Always Beta: In the digital age your brand is always in conversation

Always Beta™ doesn't mean sacrificing quality to get something out the door. In fact, it's the opposite: it's a daily reminder to do the best we can with what we have, to share our ideas early with people we trust, and to stay humble and hungry to learn more.

Following a fundamentally Fallibilistic approach of Conjecture + Criticism we make sure every day is broken down into an ambitious, actionable goal that we can share with the team by the time we log off each day. This level of accountability and collaborative oversharing means that everyone has the autonomy to work the hours they want, from wherever in the world they choose, without losing the support of their team.

Beta today, better tomorrow means:

• Having Strong Opinions, Loosely Held
• Trusting that Small Failures help you avoid big ones.
• Always building on Best Practise™
• Not forgetting to Stay Humble
• Acknowledging that you're always at The Beginning of Infinity
• A Culture of Discipline is more impressive than a pool of talent.

Brand strategy can learn a lot from digital strategy. In simpler terms, we, as traditional brand strategists, gained valuable insights by observing how the digital realm, with its measurable data and the spread of trends through social contagion, significantly impacted and sometimes overwhelmed our well-thought-out but mostly theoretical brand strategies.
Seeing your efforts not go as planned, especially in real-time, is a clear way to eat a hefty piece of humble pie.

Brands, like any big ideas, are memetic: all brands are concepts that evolve with the culture. They replicate by staying relevant in a changing environment. What’s relevant and true for a brand at one point in time may no longer be so once the environment – and consumer expectations — change. And change is inevitable.

So the question is, how do we figure out how a brand can adapt and change with the times, without going full 8 Mile and losing itself? And as the world around us changes at the speed of culture or whatever, how does a brand know which conversations to jump in on, and which to avoid? Which issues to care about, and which to sit out?

This is where having a sense of what your brand places value on, is critical. And while it definitely looks the same, what your brand values could (but ideally shouldn’t) be confused with “brand values”. Nine times out of ten these are toothless-and-or-nonsense compromise-y words like “community” and “trust” and “integrity” and “inclusivisim”.

What a brand actually values means what a business will choose to invest in when budgets are tight, and resources are limited. We like to think of them as non-negotiables, because if you can identify your non-negotiables then you’ll find the power and conviction to make difficult decisions in difficult times.

Knowing what your business won't compromise on gives you the power to make bold decisions that set you apart from competitors. This ability to make tough choices today makes your future path smoother. What's even more beneficial is realizing that once you identify these non-negotiables, everything else becomes negotiable. This opens up a dialogue with the market, letting stakeholders embrace your ideas.

As a creative agency, our role is to facilitate, stay on track, and learn from these conversations. We don't change our clients' important ideas just because the market might not agree; instead, we ensure the core messages are communicated in a way that resonates with people and encourages them to share.

That’s how we get better tomorrow. By admitting we’re only in beta today.

Quit biting, Always Beta™ is clearly a dev thing.

In the world of software development, the phrase “Beta today, better tomorrow” captures the essence of continuous improvement. As programmers, we understand the stages of alpha and beta, but this concept goes beyond development milestones. It reflects the relentless pursuit of creating valuable digital products.

When we start a software project, our focus is on delivering a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that fulfills its intended purpose. The MVP represents the core functionality and essential features, laying the foundation for future growth.Once the MVP is launched, the beta phase becomes crucial. Real-world users provide valuable feedback during this phase. We learn from their interactions, adapt, and evolve the product. The concept of “Beta today, better tomorrow” comes alive here.

To truly grasp this concept, we need to understand the dynamic nature of value. The initial focus on the core functionality ensures the product serves its purpose.

However, the beta phase uncovers user needs, preferences, and expectations. Some features gain significance while others may prove less valuable than anticipated. It’s a journey of learning and refinement.The “Beta today, better tomorrow” mindset fosters continuous learning and iterative improvement. We gather data, interpret user insights, and apply them to refine the product. This user-centric approach ensures our creations evolve and adapt with each iteration.

Starting with an MVP, we grow the product through the beta phase, incorporating user feedback and refining its value. It’s an iterative journey of learning, resulting in enhanced products that meet the evolving needs of the market and users.

As we said at the top, it's not an excuse to pump out half-baked work into the world and claim it's an MVP. It's about staying humble, doing the best we can with the data we have and knowing we're always standing in front of a bigger opportunity. Always Beta™, always at the beginning of infinity.