal teams on board from the get go.” With a new CEO and CMO on-board, he’s excited “to tell the Nationwide story to even more people, and see how we can use digital to make their lives better, without them feeling like they’re just a number.” This positivity about new senior leadership demonstrates an element of his personality he readily acknowledges: getting bored easily. He’s always seen that as one of the perks of his career, as “communications always offers something new around each corner. This is amplified when it comes to social media, where the speed with which stories emerge is so much quicker than traditional media and the audience, not the comms person, is in control.” That understanding of the audience being in control also comes through in a key focus for him: optimising the use of the existing social channels before opening new ones, simply for the sake of being there. A hallmark of someone who has seen different facets of business life, this focus on results over hype is common to those who build social programmes with depth of customer experience, over easy marketing press headlines. The relative success of Twitter, over Facebook, from a customer engagement perspective, surprised him: “People want to be able to contact their building society when they want, so it’s become a very powerful customer service channel.” This mirrors what he sees as one of the big shifts in social over the last five years, which is “how social media has shifted from being a place to brag about your life – which it still is – to being an important part of your life, whether it’s doing your finances or finding out different views on emerging news stories.” One of his next initiatives is rolling out enterprise social to Nationwide’s staff. Clearly social media isn’t a constant story of progression. Paul raises “the risk of saturation with too many channels and too much content, much of which is pretty poor. People have limited loyalty to channels and they will jump around, so we could see a lot of fast fail of new and interesting channels, with the established players like Facebook using their commercial muscle to dominate, which in turn risks being the complete opposite of the DIY-Democratic ethic of social media.” The personal routines of people in social media roles are always interesting. “I usually check out all Nationwide’s feeds before I have my cup of tea in the morning. Then it’ll be my Facebook and Twitter feeds. I go through phases of posting regularly on LinkedIn and then falling out of love with it. Twitter is really my window on the social media world and I love the variety of content and range of opinions that it leads me to.” This sits alongside rediscovering old vinyl – The Smiths especially – something he’s recently embarked upon with a new turntable. To debunk a couple of myths, in case you wondered, you don’t get faster or different service via Twitter – the same team and processes handle it, and it’s just as unacceptable to swear at someone over Twitter as it would be in a branch. So, now you know! Heaven knows he shouldn’t be miserable now, (to borrow from Morrissey), as results and collective support for social media in financial services are no small accomplishment. If you want to get ahead, read/do: Top Twitter follow? Danny Dyer – “I’m double naughty, pal.” The lip-synching stuff he does is hilarious Top Instagram follow? I’m not a big user of Instagram, but I like planetmovies Productive habit? Get out a piece of paper and start writing by hand, drawing diagrams. It helps me get my ideas out quickly Unproductive habit? Meetings. Too many meetings Favourite brand? Aldi. I used to love Tesco but I’ve fallen out of love with it. I’m still a bit of an electronic geek, so I like Samsung and Denon HiFi, otherwise cost, quality and value for money wins out for me over brand every time This is our #ArchitectsOfNext series, where we aim to inspire others with firsthand insight into how people shaping innovative digital engagement models think and deliver their work. #ArchitectsofNext #Nationwide #socialmedia

“Mean Write Hook”. Pretty funny, eh? Anthony Leung, social media manager at Pret , appreciates the value of a good pun, right down to his Twitter username . The focus on wit was much needed in his previous role at JUST EAT , the takeaway aggregator who built their marketing on customer-orientated humour and irreverence. Shifting from promoting a purely online food delivery business to one which is resolutely bricks and mortar, with a long-standing keenly defined brand, could phase some. Leung sees clear continuity in the approach: “Early in my career I returned to college to study marketing further, and the focus on RFM models (Recency, Frequency, Monetary) to categorise and allocate value to customers made a lasting impression on me. Essentially, when applied to social it means you’re looking at when you can next get that customer to engage. That’s the same whether trying to get people to click through to order a takeaway, or to visit their nearest Pret.” He sees social engagement as core to his role and the practice of social media marketing. “Engagement is the currency of social media. Finding those engagement points, and developing tone of voice and content to optimise for it IS social media.” Pret’s well-defined product values and store experience help in this respect. He sees the appeal, and message, even in a period in which they are being feted for their vegetarian push, as: “It isn’t veggie food or vegan food. It’s just delicious food, as Pret always has been, and always strives to be. That message resonates because of the product.” Given the absence of any digital sales, the social programme has a heavy in-store integration, with stores featuring reviews. Prompting users to “put their hands up” and recommend product is a key focus. This is evident in the Pret’s Snapchat filter for their Veggie Pret pop up, something Leung acknowledges they haven’t shouted about. “We’ve let people discover it in a very organic way. That people want to brand themselves as in our in-store is shown