If you’re a fan of buzzword bingo, you may have added a new word to the card recently. ‘Always-On’ has been mentioned more and more as an important new approach for marketers. But what does it actually mean? http://www.fivebyfiveuk.com/2012/03/arriving-at-a-definition-for-always-on-marketing/

1. ALWAYS-ON MARKETING
Agency Briefing

2. Always-On is not making a lot of noise in the
hope of distracting or grabbing attention
Stefan Augello

3. Always-On is not real-time
Stefan Augello

4. Always-On is not customer relationship
management via social tools
Stefan Augello

5. Always-On IS a journey made up of valuable communication
content. Everything from campaign messaging to deeper
brand experiences.

6. Typically we produce campaigns based on a BIG Idea with the
focus on D-Day (Product Launch).

7. Moving away from the Big Idea, with
Always-On we create many small ideas
that stitch together to form one
L-O-N-G idea
Gareth Kay

8. With TV, games and entertainment, the approach with
always-on marketing is to have one story world made up of
many small pieces of content where the L-O-N-G idea will
play out.
content
content
content
content
content
Story world
Adaptation of Robert Pratten’s model

9. With verticals such as FMCG, B2B, Retail, we anchor
content to a brand purpose or ideal. The smaller pieces of
content emanate from the brand purpose/ideal and help
form the L-O-N-G idea.
RiechesBaird

10. Each piece of content produced is designed to be
consumed individually and should tie back to the story
world or brand ideal.
However, the experience of connecting all of the pieces of
content together is greater and more satisfying than the
sum of all parts.
content content content
Whole is more satisfying than the
sum of all parts
Adaptation of Robert Pratten’s model

11. Each piece of content should provide value to the user.
This value will generate earned media and hopefully 2nd,
3rd, and 4th generation earned media.
Information
Emotive
Value Utility
Monetary
Entertainment
Steve Sponder

12. CAUTION! This does not mean we create a lots of shit.
The content needs to be well thought through, but not
perfect.

13. To ensure we are developing content that has true value,
it needs to be agile. We should iterate, test, learn and kill
where necessary.
Thanks to Made by Many and David Armano

14. Where possible, the content should deliver feedback,
which will enable us to iterate. There are two layers of
feedback response:
1. Conversation Conversation
2. Participation
Participation
Audience
Marketing
Content
Adaptation of Christopher Penn’s model

15. Each piece of content can be communicated across different
channels to achieve earned media. To reach the target
audience, we can use methods such as propagation planning.
Both Always-On and PONBE are compatible with the L-O-N-G
idea.
Steve Sponder

16. So to recap…
Always-On IS a journey made up of valuable communication
content. Everything from campaign messaging to deeper
brand experiences.
When planning always-on marketing think:
• Frequency (small pieces of content)
• Agility (content iterations)
• Duration (the L-O-N-G idea)

17. THANKS