Model
Iterative Brand Equity changes. It doesn't dispose of what existed before; it will update, hand-off, or reconfigure itself to become something new.
(pretty simple, but click here for a larger view)
Framework
Set expectations - It's hard to set expectations when you're uncertain how the next iteration of a campaign will unfold. That being said, it's important to keep your users informed with what you know. If you're uncertain what the next iteration will look like, it's perfectly fine to tell that to your users, and ask them for input.
Extract key campaign elements - In every campaign, there are key themes, memes, and technology that can be carried forward in each iteration. For instance, if you ask your users to upload photo's during a campaign, the next iteration could involve writing captions for the images; or turning the images into comic strips.
Provide a feedback mechanism - The biggest mistake any campaign can suffer from is not allowing customers to provide feedback. If you have a channel that allows customers to provide feedback, you'll end up gaining some valuable insights. If you don't have that channel available, the feedback will often be presented to the public via social media. Feedback should always be incorporated into the next iteration of a campaign.
Recap - Just like the beginning of a TV show, an iterative campaign requires a recap. This can take many forms; the best are integrated into drivers to the transformed campaign site. For example, if you have a media buy making people aware of your new campaign, you can include information about how the campaign started, and how its transformed.
Recognize loyalty - Users who stick with you from campaign to campaign should be recognized and rewarded. They don't necessarily need a monetary reward, but they can be rewarded by offering pre-registration, or access to exclusive tools. The better you treat your loyal customers, the more likely it is they'll continue being loyal.
Benefits
Increase reach - Many quarterly campaigns just aren't alive long enough to reach the maximum number of users who'd want to participate. The benefit of having an iterative campaign is that you'll be able to build on your foundation of users at the beginning of every iteration. Instead of asking users who've participated in a different campaign to participate in something new; you can ask those users to continue their participation in a new way.
Increase asset library - Every iteration of a campaign can provide you with new assets. Whether it's user generated content, feedback, new leads, or new technology; new assets help to ensure the next iteration has more to offer.
Improve engagement - Rather than being engaged for one quarter and waiting for the next campaign, users can continue to engage with a brand throughout every iteration. Each iteration can engage users more and more.
Increase participation - Many users are unwilling to participate in a campaign that will only last a couple months, because they understand the campaign will be ending. A campaign that continues, and feeds into the next campaign can encourage user participation. If you continually use user generated content as the foundation for the next iteration; you'll encourage even greater participation. Users enjoy having their work matter.
Improve integration - An iterative campaign has the benefit of being able to take its time to get accepted. Every iteration can act as new opportunities for integration. For instance, if your first campaign asks users for photos, the second campaign could include a photo album on flickr, and the third campaign could include a widget showing the photos on the corporate site.
Improve communication - The great thing about having engaged customers providing feedback over time is that you can learn from your communication mistakes and successes. If you find certain communication techniques work, you can carry then forward into the next campaign; and if you find out that certain techniques don't work you can scrap them for the next iteration.
The ability to tell stories has always been one of the most powerful ways to connect with other people.
Social media has given us a unique way to to tell stories as a collective. Here's a roadmap for collective storytelling.
Stop #1 - Define Your Story
The process of discovering what you want to tell a story about is always different, but the most important step in storytelling. You need to be an expert on what your story is about.
Starting a story without knowing what it's about will likely cause confusion. If the collective is confused by a story, it's unlikely that they'll participate in telling it.
The collective will look to that person who started the story for reinforcement and reassurance that the story is still on track. Ensure you monitor your story and continue to participate in telling it, or risk the story ending.
Stop #2 - Spark a Conversation
In collective storytelling, stories are made up of wide-reaching conversations. Those conversations begin with a 'conversation spark'.
A conversation spark shouldn't be the entire story. It should provide enough information to be provocative, but leave the next chapter of the story open to be told by the collective.
Consider the Burger King "Subservient Chicken" campaign. The story begins: A human-sized chicken has decided to set-up a webcam. It's asking that you come to it's website and give it orders.
That's an example of a conversation spark.
Stop #3 - Participate in the Conversation
Conversations spread through social media like ripples across a pond. Consider the conversation spark as the pebble dropping into the water. The ripples dissipate as they move farther away from the center, just as the conversations have less impact the longer they continue without a new conversation spark.
Ok, consider this model:
The conversation spark could be the site created for the Burger King "Subservient Chicken". The longer the campaign runs, the greater the reach will be; however, the longer the campaign runs without a new conversation spark, the less impact the conversation will have. Eventually, the conversation will end.
Note: You can't control when the conversation ends. You can only control when, and how much you participate. Here's a great set of guidelines (PDF download) for responses to changes in your story.
This model shows the first two ripples as a conversation spark begins to propagate through a network:
Notice that each connection doesn't emanate directly from the conversation spark. Ideally, the originator of a conversation will encourage other storytellers to interact with each other. If you look at the "Subservient Chicken" example; Burger King actually provides customers with some tools to continue the conversation: a downloadable chicken mask, and a way to share the site with friends.
Of course they could have provided more tools. They could have allowed users to save a video of the chickens responses to a certain set of orders, and provide a link to send to friends. They could have created a gallery of user-generated video's of people responding to orders while wearing the downloadable chicken mask. These types of tools could help to extend the story.
Stop #4 - Extend the Story
A story could end after one conversation spark; but the best stories continue. As new conversation sparks are created and added to the story; the story grows, and reaches more people.
Innovative and provocative stories are often enough to inspire other storytellers to create their own conversation spark. Take the "Subservient Chicken" example again. It inspired this YouTube video, which reached over 2,000 people and got 7 comments. Not a huge conversation, but extending the story often includes conversations of many sizes.
Collective storytelling isn't necessarily about branding, or making money; it's about spreading a message and allowing that message to be malleable enough to be changed by its audience while maintaining its integrity. Link to original post