Setting aside criticisms leveled at boring PowerPoint presentations, the blame lies not with PowerPoint as a tool but with the presenter. Hardin (2007) thinks that what is critical is the presenter, not the technology, hence encouraging presenters to break out of the normal PowerPoint attempts and adopt new presentation formats. Pecha Kucha has taken the word by storm with such format. The versatility of it opens for varied purposes such as thesis presentation, research project, and/or other matters widely applied within the curriculum (Anderson & Williams, 2012). Pecha Kucha has been used as an alternative or a more “practical” version of PowerPoint – as it encourages presenters to engage with the audience with their own interpretation of every slide rather than reading a big chunk of text: after all, presentations are made to be fun yet insightful.

En route to the success of Pecha Kucha: What are the challenges?

Let’s go back to the topic of Walter Wallet’s proposed digital marketing strategy. The presentation should be focused on the strategy itself but is a little bit of background necessary? Absolutely. Here are some PK related things to pay close attention to.

1 – Outline a topic

PK rules must be complied in terms of time limit, number of slides, number of words on each slide, and use of visuals. It warrants time investment at all stages including planning, preparation, and implementation (Levy & Stockwell, 2006). By properly outlining a topic, it allows a smooth flow of information for audience to follow the storyline. The topic of the PK presentation will cover Walter Wallet’s digital marketing strategy, but first of all, a little background on the brand/company will be introduced. What kind of digital marketing strategies has the company pursued? The RACE framework will come into play when discovering the company’s digital footprint.

Upon displaying this figure, the 20 seconds can then be spent on briefly describing the method and which specific “area” the strategy will be based on.

2 – Cause of strategy

In observance, the results of the digital footprint will come to an analysis. Online marketing is almost every company’s attempt to engage with their audience whenever possible in order to make them interested with the products; more than that, they are also targeted to ‘soft-sell’ the products to end with procurement. After all, wouldn’t you consider a favourable return on investment?

Walter Wallet wants to expand their market by reaching out to international consumers – they want “Walter” to take over the world. By showing and explaining to the audience what stands behind the key discussion to elevate understanding.

A jump-start to the Pecha Kucha’s point of discussion asks: how can Walter Wallet adopt a strategy that penetrates the market better with its current resources?

3 – Steps to implementation

PK will contribute to critical thinking because it is time-pressed upon content delivery. During this phase, it is important to make sure that no more than 20 seconds is spent on one slide – as interesting as it is to elaborate on minimal text, it gets drowsy when too much is being said. The challenge here is to point out a few things here and there by inserting movement to the slides thus avoiding stagnancy.

Keeping slides interesting involves showcasing illustrations, or in this case a “mock-up” product that embodies the proposed strategy. For example, I will be showing pictures of the final product on Walter Wallet’s Instagram post that will show audience how users can participate and which third-parties are involved.

Transitioning images will help the audience follow the steps of implementation (Watanabe-Crockett, 2016). The Instagram post will show how the act category of the RACE framework followed by the next slide displaying the convert category that brings the code to the expected landing page.

4 – Things to consider

How do you get the most out of Pecha Kucha?

Pecha Kucha is all about showing how much knowledge the presenter can perform in anticipated eloquence and confidence. The first point is to avoid writing out a script for narration. The best-case scenario means you’ll get along so well an outline won’t be necessary. However, to avoid worst-case scenario of having your mind go blank in a time-pressed situation, an outline for planning purposes is necessary. As simple as knowing how to start, when to proceed, and how to end it will surely make a difference into curating an excellent Pecha Kucha.

They say ‘practice makes perfect’ – when it comes to PK, it surely applies on all angles. You would want to make sure the pitch hits right and ends with the audience getting the message loud and clear, which means that timing, wording, and not to forget body language, are just as crucial. The format of PK itself is minimalistic in order to direct maximum attention to the presenter. Don’t be a robot – relax, breathe, and smile!

References:

Anderson, J.S., & Williams, S.K. (2012). Pecha Kucha for lean and sticky presentations in business classes. Working paper prepared for the W.A. Franke College of Business, Northern Arizona University.

Hardin, E.E. (2007). Presentation software in the college classroom: Don’t forget the instructor. Teaching of Psychology, 34 (1), 53-57.

Levy, M., & Stockwell, G. (2006). CALL Dimensions: Options and Issues in Computer Assisted Language Learning. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum & Associates.

Crockett, L. (2016). How to Make Great Presentations the Pecha Kucha Way. [online]. https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/how-to-make-great-presentations-with-pecha-kucha [Last accessed May 12, 2018]

The benefits of digital marketing includes creating value by new activities or adding value to existing business processes with the purpose of cost reduction, market expansion opportunities, exposure to non-consumers, and an international scope to improve overall customer transactions (Basu & Muylle, 2007). A digital marketing strategy involving different channels can result in a desired outcome that promotes consumer interactivity (Lesidrenska & Dicke, 2011).

