Don’t Mistake Technology for an Idea

June 22nd, 2009 by Tim Downs

I have a sign taped to my office wall that is a quote from legendary creative guru, Lee Clow. It says, “Technology is not a substitute for an idea…it can nurture and allow ideas to get bigger and be more amazing.” For me, it accurately captures a thought that is becoming more and more relevant these days.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not a technophobe or anti-technology. Quite the opposite, like Mr. Clow’s quote implies, I am a huge fan of what technology can do for an idea. But too often an idea is bypassed in the hasty desire to utilize the latest techno trend or tactical whiz bang platform. New technologies can expand the scope of an idea and in a lot of cases inspire an entire string of creative-generating thought. But the technology in and of itself is not an idea.

Allow me to give some examples. Everyone wants to jump into the emerging technologies around social media. The allure of thousands of potential prospects interacting with your brand is enough to make a marketing manager light headed. But posting a blog isn’t an idea. It’s a tactical execution. However, planning a new product launch by sending samples to a specific target of influential bloggers and virally spreading it through various social media outlets is an idea born out of necessity—the need to launch quickly with limited marketing dollars. It’s the way new Sucrets ICE was launched. Social media just made the idea bigger and more effective.

Here’s another way technology is making ideas bigger. Recently we launched a web site to celebrate 50 seasons of Buffalo Bills football. Embedded within the site are a variety of ways for visitors to interact and share comments through their Facebook pages. One section invites them to view and share favorite tailgating recipes. Ten lucky contributors will be selected to appear on the Bills All-Access television show “TAILGREATS”. Billy Buffalo, loyal Bills mascot, posted a message on his Facebook page mentioning this fact and we saw recipe submissions increase two-fold.

Have an idea first. Then use technology to make it more amazing.

— Tim Downs

This entry was posted by Tim Downs on Monday, June 22nd, 2009 and is filed under Blogging, Clients, Creative, Interactive, ROI, Social Media, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.