Confessions of an eBiz Junkie

The Power of the Narrative

2012-05-10T17:10:32-07:00

What do you suppose this small corked bottle filled with sand is worth?

It was purchased at a yard sale for 33 cents.

It was later sold for $59.50 on eBay.

How's this possible? The power of the narrative.

We've been telling one another stories since we figured out how to carve pictures into rocks thousands of years ago. Stories can serve as a powerful tool to teach, entertain, or simply activate our imaginations.

But storytelling isn't restricted to the 'once upon a time' variety. Stories can be used to engage your audience on virtually any topic, and can offer a far more interesting means of sharing your message than the more mundane and traditional means we often use today.

Joshua Glenn and Rob Walker set out to determine if stories (even fictional stories) could add significant value to an object. The team purchased a couple hundred small items at yard sales, dollar stores, and the like for $1.25 or less. They then recruited a group of writers to create interesting yet fictional stories about each object.

The objects were then put up for sale on eBay, where they brought in a total of $8,000.00 - a profit of over 2,700 percent per object.

This project provides a wonderful reminder of the power of the narrative and I simply had to share. Head on over to the Significant Objects website for much more information on this fascinating topic.

Crisis preparedness - Are you ready?

2012-03-31T17:52:36-07:00

It's always interesting to watch how brands deal with a crisis when they arise. As example, JetBlue had their hands full this week with an unfortunate situation at 36k feet. The good news, the brand reacted swiftly and confidently, suggesting they have a well-established crisis response framework in place.

But it seems JetBlue may be in the minority here. There are endless examples of brands seemingly caught completely unprepared for the inevitable. In a study by Burson-Masrsteller, a whopping 79% of business decision makers believe their company will experience a crisis within the next twelve months.

So why then do only 38% of global respondents feel that they are prepared to deal with an emerging crisis through new media?

In our socially-connected world, every customer has a microphone, an audience and an opinion. Brands must be prepared for a potential crisis. In a best-case scenario, crisis planning never sees the light of day. But more often than not, advanced planning can help manage, and often times mitigate, a crisis from causing irreparable damage to your brand.

So what's your level of crisis preparedness?

@LenDevanna

The Business of Saving Lives

2012-03-10T08:58:56-08:00

I'm honored to be presenting this morning at the Business of Saving Lives Conference at Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation. Sponsored by VCA Animal Hospitals and PetSmart Charities, the day long event provides attendees practical information and tools for effective animal welfare operations. I'll be sharing some thoughts on the role Social Media can play to help abandoned pets find their new 'forever homes'. Below are the are that I'll be presenting.

Business of saving lives

View more PowerPoint from Len Devanna

Refining Marketing Tactics for Impact

2012-02-22T09:38:32-08:00

The buying behavior of the digital consumer is evolving at a frenzied pace. Our digitally-enabled world has given us unlimited access to product research, while Social Media has put peer sentiment a mere click away. Now consider the pace in which major corporations change. Keeping pace with these rapidly evolving trends is challenging at best.

With budgets remaining largely flat, Marketers find themselves spreading finite resources across an increasing number of engagement tactics. Dollars once spent on traditional channels such as print and television advertising have been stretched across digital – and now Social. In a recent survey of North American Marketers, 50% of the respondents suggested they're using 23 different tactics to engage their audience.

In an attempt to cover all bases while also keeping pace with an onslaught of emerging channels, many Marketing organizations are finding themselves stretched extremely thin – and are often unable to demonstrate meaningful return on any one channel. In other words, doing a little bit of everything but excelling at nothing.

What's worse is that the problem continues to compound itself, with CMOs looking for quantitative results before even considering incremental investment, while new channels of engagement surface almost daily.

I'd suggest it's time for Marketers to step back and take a fresh look at their overall engagement strategy. In the process, it's important to question everything. In many cases, I believe we're still clinging on to tactics that were valid pre the digital revolution, but may no longer yield meaningful results.

Ultimately, I'd encourage a 'platform-for-purpose' strategy that demonstrates a clear role for each channel while providing a measurement framework designed to demonstrate return. Once you can attribute hard leads to a particular social channel (as example), you'll have a much easier time making the case for subsequent investment.

Bottom line – In many instances, we're doing things because we've always done them that way. Change is hard… And often uncomfortable. But with new channels emerging daily, marketers will be stretched increasingly thin, scaling to a point of diminishing returns. Even worse, their messages will continue to be diluted across channels, ultimately convoluting the experience for the audience they're trying so hard to reach.