How has digital changed the way we engage with brands in a post-pandemic world?
Meet Seb:
He’s our Magical Modeler and 3D Visualiser, who shapes, moulds and sculpts life into concepts and ideas, using fluid dynamics and rigid simulations to turn them into wow-worthy renders that tell a real story. And he’s also our go-to for all things digital, tech and cool – from the day’s hottest Yeezy drop to canine cryptocurrencies to the latest Insta hype, Seb knows what’s up.
“I think it’s important to start by saying that this is not just another ‘the world is going digital’ article.”
There could not be a more Seb-esque way to open this month’s A Different Voice: passionate, perceptive and direct.
Yes, since the start of the pandemic it certainly feels like we’ve fast-forwarded into a much more virtual reality. One where a growing part of our day-to-day happens in a digital dimension – more WhatsApp, Zoom, Amazon and Netflix, and less pub, office, high street and cinema.
However, just because almost every moment of our life pre-Coronavirus has found its digital counterpart, that does not mean we should think of digital as a self-contained, parallel world. Especially when it comes to branding.
Back to Seb:
“Branding is changing. With the shift from physical to digital expedited by Coronavirus, it has never been so important for brands to connect to us consumers through digital channels. Locked down at home with a screen as our main window into engagement, entertainment and community, we’ve started to truly appreciate the value of immersive, meaningful, targeted digital experiences and the ability to convey them through modern technology.
As a child of the Internet, I believe that brands have a key role to play in the digitisation of the world as we know it. A new age of branding and interconnectivity is upon us, bringing its own problems and opportunities with it.
As Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben once said, ‘With great power comes great responsibility,’ and in this case I think that means not falling into the trap of treating digital and physical as two separate worlds.”
The Peter Parker principle.[1]
“Digital has very real world impacts. Just think of the stock markets exploding last week after a single tweet from Elon Musk.
That’s why this article is not about the world going digital. I’d say that actually it’s more about phygital singularity, and that digital and physical should always be viewed and created side-by-side. They co-exist and although finding that merging point may be difficult, the development of tech and worldwide infrastructure can make it happen. The sooner brands realise this, the better brands will be able to react and thrive in unpredictable times.”
Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency which started off as an Internet joke, has jumped in value by 50% after Elon Musk dubbed it the people’s crypto.[2]
So if digital is not to be seen as an enclosed space within which we’ve all moved as a society and where brands needs to start operating exclusively, what does this more dual space look like? What do brands need to consider to create experiences where digital and physical can work together to complement, supplement and amplify each other?
Let’s follow Seb as he takes us through some notable examples of digital brand experiences from the last months – spanning music, fashion, gaming and even politics – and what the implications for the “real” world might be.
Astronomical powers.
At-home, live streamed experiences have flourished during these pressing times, garnering much mainstream media attention. One of the first happened in April 2020: Astronomical, a one-of-a-kind musical journey featuring rapper Travis Scott and his world premiere of a new track in the popular (350 million players!) video game, Fortnite. Seb was among the 45 million viewers who attended the show.[3]
“The event was promoted pretty much like a real one. Show dates were announced, with an in-game venue and a whole load of merch for your avatar. My friends and I found our spot in the arena and watched a digital Travis arrive in the form of a purple comet crash landing on the island.
You could tell everyone watching it was excited to be there and had never seen anything like it. And it was all augmented by live streams on Instagram, with different artists and influencers sharing and commenting to create a holistic experience.
This set the stage for multiple mainstream brand deals and paved the way for live digital events, giving credibility to their exposure and reach… And with eSports scoring more viewers on average than MLB, NBA and NHL, we’re talking about something way beyond a small groups of ‘gamers’.[4]
Travis and Epic Games (the creators of Fortnite) used the digital canvas to enhance a performance with things you can’t replicate in a physical space. Unless I have yet undiscovered superpowers, I won’t ever know what it’s like to jump 100 feet into the air while a giant Travis Scott performs original, exclusive tracks to an audience of over 45 million people. And, lockdown aside, it’s only in the weird, interactive, far-reaching spaces of the Internet that I can share this experience with a close childhood friend who now lives in Japan.
