Marketing Profs Daily Fix

Beth Harte: Are You TwittFaced?

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:15:00 -0500

Recently I had a chance to catch up with my friend and fellow Daily Fix blogger, Jacob Morgan, about his newly released book, with co-author Josh Peters, TwittFaced: Your Toolkit for Understanding and Maximizing Social Media. With such an intriguing title, I definitely had some questions for Mr. Morgan!

What does it mean to be ‘TwittFaced?’

Being TwittFaced is that moment of realization you get when you understand that social media is more than just tweeting about how bad your day is or poking people on Facebook. It's the moment when you realize that social media is about an evolution and transformation of how companies do business with each other and with their customers.

Of all the Facebook tips you offer in TwittFaced, what would you say are the top three and why?

The most important tip on that list to make sure that you have all of your information filled out as completely as possible so that people can find you and understand what you do and how you might be able to help them.
Don't be scared to reach out to people and send folks a message. If you're interested in what someone has said or you want to connect with them to help develop a relationship then drop them a note. Relationships aren't going to happen unless you make them happen.
Update the content on your page and interact with other people on their pages. If you have something to share, have a question to ask, or have some exciting piece of news to announce; then share it as a status update. If one of your friends has a birthday or shares an interesting piece of content then go interact with them.

Is MySpace even relevant to marketers these days? If so, who should be paying attention to that space?

MySpace traffic is plummeting these days and I don't know of any companies that are really successfully using MySpace to promote or market a product or service. MySpace has been more effective for musicians or media content creators. Personally, I see little value in MySpace as business or marketing tool.

Marketers often look at Twitter as just people sharing what they had for breakfast or dinner. What tips would you offer to marketers to help them get past Twitter’s shiny surface?

Twitter is and will always be one tool, if you're a marketer for Kraft then you might find it extremely relevant to find out what people are eating for breakfast but if you're an auto maker then that information might be useless for you. Marketers need to understand what they hope to achieve with Twitter and how they are going to achieve it. Again, it's just a tool and if they feel that there is no business value for what it is they are doing, then by all means, don't use it. Nobody should have to convince someone else of the value of Twitter, if they don't understand the value of being able to connect with people and listening to conversations in real time then that's their problem and a bigger issue they need to deal with.

What other social applications do you think marketers need to be paying attention to and why?

I think marketers need to start paying attention to applications such as Foursquare and Yelp (mobile and desktop version) which are really becoming more interactive for individuals. Take Foursquare, for example. Businesses can work with Foursquare to start rewarding users that frequent a particular location (i.e. you "check in" at restaurant or department store) and start receiving discount coupons of special offers based on the amount of times you frequent a location. Analysis and research tools such as Biz 360, Scout Labs, and Radian6 are going to become a must for marketers getting involved in social business. Internal collaboration tools such as Jive and SocialText are also things that marketers are going to have to start paying attention to as they are going to increase the efficiency of their marketing efforts.

If you could offer one solid piece of social media advice that’s new and different, what would it be?

As an organization that is looking to get involved in the social media space the very first they should be doing is establishing their measurement and ROI framework and foundation. This steps needs to come first in order for companies to be able to understand the value and the impact from their social media efforts. Companies are so focused on these three-month campaign spurts that their measurement approaches are subpar and have a very hard time justifying investment costs. Every social media effort needs to start with a measurement framework and foundation; everything else should be built on this measurement framework.

Jacob, congratulations to you and Josh on your first book together! Thanks very much for making the time for the interview and for sharing a sneak peek of TwittFaced with me*!

So...who out there is TwittFaced? I guess I am. You?

About Jacob Morgan: Jacob is the principal and co-founder of Chess Media Group, a social business consultancy focused on strategy, creativity, and results. Jacob is also the author of Twittfaced, a social media 101 book for business. Jacob has a social media consulting blog and you can connect with him directly on Twitter @JacobM.

*Jacob Morgan sent me a free digital version of TwittFaced to review for this interview.

Paul Williams: Catch More Fish With The Right Lure, In The Right Waters

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:30:04 -0500

A couple of fishermen are hanging out in their local bait shop. One has a new product idea for out-of-town visitors.

Sell a lake map and fishing lure combo. Take specific fishing lures and tape them to the different lakes on the map. This way the out-of-towner will know the proper bait to use at each particular lake, and will lead to a more successful fishing experience.

If you're at Watermans Reservoir and want to catch a Northern Pike, you need a spinner lure. At Worden's Pond after Jackfish? Use a fish-imitation lure or cut bait.*

Here comes the business segue...

