While a red carpet and paparazzi were unnecessary in my conferral, like other award shows, there was more than one category in my determination of the best of the best. That’s because success in the digital arena is based on two key criteria. First is functionality. While we all spend time on Hulu catching up on missed television shows and checking in on must-see YouTube uploads, most people are in a utility mode when they’re online. They want to accomplish something. Branding that gives consumers a way to make the things they already do easier, more enjoyable, or more convenient in some way is successful branding. Make it a pleasure to reserve an airline flight, hotel room, or a seat at a restaurant. Make it more fun to share photographs of family vacations. Make it a cinch to pay a bill or resolve a billing dispute. Make it simpler to get instant help with a product or service issue. Victory in digital branding is analogous to victory in any other type of branding. Companies that take advantage of any experience to reinforce what makes their brands relevantly different strengthen the association consumers have with the benefits of their brands. That, in a nutshell, is what the functionality category is all about.

The second categorical metric for success in digital campaigns is pass-along value. Word of mouth has always been a critical component in branding. When people feel good about a brand they’ll tell others about the experience. In the cyber-world, word-of-mouth can have steroidal effect. When people feel passionate or are amused by something they see online, they’ll take the time to pass it along to others, in this case millions of others, building awareness without a huge price tag. In the digital space, creativity and story-telling are hot commodities, and therefore deserved a separate category in my top campaign roster.

So, which brands made it into my winning envelopes?

• Best Buy – In the functionality category my first handshake goes to Best Buy for its Twelpforce initiative in which Employees sign up to receive tweets from customers to help them, via Twitter, on any technology-related product issues. Providing immediate service within this giant “helpful” community is a great way to differentiate the brand from other tech retailers who respond to troubleshooting with generic “Frequently Asked Question” sites. The Twelpforce goes right to the heart of a better customer service experience, solving individual customer problems on their terms, not the company’s.

• USPS – My next nod goes to the United States Postal Service for its augmented reality application that enables consumers to see whether objects they want to pack and ship will fit into specific-size boxes. With a “virtual box simulator,” users hold the objects in front of their Web cams and can see themselves on the screen holding these things against a 3-D box. The tool enables people to turn and manipulate the objects to see if the box is the right size. Part of the USPS’s “A Simpler Way’ campaign, this digital branding application is a perfect fit for my functionality criteria as it separates the USPS from its competition by actively demonstrating how the brand makes life more convenient for its customers.

• B.F. Goodrich – Finally in this category is B. F. Goodrich’s “Nation of Go”campaign. The intuitive Web site lets people map and share travel plans, along with best routes and driving and auto maintenance tips. While talking and selling tires are not the principal objectives of the site, creating a community of drivers who can assist each other and provide input and feedback about all things automotive is a strong way to differentiate the B. F. Goodrich brand of tires from the others.

• Queensland Tourism Board – In the “pass-along” category, my kudos to an initiative called “The Best Job in the World.” This campaign began with a search for a caretaker for an enchanting resort in the Great Barrier Reef who, in exchange for caretaking responsibilities, a weekly blog post and YouTube video, could enjoy all the fabulous amenities of living, full-time, on this incredibly beautiful property. It was a powerful use of the Web and a very clever way to get the message out. Not necessarily a brand-building event, but more of a one-time promotion, “The Best Job in the World,” nonetheless, captivated an audience of thousands, building initial awareness of the splendid venue.

• Charmin – Equal kudos go to Procter & Gamble and its “Enjoy the Go” program for Charmin which was created to raise awareness of the clean, free, family-friendly brand-sponsored restrooms in New York’s Times Square. Again, intended as more promotional than long-term brand equity builder for Charmin, the initiative was so unexpected and so “Candid Camera” entertaining, there’s sure to be lingering good associations with the brand, especially as collateral campaign tactics include a mobile application developed to help people find clean restrooms around the country.

• Pringles – And, last, but not least in this “check-it-out!” category is my appreciation for the Pringles banner ad campaign. Yes, you read right, banner ad. Not the most highly regarded tactic in digital marketing given the generally annoying disposition, the Pringles effort is completely delighting and deserves applause for its story-within-a-story format. The ingenious little tales don’t take you to a Pringles Web site, but the fun and repeated clicking required to follow the story line earned Bridge Worldwide, the agency responsible, a Cyber Gold Lion at the Cannes award show (a tad more official than my humble bestowals).

To succeed at digital branding, at any branding, requires that you demonstrate how your brand’s promise will make life meaningfully different for consumers. Where digital branding differs by degree is that it must either improve consumers’ lives through its utility, supporting what the brand stands for in peoples’ minds, or it must be entertaining enough to build brand awareness through pass-along value. As we enter 2010, I wish all companies success in their digital efforts, and all consumers better, more convenient, more fun lives, as a result.

Interview with Dan Schwabel

(image courtesy of luc legay via flickr)

Photo courtesy of wockerjabby (flickr)

This recent article in MarketingProfs, in which I share a very interesting conversation with Bob Pearson, Vice President of Communities and Conversations at Dell computers, will give you a glimmer of what good marketers are doing to succeed in these dismal times.

Digital is cool. Digital is now. Digital can be nifty. But if your digital branding application doesn’t reinforce what it is you want people to think about your brand (DQ ice cream is cold and creamy and just perfect on a hot and dusty day) it’s not going to come across as cool, now, or nifty. It’s just going to sit there like a melting Peanut-Buster Parfait. I like DQ, as do my kids. But, if it wants to use digital tactics in its branding mix, I’d advise Dairy Queen to come up with something in keeping with its brand promise – the customer’s ice cream experience, not the experience of the folks behind the counter.

What makes digital content go viral? In a year during which both a truly awesome presidential election and truly awful financial crisis held sway, there was no dearth of online video, both reality and parody. Some of it people watched and passed along with abandon. Some they just watched and abandoned. As a perpetual student of digital behavior, it’s fascinating for me to see what strikes a common chord and goes on to make the viral hit list, and what just dies on the online vine. From a marketing point of view, in many cases the most virally catchy stuff is the result of brilliant creative thinking and execution. Not expensive, mind you, just strategically innovative, like the Burger King Flame campaign aimed at adolescent-minded guys for whom the idea of a meat-scented body spray is pretty sizzling. Keeping the creative bar high in the contest for online eyeballs is definitely one way to assure your content will catch on. The other, I have to admit, is just plain luck. In many cases, dumb luck. Take a look at our colleagues at Sterling Cooper, and you’ll see what I mean. (In the meantime, if I were you, I’d opt for brilliant creative.)