The Fresh Peel // Ripe Brand Strategy. Juicy Insights and Trends.

Age of Conversation 3: Growing the Brand

2011-10-13T15:07:00Z

Just in time to add it to your summer reading list, the third installment of the AOC collaborative project has hit store shelves!

For those not familiar with the series, it first started as an experimental writing project, which brought together over 100 bloggers from 9 different countries to produce the aptly titled book, The Age of Conversation.

The Age of Conversation legacy continues as 171 authors from 15 different countries came together to write The Age of Conversation 3: Itís Time to Get Busy. The book discusses the distinct shift from social media as a hypothetical consumer loyalty tool, as it was considered only a little more than a year ago, to its current state as a staple in the modern marketing toolbox. The book covers more than just social media, but the topic is woven throughout the books 10 sections:

At the coalface
Conversational branding
Influence
Getting to work
Corporate conversations
Measurement
In the boardroom
Pitching social media
Innovation and execution
Identities, friends and trusted strangers

My contribution to the book takes a look at the idea of making the branding process more organic, growing a brand, in contrast to the traditionally rigid structure of building a brand.

As it has become customary with past editions, all of the proceeds from this yearís book, will be donated to an international charity of the authorís choosing.

- Get your copy of The Age of Conversation 3 -

A big thanks to my fellow authors this year!

Adam Joseph Priyanka Sachar

Mark Earls

Cory Coley-Christakos

Shambhu Neil Vineberg

Michael E. Rubin

Brett T. T. Macfarlane

Piet Wulleman

John Rosen

Tamera Kremer Eaon Pritchard

Brendan TrippAdelino de Almeida

Douglas Hanna

Sacha Tueni and Katherine Maher

Mark Hancock

Michelle Beckham-Corbin

Phil Osborne

Aki Spicer

Jeff Wallace

Don Frederiksen

Charles Sipe

Katie McIntyre

James G Lindberg & Sandra Renshaw

David Reich

Lynae Johnson

Jasmin Tragas

Deborah Chaddock Brown

Mike OíToole

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Interview with Technology Forecaster, Business Strategist, and Author Dan Burrus

2011-09-15T06:35:00Z

The Post2Post bus has just pulled in!

The Fresh Peel is pleased to welcome Daniel Burrus, technology forecaster, business strategist, and author.

In his latest book, Flash Foresight, Dan outlines the blueprint he has been using for years to help his clients predict trends and build solid strategies to take advantage of the changes on the horizon. Given the changes in how the work I do has evolved, this book has become a timely resource that has helped shape the way I approach planning and strategy.

In this interview with Dan, we touch on some of the core themes and principles from the book and what they mean for brands that are struggling to reinvent themselves in this ever-changing, fast-paced world we live in.

In contrast to the typical written interviews that I’ve produced for Post2Post tours in the past, I tried something a little different this time around and recorded an audio interview with Dan. Be sure and let me know in the comments which you prefer.

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Download the interview with Dan Burrus

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Find out more about the book and Dan at the Flash Foresight website. Also, when you buy your book, Daniel is offering $20,000 in Bonus Resources. Go to the site and click on the Bonus Resource Login button to get access to these resources.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Post2Post schedule:

Site	Date
Principled Innovation Jeff De Cagna @pinnovation	Mon. March 7
The Fresh Peel Chris Wilson @FreshPeel	Tue. March 8
BrandMix Martin Bishop @martinjbishop	Wed. March 9
Make It Great Phil Gerbyshak @philgerb	Thur. March 10
Life Beyond Code Rajesh Setty @RajSetty	Fri. March 11

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Related content:

How Twitter is Changing the Scope of Advertising

2011-09-09T06:48:17Z

Kids Today Need A License to Tinker

2011-09-09T06:34:00Z

Kids Today Need A License to Tinker:

Forget the old approach of the national curriculum, we need to open young minds to the creative possibilities of computing

….How we got to this ridiculous state of affairs is a long story. It’s partly about how education departments, like generals, are always preparing for the last war. Thus, while we’re moving into a post-PC age, our ICT curriculum is firmly rooted in the desktop computer running Microsoft Windows. It’s also partly about the technophobia of teachers, local councillors and officials. But it’s mainly about the chronic mismatch between the glacial pace of curriculum change in a print-based culture, and the rate of change in the technology…

…But, more importantly, the curriculum is disabling rather than enabling for most kids, because it is preparing them for a technological world that is vanishing before their eyes. Training children to use Microsoft Office is the contemporary equivalent of the touch-typing courses that secretarial colleges used to run for girls in the 1940s and 1950s – useful for a limited role in the workplace, perhaps, but not much good for life in the modern world….

