MarketerBlog

Bloggers and Blog-hers

For many marketers the “blogosphere” might as well be the Bermuda Triangle. They hear rumors of digital lynch mobs and consumer generated content gone wild. The fact is that there are a number of organizations using blogs and other forms of consumer generated media to more effectively gather market insights, spark new users and promote innovation. Here are some great resources to read-up on the topic and find ideas for your own company or organization. 

Word of Mouth Basic Training Conference 

The Word of Mouth Marketing Association held its conference earlier this month. The conference site is chock-full of presentations, as well as a live blog of the events. Topics ranged from the state of the industry, to how to create effective programs as well as actual case studies.  Reading through the extensive content on this site will give you a terrific grounding in what’s going on with word-of-mouth marketing.

Cymfony Knowledge Center 

Cymfony is one of the leading blog research and insight organizations. Their recent hire of Jim Nail, formerly of Forrester Research, is obviously paying off. They have a terrific blog as well as a newly introduced Knowledge Center.  The center is a good place for CGM 101 orientation, and while it is understandably biased towards Cymfony solutions, it provides great general background information as well.

Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki
This site began as a collaboration between Chris Anderson, the Wired Magazine editor who coined the term “the long tail”, and Ross Mayfield (Socialtext). It’s a list of Fortune 500 companies making effective use of business blogs. While this doesn’t appear to be a comprehensive index, it has a variety of listings and provides great insights into what’s working in this category.

Blogher
One of the most interesting aspects of social media is that it is being widely embraced by women. Women are terrific networkers and this has extended to the digital platform. I’m sure some PhD in sociology is doing a sophisticated study on why this is the case. As a working wife/step-mother I can tell you the reason: we have to be good at networking or we’d never get everything done. In any case, I recently ran across this site which is a wealth of information on women-authored blogs, whose topics range from politics to business to Web 2.0 to relationship issues. The site is in beta, but expect it to have a powerful impact in the months ahead.

Ikea, St. Pauli Girl Costumes, Filipino “Guest Workers” and Kuwaiti Advertising

The title of this post could be the answer to one of the Double Jeopardy questions. Or it could be one of those rhyming songs for kids on Sesame Street, since none of these things belongs with the others. 

In an outrageous display of cultural insensitivity, not to mention bad taste, Ikea is running an ad in Kuwait which features Filipino’s dressed in Swedish wait-staff costumes. It’s surprising that Ikea, which normally is attuned to cultural distinctions in its various markets, would make such a striking misstep. It’s true that many of the Gulf States rely on foreign workers to fill lower income jobs including restaurant service. But the idea of showing people who are obviously not Europeans in kitschy Old Europe costumes is both degrading and ineffective. 

What’s interesting about the episode is that it was raised to US consciousness via, you guessed it, the blogosphere. AdRants picked up on the issue from Tata Botata, a blogger who’s a self-described Kuwaiti Art Director (e.g. someone who designs marketing communications materials). It’s just one more example of the breadth and depth of content being developed, edited and critiqued by the blogosphere. 

Ikea would do well to harness some of these collective insights before they design their next ad campaign. Or maybe they can just hire Tata Botata.

Social Networks and Marketing: From Passive Consumer to Networked Individual

The new Pew Internet study on the use of the Internet to cultivate social networks was greeted with cynicism in some quarters. Technophiles immersed in the Web 2.0 world of consumer generated media and collaborative content creation expressed a collective “duh” in response to the findings. Diva Marketing offered a more sympathetic (and thoughtful) analysis of the research and its implications for interactive marketing. She talks about the layers of networking available to customers to learn about product and services, and the translation of word of mouth relationships from a physical center of gravity (e.g.: the corner grocery store) to a virtual one.

I have to say that I’m not impressed or even surprised by the Pew study. I’ve been experiencing the effects of “networked individualism” since I got my first MCI Mail and AOL accounts back before the turn of the century. Though I agree with Diva Marketing, I would offer an alternative framework for thinking about the implications of networked individualism. 