We marketers and business owners become frustrated and don't understand why the money we spent... on fishing poles and worms to catch Orange Roughy at the lake... hasn't paid off.

If we did our homework, we would have known (a) orange roughy are a salt water fish, and (b) you get them with deep nets, not a fishin' pole.

It is easy to miss your audience by not using the right venue (lake) or the right message (lure).

Here's an example. I worked with a client who own a spa. Her customers include:

women looking to be pampered,
women looking for stress/muscle ache relief,
men looking for pain relief (often sports related), and
men looking to buy gifts certificates.

A first approach would be to target the women and men differently. That's smart. But if you look deeper, you also realize that "woman wanting pampering" isn't necessarily the same person as "stressed woman." And "sporty man" has different habits than "gift-giving guy."

They each have a different motivation for purchase - therefore will respond to a different message. They each have different lifestyles, and the vehicle/venue to reach each will differ.

The more time you spend defining the who, what, where, when, how, and why the better your outreach / communication / advertising strategy.

Don't simply "fish where the fist are." Fish for the right fish, with the right bait, in the right waters.

*That scene takes place in the comedy, Best In Show. However, the fishing advice is mine, not from the movie.

Gavin Heaton: On Generosity and Grace

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:35:00 -0500

We are marked each day by the casual collisions that are the artefacts of our existence. There are phone calls, messages and the relative anonymity of online interactions. And in the search for connection, communion or community, we thoughtlessly mistake message for meaning, words for action and interaction for friendship. It’s a confusion of intention – and we are the poorer for it.

When I began writing my blog I did so with no expectation of return. Like a long-dead star, I felt that I was emitting the weakest of signals with no hope of a destination. The gravity of my expectations was as light as utterance, each word or post marked only by the steam of my breath.

But over time an unexpected, slow kind of success appeared in my orbit. Each comment felt like a gift, each email a revelation, and each face emerged from the ether to reveal some other – living, breathing, longing being.

Through words, through ideas and by sharing stories we began to find each other – you and I. And each time we brushed past one another we each revealed, perhaps inadvertently, some secret or grain of truth. And yet in losing some small essence, rather than being diminished ,we grew. We prospered. Not in the way of casual connection, but in more mysterious ways – for we were encountering ourselves by way of grace.

The paradox, of course, is that with every gift of self, with the free transmission of what-is-mine to what-now-is-yours, our gravity expands. Such reality requires new thinking on all our parts. After all, who among us has not looked with envy on the success of our peers? It’s as if the well-spring of success has only finite resources and each cup taken is a cup lost to us all.

But we are living now in a time and a space where both opportunity and results are being reconsidered. We are turning towards the hard face of generosity – where an act of grace is not just expected, but is a mandatory condition for a relationship to take root. We are mercenarily applying the judgement of our peers and their peers to the decisions that we make in business, as families and as individuals.

This does not mean that we are un-generous – quite the opposite. It means that your reputation precedes you. It means we act, not alone, but in cognitive unison. We’d like you to understand this. We’d like to help you make all our worlds better places. It starts by being generous. It starts with good grace.

Ann Handley: What's New: Introducing Our New Mobile Marketing Newsletter

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:28:00 -0500

You know the end of every calendar year brings a bounty of blog posts and articles carrying business predictions for the New Year?

Year after year for the past several years, pundits have prognosticated the rise of Mobile Marketing. And then year after year, it has failed to live up to its promise. Instead, Mobile seems stuck on the sidelines, perpetually benched.

But with recent developments in the mobile space, it seems the prediction is now (finally) reality. I’ll even go out on a limb and make my own prediction: Mobile Marketing is here to stay.

That’s why we’ve just launched a new snack-sized newsletter geared specifically to marketers looking to incorporate Mobile into their marketing mix. Get to the Po!nt: Mobile Marketing is a weekly pub that’s all about engaging on-the-move customers via their mobile devices, be they smart phones or not-so-smart phones. And like all of the newsletters in our Get to the Po!nt family of newsletters, they are “snack-sized,” which means you can consume them in one bite…. In about 60 seconds. (You can also access them via a MarketingProfs Get to the Po!nt iPhone app.)

Check out the latest issue of Mobile Marketing here.

Subscribe to the weekly Get to the Po!nt Mobile Marketing here.

Or see all of the topic-specific snack-sized newsletters in the Get to the Po!nt family here.

Suzanne Lowe: Digital Versus Paper: What's The Future For Professional Services?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:50:00 -0500

In the past several weeks, I've encountered questions about the effectiveness of digital marketing versus paper-driven communications. A recent WSJ piece "Marketers Still Prefer a Paper Trail," asserts that people are motivated to go to a Web site to buy when they see an item in a catalog.

