The Last Network - Chapter 16
The Illegitimate Firemen of Instagram
Em furrowed her brow and pulled her hair into a ponytail. In front of her were dozens of concepts neatly arranged on a table. They were grouped into broad ideas for missions like discover, rescue, and race. Some were straight ahead, while others took an absurdist twist.
She picked up a vision board with beefcake guys, bachelorettes, and a description which read: “The Illegitimate Fireman of Instagram have invaded. Round them up before their body heat burns the whole city down.”
So, this is what it had come to, sexist Farmville shit. She picked up another: “A pot of gold awaits at the end of the rainbow. Discover it and earn a spin on the Fortune Wheel.”
Great, let’s go for gullible gamblers.
Thank God these were just pitches and they hadn’t paid for these concepts. She fired off a quick email. Hard pass. Tone deaf.
The thing was that the missions were right, but the packaging was wrong. If Peared was going to make it, and that was a big IF in her mind now, they’d need to do it in a way where they could grow back into their original positioning. Everything she believed and felt about the service remained true. Peared needed to promote equality and team work between Hands and Eyes. It needed to be viewed as a mind-blowing tool that allowed you to look at the world through another person’s eyes.
How to get there was the challenge.
They had to get the ball rolling somewhere. She walked over to another table. It played right down the middle. Earn badges and unlock status. Win tickets to concerts. Limited edition gear. Sure, they were recycled quests from old apps, but they had worked before. Peared needed to find a pulse, and unlike the Illegitimate Fireman, partnering with Adidas and The Voice gave them an air of credibility.
With Travel Together, Em thought she had a surefire campaign. In her mind, the product was legless. They couldn’t afford to make that mistake again. It was time for marketing to push the burden back on the product. Either Paolo and Sonny delivered, or she’d start filling her calendar with new clients.