I feel like a bit of an imposter here at BlogWorld.  I talk about blogs every day -- interpret them, offer strategy to companies about how to create and manage them - but in many respects I've lost touch a bit with "individual" blogging.  The reality is that I'm only updating my ConsumerGeneratedMedia site one every week or so (sometimes longer), and many of the issues or tips or "deep thoughts" I ordinarily would toss on my blog have been cannibalized by Twitter, Facebook, Yammer (internal twitter), and the bi-weekly "marketing meets service" column I now write for Advertising Age. I'm also increasingly self-conscious that if I don't stay diligent, and ever attentive, I'll continue getting lapped by far wiser and prescient marketing industry bloggers.  There are many, and they keep me on my toes.

Still, few experiences have so motivated me to think differently about consumer-generated media (or conversations, or social media...) as my own personal blogging (whether this one or my own family blogs like DosBebes or HybridBuzz) and I'm eager to rediscover some of the blog-love while here at the BlogWorld Expo in Las Vegas.  So in addition to participating on a panel dedicated to one of my favorite topics, Defensive Branding, which builds on my of the themes in my book, I hope to put on my consumer cap and soak in some fresh ideas and inspiration.  As I look across the hundreds of individuals intently listening to the keynote address here, delivered by TypePads Anil Dash and Chris Alden, there's an unmistakable level of passion, commitment, and personal pride in the development of the blogosphere. At times it borders on romantic "blogs will solve all" naivette, but that's overshadowed by the unmistakable reality that these are the new media creators and content curators of the marketspace. From traditional media companies who increasingly connect with readers using blog publishing tools to corporations seeking to dial up a greater sense of authenticity and transparency with consumers or customers, everyone, it seems, is borrowing lessons and insights from the folks in this room.  So perhaps this is where insight begins -- perhaps!  We'll see.  I'll keep taking notes. #bwe08

If you haven't yet met Susan Bratton, you haven't truly lived in the online advertising and Web 2.0 world.  Susan lives right smack in the center of Silicon Valley and has worn a host of high-impact digital "hats," so to speak, in our still-nascent industry:  head of advertising for the former @Home broadband play, long-tme chairwoman of Ad-Tech (arguably the largest online trade show in the world), and so much more.  Way back when we were just getting P&G's first interactive marketing team off the ground, Susan was an invaluable resource and digital "tour guide," so to speak.  Recently, Susan started -- nay, threw her unmistakable energy and passion into -- Personal Life Media, which is essentially a blog and podcasting network covering a host both expected (e.g. online advertising industry developments) and unexpected (religion and spirituality, society and culture, sexuality) topics. Oh, and she's building a great audience.  Her husband Tim, no Spring-chicken as web culture goes (he invented Rhapsody), is her partner in this ambitious endeavor.  Anyway, this is a long preface to the fact that I had the honor of being interviewed by Susan recently for one of her DishyMix podcast shows, and I must say it was the most fun I've had all year.  She's engaging, disarming, and knows her subjects well enough to potentially get them into hot water. (But I say that in a good way!) Credit to Susan, she really got me worked up about the things I love -- in my business, in my personal pursuits related to Web 2.0 (such as building blogs and sites dedicated to my kids), and so much more.  Oh, and we talk lots about my recent book, Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3000 (Doubleday Business), especially around "talk drivers" and what I call "the love spot" (sorry you just have to listen first to know what I'm talking about on that one. )  Click here to Listen Now!    Of course, if my pontification bores you (always a possibility), I can assure you that you won't be disappointed with her other interviews, including recent ones of breakthrough advertising thinker Paul Woolmington (founder of Naken Communication), agency pioneer Alex Bogusky, search expert John Batelle, groundsweller Charlene Li, and "Personality Not Included" author Rohit Bhargava.

My latest column in Ad Age ("Zappos Shows How Employees Can Be Brand Builders") focused on employee advocacy.  Can employees serve as a de facto advertising channel, I ask?  The answer is yes, but it obviously requires some finesse, and the right level of commitment. To kick off my exploratory, I tee up Zappos.com as a case study:

Every year Zappos.com, one of the fastest-growing e-commerce sites, publishes a "culture book." Three hundred pages in length, the book includes written -- and often gushy -- testimonials from employees about what it means to work at Zappos.com. "Our Zappos culture is truly the best work experience I have ever encountered," writes Chris V. "As a new employee of the company, I was blown away by how amazing the company really was. When I started I felt so unreal," notes David J. And on and on and on -- you get the idea.

If you talk to Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh or his marketing chief Brian Kalma,* you'll find a plan and a strategy, not to mention powerful, validating numbers to boot behind all this group love. Indeed, the vast majority of trial and repeat at Zappos.com is driven by word of mouth, and employees -- their motivation, their attentiveness to customers, their handling of feedback -- are foundational to that approach.

Here's a link to the article.

Here's a few fun "data" views from Nielsen's BlogPulse monitoring tool, which tracks nearly 80 million blogs daily.  You can run your own trend charts. 

Don't Dis Badminton:  In the blogosphere at least, the birdie stayed in play with the hot, hip sands of beach volleyball.

Is Bela Karoyli the next Howard Cosell? You never know, but at one point he nearly eclipsed Costas on blog mentions.

Gold Glitters -- Disproportionately:  Yes, indeed.