Read the full article

Ikea Facebook Marketing Proves Smart & Simple Wins

2011-09-07T08:27:00Z

It’s not always about being the flashiest or slickest, sometimes it just means using the tools you already have at your disposal in smart new and creative ways. Ikea proves this brilliantly in their recent Facebook marketing campaign.

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Via: The Social Path

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Related content:

Cataloging Your 2010 Trends and Predictions

2011-09-07T08:25:00Z

I haven’t really been a fan when it comes to listing trends and predictions for the new year. After all, shouldn’t we always be looking forward? Especially with the rate of change that currently exists?

That’s not to say that I haven’t contributed my thoughts as to what 2010 holds. Check out the 100 Social Media & Content Marketing Predictions for 2010, where I along with 60+ other marketing minds made our predictions.

I find a lot of value in being able to see future through so many different lenses this time of the year. I can see what topics are repeating and if there are any irregular gems that catch my eye as something to keep a close eye on in the coming months.

So with that goal in mind I’ve listed 46 different 2010 trends and predictions posts, that I’ve organized (as much as I can) by topic.

Please let me know I missed your predictions post. Go ahead and leave a link in the comments. I welcome different perspectives on what 2010 holds.

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Digital

• 100 Social Media & Content Marketing Predictions for 2010, by Various Authors

• 2010: Year of Digital Distraction?, by Pete Cashmore

• Twitter at a Crossroads: Audience Growth Won’t Be Enough in 2010, by Josh Bernoff

• Social Media 2010: it’s time to get boring, by Jackie Huba

• Top Digital Trends for 2010, by Brian Morrissey

• What’s the Twitter of 2010?, by Mark Evans

• 5 Social Media Implications for Brands in 2010, by Sienna Farris

• 2010 Social Media Influencers – Trend Predictions in 140 Characters, by TrendsSpotting

• ReadWriteWeb 2010 Predictions, by ReadWriteWeb

• The 10 TENsions That Will Define 2010, by Ross Dawson

• Top 5 Predictions for the Next 5 Years in Business Social Media, by Tac Anderson

• 10 Ways Social Media Will Change In 2010, by Ravit Lichtenberg

• 6 Social Media Predictions for 2010, by Amy Porterfield

• 9 digital trends to watch in 2010, by Nuri Djavit

• Nick Law on 2010 Trends, by MediaBeat

• (Social Media) Trends to Watch in 2010, by Mike Sansone

• 2010 Trends: Social Media & Paid Content, by Debra Aho Williamson

• 10 Web trends to watch in 2010, by Pete Cashmore

• 100 Things to Watch in 2010, by JWT

Mobile

• How Carrier Evolution will Affect Mobile in 2010, by Vince Lesch

• What will be the major trends in mobile marketing in 2010?, by Giselle Tsirulnik

• 9 unpredictions: What’s not going to happen with mobile in 2010, by Vanessa Horwell

• 10 Trends to Watch in 2010, by David Stutts

• Six Social Media Trends for 2010, by David Armano

• Top ten digital trends for 2010, by Drew Neisser

• 8 Mobile Technologies to Watch in 2010, by Sarah Perez

Marketing

• 10 Internet Online Trends for 2010, by John Arnold

• Trends That Will Shape Market Research In 2010, by Reineke Reitsma

• 2010: The Year Marketing Dies…, by Augie Ray

• 2010 Marketing Predictions, by Matt Granfield

• Three Words to Sing in 2010, by Pete Blackshaw

• 5 Trends That Will Shape Small Business in 2010, by John Jantsch

• Four Email Marketing Predictions for 2010, by Chad White

• Top 10 Brand and Marketing Trends for 2010, by Robert Passikoff

• 11 Smart Marketers Shared Their 2010 Predictions, by Various Authors

Public Relations

• What to Look Out For in 2010, by PRSA

• PR Trends in 2010: The Future of PR, by Sally Falkow

• Jeremiah Owyang: Public relations will be impacted by ’social CRM’ in 2010, by Dave Armon

