8/13/2019 Whitepaper Engagement

1/12

Engagement,DecodedThe Science of Engagement:Implications for Communicators

Author:

Adam Mack, Chief Strategy Officer EMEA

Weber Shandwick

8/13/2019 Whitepaper Engagement

2/12

...the path to total engagementis no longer a simple journey,

but one which requires us toconsider and filter through amultitude of scientific fields,theories, dimensions, layers andtouch-points hitherto largely

ignored by marketers...

8/13/2019 Whitepaper Engagement

3/12

Decoding engagement for

brands, businesses, marketersand communicators

Weber Shandwicks work on The

Science of Engagement has shed

new light on the fresh challenges and

opportunities facing communicatorsand marketers in the digital era and

suggests that a new approach must be

found in the increasingly competitive

quest for audience engagement.

Most critically, it tells us that

engagement is far more complex

than it has ever been. As Adam Mack,

Weber Shandwicks Chief Strategy

Officer EMEA, points out, the path

to total engagement is no longer a

simple journey, but one which requires

us to consider and filter through amultitude of scientific fields, theories,

dimensions, layers and touch-points

hitherto largely ignored by marketers.

This project has essentially allowed

us to dissect this complexity and

decode engagement into our

10 Principles, 19 Elements and 38

Introduction

measurable Drivers in a way that

allows marketers and communicators

to better navigate the complex

engagement landscape.

By understanding how these

Principles, Elements and Drivers apply

to their own categories, with WeberShandwicks expert guidance and the

tools outlined in this paper (our Map

and Diagnostic Model), brands and

businesses will be able to at the very

least improve their understanding of

how their audiences engage.

Ultimately, though, we see The

Science of Engagement as a strategic

tool that those with more ambition

and vision will be able to use to

revolutionise the way they approach

brand development, marketingcommunications, issues management

and corporate reputation.

8/13/2019 Whitepaper Engagement

4/12

The six imperatives for communicators

Even before this report was commissioned,

it was clear that the arrival of the new,digital era had significantly changed the

rules of engagement for communicators,

marketers and brand developers.

What the report (built on a range of

scientific views) has unearthed are the

specifics governing these rules the

theories to consider, the domains to takeinto account, the triggers to pull and the

touch-points to hit. In short, it has provided

the coordinates for effective engagement.

Using these coordinates, Weber Shandwick

has built a Total Engagement Map to better

visualise the theories and insights that will

help clients navigate the new terrain thismap is based on 6 imperatives:

1. Understand the drivers ofengagement

Building on the reports 19 different

dimensions of engagement, Weber

Shandwicks Strategic Engagement Unit

(SEU) has identified 38 drivers that are

critical to making engagement happen.

Brands and businesses need to know these

drivers, understand which of them will mosteffectively drive engagement in their own

sectors and be clear on which of them are

lacking in their own communications.

2. Know how to capture and buildengagement

Doctor Zoga Ramsy talked of the need totarget and harmonise the two systems of

the brain System 1 (the wanting, caveman

brain) and System 2 (the liking, thinking

mans brain). In order to achieve this,

communicators need to build campaigns

that dont just seek to capture engagement

(through aesthetics, intrigue and immediacy)

but also build it (through reciprocity andnarrative).

8/13/2019 Whitepaper Engagement

5/12

3. Recognise the 4 states

In an era of attention volatility and

engagement hyper-tasking, Weber

Shandwick believes that peoples behaviour

is guided by 4 inter-related and ever-

shifting states: Me (relating to the

fulfilment of basic needs), Myself (relating

to the shaping of identity), Me in Myself

(related to the changing of moods) and Mein my World (related to the enhancement of

status). Understanding these four states in

the context of a specific category will allow

brands and businesses to more effectively

target the most appropriate engagement

opportunities.

4. Know the battlegrounds

As marketers, communicators and PRs,

the study of The Science of Engagement

teaches us that, in a world in which

competition for attention is only going

to get more intense, a new engagement

battleground exists, fought on two fronts:

the battle for brain-space (that will be wonby a deeper understanding of the brains

2 systems, creating multiple associations

and reciprocity) and that for ground-space

(that will be won by seamless 360-degree

storytelling and a better grasp of

engagement hyper-tasking).

5. Think 6D

Traditionally, marketers and communicators

have tended to treat the battle for

engagement in a 1D manner basing their

approach to engagement on a definition of

the brain as single-minded and the mind as

one-track. Our report shows that they need

to think in 6D studying drivers, systems

and states and the need to capture andbuild, as well as understanding the various

brain and ground layers critical to the

creation of effective campaigns.

6. Create belonging

Four of the 19 dimensions of engagement

identified by Canvas 8 relate directlyto the social dynamic belonging, herd

behaviour, shared values and social totems.

Add to this the importance of reciprocity

as an engagement mechanism and the

need to create campaigns that go beyond

simple dialogue becomes critical at every

point, brands, businesses and issues-led

organisations must seek to reflect thevalues, hopes and aspirations of their target

audiences and build a sense of be-longing

(desire to belong).