If you are still hungry for Olympic data and bloggage, my work colleague Jon Gibs is blogging away on Nielsen's Analyst Blog.   

A couple new interviews and podcasts have been published related to the book. If you are looking for a quick digest, here they are.

• Q&A with the Council of PR Firms Publication: "The Firm Voice: Trends, Insights and Analysis for PR Firms"  Helping Clients Communicate with Consumer in a Consumer Driven World
• BNet Podcast Interview of Pete Blackshaw: How to Build Credibility into Your Business

After a long wait I'm watching the season opener for the much-buzzed AMC TV series Mad Men. The show has a special appeal to me, as my father, William Blackshaw, was an ad executive at BBDO (the firm on which the show is based) starting in the early 1960s.  Weeks after the first episode aired last year, and only two months before he died, we talked at length about the show: its accuracy, its reflection on the ad world he experienced, and host of other issues. It just feels right to re-run the interview.

There's a certain irony that in this "age of conversation," we're increasingly compelled to pre-qualify conversation lest undesirable noise, garbage, or spam infest the airwaves. This latest chapter in the "Tragedy of the Commons" is not only a buzzkill, but borders on comical.  This evening, after reading a thoughtful post on viral marketing by respected blogger B.L. Ochman, I attempted to toss in a short and sweet "great post" comment.  Before it could go up, I had to type in the term -- I hope I get this right -- BROWNLABRADOODLE. You've got to be kidding, I kept muttering to myself.  Of course I promptly and predictably flubbed the spelling of this tongue-twister-on-steroids on the first two go-arounds, eliciting this annoying "error" message.  Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg.  For some blogs, you practically need magnifying glasses (and a code-breaker) to figure out the weird bends and contortions of letters embedded in the cryptic words.  It all borders on tragic.  To keep our airwaves clean, we now have little choice but to subject consumers or users to what we might refer to as a "Conversational Customs Office."   

Today's New York Times features an article entitled Cooling Off on Dubious Eco-Friendly Claims that hits a core theme in Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3000: don't overstate claims.  In a world of attentive consumers, and detail-focused bloggers, gaps between product claim and reality are easily exposed. 

The problem...occurs when marketers make exaggerated claims about a product’s attributes, which may be fine when selling toothpaste or vacations. Most people probably know that the toothpaste will not actually make their teeth sparkle or help them get a date.But when a company says its product will improve the environment, consumers can sense if the claim is puffed up, Mr. Lawrence said. “This can really backfire with environmental advertising,” he said.

We see this constantly via unstructured text mining.  Skepticism abounds in the consumer-generated media airwaves about companies overstating green claims, and often the commentary will link to evidence, data, or corroborating commentary reinforcing the push-back.  This is why I keep pounding away at the theme of "credibility" throughout my book. If the claim, positioning, or ad-message lacks credibility, the "wisdom of the crowds" -- or even just the hyper-attentive minority -- will call out the inconsistencies and disconnects.

Time magazing just published a wonderfully positive review of my book, Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3000.  (The image to the left is from the article.) Notes reviewer Andrea Sachs: "This book deserves a spot on the desk of every executive who worries about his company's reputational risk."   Earlier in the week, CNBC wrote another flattering review in the "Bullish on Book" sections. 

“SATISFIED CUSTOMERS” is a great guide for business leaders and marketing officers who want to build a trusting, authentic and lasting relationship with today’s vocal consumer.

Launch Events: The reviews were just a couple highlights of an absolutely incredible week in NYC related to my book launch, and I'm just winding down. In addition to keeping up with my regular work flow, I participated in three successive book launch events: one by my classmates at HBS (thanks, Rick and Jen Lerner and Bill and Daphne Hildebolt or ExpoTV.com), another absolutely incredible of ("amazing" insists my wife Erika) hosted by Nielsen at the incredible Soho loft of Karen Watson (Nielsen's head of Corporate Communications), and the third hosted by the P&G Alumni Assocation NY chapter (big thanks to Tina Adolfsson) held at the breathtaking offices of Marina Maher communications (thanks, Marina). At each event I had a chance to catch up with old friends, talk briefly about the book themes, and answer a questions. 

Overall Engagement:  We're only a week into the book's official release, but I do sense a real and genuine level of engagement around its themes and issues. Everyone, it seems, is curious and engaged about the big questions: If consumers are in control, what does that mean for me as a business manager or stakeholder?   What is the proper and appropriate protocol for engaging with consumers in this environment?  And most importantly, how does my business stay credible in the process? 

Final Footnote: The ultimate irony of this amazing week is that it actually kicked off on Tuesday at at event entitled "How Should Research Leverage The Ability To Listen To Consumers In A Web 2.0 World?  Joel Rubinson, the new head of research of the Advertising Research Foundation, pulled together a dozen or so industry leaders in the field of market research to vet out this topic, especially around the power of the "unprompted consumer voice."  The discussion was deep, stimulating, uncomfortable and breakthrough -- one of the most gratifying sessions I've participated in all year.  (Huge thanks to Joel and ARF head Bob Barocci for leading this charge). 

