Three Tips on Experimentation from Razorfish Director of Emerging Media

In this “evolve or die” world, marketers and PR pros alike need to move fast and push boundaries, or be left behind. Nothing new there, right? This was the macro-level theme that framed the “Emerging From a Recession with Emerging Media Intact” panel this morning featuring David Polinchock, Brand Experience Lab and Patrick Moorhead, Director Emerging Media, Razorfish.

Polinchock told the audience, “hot brands know how to create an experience with the product and innovate constantly. Good companies test constantly.”

But it’s not always easy to test. “We’re working with Fortune 500 brands that are risk adverse, to a fault, even,” said Moorhead. Maybe they shouldn’t be? “Google is proud to put that beta logo on it. When you do put the beta on it, we find that people want it more,” he said.

So, how what are things PR and marketing pros can do to test internally, or limit risk before rolling something out for real? Moorhead gave us the following three tips:

Strategy 1: Try things on yourself before you push things on someone else.

Strategy 2: Don’t just test something to test it. Have a reason to be. Identify a consumer need, solve a problem for them, offer them an entertaining experience.

Strategy 3: You don’t have to go big right out of the gate. If you get those first two right and you think “that makes sense” and you put it out there, don’t expect to get it right right off the bat…there is room to grow.

Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including The Onion‘s Baratunde Thurston (left), Facebook’s Morin Oluwole, and bitly’s Tim Devane. Register now.