How Can Creative Technology Create Memory Structures and Long-Term Brands? 2023

Technology in our industry is taxing. With continual and quick breakthroughs in AI and an unknown future for mixed reality, marketers often embark on tech trends that are either fleeting or irrelevant to their consumers to stay up. I still love tech. As I write this, I see the Meta team testing the new Quest Pro and creative teams using Midjourney to create gorgeous reference photos.

Technology is disrupting our industry. New technology helps us build lasting client relationships by offering new experiences and value.

After seeing “Les Binet,” the godfather of effectiveness, talk at SXSW this year, I was encouraged to consider experiential technology’s role in long-term brand growth. Successful brands grow slowly and methodically, as Les’s thesis shows. How can we ensure that our great, often consumer-centric technological activations complement our brands as they transform people’s thoughts and feelings?

First, AMV, a megabrand I love. WHISKASTM developed Purr More in 2022. A brand platform to bring warmth and enchantment to a cat parent favorite. WHISKASTM used two levers to create Purr More: reinforcing that cats purr more with WHISKASTM and assisting cat parents maintain their cats humming throughout their lives. We employed creative technologies to bring these two levers to life and strengthen brand platform memory.

We created “Pay by Purr,” an AI model that could classify purrs from charming to sensual, to reinforce the initial lever. We offered interested cat owners a web-based AR experience that rewarded louder purrs with greater incentives. Cat parents who couldn’t get this purr were given Whiskas vouchers.

Ask the Cats’ second lever support. AI-talking cats run a help content ecosystem. Pet owners may beg cats for aid, goods, or services

These first-in-class technologies reinforce the memory structures developed in the Purr More campaign and continue to be a valuable entryway to actually knowing and understanding our consumer, gathering first-party data and helping us to build a true connection with them over time.

We Capital’s “Data Tienda” campaign, which supports low-income Mexican women’s financial inclusion, won a Grand Prize at Cannes. The tool allows them to collect data on unbanked women’s payment behavior in local retailers, developing a credit history and unlocking microcredits for company startups. The brand’s DNA drives great narrative. We Capital’s product story complemented their brand positioning.

Will Harvey’s SXSW lecture on how technology enhances narrative inspired me. The most intriguing technique is to use our senses. Using our senses strengthens memory. Scent evokes remembrance. Whether it’s a linen air freshener that takes you back to your parents’ house or a tune that brings back your wedding day. Could we activate smell, taste, and touch in video production? Creating stronger memories.

Michelob Ultra’s 2022 Cannes Gold winner “Mcenroe vs Mcenroe” evoked nostalgia. The FCB and Unit9 execution was amazing and remained in my mind (especially as a tennis lover). Using this approach, I doubt it was successful. I had to ask GPT whose brand had sponsored the trial weeks later. That was a powerful commercial, but I didn’t like the beer or the brand.

We may be enthused about how disruptive technology can supercharge our brand experiences, allowing us to build activations that generate short-term buzz and exponential growth. Memories, sentiments, and impressions now provide long-term ROI. If Les is correct and brand communications is consumer training, creative technology can assist that instruction stick in our minds.