The Forrester Blog For Marketing Leadership Professionals

If NBC Joins Comcast...

David Card — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:51:44 -0500

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According to Ad Age's math, if Comcast buys NBC Universal, Comcast's advertising revenues would go from 7% of its total take to over 20%. Most of the potential synergies described in the piece could be done via thoughtful deals rather than by acquisition, and plenty of pundits don't like the potential combo. But think about how that increased importance of advertising might affect Comcast, and the industry.

Talk of advanced TV advertising is back in the air, courtesy of Comcast, Cablevision, Hulu, Canoe, etc. But it's going to take a pretty complicated value chain to deliver on the promise of addressable set top boxes and interactivity. While the networks - and agencies - are the ones that most need to re-invent TV advertising, they have a lot of bad habits entrenched behaviors. Will TV innovation - and industry power - come from Internet power players (Google, Microsoft)? from startups? from the guys that actually have the set top boxes and distribution pipes?

If Comcast's ad business suddenly triples in importance, it has a serious incentive to innovate.

I'm working on a report on what measurement techniques will cross over from online to TV and vice versa, and I'd like to hear your opinions on how this will shake out, and when.

What Marketing Leaders Can Expect At Forrester’s Marketing Forum in London

David Cooperstein — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:47:58 -0500

[Posted by David Cooperstein]

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Forrester’s Marketing Forum EMEA is fast approaching — November 17-18, 2009, in London. At this Event, leading Forrester analysts present on leapfrogging competitors out of the recession, enriching online engagement with customers, and which product and service innovations to be ready for. This event provides a platform where marketing and Customer Experience professionals can share innovative best practices, network with peers, benefit from keynotes and track sessions, and pose direct questions to top Forrester analysts during One-On-One Meetings.

We have great speakers this year, as you can see here:

Guest Keynote Speakers from top European Marketing Firms

Bernhard Glock, Former Vice President Global Media Purchases & President World Advertising Federation, P&G
Diederick van Thiel, Chief Consumer Marketing Officer, ING Group
Conny Kalcher, Vice President Consumer Experiences, LEGO
Malcolm Duckett, VP Marketing, Magiq
Mike Cripps, Customer Experience Manager, Service Operations, Capital One Financial Services Inc.
Kamel Ouadi, Global Digital Media Director, Louis Vuitton
Alexandra Wheeler, Director Of Digital Strategy, Starbucks

Forrester Keynote Speakers

Moira Dorsey, Vice President, Research Director
Mary Beth Kemp, Vice President, Principal Analyst

Here are some great ways to maximize your experience:

Check this blog for our in-depth updates on keynotes and track sessions.
Follow us on Twitter as we plan and launch the Event.
Tag your photos and tweets with #FMFE09 to contribute to the conversation.
RSVP on our Facebook Event page, and network with attendees.

Take the conversation offline:

On Tuesday November 17, 2009, Forrester hosts a London Tweetup. Tweetups are low-key social events where Twitterers can network and meet the people they tweet with. Anyone can attend; it is an informal atmosphere that allows casual conversations.

This tweetup is for anyone who's attending the Forum or lives in the London area. There is no charge for attending the Tweetup, so come meet and mingle with @forrester, @jgownder, @bsimm, @Mark_Mulligan, Alexander Hesse, Peter O'Neill, and others

Pssst! Government can be, well, innovative

Steven Noble — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:13:17 -0500

[Posted by Steven Noble]

Marketing and communication leaders usually turn to the likes of Zappos, Threadless and P&G — not government — for inspiration. Most of us have become so used to slow, boring and irrelevant government communication that we treat business and consumers as our only sources of innovation.

But it's time to dig deeper, because beneath the bureaucracy there are changes afoot in government communication — changes that should inspire every marketing or communication leader in any sector or nation worldwide.

In particular, I'm talking about government's use of digital media to consult with stakeholders about public policy. When researching my latest report, I learned there has been more than 100 examples of this in Australia alone so far.