in the 55k views we’ve already seen, without any real activation.” When pushed on what a typical day for Pret’s social looks like, he finds it challenging: “JUST EAT was more predictable as to the shape of a typical day. Key to winning at JUST EAT was nailing the relationship between takeaway and what the customer did with it. For example, what are they doing whilst eating it – they’re watching TV, they’re second screening, and what does second screen mean? Twitter. So we’d be live tweeting. Especially things like Eurovision, the World Cup. Those moments were huge for us. At Pret that’s out the window as our story is more important. Pret is more like a charity when it comes to social than a retail brand. Everything that’s done has a purpose. You fall in love with Pret because of the core values and personality. At the heart of their strategy for social is: “Wit and being meaningful – those are key to face-to-face experiences. Even our visuals of food – they make your day better. Cacao orange pots are a great example, with hilarious but useful on pack copy writing on what sounds like a weird ingredient. My role is to ensure those common points are reflected in social, and also challenge the status quo.” Anthony started his career in Canada, and has more recently worked at Rackspace as social lead for the UK, as well as JUST EAT as social media manager. Beginning in broader marketing, he’s collected experience in charity digital community management, SEO, and social content. This reflects a broader trend we’re increasingly seeing in social – specialisation or particular strength in area of social media, rather than “everything social”. This reflects a natural evolution of the discipline, as it becomes pervasively the dominant way to engage consumers. Interestingly, he says he’s stopped looking at other brands, and is instead more interested in how people do their storytelling. For the year ahead he is excited about the potential for immersive visual experiences, from Facebook 360 videos, through to VR. “I know not everyone can come from Glasgow to experience our veggie pop-up store, so I hope to take the experience to them, in an immersive yet accessible way.” This is the latest in our series “#architectsofnext’ which profiles the people on the frontline of building what comes next, through social media. If you want to get ahead, read/do: Top Twitter follow: @AdWeak – it’s good to able to laugh at ourselves sometimes Top Instagram follow:  @TheRock – entertaining, motivational, heartwarming – one of the few celeb accounts worth following Productive habit: Constantly push yourself to be creative and original in your own personal social media content. It’ll inspire your professional work later Unproductive habit: I’m sorry I ever discovered Pokemon Go Favourite brand: Pret . Obviously. This is our #ArchitectsOfNext series, where we aim to inspire others with firsthand insight into how people shaping innovative digital engagement models think and deliver their work. #socialmedia #pret #ArchitectsofNext

He’s really got under the skin of what social media should be for brands: experimentation, real customer understanding and constant interactions. A degree in psychology and 10 years as a radio DJ in Tel Aviv has given Erdman the perfect grounding to really understand how people want to engage with brands. During his time on the radio, he was the voice and substance – creating brand promotions that talked to the listener. He is driven by a healthy dose of realism that people don’t care much about brands: “Unless you can create a meaningful connection with someone they aren’t going to take any notice of you. And for that to happen it has to be about their story, their experiences and how a brand fits with their life. If we were giving away a phone for example, we did it by asking about messages you never meant to send. That’s funny and relatable. That’s a connection.” Erdman moved to the UK six years ago and was looking for a role that would really benefit from his experience and skills in engaging people. Social media was a natural step and AO was the perfect match. “AO has always had the customer at the very heart of what they do, it’s why they’ve disrupted the appliance industry like no other. I do just what I did on the radio: bringing the products to life by getting AO customers to tell us their stories,” explains Erdman. His frustration is that most brands still don’t yet realise this. It’s about storytelling but it’s not about their story. He’s the first to admit that on the surface home appliances aren’t that interesting, until you look at the emotional connection you have with them. When your washing machine breaks down it becomes the most important thing in your life. That, in part, informs his overall approach to AO’s social media – it’s not about big campaign spikes but being always-on: “We don’t know when you might need your next appliance, so we always have to be in the back of your mind. That’s why we focus on lightweight interactions. I see so many other people overthinking it and trying to go big everytime, which is hard to achieve, particularly on a consistent basis. You need little and often. Push the button and move on.” “Too often I hear people asking the wrong questions to begin with: I need a video that costs £10k, where can I find a production company? What’s our seeding strategy? That completely misses the point. You need to think about starting small and about what your customer wants to see from you. Then you can put your feet down, start to run faster and invest more money.” Erdman knows social has to be about authenticity and relevance – do they really mean what they say or is it just to convince me to buy something? He wants to show the genuine excitement customers have around the AO brand. He recalls a woman from Wales sending in a funny but emotional video about the death of her washing machine: “It was so personal, and she’d taken the time to come to us. We had to respond, so we called her and told her we were sending her a new one that day. That was recorded and went up on