If you want to stay engaged on the book or the book themes, here are a few options:

• The Tell 3000 Group on Facebook is almost up to 400 members.  I expect a host of superb conversation here.  The group draws in part from the Tell3000.com site.
• Twitter Feeds:  My personal feed or the Tell3000 feed (which tracks at the brands that actively use Twitter to engage companies: Dell, Southwest, JetBlue, Comcast, Virgin, Zappos, etc)
• Ad-Tech Chicago Keynote Panel 8/6 featuring Edelman, Nestle, Blogher, Dell, and Comcast.  I'm the moderator. 
• 8/30 Book Chat & Signing: Joseph Beth's Cincinnati

I’m incredibly excited to announce today's release of my very first book, “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3000: Running a Business in a Consumer-Driven World.”  Published by Doubleday Business, the book is now available in most major bookstores as well as Amazon.com and other online venues.   

The book’s core question is critically important, and one I’ve been thinking about since testing new feedback models in the California legislature back in the early 1990s (and all the way up through my tenure today at Nielsen Online):  how to establish and maintain credibility by being authentic, listening and responding to customers, and forming relationships built on openness, transparency, and trust.  The growth of the web, and the unprecedented power and leverage it provides consumers, puts this question in a unique, if not urgent, context.  This Q&A from Sunday's Edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer provides helpful background on the book themes.

Ongoing Participation: Beyond just reading the book, I also hope you will participate in a sustained conversation and debate about its themes.   Toward that end, I’ve created a website entitled Tell3000.com that provides key resources, open-forums, video reviews, and most importantly, a series of audio-based consumer interviews about brand experiences that I hope to update nearly every day.  Here’s the short list of ways you can stay involved.

• Participate (provide comments, even complain) on the Tell3000 blog

• Sign-Up for Tomorrow's Nielsen and Nielsen Online sponsored webinar

• Join a Discussion in the Tell3000 Open Forums

• Join a “Tell 3000” Facebook Group Dedicated to the “Service is Marketing” Theme

• Join Me at a New York, Cincinnati, Chicago, San Francisco, or Pasadena (My Home Town) Event.  All events will be posted here.

• Follow Me on Twitter or the Tell 3000 feed of brands that respond/engage

• Send ideas or suggestions for my new bi-weekly column in Ag Age about the symbiotic relationship between “service and marketing.”  Here's my last article. Send to the following.
  

• Share your candid (even critical) reviews, or join a discussion forum related to the book themes, on Amazon. 

A much longer list is cited in my book, but an enormous and grateful thanks to all of those who provided support and encouragement,  especially my wife Erika (who's featured in this "day before launch" commemorative photo along with my three kids: Liam, Leila, and Sophia.)

Time grows short.  My new book, "Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3000" officially hits the bookstore Tuesday, July 8th.  The book takes a look at how marketers and brands can establish and maintain credibility in today’s consumer-driven, digital world. Launching a book is like having a party and waiting to see who shows up, and at what precise time. I'm excited and terrified at the same time.  Early buzz is really encouraging, and Amazon pre-sales certainly show signs of genuine interest.  On July 9th, I will be providing a sneak preview into book themes in a Nielsen hosted Webinar from 2-3 PM EST.  I'm deeply honored to have Beth Thomas-Kim, Director of Consumer Services, Nestle USA (and chairwoman of the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals, SOCOP), and Tom Asher, Director of Consumer Relations North America, Levi Strauss & Co. join me to talk about the key book themes. As I walk through each of my "Six Drivers of Brand Credibility," Tom and Beth will offer candid reactions and perspectives based on their experience.  I'll be sharing more information about the book in the coming days, but if you want more information, here are a couple links:

• July 8th Webinar Sign-Up
• Official Book Website, Tell3000.com
• Official "Tell 3000" Blog

This just showed up on my profile page on Facebook.  Got my attention, all right!  Nice targeting too!

My online colleagues at Nielsen Online just launched a blog appropriately entitled "Connecting the Dots."  Early entries include commentary on sustainability CGM/buzz trends by analyst Jessica Hogue, thoughts on measuring the true value of an online visit by Ken Cassar, and musing on what will "really make online video take off" by Jon Gibs.  Yes, this is a shameless plug, but I learn tons from these folks everyday, so I'm sharing the love. :-) I will chip in here and there as well.

Just got notification that "Digital Pimp" is following me on Twitter.   Could be a joke, but it looks too close to the truth. I suppose this was inevitable!  Bummer.

Does brand advocacy matter?  Of course it does, and in the age of consumer control, it's more important than ever. Every CMO leading a brand that even remotely touches the digital space would be well advised write this on the chalkboard 100 times. This is the thesis of my ClickZ column this morning. Among my key points.

Brand advocacy matters today because it precipitates an indelible digital trail of commentary that publicly rewards or indicts brand performance or the fulfillment of brand promises. This digital trail acts like media in both intimate and incidental ways, consistently affecting awareness, trail, and ultimately purchase of products -- or the defection from them. And yes, this has everything to do with business growth and health.

Back in business school, my service management professor James Heskett constantly reminded us that keeping customers satisfied over a long time dramatically impacts profitability on many levels. Profit increases from price premiums, increased purchases, and even reduced operating costs. But equally important, profit from so-called referrals also increases over the lifespan of the customer relationship. Heskett and his Harvard Business School colleague Earl Sasser hit this point hard in their more recent book, "The Value Profit Chain."

Today we have an environment in which barriers to providing feedback have virtually disappeared. Moreover, the choice of megaphones for expressing satisfaction and dissatisfied is almost limitless. To name just a few: blogs, forums, video, photos, social networking pages, mobile Web 2.0 apps, and even Twitter.