If you think asking customers to vote on next year's colour range is tough, put yourself in the shoes of the government communications leader who must ask tourism operators, environmentalists and a dozen other stakeholders how they will share access to national parks. All the issues that worry commercial marketing leaders — how to set fair limits on consultation, how to separate the cranks from the legitimate voices, how to manage an accountable process — weigh on government communication leaders, but with 1000 times the force.

So, my message to private sector marketing leaders is this: If you have a supply chain or employees, if you use energy or natural resources, if you affect our planet or its people in any way, then you have stakeholders, and you are grappling with public policy issues. Engaging with stakeholders, perhaps online, is essential for your business. To leapfrog your competition by engaging stakeholders more effectively using digital media, you should learn from the innovation that's occurring in government.

Ready, Fire, Adapt!

Lisa Bradner — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:20:34 -0400

[Posted by Lisa Bradner]

My report on Adaptive Brand Marketing continues to generate coverage and comments positive and negative in both the US and Europe: see links here for Marketing Week and AdAge.

The Ad Age piece in particular is interesting to me. While I’m not fond of the “we haven’t read the report but here’s what we think” approach, I do appreciate the folks from BBH Labs weighing in and sharing their vision of what the future adaptive marketing organization looks like. Several of the things called out on their list are in my report as well—although anyone who’s read Dave Frankland’s recent report on customer intelligence, "The Intelligent Approach to Customer Intelligence" knows that equating this function to market research doesn’t’ scratch the surface of everything that is involved.

What I am concerned about is the attempt to bring adaptive brand marketing down to a list: lists won't get us there. We need to fundamentally rethink the people, process and technologies we use and, take on hard issues like organizational structure; partner relationships, compensation and metrics, or this just becomes another reinvention activity that stops short of real change.

My piece is neither an indictment of agencies nor of brand marketing organizations. It is an attempt to begin the dialog about what we keep, what we give up and how we make our relationships more productive for all parties. In my many conversations with practitioners on both sides of the fence (both for the piece and at Forrester’s Consumer Forum this week) I heard that no one is happy with the status quo and no one feels they have all the answers. I also heard a lot of smart business minds willing to wade in and take on the core issues and that excites me greatly.

At Forrester we'll be continuing to push the thinking on how to design, build and operationalize an adaptive brand marketing organization. As a 3rd party research firm we have the opportunity to look across both the agency and brand marketer camps and help surface solutions. The more everyone commits to talking about and thinking through the tough issues the better the solutions we'll create together.

So I’m here to give a shout out—there’s been a lot of noise out there but things are quiet on the marketing leadership blog—I hope you’ll change that: post here, tell us what you think, ask provocative questions and be part of the conversation. Let’s make this something we build and grow together so we create lasting change not just another industry buzzword.

Post your comments here, or ping me on twitter @lisabradner

5 Ways For Marketing Leaders to Toe-Dip Into Social Media

David Cooperstein — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:44:46 -0400

[Posted by David Cooperstein]

Follow me @minicooper

During what I call the “black and white” days of the internet in 1995, when email was a green screen “app”, I presented a direct mail CEO with a business plan for direct marketing online. When he voiced his disbelief in the power of digital marketing, I walked him back to his office, installed the Mosaic browser, and stood behind him while he used the mouse to navigate a few sites I suggested. In about 10 minutes, he went into a trance of amazement at the data, the content and the interactivity. He went on to refocus the company on interactive media.

Last week, I was at dinner with a client and its board of directors. For them, the topic was eCommerce and social media. But like in 1995, the question for these folks was “So how do I learn how to use these tools?”Like my earlier experience, they understood the concept of social media and online selling, but had concerns for the privacy of their station in life and the daunting task of how to make sense of the frothy new communications mode that has invaded their children’s’ and grandchildren’s lives. For them, and for others who don’t want to ask “how do I get started” with social media, here are 5 things you can do to get familiar with the power of the medium:

Gain customer intelligence about your brand or product. Search for your brand on Twitter. Go to search.twitter.com and put in the brand your represent or the name of a brand you identify with. Read what people have to say about your brand or product. Search on your competitors too. Find out where you both stand in the Groundswell of commentary without having to sign up for anything.