Diversified content strategy

A diversified approach allows a company to deliver unique content in multiple digital marketing channels. Taken into example, Åhléns, a Swedish department store, has an official website, where other means of their social media platforms are displayed (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube). Customer engagement is fulfilled through (1) having a website for basic information and (2) navigation towards social media for more personalized content.

Fig 1. Diversified Content Strategy

• Practical channel/function

The first channel should deliver basic information and news that provide knowledge for the customers to decide on the next action (e.g. website displays basic/concrete information whilst email distributes news). According to Chadwick & Doherty (2012), hyperlinks may be seen as ‘interactive’ despite intending the content to be more practical, however it still presents a passive level of interactivity in this strategy.

Ahlens Official Website 1

The range of platforms displayed allows visitors to easily navigate themselves to different channels the company operates. The ability to subscribe, which is a form of email marketing, may involve personalized invitation to generate more traffic towards the website.

• Interactive channel/function

In this strategy, the company does not aim to get the deepest of understanding of the customer through their website (Heinonen, 2011), which divides the company’s attempt on reaching customers. The online presence of the company also implies an association of activities: online shopping on the website is commonly done using a PC/laptop, whilst staying updated with the latest promotions, news, and/or campaigns can be distributed via social media. When most customers are likely to use their phones more often at any place and time, this is where they spend more time on social media to browse, review, and feed themselves the information they need before deciding to purchase a product. The company is potentially exposed to word-of-mouth through for public discussion (comments) or tagging one or more friends when drawing upon interest. This form of promotion serves as a softer approach towards their products in a simpler and more concrete way, which distinct the more aggressive content of newsletters/website when customers are challenged to make purchases.

Diversifying this content makes room for various elements to be introduced to customers, which will allow the company to monitor customers’ journeys in the later stage.

The social media platforms that are considered ‘interactive’ include Åhléns’ Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. This second category supports the function of administering intrinsic values to the customers, often referred to as co-creation (Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004). Co-creation plays an important role in customer participation that creates experience. This symbolizes a journey where the customer responds to the campaigns actively. An Instagram campaign of Åhléns will be shown (see Fig. 2).

Fig. 2 Åhléns’ Shot It, Got It Campaign

The ‘Shot It, Got It’ campaign was a form of game that only involved Instagram and the screenshot function where viewers were tested to capture an image in a fast-paced video, then post it to get a half-price discount for the company’s recently launched summer collection. It became a phenomenon where thousands got posted using the hash tag feature and tagging of the company’s official account. The word-of-mouth boosted the hype of their collection amongst followers and friends.

The effect of this advertisement is partly managed to persuade and convey the benefits and/or positive aspects of a brand, for instance, the campaign is meant to draw attention in a way that is positive, engaging, and entertaining (Eisend, 2016). Another way to interpret it is advertising as brand-initiated communication intent on impacting people (Dahlén & Rosengren, 2016). With the development of the digital era, marketing communication has become more ambiguous in a way that companies want to protect their brand image by not coming off as too aggressive on their marketing campaigns – this is a ‘mediation’ process of contact and meaning between individuals and groups (McQuail, 2006). The term contact can be categorized into two types, such as direct and indirect. Individuals then have immediate/direct contact with the brand through their chosen platforms (mobile phones) then indirect contact with their friends and/or followers when they choose to share the post. Either way, the process leads to brand exposure that goes in moderation instead of pushing marketing messages directly to customers; the participants in the Åhléns campaign serve the purpose of a medium in a way that helps the company in marketing, which is seemingly more interactive since the message is received and acted upon. Moreover, the company is then able to monitor the traffic the campaign has brought by seeing how many has participated, which is significant in identifying which type of advertising is best aligned to the company’s mission.

References

 Basu, A. & Muylle, S. (2007). Assessing and enhancing e-business processes. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, [online] 10(4), pp.437-499. Available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/fad1/5330b2f27c60c2d0c085404b09b2b7bb3911.pdf [Accessed 16 Apr. 2018].

Dahlén, M., & Rosengren, S. (2016). If advertising won’t die, what will it be? Toward a working definition of advertising. Journal of Advertising, 45(3), 334-345. doi:10.1080/00913367.2016.1172387

Eisend, M. (2016). Comment: Advertising, communication, and brands. Journal of Advertising, 45(3), 353-355. doi:10.1080/00913367.2016.1187579

Ellis-Chadwick, F. & Doherty, F. (2012) ‘Web advertising: The role of e-mail marketing’, Journal of Business Research, vol. 65, no. 6, June, pp. 843-848.

Heinonen, K. (2011) ‘Consumer activity in social media: Managerial approaches to consumers’ social media behavior’, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, vol. 10, no. 6, November, pp. 356–364.

Lesidrenska, S. and Dicke, P. (2012) ‘Social-media platforms and its effect on digital marketing activities’, Marketing ì Menedžment Innovacìj, vol. 3, no. 1, March, pp. 44-52.

McQuail, D. (2006). Mass Communication. Sage Publications.

Prahalad, C.K. & Ramaswamy, V. (2004) ‘Co-creation Experience: the Next Practice in Value Creation’, Journal of Interactive Marketing, vol. 18, no. 3, Summer, pp. 5-14.