whitepaper engagement
TRANSCRIPT
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Engagement,DecodedThe Science of Engagement:Implications for Communicators
Author:
Adam Mack, Chief Strategy Officer EMEA
Weber Shandwick
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...the path to total engagementis no longer a simple journey,
but one which requires us toconsider and filter through amultitude of scientific fields,theories, dimensions, layers andtouch-points hitherto largely
ignored by marketers...
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Decoding engagement for
brands, businesses, marketersand communicators
Weber Shandwicks work on The
Science of Engagement has shed
new light on the fresh challenges and
opportunities facing communicatorsand marketers in the digital era and
suggests that a new approach must be
found in the increasingly competitive
quest for audience engagement.
Most critically, it tells us that
engagement is far more complex
than it has ever been. As Adam Mack,
Weber Shandwicks Chief Strategy
Officer EMEA, points out, the path
to total engagement is no longer a
simple journey, but one which requires
us to consider and filter through amultitude of scientific fields, theories,
dimensions, layers and touch-points
hitherto largely ignored by marketers.
This project has essentially allowed
us to dissect this complexity and
decode engagement into our
10 Principles, 19 Elements and 38
Introduction
measurable Drivers in a way that
allows marketers and communicators
to better navigate the complex
engagement landscape.
By understanding how these
Principles, Elements and Drivers apply
to their own categories, with WeberShandwicks expert guidance and the
tools outlined in this paper (our Map
and Diagnostic Model), brands and
businesses will be able to at the very
least improve their understanding of
how their audiences engage.
Ultimately, though, we see The
Science of Engagement as a strategic
tool that those with more ambition
and vision will be able to use to
revolutionise the way they approach
brand development, marketingcommunications, issues management
and corporate reputation.
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The six imperatives for communicators
Even before this report was commissioned,
it was clear that the arrival of the new,digital era had significantly changed the
rules of engagement for communicators,
marketers and brand developers.
What the report (built on a range of
scientific views) has unearthed are the
specifics governing these rules the
theories to consider, the domains to takeinto account, the triggers to pull and the
touch-points to hit. In short, it has provided
the coordinates for effective engagement.
Using these coordinates, Weber Shandwick
has built a Total Engagement Map to better
visualise the theories and insights that will
help clients navigate the new terrain thismap is based on 6 imperatives:
1. Understand the drivers ofengagement
Building on the reports 19 different
dimensions of engagement, Weber
Shandwicks Strategic Engagement Unit
(SEU) has identified 38 drivers that are
critical to making engagement happen.
Brands and businesses need to know these
drivers, understand which of them will mosteffectively drive engagement in their own
sectors and be clear on which of them are
lacking in their own communications.
2. Know how to capture and buildengagement
Doctor Zoga Ramsy talked of the need totarget and harmonise the two systems of
the brain System 1 (the wanting, caveman
brain) and System 2 (the liking, thinking
mans brain). In order to achieve this,
communicators need to build campaigns
that dont just seek to capture engagement
(through aesthetics, intrigue and immediacy)
but also build it (through reciprocity andnarrative).
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3. Recognise the 4 states
In an era of attention volatility and
engagement hyper-tasking, Weber
Shandwick believes that peoples behaviour
is guided by 4 inter-related and ever-
shifting states: Me (relating to the
fulfilment of basic needs), Myself (relating
to the shaping of identity), Me in Myself
(related to the changing of moods) and Mein my World (related to the enhancement of
status). Understanding these four states in
the context of a specific category will allow
brands and businesses to more effectively
target the most appropriate engagement
opportunities.
4. Know the battlegrounds
As marketers, communicators and PRs,
the study of The Science of Engagement
teaches us that, in a world in which
competition for attention is only going
to get more intense, a new engagement
battleground exists, fought on two fronts:
the battle for brain-space (that will be wonby a deeper understanding of the brains
2 systems, creating multiple associations
and reciprocity) and that for ground-space
(that will be won by seamless 360-degree
storytelling and a better grasp of
engagement hyper-tasking).
5. Think 6D
Traditionally, marketers and communicators
have tended to treat the battle for
engagement in a 1D manner basing their
approach to engagement on a definition of
the brain as single-minded and the mind as
one-track. Our report shows that they need
to think in 6D studying drivers, systems
and states and the need to capture andbuild, as well as understanding the various
brain and ground layers critical to the
creation of effective campaigns.
6. Create belonging
Four of the 19 dimensions of engagement
identified by Canvas 8 relate directlyto the social dynamic belonging, herd
behaviour, shared values and social totems.
