• by Suzana Apelbaum , September 16, 2010

Hello, I'm Suzana, and I haven't been doing advertising for 72 days.

It's not that I've given up on advertising. Quite the opposite. It's that after many years working in agencies addicted to old systems, I got to know a new way of working with brands. I fell in love with it, and I just couldn't look back anymore. I packed and went to StrawberryFrog, which focuses on sparking movements for brands. Since its inception, StrawberryFrog has been creating cultural movements.

Why cultural movements? (If you've also asked this question, there's a big chance you're living in an addicted environment.) :)

Because sparking movements for brands is the most efficient, interesting and fun way of winning consumers in today's complex world.

Unlike the traditional advertising, where the brand starts with the product and goes to the consumer (and has a chemical dependency on media), the cultural movement starts from the culture to tie back to the product (and lives of organic media) and begets the all-important cultural currency. By connecting with the culture, the movement is able to make the brands more relevant to its target.

This is StrawberryFrog mentality and culture. Movements. And movements = relevance, which is everything in today's world, where everything has changed.

The audience has changed, getting more power. The media has changed, with the Internet and mobile devices turning it into an infinite platform. Also, campaigns have changed. With the new behavior of audience, they no longer have the importance they once did. Today, a campaign that is not able to open a dialogue with the consumer and engage him long-term, is nothing but a piece of paper.

Naturally, the brands have changed. Expectation. In contention for a place in the crowded heart of the consumer, they now expect to play a greater role in people's lives. More than selling a product, they hope to get some cultural relevance and have a legacy in society.

Yes, everything has changed, but the traditional agencies and the traditional agency "advertising culture" remains addicted to 30-second TV spots and to astronomical budgets. It's a struggle to work well at 360 degrees and to integrate creative executions that often don't need more than a good Web site. But if they don't sell the 360 degrees, how they will pay the 720 employees?

It's not the traditional agencies fault. For many years, the market has been feeding this addiction.

But now the situation is critical. Because now, the clients have changed. Unlike years ago, when they had a more passive and faithful attitude toward the traditional agencies, today they are aware of "movement marketing" and the opportunities offered with this mind-set.

Good news: you don't need a battleship to create a movement. You need a team of people who get it, have a proven model to make one happen. Not long ago, a great brand deciding to give its account to an independent agency was considered daring and risky. Today, with movement marketing, this decision feels modern and conscious. That's because clients finally have concrete proof that this new model works. The growth of StrawberryFrog is one example.

So there is no more turning back. For brands to succeed and guarantee a privileged place in people's heart and mind, it's necessary to do more than just campaigns. It's time to create cultural movements.

How?

The theory is simple and fast. We usually say there are three steps: ready / set / leap. But to give you a flavor of what it is to work immersed in a culture, let's refer to the ultimate guru in breaking old patterns: Elizabeth Gilbert. In her light, these are the three steps to create a cultural movement: eat, pray, love.

Eat: Learn and devour all the information related to your audience. Taste everything that is important to them.

Pray: Find out the beliefs of your brand. Create your own bible -- by writing a manifesto. Pray your manifesto in all media.

Love: Love your audience. Now that you already know them, give them something they really love. Something that they'll naturally feel like sharing with their community. That's how they'll love you back.

In theory, it's easy. But actually, to make it happen in practice, it involves radical changes. Like to think different. Look at things in a different way. Question more. Make more mistakes. Much more! Reinvent yourself every day. At every client. At every job. And learn how to utilize all the best things that only chaos can provide.

It's not easy.

But it's all right. Because at the end of the day, you'll have done something bigger, more relevant. You'll have created a true movement. And a legacy for a brand. More than a campaign that ends with the media budget, you'll have caused an impact on society. Your idea will make a difference in the life of thousands or millions of people. And your brand movement can go down in history.

I confess: it's addictive.

Wanna belong?