Some of my marketing communication friends tell me that their professional service clients are producing print newsletters in addition to (and in some cases, instead of) digital newsletters. They say, "my clients' clients are so overwhelmed with emails that they actually appreciate print newsletters!"

It's hard to imagine what will ever knock email off the PSF and B2B marketing radar screen. But PSF and B2B marketers had better imagine it. What's the marcom frontier hold for professional service clients?

A return to paper? A blend of paper and digital vehicles? After that, what?

Mass-customized holograms! Opt-in or push videos on your client's mobile phone! GPS-driven localized advertising! How about the changeable ads based on retinal scans in Minority Report?

Kathy Bushman: Still Questioning The Value In Social Media

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:04:39 -0500

I had the pleasure of attending the Social Media Business Forum (#smbf) that took place October 23rd in Durham, NC. It’s the first event that was put on by Jeff Cohen, Wayne Sutton, and Ryan Boyles of OurHashtag, and Kipp Bodnar of Howard Merrell & Partners.

They are passionate about teaching business people how to benefit from using social media and are responsible for many of the social media events and tweet-ups in the “Triangle” (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) North Carolina area. Jeff Cohen told me that they recognized a real need for business people to be educated on social media and tried to incorporate some educational programs at their other activities before deciding to put together this event. And clearly there is a need to educate business marketers on how social media can enhance both their marketing and business communication in general.

There were 160 people who attended the Forum. From speaking to some of the other attendees, I found that many of the people attending were the marketers who already believed in the power of marketing through social media and were looking for information on how to improve their efforts. I heard several people say that they really had to convince their bosses of the value of attending this event and are still trying to convince them of the value in social media marketing in general. That’s a theme that I not only heard at this event but from our own MarketingProfs events as well. And I’ve been hearing it for a while now. Honestly, I would have thought that issue would have died down by now. With all the ways you can now monitor and measure social media marketing, it’s hard to believe, that many presidents and CEOs are still not convinced of the value of using social media.

During the keynote panel at the Social Media Business Forum, speaker Jason Falls reminded everyone that customers are seeking information online and in these social media forums. It was a good reminder that we need to be where our customers are, isn’t there marketing value in that alone? So I fail to understand why the question of the value of social media keeps coming up.

But it does, and as long as it does, I’ll keep planning sessions for the MarketingProfs events that address this issue as well as social media measurement, monitoring and other topics that address value. And I hope other social media events such as the Social Media Business Forum will as well.

All in all, I thought the Social Media Business Forum was a great event. Kudos to Jeff Cohen, Wayne Sutton, Ryan Boyles and Kipp Bodnar for recognizing the need for social media marketing education and providing it to the local business community. See you next year!

Ted Mininni: Retailers: “You’ll See Fewer Products On Our Shelves.”

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:20:00 -0500

A recently published Media Post Marketing Daily piece, “Some Categories May Be Vulnerable at Retail,” points to some serious fall-out at retail after many months of sales declines. The gist: retailers are intent on cutting inventory levels. That doesn’t only mean there will be less back stock in stores. It also means there will be considerable SKU cuts made to reduce costs, optimize assortments and improve profit margins.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the nation’s largest retailers will be cutting their overall product assortment by 15% in 2010. Wal-Mart is committed to an overall reduction of 15-18% in their assortments. That’s significant. In fact, it’s a total reversal of the trend in the past few years to grow assortments. It’s a safe bet, mid-sized and smaller retailers will follow suit. The losers here will be CPG companies.

Many will face the real possibility of not only losing a few SKUs out of retailer assortments; “They may lose an entire (brand) line,” according to Willard Bishop retail consultancy VP Paul Weitzel.

Ouch! The economic downturn which has been in force since 2007 has fueled unprecedented growth for store brands, so it is possible many retailers will see their own brands as logical choices for category and product expansion at the further expense of national brands.

Over the past year, store brand sales have increased by 10% versus a 2% sales increase for national brands. According to Nielsen, store brands, on average, comprise just over 10% of most retailers’ total product mix, but account for over 20% of sales, while achieving a turn rate that is better than two-to-one. While many retailers have adjusted their pricing in response to economic realities, store brands are still delivering excellent profits.