What Drives Propensity to Recommend?

With the referral spectrum expanding and leaving a digital trail in the process, brands must take a long look in the mirror and ask themselves: what are the root drivers of advocacy? For eight years, I've monitored CGM (define) and online feedback. What I've consistently noticed, across virtually every category, is that overall product experience -- not the cute buzz campaign -- motivates advocacy. And most of the triggers occur offline, not via that one-trick-pony, the viral video campaign:

According to the above data, if you really want to do word-of-mouth marketing well, you're better off investing your attention on the boring stuff, like product performance, employee training, quality, and especially customer service. Certainly quite a few tactics and strategies can help you reap even higher conversational or CGM returns from preexisting advocacy levels. Blogs, CGM campaigns, influencer marketing, and online communities all matter. But to have great potential and bring enduring, sustainable value to the brand, they must sit on a solid foundation. Don't believe me. Just search for your brand on Google or Wikipedia.

And remember, consumers on the extreme end of dissatisfaction can't be ignored in this environment. Negative advocacy bleeds across the Web. Consumers you've pushed to the dark side because of bad experiences or mismanaged expectations can wreak havoc -- in perpetuity. Anger is an emotion, and, like it or not, emotion and conversation have a symbiotic relationship. Conversation drives links, and links translate into more optimized shelf-positioning on search results, which increases the odds that other searchers will be met with brand venom.

Measuring and Acting on the Insights:  But there's a silver lining: this is all quantifiable. In the end, we need strong, compelling metrics to ensure we're monitoring brand advocacy levels. Metrics can range from informal "what's the pulse of my consumer" searches to more involved Net Promoter or Online Promoter scores. Lately I've been drawing attention to what I call the brand advocacy quotient (BAQ). The BAQ looks at many data sources, including unaided CGM (boards, blogs, forums), aided survey data (e.g., are you likely to recommend this brand, and for what reason?), and even site metered data to pinpoint advocacy depth.

In the end, we want not only a reliable long-term score card around advocacy but also an understanding of the specific talk drivers that compel consumers to reach out, recommend, create CGM, and talk around the water cooler. In some categories, such as restaurant and casual dining, the front counter experience is the number one advocacy driver. In higher-involvement categories like financial services, electronics, and wireless, it's customer service.

At the end of the day, if we want to see positive vibes about our brand in the so-called conversation, we must dive deeper into the core building blocks of product experience.
Nurturing advocacy also means rethinking what it means to truly listen and respond to consumers. Brand advocates feel a deeper level of intimate connection with the brand that listens to or dignifies their voices, so we must ask harder questions about whether "being heard" is worth the infrastructure investment.

We must always bear in mind the cost of not listening; the more consumers feel like they aren't heard, the louder they get by cross-posting, videocasting, typing in all capital letters, turning to things like Twitter or The Consumerist, where they know they'll get a bigger audience. This is precisely the topic of my forthcoming book, "Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000." Setting up a corporate blog or CGM contest is a good entry point, but it's not a panacea. Listening requires full attention and commitment.

However you look at it, loyalty isn't enough anymore. There's just too much at stake in the flow of positive and negative commentary consumers leave across the Web.

Yes, advocacy matters.

Just couldn't resist -- this from both my ClickZ column and a accompanying website to keep the conversation alive.  "Imagine if astute political observer and philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli parachuted back into our world to see all the strange new media specimens of Earth twittering away during their idle moments. Recently, I recklessly bumped into Machiavelli on the street while we were both twittering about, well, going across the street. We decided to sit down over Italian roast and biscotti to discuss his acute observations. He's started to carefully analyze and segment all the curious personality types and behaviors emerging from Twitter-land." Again, here's the list. 

This video below (which I discovered via the WSJ blog) captures the core essence of Twitter in simple animation.  I don't entirely agree with all the articulated "benefits" but it's well worth watching.  And while we're on the topic of Twitter, here's a link to my ClickZ column this week entitled "Customer Service Meets 'Lord of the Twitters.'"

This year's Ad-Tech, which I'm still attending, is very special.  Most importantly, the first "keynote panel" of industry experts focused on an issue that rarely gets top billing at industry confabs: the art of conversation. This is an important shift in our collective industry "attention" and "engagement," and while we're all far from finalizing the perfect white paper or case study about managing relationships with consumers in this age of consumer control, we're finally starting to talk about it, and at minimum, ask the right questions.  I was deeply honored to moderate this first diverse panel of industry experts, which included (right to left after me in the photo) Tom Asher of Levi-Strauss, Beth Thomas-Kim of Nestle, Jordan Warren of Agency.com, Todd Cunningham of MTV, and Rick Clancy of Sony Consumer Electronics.   I was also thrilled to debate, discuss, and vet out all the relevant issues in several spirited meetings and conference calls before the actual event.  (Key learning: the "conversation about the conversation"  as as important as the end result.) You can skim various blogs (or Twitter feeds or see a superb cNet News story summary) that recap the panel, but what I'd like to do here is simply list the key question we probed and discussed. I truly believe every marketer needs to hit the white-board sooner than later on these questions. 