Add to this the importance of reciprocity
as an engagement mechanism and the
need to create campaigns that go beyond
simple dialogue becomes critical at every
point, brands, businesses and issues-led
organisations must seek to reflect thevalues, hopes and aspirations of their target
audiences and build a sense of be-longing
(desire to belong).
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The Total Engagement Map
Whether a business seeking to maintain
reputation, a brand seeking to sell productor an organisation seeking to engage
audiences around a particular cause or
issue, it is clear, from the insights gleaned
and the imperatives already outlined, that
such a complex new landscape and such a
multi-dimensional challenge require a fresh
approach.
To this end, Weber Shandwicks Strategic
Engagement Unit (SEU) have developed
a Total Engagement Map, designed to
ensure that marketers take into account all
the various domains necessary to build a
modern engagement campaign.
Alongside the 6 imperatives, this map willunderpin the way in which Weber Shandwick
plans, creates and activates campaigns
for its clients, putting the 38 engagement
drivers (see footprint model overleaf for the
detail) at the heart of everything the agency
does, including building tools, workshops
and models, to help brands and businesses
win the battle for brain- and ground-space.
UNDERSTAND
IMPLEMENT
BY DRIVER
SYSTEM 1
CAVEMAN
SYSTEM 2
THINKING MANBY SYSTEM
BY STATEME
MYSELF
ME IN
MY WORLD
PHASESCAPTURE BUILD
BRAIN
LAYERSASSOCIATIONS SENSES
USER
GROUND
BEHAVIOUR
GROUND
LAYERS
OWNED
GROUND
SHARED
GROUND
ME IN
MYSELF
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The Engagement Footprint Model
The first tool to be developed as part of this map is a simple Engagement Footprint Model
aimed at helping clients better understand the priority engagement drivers in their owncategory and marketplace and, ultimately, diagnose and track the performance of their own
brand.
Not only this, but it will enable clients, with the help of measurement insight from Doctors
Zoga Ramsy, Ouillier and McCracken (and more specific category insight from sector
experts), define comparable engagement footprints for different categories, contributing to
a database of footprints and expertise on engagement.
FIG 1: 38 Drivers
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This model will
enable a broad
understanding ofcategory and brand
drivers, and also show
how a category, brand
or business fares in
the context of the
brains two systems
and the four states.
It is essentially a
multi-dimensional
engagement footprint
and a definitive
indication of brand,
reputation and issue
performance.
Bu
ild
/
thi
nkin
gman
Cap
tur
e/
cavem
an
Myse
lfMe
Mein
mys
elf Mein
the
world
FIG 2: Two Brain Systems
FIG 3: Four States
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Further application ofThe Science of Engagement
As well as applying this thinking, map and model broadly across our client base, the WeberShandwick SEU will also be available to apply The Science of Engagement insight in a number
of other different ways:
Inspiration presentation outlining key findings as food for thought for client marketing
and communications teams;
Client-tailored workshops using insight and scientists to explore categories and brands in
more detail;
Cross-category insight and application to brand or campaign development; Specific expert perspectives and/or facilitated panel discussions providing further brand/
business insight;
Measurement metrics designed to measure intensity of engagement and its impact on the
path to purchase.
For further information, please visitwww.webershandwick.co.uk/scienceofengagement
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Footnotes
This white paper builds on the insight derived from the The Science of Engagement,commissioned by Weber Shandwick from Canvas8.
The report sought insight about engagement from three scientists in the fields of
anthropology, psychology and neuroscience, respectively:
The full report, interview transcripts and video content can be found at
www.webershandwick.co.uk/scienceofengagement
Dr. Grant McCracken member of MITs Convergence Culture Consortium,
previously director of the Institute of Contemporary Culture and a senior
lecturer at the Harvard Business School.
Dr. Olivier Oullier Professor of Behavioural and Brain Sciences at the Aix-
Marseille University. Advisor on behavioural economics and public policy for
governments and corporations worldwide.
Dr. Thomas Zoga Ramsy currently Head of Research at the Decision
Neuroscience Research Group at the Copenhagen Business School.
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As an industry, a disciplineand an agency, the study ofThe Science of Engagementshows that, in a world in which
competition for attentionis only going to get moreintense, a new engagementbattleground exists, fought
on two fronts: the battle forbrain-space, and the battlefor ground-space...
Adam Mack, Chief Strategy Officer EMEA
Weber Shandwick
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For further information please contact:
Adam MackChief Strategy Officer, EMEATM
EW
+44 20 7067 0739+44 7795 812 [email protected]
www.twitter.com/WS_Londonwww.facebook.com/WeberShandwick# scienceofengagement