YouTube and Facebook, the response was phenomenal. We now do a surprise and delight ‘competition’ every week and record winner’s reactions. Even if you weren’t the winner you want to listen to the reactions.” But it’s not just Erdman’s uncanny ability to understand what gets a customer to meaningfully engage, he is very aware that the environment he’s in is always changing. What worked on social last year doesn’t necessarily work today. That’s probably why, refreshingly, Erdman doesn’t extol past successes but uses them as a springboard to achieve something even better. The focus for the AO brand & social team is constantly evolving and testing its social approach, content and ideas: “There are very few rules for what you need to do on social media and those rules are always changing. To stay ahead you have to be flexible and keep experimenting. I see too many people in social media hold back on an idea because they’re worried they won’t get positive results to report back. That’s not where success comes from. It should be more about learning what works and what doesn’t, and that comes from trying and being prepared to fail. It’s a salient point worth reminding ourselves, how well do you know your customer if you don’t know what doesn’t work? And with that he’s off back to Manchester, succeeding in not being afraid to fail and at the same time making the world of washing machines a far more exciting place. To stay ahead think/do: Top Twitter follow: Professor Byron Sharp Top Instagram follow: @DogsofInstagram Top blog: Neuro Science Marketing’s blog Productive habit: Going to the gym Unproductive habit: Playing Pokemon Favourite brand: Paddy Power This is our #ArchitectsOfNext series, where we aim to inspire others with firsthand insight into how people shaping innovative digital engagement models think and deliver their work. #AO #socialmedia #storytelling

Some of the team are spending January living life as a vegan, and we’ve been catching up with some of the leading vegan social media content creators, to hear about their experiences. Darren is one half of Vegan Family TV, one of the UK’s top vegan YouTube channels. He kindly shared his thoughts: How long have you been vegan? We went vegan in the middle of January 2012 after we watched the documentary Earthlings. I told Georgie about how horrific it was and we instantly decided to go vegan but because we have a young family we had to figure out how to get optimal nutrition without eating animal products. What have you found the biggest benefits to be? It actually turned out that it’s not just possible to be healthy while being vegan, but that you end up actually feeling the healthiest you’ve ever felt! The science proven benefits are dramatically reduced incidences of heart disease and cancer, but also on a personal level you feel bright, sharp, light and vibrant. We recover quickly from exercise and our minds feel clear. What’s the most surprising benefit compared to when you began? It’s amazing how fast it is gaining traction, everywhere we go has so many vegan options! We have traveled lots and we’re never stuck without options. What’s the worst thing? On the rare occasion when you get invited to eat somewhere and the restaurant has limited options. However we’ve learned to simply make a meal out of side options, simply order 3 or 4 side dishes and then you have a mini tapas feast. There’s always a way to make positive of any situation and just the fact we get to eat anything which means no harm is being caused to animals or our own bodies is always a winner with us regardless! What’s your biggest frustration? There was a slight learning curve in the beginning as a whole new world of foods opened up to us, but we viewed it with excitement instead. Now it all feels like second nature and we eat a significantly wider variety of foods than when we were omnivores. What role does social media plays in your veganism? Social media is huge for connecting humanity in general. It helps keep not just vegans connected but also it helps show the human element to everybody without the imaginary walls between us, regardless of religion or nationality etc. What motivated you to start creating content about veganism? We felt compelled to share how amazing we felt as family and friends wanted to know how and why we had made the changes which we had. Then it just started to gain so much traction that now we have a huge group of friends who watch us from all around the world. What share of your audience are vegan themselves? Now that we are growing so much we’d estimate that a smaller and smaller section of our audience are vegan. Probably about 30% nowadays, but we’re forever receiving comments saying we inspired others to go vegan! What’s been your most successful content? Our most successful content is showing our children since most who aren’t aware that a plant-based diet can be healthy for all ages always want to see what the children are like, whether they are unwell or wasting away! We manage to shatter those incorrect old stereotypes. Have you seen an increase in non-vegans being interested? Yes massively so! So many people are discovering the world wide benefits of veganism. What are your thoughts on what’s next for veganism? It’s going to continue growing and growing, which is good news for the planet and all of its inhabitants. How do you find eating out, and the more social side of food? Absolutely easy, 99% of places have vegan options and cooking for friends and family is fun as we get to wow them with all what there is to offer. Pizza and chocolate cake with ice cream, no problem! Is there anyone you look to for inspiration? We rely on each other for our main inspiration since the people you spend the most time with are the people you become. We also read a lot of personal development books such as The Compound Effect and The Miracle Morning. Finally, what’s the best vegan chocolate / treat option? There are so many to choose from! Ritter Sport marzipan is great chocolate and Booja Booja ice cream is delicious! #influencers #vegan #veganism #trends