Let's go treasure hunting

Until this past week, I used to try to explain (mostly to myself) the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC) as taking a story (a brand story) and telling it to people in different ways, at different times, in different places. The occasion and location might vary, but the story being created told was the same. Sometimes we would provide a sneak preview of the story. Sometimes we would tease people with a particularly suspenseful or entertaining plot. Other times we would offer up multiple perspectives of the same story (think of the Kurosawa classic Rashomon).

Even to myself, this has seemed a slightly convoluted, not-so-easy-to-grasp telling of a story about story-telling. And I’ve been searching for a simpler metaphor, one that could be universally understood and applied by brand custodians. And as with most epiphanies, this one occurred to me when I was least looking for it.

In an era where brands are competing with a rapid adoption of voluntary attention-depleting skills, that a brand must create engaging, exciting, rewarding and distinctive interactions is an accepted (if not always implemented) reality. That means seeking simplicity in an environment that is becoming more complex by the minute. And as with most situations where simplicity is the foundation of the solution, the answer lies in a return to childhood.

The pre-skeptic, non-cynical way of life exists only in the no-possibility-is-an-impossibility realm of pre-adolescence. Every question is approached with the potential of finding buried treasure. That excited trait of searching for treasure actually never goes away in all of us. While it may become a latent trait, we all usually get enthused at the prospect of looking for and finding treasure.

And that’s what IMC actually is—or can become. A treasure hunt. A brand’s job is to enroll people into an ongoing treasure hunt at all times. And as with a real treasure hunt, the rules are simple. Clearly identify the treasure that people can hunt, find and keep. Sometimes it can simply be a life philosophy that people are seeking, can identify with and make their own (Apple’s “Think Different” and the “creative” thinkers it spawned, for example). Other times, it can be a tangible, limited time offer that results in a material reward. You get the point—the treasure can allow brands to do thematic as well as tactical treasure hunts.

Next, lay out clues in all the places that people would likely engage with the brand. The clues must be tricky enough to intrigue and hold people’s interest. But

they must also be simple enough for them to figure out, without getting frustrated and leaving the hunt. The clues must be inter-linked, must be consistent in tone and theme. They must together add up to an interesting bigger picture, much like a jigsaw puzzle.

The best treasure hunts also engage people in groups, so that people share the excitement and the buzz of the hunt, collaborate and co-create symbols and vocabularies that become part of their everyday lexicon. The simpler the structure of the hunt, the more people will want to replicate it and create their own versions of it. They’ll talk about it with their circles, seek attention and compliments for it, and spread it in a way that a brand can never pay its way for.

Finally, getting your hands on the treasure is as much a reward as enjoying it for what it offers—in material and intangible terms. It’s a huge part – but not necessarily the only or most important part of the hunt.

So when is your brand embarking on a treasure hunt?

(The author is EVP/National Planning Head of Dentsu India Group)