1. In what ways does Web 2.0 or the digital space expand the boundaries and opportunities of having meaningful conversations with consumers? Does it reinforce or add value to what we are currently doing?
2. What makes conversations truly authentic and genuine?  Is blogging the answer, or is it just an entry strategy? What's the right way of setting expectations with consumers?
3. How do we keep conversation with consumers trusted and credible? In the age of consumer control, do we have a higher threshold to meet this torture test?   What is the relationship between search and brand reputation, and how is 'conversation' impacting what shows up on the shelf?  Can that be influenced?
4. If conversation is king, is customer service or consumer affairs the new marketing? What's the true value of listening and being responsive to issues consumers raise directly to the brand?  Nurturing loyalty and advocacy among enthusiasts? Garnering big insights?
5. If we agree consumer affairs is a new centerpiece of managing conversations with increasingly empowered consumers, why is this group so divorced from marketing or media planning? How do we change that?
6. How do we begin to train, or expand the wings, of customer service reps to embark upon these new conversations with consumers, even outside of the company's backyard?  Who else should be involved?  What's the right and appropriate way to enter a blog or online community and address or clarify an issue?  Or is that even appropriate?
7. Who should "own" the conversation among marketing stakeholders? Corporate Communications (Ricks' group), Consumer Affairs (Beth and Tom), the digital agency (Jordan), the research folks (Todd), or someone else?  Or is that the wrong question? How do we use conversation and social media to soften corporate boundaries and silos?
8. In what ways should employees be enrolled in conversational marketing?  In what ways can their passion and credibility be unleashed?  Are employees a more trusted ad channel? Can it go too far? 
9. What is the value of "internal" learning in this area? Can organizations become better primed to exploit the power of conversation, CGM, and social media through internal use of Web 2.0 tools, blogs, and beyond.  What can internal networks borrow from consumer innovation?
10. How does conversation impact the retail channel? What are Apple, Sony, and Levis retail store venues learning about the relationship between "service" and marketing. How does the consumer benefit from this mindset, both offline and online?
11. Bonus Question:  What can go wrong?  What if every marketer jumps into the conversation?  Nirvana or Spam 2.0?   What happens if we lose consumer trust?

Many of these themes will be tackled at many levels -- and with finer levels of granularity -- at the upcoming Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) conference entitled WOMM-U.  I provided background about this last week.  Here's more info.

Other Ad-Tech Notes:  Late last night, I was flattered to receive a special Ad-Tech industry achievement award.  I dedicated it to my recently deceased father, William Blackshaw, who taught me all that can be good in advertising -- provided we keep it trusted and credible.   Other industry achievement award winners included Rich Lefurgy and Kate Thorp, both of whom I deeply respect and admire.  My message to the audience was that if we continue to keep the consumer right smack in the center of our radar, everyone wins -- always. I still think there are so many important issues we need to pro-actively address -- privacy, word-of-mouth ethics, ad intrusion, and more -- so while awards are appreciated (even humbling), we still have so much more work to do.  But before we get too serious here, I'd be remiss not to direct folks to the full list of award winners, including "Elf Yourself," which swept three categories.

If you are serious about all the issues and themes in this blog, you won't want to miss the Word of Mouth Marketing Association's (WOMMA) Spring conference May 9-10.  It's like a shot of WOMdrenaline!  If you still are not convinced, watch this video from last year's event. (If you still are not convinced, check out this video from the very first WOMMA conference.) This year's event is entitled "WOMM-U" and a big focus is on "activating networks, influencers, and communities."  Sign-up here!  Here's the latest list of speakers at the event.  Imagine the time and expense of connecting with all these sharp minds individually.

• Clayton Closson from Quicken Loans
• Erin Byrne from Burson-Marsteller
• Liana Frey from Dell
• Brian Reich from Echo Ditto
• Blake Cahill from Visible Technologies
• Myra Norton from Community Analytics
• Rob Key from Converseon
• Warren Sukernek from VML
• B.Bonin Bough from Weber Shandwick Web Relations
• Leslie Forde from Communispace Corporation
• Jason Anello from Yahoo!
• Rohit Bhargava from Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
• Deb Eastman from Satmetrix
• Rod Brooks from PEMCO Insurance
• Brandon Evans from RepNation Media
• Geoff Nelson from Buzz Corps
• Geno Church from Brains on Fire
• Michele Makowski from Intuit
• Kate Niederhoffer from Nielsen Online
• Walter Carl from ChatThreads
• Brad Fay from Keller Fay Group
• Lynn Eastep from Fleishman-Hillard
• Kathy Baughman from ComBlu
• Chris Lightner from PopularMedia

Personal Note:  There are few things in my marketing career that have been more inspiring, empowering, and enlightening than my work with WOMMA.  When we created this group four year ago, we sought to shape a new way of thinking about marketing that puts the consumer at the center of the universe.  We were also determined to tackle head-on the issues like word-of-mouth ethics that we knew, if abused, had the potential to destroy all that is so special and unique about this "listening" and "conversation" anchored space.  The group remains committed to all these issues -- adamantly and passionately -- and whether through membership, conference participation, or -- even better -- putting your name in the hat for the new WOMMA board, please participate.

My first official review just came in about my upcoming book, Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3000.  Publisher's Weekly notes the book is "thoughtful and engaging."

"Informative, energetic and entertaining, this is a marvelous argument for corporate responsibility and accountability, interesting to laypeople and instructive for executives."