Learn more about colleagues and job candidates. Search for a friend, colleague, job candidate or lost love on Google, and click on the LinkedIn link. You’ll find that LinkedIn just shows what someone has done, not what quirky comments they make about sports, politics or their last brilliant idea.

Test the power of scalable intimacy with friends and brands. Use your real name on Facebook, set up privacy to keep you secure, then follow step 2. You will find a door open to your nostalgic history of high school friends and college romances. And you’ll find that you still have some things in common. Search for a brand, politician, or relative on Facebook and read their feed, look at their photos, and read what they are reading. This is how people “fan” things, voting with a click of their mouse that they like something. Similar to an email database, it allows the marketer to remind consumers who have "opted-in" of new products, new shows, or updates on social activities of their own.

Test the power of socializing content. Go to Wall Street Journal’s web site, and link your Facebook account to your WSJ profile. Or click on the StumbleUpon or Digg links next to an interesting article. From a New York Times article, you click on the "Share" link to connect to a series of social tools. Your connections will start reading what you read, and likely start a dialog with you on the subject.

Rate and review products you sell or you have used. Read product reviews for your products or the new Dan Brown book you read on Amazon or a hotel you stayed in on TripAdvisor. Put in your own feedback. Even something as simple as product reviews or hotel recommendations are part of the social web. Wherever you see voting, recommendations or comments, you are participating in social media.

As you make your way through these steps, search for me on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter (www.twitter.com/minicooper, or @minicooper in "Twexicon"). Or ask me in plain old email at dcooperstein-at-forrester.com.

Take The Conversation Offline At Forrester’s Chicago Tweetup

David Cooperstein — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:10:45 -0400

[Posted by David Cooperstein]

Follow me @minicooper

Are you attending Forrester's Consumer Forum 2009? Do you live in the Chicago area? Do you ever wonder who you are talking to on Twitter?

On October 26, the night before Forrester’s Consumer Forum, Forrester will be hosting a Chicago Tweetup. Tweetups are low-key social events where Twitterers can network and meet the people they tweet with. Anyone can attend; it is an informal atmosphere that allows casual conversations.

The Forrester Chicago Tweetup is for anyone who's attending the Forum or lives in the Chicago area. There is no charge for attending the Tweetup, so come meet and mingle with @CarrieJohnson, @nate_elliott, @jsymons, @jgownder, @drnatalie, @forrester, and others.

Remembering MySpace

David Card — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:21:20 -0400

[Posted by David Card]

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Chatting with board members at a major apparel company last night, a few mentioned a story on NPR's Morning Edition about the social divide between young Facebook and MySpace users. I've been skeptical before, but am converting.

Marketers who want to reach mass audiences, especially mass youth audiences, should monitor this. And they shouldn't leave MySpace out of their plans. It still has a big, loyal audience. And it's beefing up its entertainment content and ad sales, while trying to copy Facebook's social communications features. Compared with Facebook, MySpace offers at least equal targeting capabilities and more places - e.g., its home page, video section, MySpace Music - where large numbers of users congregate.

Of course, we've been watching MySpace work its way toward 21st Century entertainment portal-hood for some time (report for Forrester clients). It still has a ways to go. Forrester clients can also read our recent report on teen coolhunting with social network sites.

Experience The Data At Forrester's Consumer Forum 2009

David Cooperstein — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:27:30 -0400

Forrester’s Consumer Forum is just around the corner, in Chicago on October 27th and 28th. In addition to our great line up of speakers from Best Buy, Pizza Hut, Hearst and E*TRADE among others, we will also highlight Forrester’s extensive data capabilities. Forrester analysts will share the results from our global benchmark survey data, as well as our forecast data, to help you examine technology-driven trends in consumer behavior.