• Envisioning Media Relations: 2010 Predictions, by BurrellesLuce

• Public Relations Measurement 2010: Five Things to Forget & Five Things to Learn, by Don Bartholomew

Customer Service

• 10 Customer Service Trends for 2010, by Barry Moltz

Journalism

• 8 News Media Business Trends for 2010, by Vadim Lavrusik

• 10 Reasons Media Relations Will Get Easier in 2010, by Jeremy Porter

Nonprofits/Social Good

• 3 Powerful Social Good Trends in 2010, by Ben Rattray

• Five Social Media Fundraising Trends for 2010, by Beth Kanter

Music

• 5 Predictions for the Music Industry in 2010, by Nick Crocker

Finally, to put all of these predictions into perspective, Iain Tait from Crackunit has some mockingly humorous Trend Predictions for 2010.

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What did I miss? Let us know what you think 2010 holds in the comments, or leave a link to your trends and predictions post.

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Related content:

Creating Strategic Value: Examples of Branded Utility

2011-09-07T08:25:00Z

“We’ve got to stop interrupting what people are interested in and be what people are interested in!” – Axel Chaldecott, JWT

The idea of branded utility is nothing new. In fact, it’s an idea that has cycled in and out of popular conversations for almost a decade, and yet there is still debate on exactly what it means and whether or not brands can truly provide branded utility in a way that makes a relevant connection to the brand.

(Slide from my Micro-Pulse presentation)

I roughly define branded utility as any way that a brand can truly make the lives of consumers better. Branded utility is something that brands can create in different ways, which are often overlapping. I suggest that there are 6 key ways that brands can look to provide a branded utility:

be creative – something new, unexpected and original
be helpful – make something easier for consumers
be relational – be in a convenient location
be interesting – arouse curiosity and hold attention
be relevant – do something that makes sense given the context
be useful – serve a practical purpose

To make it simple, look for ways to provide value. That’s the key. Instead of looking for ways to shout a marketing message, create situations that add value to consumers so that they desire to engage with the brand.

For many this is the ending point in the discussion on branded utility. The thought is that if a brand can provide value in anyway and connect it to the brand, then they call it a win. I’m not so sure about that, in fact, I believe the Holy Grail of branded utility is found in when the solution is both utilitarian and (most importantly) on strategy. In my mind, you’re wasting your money if you can’t connect your efforts to the brand in a way that makes sense.

So what does on strategy branded utility look like?

This year at SXSW, Chevy brought some fine examples of how brands can provide value and stay on strategy.

(Disclosure: My employer, Fleishman-Hillard, was the agency for record for Chevy at SXSW 2010.)

Gowalla Airport Shuttle

Chevy partnered with the location-based travel game, Gowalla to provide a pop-up to randomly selected people checking in at the airport, offering them a free ride to downtown Austin. It was a fun way to experiment with emerging technologies, provide a helpful service to people (saving them a $50 cab ride) and give them an opportunity to experience riding in a Chevy vehicle first hand.

Read how Mike Schneider, one of the first to find and redeem a free Chevy ride, describes his experience.

Volt Recharge Lounge

During the Interactive portion of SXSW, the Volt Recharge Lounge was like finding a oasis in the desert for attendees desperately needing to charge their smartphones and laptops. SXSW can be draining, on both your body and on your devices. The Volt Lounge provided a great place to relax, recharge and even try some refreshing Sobe.

This made the lounge a great spot to meet new people and power-up community at SXSW. On a recent episode of JaffeJuiceTV, Joseph Jaffe called the lounge both “rescuing and rewarding.”

