Synopses & Reviews
Marketing and technology have been two separate worlds, speaking different languages, using different processes, and valuing different kinds of talent. For businesses to succeed today, this has to change. Marketing and IT must "converge" in order to create rich, technologically enabled digital experiences that engage, delight, and serve the consumer. It's easier said than done, but the reality is stark: the lines between creativity, technology, and media are rapidly blurring, revolutionizing marketing and business strategy and empowering the consumer. It's a convergence that's filled with opportunity and fraught with challengeand one your organization can't afford to ignore.
Authored by the CEO and CTO of Razorfish, one of the world's largest digital marketing agencies, Converge shares their firsthand experience working closely with global brandsincluding Unilever's AXE brand, Staples, and Mercedes-Benz USAto solve business problems at the collision point between media, technology, and marketing. With an in-depth look at cloud computing, data- and API-enabled creativity, ubiquitous computing, and more, Converge presents a road map to success. It explores why and how this convergence is happening and explains how to restructure your organization to thrive in an age of constant disruption.
Converge offers real-world examples of how the consumer voice has changed and what to expect in the future, addressing topics like business transformation, omni-channel commerce, mobile, and interactive marketing. You'll learn how to create a religion around convergence, telling the story throughout your organization and inspiring your workforce to believe in its importance. And you'll get critical insights on how to:
- Place the consumer at the center of your thinking
- Apply the principles of agile development across all marketing functions
- Adapt processes to keep up with and take advantage of rapid technological change
- Break down silos, cross train, and embrace the power of partnerships
- Adopt next-generation storytelling techniques in order to reach your audience
Convergence is the key to reaching customers in the new world of digital communication. It's time to rethink your business, and empower your people.
Synopsis
Using Razorfish client examples (such as AXE, Intel, Mercedes-Benz, Samsung, Delta, and Kellogg) Ray and Bob will share their first-hand experience of working intimately with clients to solve business problems at the collision point between customers, technology and marketing. Throughout the narrative, Bob and Ray will provide the reader a roadmap to replicate their success within their own organization; how to market in a world of constant change, how to organize for innovation, how to innovate faster use the principals of agile development across your business, etc.
The first half of the book will cover the following topics:
- The collision: why and how technology, media, and creativity are converging and how this has revolutionized marketing and business strategy
- The consumer voice: why and how media has changed what to expect in the future (client examples)
- Next generation storytelling: why and how creativity has changed, and what to expect in the future (client examples)
The second half of the book will be focused on explaining answers to the problems our customers are dying to have solved:
- Part 1 - How to create religion around merging technology and marketing within your organization (how to tell the story, who to tell it to, why should they believe, etc.)
- Part 2 - How to change your organizational structure to leverage marketing/tech convergence (breaking down silos, cross-training, etc.)
- Part 3 - How to empower your people to leverage convergence (create business entrepreneurial ownership, adjust compensation/incentive structure/goals/objectives, alignment against client need, etc.)
- Part 4 - How to change your processes to leverage convergence (how to apply agile methodology principals across all marketing functions, etc.)
Synopsis
The leaders of Razorfish share their strategies for merging marketing and ITTo create rich, technologically enabled experiences, enterprises need close collaboration between marketing and IT. Converge explains how the merging of technology, media, and creativity is revolutionizing marketing and business strategy. The CEO and CTO of Razorfish, one of the world's largest digital marketing agencies, give their unique perspective on how to thrive in this age of disruption. Converge shares their first-hand experience working closely with global brands—including AXE, Intel, Samsung, and Kellogg—to solve business problems at the collision point between media, technology, and marketing.
With in-depth looks at cloud computing, data- and API-enabled creativity, ubiquitous computing, and more, Converge presents a roadmap to success.
- Explains how to organize for innovation within your own organization by applying the principles of agile development across your business
- Details how to create a religion around convergence, explaining how to tell the story throughout the organization
- Outlines how to adapt processes to keep up with and take advantage of rapid technological change
A book by practitioners for practitioners, Converge is about rethinking business organizations for a new age and empowering your people to thrive in a brand, new world.
Synopsis
Praise for Converge"Converge delightfully explains why marketing and technology have never been more intertwined and how your organization can and must adapt. If your job is about communicating on behalf of a brand—at an agency or client organization—and you're looking for a practical and innovative guide to thriving in this age of disruption, this book is for you."
—Tim Armstrong, CEO and Chairman, AOL Inc.