Whew! Much as I'm a tireless advocate for feedback, I'm also the first to concede a certain anxiousness about subjecting myself to the same standard.  When my publisher sent to first round of galleys to so-called "key influencers" (other authors, corporate bigwigs, thought-leaders), I found myself breaking a sweat when the deadline for testimonials passed and only a trickle of quotes had come in.  Alas, I thought, they think this book is destined for the trash heap.  Or maybe they strongly disagree with my argument, or think it's yesterday's news.  Or maybe they gave a big "Pete who?" and moved on to the next piece of mail?  The feeling was worse with folks I knew; nay, the silence was deadly.  But in the end, plenty of quotables came in, and in most cases a quick reminder did the trick.  Folks are busy, and reading a book -- even zipping through the first several chapters -- takes time.  You can't take it personally.  And even if they don't think it measures up, you can't take that personally either.  True to the title, I've no doubt lots of complaints will also work their way through the system.  But I guess that's also the point, right!   

Starbucks & The Feedback Loop:  On a related front, I recently talked to Elizabeth Gillespie of AP about Starbuck's customer feedback campaign, MyStarbucksIdea.com.  Here's a link to the story.  Although the campaign's received some understandable skepticism in the blogosphere, I frankly think it's a very strong example of reaching out to loyal, even critical customers for feedback.  And there's real participation in this exercise, far more than most expected.  As I've said repeatedly when I started PlanetFeedback.com, "All feedback is gold, every complaint a gift" -- and I believe this principle holds more than ever. In the case of Starbucks, some terrific ideas are now piping through the system, and site users are rating the best ones.  Like Dell, I also think it's powerful that Starbucks is making the investment to nurture meaningful dialogue and conversation in its own "backyard." Then again, the ultimate "credibility test," of course, will be whether Starbucks management acts on the feedback.  I'd be shocked if they didn't -- there are some really good ones up there.  Let's stay tuned. 

My work colleague, Valerie Bogus, precipitated an incredulous "double-take" when she forwarded this screen shot my way.  Vanity clearly took the bait, and my face is still red!

Last Spring I participated in a presentation on sustainability to one of nation's top consumer packaged goods companies.  While I chipped in here and here, the real rock-star who delivered the compelling, provocative, and talk-worthy insights -- and who truly engaged this influential audience -- was my colleague at Nielsen Online, Jessica Hogue.  Jessica's since built up even more expertise, having carefully analyzed and interpreted tens of millions of online conversations reflecting consumer attitudes toward green issues, sustainability, corporate responsibility, and more,.  I'd be remiss not to my readers know she's presenting some topline insights in a free webinar this Tuesday, April 1, at 2 PM EST.  Here's the link to sign-up.   I always try to keep the so-called "shameless plugs" about the work at my "real job" to a minimum, but I'm not going to apologize in offering the strongest recommendation for this particular webinar.  I frankly think it's one of the most important conversational trends taking place on the web. Here's the official description:

As buzz about sustainability rises, bloggers are discussing issues beyond global warming and revealing new insight into consumer behavior. More than ever, consumers are paying attention to corporate social responsibility as "going green" becomes a key factor in buying decisions. How do consumers perceive corporate actions and brand messaging related to the sustainability movement?

One issue Jessica will touch upon is what Mya Frazier of Advertising Age recently popularized in a cover story as "Greenwashing" -- which Wikipedia describes as "the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service."  Jessica and her team have been carefully studying whether consumers actually view corporate claims around green as credible and believable.  Again, this is a classic area where listening really matters.  Brands need to understand where consumers are both open to messaging, and the level of belief, disbelief, or skepticism they are starting with before they hear corporate claims.  In many cases, claiming "green" just won't fly, especially as consumers exercise the web's "transparency toolkit" in the form of search, Wikipedia, activist web utilities (which make it increasingly simpler to vet out claims). This is yet another reason why I peg "affirmation" and "transparency" as two of the my six drivers of brand credibility in my upcoming book. Truths or untruths are readily affirmed on the web.

Anticipating Green Currents: But even beyond using CGM as a vetting vehicle around green claims, an equally valuable dimension of the online conversation is the degree to which it highlights emerging trends or unmet needs on the green front.  In this Nielsen Brand Association Map (BAM), for example, taken during the first half of 2007, you'll note heightened consumer concern around "Bottled Water."  For many, bottled water has become a new battle front on the sustainability movement, as many believe it's leading to unnecessary waste.  Does everyone buy this?  Well, that's where the conversation become so important, and this too is a topic Jessica will touch upon. Again:

Webinar on CGM and Sustainability
Tuesday, April 1, at 2 PM EST
Here's the link to sign-up.

One of the six brand credibility drivers I describe in my upcoming book,  Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends; Angry Customers Tell 3000, is affirmation. This refers to the consensus of positive or negative truths about a business or brand. For example, I'm affirmed by what you see in the results when you search on my name. I might also be affirmed by the consensus of commentary that wraps around something I've posted on a blog or message board or via video. Wikipedia, as I note in my ClickZ column this morning (Ten Things Every Marketer Should Know About Wikipedia) "is rewriting the marketing script, because it's far and away one of the Web's most potent and powerful affirmation drivers. Once the primary domain of A-list bloggers and Web 2.0 elite, it's now unmistakably penetrated the online masses."

Here are excerpts of the "Ten Things" from the article: There's also an excellent exchange of comments on my Consumer-Generated Media group on Facebook on this very topic.
 