Catch a Chevy

At SXSW, a majority of the people in attendance have no choice but to walk. Most don’t have cars and if they do, parking fees can quickly add up when moving from one venue another that most choose to walk it. That all changed this year. Chevy provided attendees free rides to strategic stops around downtown Austin, helping them get to their destinations faster and save the souls of their shoes, all while experiencing a 2010 Chevy vehicle.

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Do you have any good examples of branded utility?

Where you at SXSW 2010? What do you think of the examples I’ve written about here?

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Related content:

Micro-Pulse: How Small Touches Impact the Heartbeat of Your Brand

2011-09-07T08:25:00Z

Think about all the brands you interacted with today. Nearly everything you have done so far today involved a brand, was enabled by a brand or was accompanied by a brand. These interactions are just one of many touchpoints with a specific brand.

Touchpoints, or touches for short, work in a way similar to that of how blood flows through our bodies. Your heart pumps blood through your body, providing it with the oxygen and nutrients it needs, but the heart alone isn’t solely responsible for enabling a steady, healthy heartbeat. Every vein, artery and vessel has an impact on your heartbeat. No matter how small a constricted vein may be, it has an impact on the flow of blood.

The same true for brand touches. There are probably some big touchpoints that your organization tends to focus on, like advertising and other outward facing communications. But while the focus is being put on these areas that tend to be seen as more important, the small touches are ignored and are chipping away at the heartbeat of your brand.

Because of the abundance of times that brands touch our lives in a given day, and the fact that we now have access to brands wherever and whenever we want to, every touchpoint has become a crucial interaction.

The Micro-Pulse is an idea that I introduced a few weeks ago at OpenBeta. On Wednesday at the InnoTech conference in Oklahoma City, I was given the opportunity to give a talk that expanded on the idea even further. I focused more on touches in social media with this presentation, since I was speaking to at a technology conference, but I plan on applying this concept to both the online and offline brand worlds.

I’ve posted the deck below. I welcome your comments and suggestions on this. It is an idea that I plan on developing further.

Feedreaders click here to view the presentation.

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What do you think?

Do you have an example of a time when a small touchpoint mattered to you?

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Related content:

Black Friday Campout

2011-09-07T08:24:00Z

The eve of Black Friday is here. People around the country are forming their plans of attack for one of the biggest shopping days of the year. In fact, some have already pitched their tents on the sidewalks of select retailers so that they can be at the front of the line when the doors open.

I’m still curious to see if any retailers have the guts to make Black Friday something more than a price war. More specifically, will any realize the day as an opportunity to create a positive brand experience and cultivate fans?

After my recent post on the topic, I was pointed towards an event that is slowly becoming something of a tradition at Bass Pro Shops. (Thanks zgilliam) It’s called The Great Turkey Campout and it happens in the parking lots of stores around the country.

Customers are invited out on Thanksgiving night for s’mores cooked on an open campfire, hot chocolate and coffee. There are also a number of drawings for camping gear and gift cards.

When the event ends, customers are invited to pitch their tents and camp out the rest of the night, where they will be first in line when the doors open on Black Friday.

Bass Pro saw Black Friday as an opportunity to create a positive experience for it’s biggest fans, instead of focusing on price along to lure customers to the door.

I hope they will continue this event in the coming years and make a tradition out of it, but I challenge them to up the ante a bit. Think of ways to further highlight and encourage the community that Bass Pro supports around camping and hunting. Here are a few ideas:

Serve everyone deer chili.
Bring in a storyteller to tell stories around the campfire.
In the morning, drive coffee around to everyone in a fully outfitted ATV.

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What would you add to this list?

Have you seen any retailers like Bass Pro Shops that are breaking the mold this year?

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Related content:

Posterous: The Other Bucket for Things of Value

2011-09-07T08:24:00Z

There is a lot great content on the web. (Understatement of the year.)