"As a CEO whose business is at the intersection of technology and marketing, I know how important it is to understand and adapt to this powerful shift. Converge tackles important issues for digital communicators in today's hyperconnected marketplace. This book is not just a recap of the latest innovative technology; it explains how leaders can empower their teams to thrive. It should generate some great conversations."
—Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO, Adobe
"At Razorfish, Bob Lord and Ray Velez have witnessed advertising's technology-enabled shift from passive, traditional messages to the re-imagining of brands as services and experiences. With firsthand accounts and practical insights, their book makes a chapter and verse case for a future based on collaborative creativity and an open source agency model that can produce multiple ideas for multiple audiences. By dissecting the disruptions deployed by brands as diverse as AXE and Audi, Converge presents a cogent argument for a future where art and science intersect, where Data, not Don Draper, is the true messiah."
—Paul Kemp-Robertson, Cofounder and Editorial Director, Contagious Communications
About the Author
BOB LORD is the Global CEO of Razorfish. He began his career as an engineer intrigued by marketing, not knowing that one day the disciplines would collide. Now, he leads Razorfish on its mission of creating brand experiences that build businesses. Additionally, he leads the world's largest digital agency network for Publicis Groupe. Bob is also active in the TED community and a founding member of The Nantucket Project.
RAY VELEZ is the Global CTO of Razorfish. His career has been devoted to the software development life cycle, from inception to rollout, working with clients ranging from Citibank to Ford Motor Company to the National Football League. He previously worked at Cambridge Technology Partners.
Table of Contents
Foreword Keith Weed ix
Introduction 1
I Converge = Marketing + Technology 9
1 The Collision of Media, Technology, and Creativity 11
Media 14
Technology 14
Creativity 15
Building the Renaissance Organization 19
The Five Principles of Convergence 22
Convergence Catalysts 24
2 Next-Generation Storytelling 27
The Death of the Mad Man and the Birth of the Creative Technologist 29
The Democratization of Creativity 35
Collaboration: Chief Creative Becomes Chief Curator 38
Brands as Services 44
Convergence Catalysts 48
3 Data-Driven Experiences 49
How Obama Used Data to Keep the White House 55
The Road to Marketing Utopia Is Lined with Columns and Rows 59
How Targeting Is Failing Consumers 63
Executives Fail to Prioritize Targeting 67
The Road to Better Targeting 71
Convergence Catalysts 76
4 The Cloud 77
Grasping the Cloud 80
From EC2 to the Royal Wedding 83
Fast, Cheap, and in Control 87
A Tsunami of Data 89
Clouding the Cloud Issue 92
Convergence Catalysts 98
5 Marketing Is Commerce, Commerce Is Marketing 101
The Store Is Dead, Long Live the Store 106
Retail’s Challenges 108
Toward a Single View of the Customer 113
Roads to Innovation 118
The Moosejaw Model 120
Convergence Catalysts 122
6 Media 125
How the Fickle Consumer Uses Media 129
The Upfronts 134
Just Because It’s Digital Doesn’t Mean It’s Fast 138
Imagining Brands as Publishers 141
Convergence Catalysts 146
7 Ubiquitous Computing 149
What Is Ubiquitous Computing? 152
The Home, Connected 153
The Self, Quantifi ed 155
How Business Can Respond 160
Convergence Catalysts 166
II The Road Map 167
8 Creating a Religion around Convergence 169
The Convergence Mantra 170
Find Your Visionary 171
Turn Outward and Workshop, Workshop, Workshop 172
Build a Big Boat 173
Write Your Road Map 175
When Telling Your Story, Think Right Brain and Left Brain 177
9 How to Change Your Organizational Structure 179
The Rise of the Chief Digital Offi cer 180
Bottom-Up Solutions 182
Create Cross-Functional Project Teams 182
Create New Roles within Both the Marketing and IT Functions 182
Employ Internal Account or Relationship Management 183
Establish a Collaborative Culture 185
10 How to Change Your Processes 187
1. Change Measurement and Establish Objectives 187
2. Change Planning 188
3. Change Budgeting 190
4. Think Like a Software Company 190
5. Change Incentives/Compensation 191
11 Achieving Convergence through Agile Methodology 195
Individuals and Interactions over Processes and Tools 199
Working Software over Comprehensive Documentation 200
Customer Collaboration over Contract Negotiation 200
Responding to Change over Following a Plan 200
How We Use Agile 201
Another Benefit of Agile Lies in How It Facilitates Communication 203
How to Get Started 205
Convergence Catalysts 206
Final Thoughts 209
Glossary 211
Acknowledgments 233
Index 235