8/13/2019 Whitepaper Engagement

6/12

The Total Engagement Map

Whether a business seeking to maintain

reputation, a brand seeking to sell productor an organisation seeking to engage

audiences around a particular cause or

issue, it is clear, from the insights gleaned

and the imperatives already outlined, that

such a complex new landscape and such a

multi-dimensional challenge require a fresh

approach.

To this end, Weber Shandwicks Strategic

Engagement Unit (SEU) have developed

a Total Engagement Map, designed to

ensure that marketers take into account all

the various domains necessary to build a

modern engagement campaign.

Alongside the 6 imperatives, this map willunderpin the way in which Weber Shandwick

plans, creates and activates campaigns

for its clients, putting the 38 engagement

drivers (see footprint model overleaf for the

detail) at the heart of everything the agency

does, including building tools, workshops

and models, to help brands and businesses

win the battle for brain- and ground-space.

UNDERSTAND

IMPLEMENT

BY DRIVER

SYSTEM 1

CAVEMAN

SYSTEM 2

THINKING MANBY SYSTEM

BY STATEME

MYSELF

ME IN

MY WORLD

PHASESCAPTURE BUILD

BRAIN

LAYERSASSOCIATIONS SENSES

USER

GROUND

BEHAVIOUR

GROUND

LAYERS

OWNED

GROUND

SHARED

GROUND

ME IN

MYSELF

8/13/2019 Whitepaper Engagement

7/12

The Engagement Footprint Model

The first tool to be developed as part of this map is a simple Engagement Footprint Model

aimed at helping clients better understand the priority engagement drivers in their owncategory and marketplace and, ultimately, diagnose and track the performance of their own

brand.

Not only this, but it will enable clients, with the help of measurement insight from Doctors

Zoga Ramsy, Ouillier and McCracken (and more specific category insight from sector

experts), define comparable engagement footprints for different categories, contributing to

a database of footprints and expertise on engagement.

FIG 1: 38 Drivers

8/13/2019 Whitepaper Engagement

8/12

This model will

enable a broad

understanding ofcategory and brand

drivers, and also show

how a category, brand

or business fares in

the context of the

brains two systems

and the four states.

It is essentially a

multi-dimensional

engagement footprint

and a definitive

indication of brand,

reputation and issue

performance.

Bu

ild

/

thi

nkin

gman

Cap

tur

e/

cavem

an

Myse

lfMe

Mein

mys

elf Mein

the

world

FIG 2: Two Brain Systems

FIG 3: Four States

8/13/2019 Whitepaper Engagement

9/12

Further application ofThe Science of Engagement

As well as applying this thinking, map and model broadly across our client base, the WeberShandwick SEU will also be available to apply The Science of Engagement insight in a number

of other different ways:

Inspiration presentation outlining key findings as food for thought for client marketing

and communications teams;

Client-tailored workshops using insight and scientists to explore categories and brands in

more detail;

Cross-category insight and application to brand or campaign development; Specific expert perspectives and/or facilitated panel discussions providing further brand/

business insight;

Measurement metrics designed to measure intensity of engagement and its impact on the

path to purchase.

For further information, please visitwww.webershandwick.co.uk/scienceofengagement

8/13/2019 Whitepaper Engagement

10/12

Footnotes

This white paper builds on the insight derived from the The Science of Engagement,commissioned by Weber Shandwick from Canvas8.

The report sought insight about engagement from three scientists in the fields of

anthropology, psychology and neuroscience, respectively:

The full report, interview transcripts and video content can be found at

www.webershandwick.co.uk/scienceofengagement

Dr. Grant McCracken member of MITs Convergence Culture Consortium,

previously director of the Institute of Contemporary Culture and a senior

lecturer at the Harvard Business School.

Dr. Olivier Oullier Professor of Behavioural and Brain Sciences at the Aix-

Marseille University. Advisor on behavioural economics and public policy for

governments and corporations worldwide.

Dr. Thomas Zoga Ramsy currently Head of Research at the Decision

Neuroscience Research Group at the Copenhagen Business School.

8/13/2019 Whitepaper Engagement

11/12

As an industry, a disciplineand an agency, the study ofThe Science of Engagementshows that, in a world in which

competition for attentionis only going to get moreintense, a new engagementbattleground exists, fought

on two fronts: the battle forbrain-space, and the battlefor ground-space...

Adam Mack, Chief Strategy Officer EMEA

Weber Shandwick

8/13/2019 Whitepaper Engagement

12/12

For further information please contact:

Adam MackChief Strategy Officer, EMEATM

EW

+44 20 7067 0739+44 7795 812 667amack@webershandwick.comwww.webershandwick.co.uk

www.twitter.com/WS_Londonwww.facebook.com/WeberShandwick# scienceofengagement