Before the advent of digital technologies people grouped themselves in networks based on two factors: geography and personal relationships (e.g. friends, families, coworkers, etc.). While personal relationships remain crucial, as the Pew study shows, geography has become largely irrelevant. Even though there is a tremendous amount of activity in the area of “hyperlocal” or “glocalized” online services, the reality is that personal interests and behaviors have become the dominating factor in our choice of social networks. We look for people whose areas of interest or expertise intersect with our own and form new social networks based on that collective behavior. My social networks might include theater and cooking. Your social networks might relate to a disease afflicting a loved one or a passion for antique books. And because we are complex individuals with the capacity for multiple, asynchronous, digital conversations, we engage in many social networks. 

What are the implications of this to marketers? First and foremost we have to stop thinking in terms of demographic segments of consumers (e.g. men age 18 – 25 as targets for prime time television shows). Consumers aren’t static and they aren’t passive targets. We need to view them as producer-participants, who are actively engaged in a variety of networks based on different areas of interest. We need to understand these active networks and tap into their collective creativity and intelligence. We need to view brands in the context of the myriad of individual interests, not the other way around. We need to empower these networks to collaborate on product design, provide feedback on service needs and even act as evangelists. 

This isn’t the new interactive marketing … it’s the new marketing.

More Reasons for Automakers to Get Closer to Customers

Regular readers of my blog will have noticed a certain, shall we say, antipathy toward many of the policies of the Bush Administration. That’s why I was stunned to read the following in today’s Wall Street Journal. 

President Bush, in an interview Wednesday, said GM and Ford should develop "a product that's relevant" rather than look to Washington for help with their heavy pension obligations, and hinted he would take a dim view of a government bailout of the struggling auto makers. 

For once the President and I agree. It appears that GM is stuck in the same rut as Ford – adhering to ineffective, unprofitable, old-school mass marketing in a world where the consumer sits firmly in control.

GM, more than other car manufacturers, has little excuse for this lack of consumer insight. Their GMAC finance arm offers ample opportunities for customer interaction. As a long-time Saab owner (a division of GM) I get all sorts of lovely brochures and mailings from the company … none of which reflect the detailed information they should have amassed on my preferences after a decade of car leases. 

Marketers across the country are awash in data and often have difficult translating it into insights. Today’s active participants in consumer generated media are ready and willing to give those insights – directly. Whatever companies spend on structuring the processes and systems to gather and respond to consumer input is well worth it. And it has to be less than the $4.78b loss GM reported for Q4 2005.

To Ford CEO: Welcome to the 21st Century

To the CEO of Ford: Alert! Assembly-line marketing tactics don’t cut it in the era of the digital, empowered consumer.

Ford is launching a new series of ads starring its CEO, William Clay Ford Jr., in the role of corporate apologist. According to an article in today’s New York Times, Ford is using the spots to make the case for a corporate comeback to consumers. How retro of them. It takes me back to the days of Lee Iacocca hawking K-cars in an attempt to restore Chrysler’s image among consumers. 

There are, however, two critical differences. In the spots which debuted in 1979, Iacocca spoke about the cars, and pitched the value of the car not the company. In other words, he focused on the things consumers care about. His message was relevant. According to the Times, the new Ford ads focus on the restructuring plan Mr. Ford presented to Wall Street on Monday. It’s not clear how news of layoffs and factory closings build consumer affinity for a brand. 

A greater difference though is the nature of the media environment. When Chrysler took to the airwaves in the late ‘70’s they could rest assured that a strategic buy in prime time addressed a majority of their target market. Direct-to-consumer marketing as we know it today wasn’t practiced. We didn’t have hundreds of cable channels and millions of blogs. 

Ford could take a lesson from other automotive brands and engage with consumers directly. BMW is using a “virtual innovation agency” to harness the creativity of its customers and solicit ideas for product design. Lexus is using a microsite and podcasts to promote their IS sports sedan to African Americans. And there are many other examples of carmakers collaborating with consumers to better understand preferences, shape product design and influence purchase. 