Join us in the International Ballroom at The Fairmont Chicago.if you are planning to attend.

Theater Presentations

Tuesday, October 27, 2009: 1:15–1:35 p.m.

Consumer Technographics® Presents A Global Consumer Trend Update

Presenter: Andrew Peach, VP, Consumer Insights and Operations

This presentation focuses on consumer insights obtained from our global

benchmark survey examining technology-driven trends in consumer behavior.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009: 1:15–1:35 p.m.

Forrester’s ForecastView: A Lesson In Forecasting Consumers Globally

Presenter: Vikram Sehgal, Vice President, Research Director, Forrester

This presentation shares highlights from our latest mobile forecast, one of the 40 industry forecasts we produce annually. Join us to learn more about the team's outlook for growth of the mobile industry.

What Does Windows 7 Have to Do with Showtune Parodies?

David Card — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:37:19 -0400

[Posted by David Card]

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As usual, Microsoft gets no love from the commentariat. It's sponsoring a branded content variety show on Fox created by Seth “Family Guy” MacFarlane that will feature Windows 7 integrated into the programming. What does Windows 7 have to do with bawdy animated show tune parodies? I guess we'll see. Pundits are arming for bear.

I'm a fan of modern integrated campaigns that incorporate branded content and social media. If I ran Microsoft's initiative through Forrester's evaluation tool, I suspect it would come up a little short on exclusivity, relevance, and creating a feedback loop for analysis. But it's poised to go viral. Whether that's a good thing or not...

Forrester clients can read our report, and work with us on using the diagnostic tool to evaluate their own campaigns.

Brand Management’s Wake Up Call

Lisa Bradner — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:00:00 -0400

[Posted by Lisa Bradner]

Adaptability is key to any living organism. As the environment changes, those who adjust and find new ways to operate survive. Those who cannot or choose not to change die out.

Meaningful brands are living organisms, shaped by the people who create the products and services behind them, by the people who use them and create memories and associations with them, and by the marketers and agencies who build stories and emotional associations that resonate in people’s hearts and minds.

The recent past has been unkind to many venerable brands. Globalization, competition, the digital revolution, and good old fashioned greed have challenged legendary brands from General Motors to Merrill Lynch to, most recently (and saddest to the cooks among us) Gourmet magazine, showing even the most iconic brands aren’t safe from the sway of market forces.

With all this change, one might think that the tools and approaches brand marketers use would be changing too. Yet too many marketers still use old brand management models built for a mass homogeneous media marketplace, not for an always on, multi-channel, connected global world. While these approaches feel safe and comfortable they fail to give marketers the tools they need to survive. What should marketers do differently? My new report, “Adaptive Brand Marketing” addresses this question and recommends a framework for helping brand marketing organizations become more agile, responsive and flexible so that their brands can thrive. Additionally, Advertising Age has a lengthy write-up that focuses on one element of the report: what Adaptive Brand Marketing means for the future of the brand manager.

Adaptive Brand Marketing is not just about social media. True, Coke has 3 million fans on Facebook and 800,000 people are fans of Pop Tarts. The social revolution has given us insight into just how much passion exists for the every day brands we use Adaptive brand marketing is about harnessing the power of people inside and outside the organization backed by superior intelligence harnessed and processed by top notch technology to create brands that are relevant and resonant to the people they serve on a daily basis. No small task—but isn’t that what makes marketing fun?

I welcome your feedback on the report as well as your thoughts on adaptability. What do you think are the top three things brand marketers must do to adapt and thrive? How many of them are happening in your organization today? What practices need to die out now? Let’s compare notes.

P.S. To hear industry practitioners discuss this and other topics related to Multi-Channel Consumer, join us in Chicago for Forrester's Consumer Forum 2009 on October 27-28 and in London for Forrester's Marketing Forum EMEA 2009 on November 17-18.