Let’s be clear: when we’re finally out of this pandemic tunnel, ask me to go and see my favourite musician live and I will say yes, every time. But for the other two weeks of the month that I don’t have any plans, there is a market to be fed and technology can do this in exciting ways for everyone, not just gamers.”
Focus and aperture.
Fashion Week, catwalks, couture shows – it’s hard to make any of these conform to lockdown requirements. But fashion – a traditionally physical industry with products and experiences that are all about tactile, real moments and exclusive events – has used digital to stay relevant. And in so doing the industry uncovered new opportunities to engage with a much wider audience, and gain enhanced abilities to communicate its creative vision.
Last September, Burberry took to live streaming platform Twitch to host its Spring/Summer 2021 fashion show. It was an entirely remote affair, with no live audience whatsoever, a contemporary fairy tale set in a forest in the UK. This opened a traditionally niche, elite event normally attended by a thousand or so VIPs to a platform with over 140 million users monthly.[5]
The digital event used Twitch’s Squad Stream – a function that allows multiple users to stream together – to let guests view multiple perspectives of the show at once, as well as access to a chat. Viewers could watch different streams, including models getting ready and a pre-show discussion between celebrities who “hosted” the event, like model Bella Hadid and musician Erykah Badu.
“As an avid follower of high fashion and streetwear, the ability to set a new style of runway shows is really exciting. It means designers like Riccardo Tisci can freely express themselves creatively, in ways never utilised before. They can choose to film shows in remote locations, dynamic natural environments or even digitally developed alien settings for space themed collections, for example.
It also means that fans get to go deeper into the mind of the brand, the creative director or the hosts, who can choose certain camera angles or add special effects to show off specific details that bring the design intent to life. This in itself creates real connection by opening up something that is usually reserved for an elite group.
I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of this, with models like Alton Mason doing a livestream on Twitch’s IRL platform where he walks around Fashion Week, or a Dior event, taking viewers with him. It’s the perfect mix of physical and digital that feels refreshingly simple, raw and real.”
No trespassing!
Even politics has managed to find a new way of operating between digital and physical. In the lead up to the US presidential election, Biden and Harris virtually campaigned within Nintendo’s Animal Crossing game, instead of holding super-spreader IRL rallies and to help encourage voter participation among younger people.
The Biden-Harris team started by offering virtual yard signs for players, letting them show support for their candidate and extend their campaign to the game’s digital space. They then went on to create an entire Biden Island in the game for players to explore.
The Biden and Harris avatars and campaign signs in Animal Crossing.
The initiative demonstrated an innovative approach to reaching key voters during difficult times. But many also worry it set a dangerous precedent, and it has since been prohibited by Nintendo’s rules (although Biden Island still seems to be up and running and open for players to visit).[6]
“I understand the need for politicians to get closer to their constituencies in order to gain trust and votes. But as someone that has been building computers and playing video games from a young age, I also do not agree with politics being brought into games. It’s pretty much an unwritten but widely known rule that games and politics never mix well.
For many, games are a form of relaxation and escapism. Or even an art form. These virtual worlds give us the freedom to be in control of what we see and experience, and are well-suited for a society in need of relief from anxiety.
I congratulate the Biden campaign for its forward-thinking approach. However, in the long run, I think it’s important to remember that politics is not a game. Because in the end it’s humans that are voted into positions of power, not avatars.”
Digital initiatives and experiences – during lockdown or post-pandemic – will always have consequences and connections to the real world. They are an opportunity for brands or artists to show a different side. To be more experimental and innovative, and start conversations with new, much more focused and meaningful communities and interest groups. But the new era of digital branding is not a separate chapter – it’s a new layer that extends, focuses, enhances and adds deeper connections to the overall brand experience.