Active, engaged consumers are delighted to offer feedback and to help spread the word. As Joerg Reimann, BMW’s head of marketing innovation management put it: “They were so happy to be invited by us, and that our technical experts were interested in their ideas … they didn't want any money.”

Henry Ford pioneered modern industrial manufacturing through his innovative use of assembly lines over a hundred years ago. It’s time for his successors to be equally innovative and to embrace consumer generated media as a source of market insights and opportunities.

Do-It-Yourself Marketing Accountability

It appears that 2006 is the year of the customer calculator and even the old media dogs are learning new tricks. Today CBS announced the creation of a new, expanded research division, CBS Vision. The new division will research "emerging technologies, media-consumption patterns and advertising value in the media marketplace" and provide that intelligence both to CBS business units and outside clients, CBS said in a statement. 

This comes on the same day that the Winterberry Group presented findings of a new study showing an increase in targeted, direct-to-consumer marketing programs while spending on mass media declines. Winterberry’s explanation? 

"Below-the-line initiatives are more successful because they stress targeted and customer-centric communications. Below-the-line also creates measurable results and ROI metrics, which are important to marketers under growing pressure to prove the value of their campaigns. We expect that this demand for quantitative results will continue to intensify for at least the next five years."

Faced with increased media fragmentation, reduced effectiveness of traditional media and greater consumer control, marketers are turning to more accountable, direct-to-customer programs. They’re dissatisfied with current service providers like traditional agencies and research organizations. When asked about their relationship with Nielsen, the CBS Vision president said: "We're not looking to do Nielsen's job. We're looking to go beyond Nielsen." 

As marketers feel greater urgency to understand and interact with their customers, and as technology continues to yield better marketing tools, we will see greater movement from the use of 3^rd party marketing organizations and more self-reliance on the part of marketers. In this case do-it-yourself means better opportunities to get it right.

Brands and Blogs: Encouraging Open Expression Without Becoming An Open Target

Last week the Washington Post found itself at the center of a firestorm in the blogosphere … and for once the medium was the message, since the Post itself was the story. An inaccurate statement by a veteran journalist unleashed an explosion of invective comments. After a couple of missteps (like originally deleting the offensive comments then reinstating them) the Post closed the comment function altogether.

The Post took the position that it closed the blog since people writing comments failed to adhere to its rules. The reality is that management hadn’t thought through the ramifications of open, public dialog with its readers. This isn’t simply an editorial issue – it’s a customer relations problem. And as consumer generated media gains in scope and influence, traditional media will continue to face this dilemma.

Difficult customers are nothing new. Blogs and other forms of CGM give them a public forum and the capability to respond more rapidly (and often) less rationally. Large media organizations are natural targets for this kind of abuse. These organizations serve as observers and critics to the democratic process and the free market. Their role makes it even more imperative that they learn how to work through this process. Dan Gillmor said it well. “Listening and responding are as important in tomorrow’s journalism as speaking.  If we forget that, even bigger trouble lies ahead.”

There is no reason not to set and apply standards for the publication – including blog comments. But the Washington Post and its peer organizations need to recognize that the era of one-way publishing/broadcast is over. To be successful in the attention economy means understanding that the brand is a verb, not a noun, and that effectively engaging in customer dialog is a critical component in overall marketing strategy. As Umair Haque puts it: “the value’s in the conversation”.

There are several lessons for organizations as they begin to embrace CGM in overall marketing and customer relations programs.

- Empower employees to engage in these conversations.

- Leverage technology to help speed the process. Several reports indicate that the Post didn’t make effective use of some simple tools which might have eliminated many of the inflammatory comments.

- Position yourself for success. One might question the wisdom of using a veteran journalist with a “50-year career” behind her as a primary voice to the blogosphere. The Post might have been better served by creating an e-ombudsman or better still, pairing a traditional media journalist with someone who’s completely immersed in CGM.

