8 Questions with David Moynihan of LEGO

Editor's Note: This post was originally created by Spredfast before Spredfast and Lithium merged and became Khoros.

Meet David Moynihan, Global Director of Parents & Family Engagement at LEGO. LEGO has paved the way for social marketing, standing as one of the best examples of robust user experiences and impactful branded messaging. We sat down with Moynihan ahead of the webinar to hear his thoughts about what’s most exciting in the digital industry right now, what inspires him, and more.

A: It’s a really special and unique company. It’s one of the most loved and trusted brands in the world. It’s got a really important mission as well. The LEGO group’s mission is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow. We focus on helping children reach their potential, helping families thrive, and really celebrating brand values such as quality and caring and learning and fun.

A: Often other brands inspire me. Some of the communications coming out of Nike recently have been really inspiring, for example, the Nothing Beats a Londoner campaign and their recent work with Colin Kaepernick. Brands want to get better at serving audiences with content that they want to engage with so that it’s much more of a conversation about a part of their life where they want information, or inspiration, or to be empowered. I also get inspiration from media publishers and editorial brands, which is my background. A lot of the time I’m looking at editorial teams and the content they’re doing because they are masters at winning attention, innovating with new formats, and quickly finding what audiences really want.

Editorial teams are masters at winning attention, innovating with new formats, and quickly finding what audiences really want. — @DavidMoynihan

A: Tons of stuff. The scale, the immediacy, the technology are just insane right now. We’re at an unprecedented point in human history where it’s so easy to talk to almost anyone anywhere in the world at any time. For brands, the potential is immense. It’s a balancing act because obviously there are dangers involved in it as well, as we see with data challenges or privacy challenges. But the intimacy and personalization that mobile and social provide are incredible. I look at shareability as a real barometer for content. If you’re able to produce content or tell stories that people actively want to share with their friends and family, that’s a really clear signal that you’re making a difference in the world and you’re creating value for people.

A clear signal you're creating value for people? If they're sharing your content with their friends and family. — @DavidMoynihan

A: Mobile is arguably the first screen now, in terms of the connection people have to it, the time they spend on it, and the manifold uses that they have for it. Mobile has opened a door that isn’t yet possible with TV. If you think about the increased measurability, the increased shareability, and the e-commerce opportunities, mobile is alive with potential in a way TV and other advertisement mediums aren’t. TV has a vitally important role too, of course, but one of the great things about mobile is just how easy it is to do things on it. Anyone can quickly test something on mobile at a low cost and with great speed and agility. There’s just huge potential there, and it’s clearly an area that’s going to continue to grow.

A: We do both. We look to create content that both recruits an audience for us and also retains the audience whose interest we already have. Both are really important. We want to recruit new audiences through their passion points, so as a brand we’re thinking about that sweet spot where the audience’s needs and the brand’s needs overlap. Once we’ve recruited people, it’s vital that we retain them and ensure that we’ve got that higher affinity content that enables us to build loyal and engaged communities.

A: Measurability and "shopablity" are really exciting trends, even if they’re not particularly new. In terms of measurability, we’re slowly getting closer to the point where digital communications aren’t just being measured on reach and engagement, which are really proxies rather than outcomes. The outcome every brand truly wants is brand lift and sales. I feel like the platforms are getting to the point where we’ll be able to connect communications to outcomes, such as sales. And shopability performs part of that. Look at platforms like Instagram for example, and how that shoppable focus is growing there. It’s really exciting for brands, but it’s a balancing act. The reason why Instagram is so successful is that it isn’t bombarding users with conversion ads. We need to be careful not to kill the reasons that grew the engagement in the first place. But measurability and shopability are approaching a tipping point which will be incredibly valuable for brands.

A: Early in your career you tend to look to leaders for the answers. But actually, with the growth of digital, a lot of the top leaders simply don’t have the functional expertise that the newest and youngest functional experts have. There’s a real need right now to stop looking upwards for solutions and for people to be the solution themselves. I wish I’d realized that earlier in my career. Everyone can be guilty at times of sitting back and waiting for a leader to empower them. People need to stop waiting and start doing.

A: There are loads of horrible buzzwords like synergy, authentic, and agile that get used too much, but ultimately they are usually rooted in some sort of well-meaning. I’m definitely guilty of using them myself.