• Participation. According to a much discussed "Los Angeles Times" article, Wikipedia cranks out 300 million page views a day on a $4.6 million budget. The output is just remarkable given the dollars invested. The site is built on the power and attentiveness of user passion. Every marketer needs to think long and hard about that untapped opportunity.
• Shelf positioning. Search your brand on Google or another search engine, and I'll bet the Wikipedia entry is in one of the top three organic positions. That's like owning prime eye-level shelf space in Wal-Mart. Such a premium shelf position means it's a big part of what's defining or shaping your brand's early perceptions. Wikipedia's definition, therefore, takes on special meaning. Think about the power of such positioning around a new product launch.
• Transparency. There's very little you can't learn about brands via Wikipedia, even a 10-year-old controversy. Facts and otherwise fleeting incidents stick, and if a writer   has taken the brand to task, it's more than likely to show up in the entry, sometimes prominently. The McDonald's entry, for example, links to the book "Fast Food Nation" and the 2004 documentary film "Super Size Me." Transparency, remember, works both ways -- the good and the bad. 
• Counter-advertising. I recently led a strategy review for a top brand. To start the process, I juxtaposed Wikipedia's description of the brand's benefits against the      advertised benefits, and the two weren't even close to being in sync. Can you say "equity clash"?
• Inquiry. Every year, I've asked the text-mining passionistas in my office to run an analysis of the Wikipedia terms bloggers most frequently cite. I treat it as a leading    indictor of what consumers want or their unmet needs. What people look for and link to on Wikipedia is powerful and can be better than a focus group.
• Globalization. The site manages to get you to a different language platform easily and seamlessly -- and never at the expense of the initial interface's look and feel. Marketers should pay attention.
• The self-promotion reality check. Everyone has a story about how he tried to put something up on Wikipedia, only to have it kicked back because it was too promotional. Nothing's a given on Wikipedia, and credibility must be earned. Marketers, overburdened by short-term ROI imperatives, usually want preferred copy      overnight, but it just doesn't work that way. Entries with independent inks, for example, are critical. Again, you need credibility from outside sources.
• Unlimited, free legal review. Wikipedia reminds me a bit of my days at Procter & Gamble when the lawyers diligently scoured claims support and positioning to ensure   they could stand any level of scrutiny. Wikipedia does the same thing, but publicly. As the Web morphs into multimedia, the documentation, such as a video demonstrating that a product feature really doesn't perform as positioned, takes on a new level of scrutiny.
• Fast turnaround. Marketers are still miles away from a real-time sense-and-respond mindset, but Wikipedia acts like a 24/7 vacuum cleaner that constantly iterates      brand definitions and news. If a brand experiences a recall or a safety violation, you'll see it weaved into the Wikipedia entry faster than you can call your PR firm. This was a big deal during last year's pet food recall. Wikipedia almost rivaled Google News as a quick, trusted reference point for all that unfolded during the recall.
• Trial and error. If you haven't signed up yet to be a Wikipedia contributor and/or editor, do it now and start learning its system for adding, editing, and updating      content. You don't have to be an Internet wizard or code head to learn the      Wikipedia way of doing things, but it does take some concentration. If everyone else is defining you on Wikipedia, you should be part of the process, too. If you're not monitoring your Wikipedia entry daily, start doing it. You really need to get early experience on the platform to prime yourself for fast turnaround.

What's missing?  Join the conversation here or on the Consumer-Generated Media Facebook group.   Dave Evans, Bill Stephenson, Morton Jensen, Zena Weist, Andy Zilch, Charlotte Selles, Pauline Ores, and Vandana Ahuja have already added superb comments on this topic.    

Forget the election results for a quick moment.  What continues to capture my fascination is the degree to which all the campaigns are reaching out to key stakeholders in a participatory, respectful, personalized, and timely manner -- and attempting to shape my perceptions well before I read the first piece of online or offline news.  Not all of this makes sense for big brands, but much of it does.  Sample the late night messaging.

From the Hillary Clinton campaign. (Time of delivery: 12:38 AM EST)

It's a pretty incredible feeling, isn't it? After our victory in Ohio tonight we have the momentum, thanks to your will, determination, and hard work. And you know what they say, as Ohio goes, so goes the nation.

Some people were ready to count us out. But you and I proved them wrong, just as we have every time they tried to declare this race over prematurely. And we're going to keep showing them exactly what we can do.

We're going to do it for everyone across America who's been counted out -- but refused to be knocked out. For everyone who's stumbled -- but stood right back up. And for everyone who works hard -- but never gives up.

I hope you enjoy our victories tonight as much as I am. We won this one together, and that makes it that much better. Thank you so very much for all you have done for our campaign. Let's build on this remarkable momentum. Each and every one of you can make a statement tonight by going to www.hillaryclinton.com

Thank you so much, Ohio, for everything you did to make this night possible.

        All the best, Hillary

And This From Barack Obama's Campaign (Time of Delivery: 3.06 AM)

Pete,

We may not know the final outcome of today's voting until morning, but the results so far make one thing clear.

When the dust settles from today's contests, we will maintain our substantial lead in delegates. And thanks to millions of people standing for change, we will keep adding delegates and capture the Democratic nomination.

We knew from the day we began this journey that the road would be long.  And we knew what we were up against.

We knew that the closer we got to the change we seek, the more we'd see of the politics we're trying to end -- the attacks and distortions that try to distract us from the issues that matter to people's lives, the stunts and the tactics that ask us to fear instead of hope.