Most importantly, don’t dismiss or ignore problems. A New York Times writer made a smug comment about his preferred method for customer interaction today. I have visions of the postman burying his desk under a mountain of hate mail tomorrow.

Update

Jeff Jarvis has a wonderful, insightful analysis of the situation at the Post on his blog today.  It's well worth the read.

Google Analytics for the Bush Administration

Google’s conflict with the Department of Justice sparked tremendous debate this week. There are any number of great articles and posts on the topic including an editorial in today’s New York Times, which rightly characterized it as a fishing expedition, and yesterday’s astute analysis by John Battelle. ABC News broadcast from Google’s headquarters last night, and included an interview with Mr. Battelle.

Like many others, I applaud Google for refusing to comply with the subpoena and raising the issue to national attention. There are critical questions of privacy and this Administration’s predilection to run roughshod over laws and even Constitutional rights in service to its political agenda.

But as someone who’s spent a career in marketing and marketing analytics, I have to ask a more practical question. What were they thinking?  The San Jose Mercury News reports that the original subpoena called for the release of “all URL's that are available to be located through a query on the company's search engine as of July 31 2005" and "all queries that have been entered on the company's search engine between June 1, 2005 and July 31, 2005”. No wonder they can’t find Osama if that’s the best they can do in targeted analytics.

All joking aside, the task of filtering and analyzing large volumes of unstructured data (e.g. web searches, blogs, etc.) is daunting. The tools are limited and require substantial hands-on manipulation in order to yield actionable business intelligence. The industry is nascent and already we’re seeing consolidation in the form of the Nielsen-BuzzMetrics-Intelliseek deal. Yet even so, there are plenty of examples of businesses using these tools to amplify market insights and to improve product design, development and distribution strategies.

Karl Rove got his start doing old-school direct marketing analytics for the Republican Party. Maybe the fellas over at Cymfony or Nielsen BuzzMetrics should take a trip down to Washington and  give him a little demo.

Contextual Search … The Bush Administration Way

In an unbelievable act of hubris, even for this Administration, the Department of Justice has subpoenaed Google for a week’s worth of search records for one million random Web addresses. One million random Web addresses. That would be like Citibank sending credit card offers to everyone in the  Los Angeles white pages. It’s absurd.

And the worst of it is that the Administration isn’t even doing this in service to the War on Terrorism or for some other national security reason. No, according to the San Jose Mercury News, the DOJ is mounting a case to revive a child protection law struck down by the Supreme Court two years ago. In this case “the enemy” means a handful of scholarly lawyers who actually base their decisions on rational consideration of the facts … versus the latest petulant ultimatums of their right-wing donors.

While I have my suspicions about Google and their big black box, kudos to them for refusing to comply with this ridiculous demand. And for the Bush Administration, I might suggest a little course in target marketing.

To quote Danny Sullivan: “Here's a thought. If you want to measure how much porn is showing up in searches, try searching for it yourself rather than issuing privacy alarm sounding subpoenas. It would certainly be more accurate.”

End of an Era: Exit of Internet Visionary from Time Warner Board

Time Warner today reported that Miles Gilburne has decided not to stand for re-election to its Board of Directors. While he may not be as well known as Steve Case and other former members of the AOL executive team, Miles was every bit as influential.

I've never worked at AOL but being in the tech sector in Washington, it's hard to avoid working with them. The company has surely made some egregious mistakes over the past several years. Yet the energy and innovation of AOL in the early days was part of what drove the momentum of the Internet. And it certainly fueled consumer adoption. Miles played a significant role, albeit largely in the background, in many of AOL’s strategic decisions. As Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons said, the company greatly benefited from his “pioneering energy and forward-thinking insights”.

With pressure from shareholder opportunists like Carl Icahn, and dramatic shifts in business models and market demands, it seems that Time Warner could use all the creativity and intelligence it can muster in its executive team. Let’s hope that the company fills this Board vacancy with someone who can help to envision the future … as opposed to squabbling about the past.