Everyday I wade through piles of RSS feeds, funneling blog posts and the long list of various industry and client-related keywords that I track into one spot. And everyday I come across some really cool stuff, stuff that I find valuable in some way. Whether it be an interesting case study, a informational slide deck, or an original and creative marketing approach, I take it in, store it, if I think I might want to reference it later and then share it if I think you will find it valuable.

If you are following me on Twitter (@freshpeel) you probably see some of this content, because I share a good portion of it there.

A few months back I started a posterous account to collect and share more of these chunks of content with you. I’ve found posterous to be the perfect place to record and share slide decks, infographics, videos and content that doesn’t need much, if any additional commentary. It’s become a new bucket for me share things of value.

If you haven’t already, please check it out. And I hope it will be a nice accompaniment to the content you find here at the Fresh Peel.

Subscribe to my posterous

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Related content:

Micro-Pulse, An Introduction

2011-09-07T08:24:00Z

Last week I was given the opportunity to participate in OpenBeta3, which is becoming quite the local Oklahoma City tech conference. In it’s third year running, OpenBeta delivered a great lineup stacked full of great speakers and content for anyone interested in startups and technology.

This year featured an awesome collection of technology demos, most notably a soon to be released iPhone app called Audio Footnote, which lets users record and attach audio notes to podcasts and audiobooks. The keynote featured Josh Williams, the CEO and founder of Alamofire, the creators of Gowalla and the Facebook app, Packrat.

The tradition after the keynote is a rapid fire series of Lightening Talks, which is a lot like the PechaKucha 20×20, where each speaker delivers a talk on a set of 20 slides in 5-minutes. My talk was a quick look at an idea that I’ve been brewing for a while. I call it Micro-Pulse: how small touches impact the heartbeat of your brand.

The idea is that in a world with an unlimited amount of brand touchpoints, some in a brands control and many not, and the fact that consumers can interact with a brand whenever and wherever they want to, every touch matters. I credit the birth of this idea to David Armano and his Micro-Interactions presentation.

In this very short form the idea is still ripe, but I’ve posted the slides below. I welcome your thoughts.

View the slideshow: Micro-Pulse

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Do you have any personal examples of how small brand touches have made a big impact on you?

Have you seen this in action in social media?

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Worldwide Growth of Social Media

2011-09-03T07:00:23Z

Visual Evolution of Transactions and Commerce

2011-09-03T06:27:05Z

Psychology and Advertising

2011-09-03T05:57:52Z

Psychology and Advertising

Crowdsourcing Visualized

2011-08-19T07:52:58Z

ScanLife: Mobile Barcode Q2 2011 Trend Report

2011-08-04T08:02:00Z

ScanLife’s Mobile Barcode Q2 2011 Trend Report is now available. Here are some of the key takeaways:

A year ago, the ScanLife system was processing 10 scans per minute, and it now does 1 scan per second.
Scans come from over 125 different countries every day.
2D barcode scanning is currently outpacing the growth of 1D barcodes, a major shift from 2010.
Over 45,000 2D barcodes were generated from the ScanLife platform in the 2nd quarter, a 300% increase from a year ago.
Over 400,000 unique UPC codes, or products, were scanned by the ScanLife app in a single month.
The number of females scanning increased 13%, and the 35-44 age-group increased 8% from the last quarter showing a continued trend toward the mainstream.

Download the full report here.

71% of online adults now use video-sharing sites

2011-07-28T08:04:41Z

71% of online adults now use video-sharing sites

The New Era of Expressive Research

2011-07-18T07:59:31Z

The New Era of Expressive Research

curiositycounts: The Internet of Things, in an infographic – a...

2011-07-18T07:57:14Z

curiositycounts:

The Internet of Things, in an infographic – a timely look at how connected sensors are shaping our world, as we prepare for MoMA’s Talk to Me show on that very subject, opening next week.

The New Mobile Shopper

2011-05-13T07:19:36Z

This is some good “man on the street” style research that represents that reinforces many of the mobile shopping stats we are seeing. (See chart below)

At the beginning of the year I stated that I noted how mobile shopping would be one of the most impactful trends in 2011. If mobile payment platforms make it to devices this year, we are going mobile shopping taken to a whole new level.