But this time -- this year -- it will not work.  The challenges are too great.  The stakes are too high. Americans need real change. In the coming weeks, we will begin a great debate about the future of this country with a man who has served it bravely and loves it dearly. And we will offer two very different visions of the America we see in the twenty-first century.

John McCain has already dismissed our call for change as eloquent but empty.
But he should know that it's a call that did not begin with my words. It's the resounding call from every corner of this country, from first-time voters and lifelong cynics, from Democrats and Republicans alike.

And together you and I are going to grow this movement to deliver that change in November. Thank you,

Barack

And so the campaign beat goes on!

Dawn is breaking, and I'm hours away from heading to the polls for today's "make or break" Ohio primary.  (Yes, I live in Ohio - the hilltop community of Mt. Adams, Cincinnati to be exact.)  Like millions of other voters here, I've been subjected to a barrage of TV ads, media headlines, big events, small events -- you name it -- related to the primary.  I've also had the opportunity to dive fairly deep into all the candidates interactive strategies, especially the Democrats. This is the topic of this morning's Clickz Column entitled "10 Interactive Marketing Tips from Barack and Hillary."  I've been quite impressed at how all the campaigns have taken full advantage of the their websites, especially around what I like to refer to as the "Third Moment of Truth" -- enabling expression, participation, involvement.  Here's brief recap of some key takeaways:

• Win on the home (page) front. Both candidates do an excellent job providing enough well-organized content and "click to engage" choices to maximize relevance to as many visitors as possible. Even if you visit for half-a-second, you get a great feel for the things you can do on your second visit. This is important because most brands make consumers zip through multiple levels to get to what they need.
• Engage, enroll, and participate. Unlike most Super Bowl advertisers, candidates are constantly teeing up "things to do." Barack and Hillary both have similar home page utilities to "Be a Volunteer," "Vote Early in Ohio," "House a Volunteer," "Make Phone Calls" or "Find and Plan Events." This, my friends, is what's known as engagement and when millions of consumers are engaging at some level, you know it can work.
• Roll up the TV set. The political campaigns exploit TV wherever they can go, and if your consumers can get it customized, oon-demand, or tailored to specific needs or constituencies on their Web sites via video, so be it. Video persuades, and connects emotionally. Both Clinton and Obama do a superb just exploiting the power of online video on their Web sites, and this has evolved nicely in the past six months or so. They are also both getting much better and making video embeddable and sharable, and they use to power of cross-promotion to power videos hosted on YouTube such as Obama's five million views -- an growing -- "Yes We Can."
• Hablamos con todas audiencias. While most automated teller machines open their first interaction with consumers with question about English or Spanish preference, most big brands give this short shrift. "That's not the focus of our interactive strategy," they'll say. The candidates, by contrast, are doing a great job teeing up parallel content in Spanish, and it doesn't take Bill Richardson to explain why this is important. Both candidates have very strong Spanish language sites, and they've done a commendable job developing tailored content. Blog links also suggest key influencers are paying attention. Both sites also do a nice job appealing to the "long tail" of audiences out there, whether by state, ethnicity, unique need (e.g. hearing impaired) and they do this without the core site looking too all over the place.
• Win with emotion. Obama's site does a brilliant job playing consumer emotion -- even more so than Hillary's. I'm not sure if it amounts to what Chris Matthews described as a "thrill going up my leg," but close. In particular, the use of video during and after the contribution process is very effective, and it almost makes you feel like there's the "emotional wind" behind your back in the giving process. Hillary's site is a bit more functional and operational, but also scores points here and there on emotion.
• Make it simple; make it friendly. I still marvel at the impenetrable unfriendliness of typical brand feedback or survey forms. Obama and Clinton are hardly perfect here, but they at least make their forms feel inviting. Oh, and I don't feel rushed, or forced to write it down in 50 letters before the software caves in on me. It's like the folks who designed the forms have felt the pain and anger over rude employees, lame call-center scripts, and more.
• Reinforce the loyalty immediately. Both Clinton and Obama appear to have solid relationship marketing tools in place to respond immediately to feedback or financial contributions. Both are customized but I give the edge to Obama on personalization and including yet another call-to-action in the follow-up. In my follow-up e-mail, it just felt more personal. Hillary encourages pass-along (e.g. "Click here to send an email to friends and family).
• Customize the loyalty. The Obama campaign goes well beyind reinforcing the loyalty to customizing the loyalty by encouraging people who sign up or give contributions to create their own mini-portal or blog platform via mybarackobama.com. You can blog, check your Barack points, build a profile and more. In some respects, this amounts to user-controlled panel management. Hillary allows users to create their own "groups" but the Obama campaign in on to something in driving deeper, more involved action at the what I call the "Ex-Spot."
• Share the assets. Both campaigns do a nice job empowering enthusiasts to share "official" content in their own content areas. Obama has a robust and comprehensive download areas for everything from Buddy icons to button designs, while Hillary's campaign offers a host of assets to share, embed, and beyond. Key lesson here: If you want to drive buzz, provide currency.
• Blog and promote the content creators and advocates. Both sites do a great job "mashing up" content from external sources, including individual blogs. Some of these are touted in the campaign-sponsored blogs (also a smart idea), but others are featured in stand along areas like Hillary's Spotlight section