THE COOKIE MONSTER

Recently I was chatting to someone about a great question they asked Harper Reed (the tech guru who helped Obama win his presidential seat... - bio here). The premise of the question was something along the lines of "Is Social Media Morally Right?" This spurred not necessarily a direct answer, but a whole lot of other questions - and really got me thinking.

Have you ever thought about the way that we interact in the world today is strangely weighted proportionally on the digital side? So when we do interact - literally every time we do - our digital interaction is tracked, creating an algorithm about what we will next see on our screens. Thus, subtly encouraging us in some way towards our next move, digitally. Have you ever also thought about the fact that subliminal messages were shunned about 20 years ago - yet here we are in 2017 and this (I'd call it somewhat subliminal) action is allowed and accepted - and we don't blink an eye.

As a company here at Brand Brewery, we want people to experience the brands we promote, experience their values and their messages, and experience them in a real and informative way. We don't want to bombard the public with just any old message. We want to make people fall in love the good old fashioned way: honestly. Not by using an algorithm, but by getting deeper into a brand's intangible identity – their "brew" is what we call it – and making it tangible. We too, believe in the brands we work with. We believe they are worth it. They should be experienced. Physically.

Yes, we're all trying to sell something, increase someone's ROI, and ultimately get better P&L. And for these reasons, I don't mind the prompts, because I know that what we're doing is good and can be trusted. I also accept that this part of the commercial world we are all a part of. In fact, I actually believe it's great. In regards to the internet, it makes it a whole lot easier to use, digest - look at how far we have come since those flashing digital pop-ups!

However, I wonder if like me, people are going to crave the physical more and in an increased way, creating a greater need to have creative brand experiences and creative brand engagement options. Take the increased sales of LP Vinyls for example, it's no coincidence those sales have soared. I actually hope this physical craving is really happening and on the increase, as it's something here are Brand Brewery we're really good at.       

I don't know the answer to the question posed to Harper Reed, and I'm just beginning to think through all the potential outcomes of this 'cookie driven' world. What I do know is this: I'm keen to explore this topic further; I love digital interactions, and I love physical interactions - and I love physical cookies.

Thanks for reading ...and if you liked this, you'll love this. 

Wink Wink.