The new frugality in the marketplace is forcing retailers to take a look at their assortments; so are manufacturers. The “SKU rationalization” trend has begun. According to Willard Bishop, five key metrics related questions will have to be answered:

Variety. Retailers’ optimal product mix to meet consumer demand.
Profitability. Retailers’ bottom line by product/brand/category.
Productivity. Retailers’ product turn per shelf.
Working capital. Retailers must assess their inventory costs and ROI much more closely.
Growth. Retailers must identify growing and declining categories and adjust inventory dollars and SKU mix accordingly.

The article states consumer product categories that are most vulnerable include: bottled water, carbonated and “new age” beverages, salad dressings, ethnic and gourmet foods; diet products, cosmetics, skin care, bath and soap products, pet supplies—to name a few.

Questions:

Do you think the overall SKU reduction will be noticeable given the plethora of consumer products available at numerous retail outlets around the country?

Do you expect to be able to find the kinds of products you want to purchase regardless of the cuts? Does it concern you that some of your favorite products may become unavailable in your favorite stores?

Do you dislike having to choose another national brand to replace one you currently purchase? Do you see store brands as a strong alternative?

While the short term ramifications of retailers’ decisions may result in fewer products being manufactured and result in lost jobs, do you think there may be long-term benefits to SKU rationalization?

I’d love to hear from you.

Paul Barsch: Beyond ZIP +4 To Location Intelligence

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:24:00 -0500

In the United States, ZIP +4 assists marketers in targeting customers by city, neighborhood, or street, but geospatial location intelligence can help marketers perform much deeper analysis. And “analysis” is where the real value of geospatial lies.

A ZIP + 4 code according to Wikipedia; “uses the basic five-digit code plus four additional digits to identify a geographic segment within the five-digit delivery area, such as a city block, or a group of apartments.” And since the introduction of ZIP + 4 in 1983, this feature has assisted direct marketers (not to mention the USPS) in saving millions of dollars in costs.

While some marketers may decide that ZIP +4 is enough for customer targeting purposes, they’re missing out on a whole level of analysis available from geospatial that can help squeeze more return on investment from scarce marketing dollars.

The term “geospatial” describes a specific type of analytical software combined with geographic data. Going much further than simple ZIP +4 formats, geospatial comes to life via the transformation of a customer address into geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude). With geospatial, a whole host of marketing analytics is now available to marketers. Examples include:

Map locations. By overlaying geospatial data types with a mapping tool (such as Google Earth) marketers can pinpoint store or office locations in proximity to customers.
Calculate distances between locations. Stores, offices or distribution centers can be precisely calculated and then evaluated to examine if they are too close or too far apart. For example, marketers can determine the midpoint between two stores to meet the needs of an under-served customer segment. With geospatial, there’s no guessing, whereas it’s pretty difficult to calculate the distance between locations with ZIP +4.
Marketing by the mile (or less). Suppose you have a specific store location and you want to market to households 5.1 miles to the north, 2.5 miles to the south, etc; essentially building your own polygon for direct marketing purposes. With geospatial capability, you can do this exercise; ZIP +4—not so much.
Disaster planning. When an event occurs, let’s say a hurricane is brewing, will you be able to see which stores will be in its path? How about households? How might this event affect your ongoing or future marketing campaigns?
Risk management. Customer concentration or density analysis (Fig 1) can identify specific areas in which you may be taking on too much risk.

Figure 1. A visual example of density analysis. Source

Some marketers want to know, in comparing ZIP +4 vs. geospatial—which is best? The answer depends on your specific problem, resource constraints, and level of analysis required.

ZIP +4 can help a marketer drill down towards a fairly small area for targeting and the process of converting a mailing list to ZIP +4 is relatively inexpensive. Whereas, adding geo-spatial capabilities usually involves use of an analytical infrastructure (database and hardware), software applications (i.e. data integration and visualization tools), and both technical and business know-how to perform analysis and act upon newly discovered information.

ZIP +4 may work best as an inexpensive way to improve customer targeting. However, as seen from the above marketing examples, geospatial capabilities open a whole host of analytical options for marketers that ZIP +4 just cannot match.

Questions:

With three billion mobile phone users in the world (and growing) will “location” become an increasingly important component of marketing in the next 3-5 years?

A business intelligence infrastructure is a necessary pre-cursor to geospatial analysis. What does this say about the skill sets marketers will need in the future to perform such analysis?

Paul Williams: Compartmentalize: Brainstorm Like a School Lunch Tray

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:29:00 -0500

Most brainstorm meetings start with the meeting lead proclaiming, "Okay guys... think out of the box and remember, there are no bad ideas!"

We say "there are no bad ideas" before we brainstorm the same way we say "bless you" after someone sneezes. No one is sure why anymore, but it is polite.

For sneezing? We used to believe when someone sneezed good spirits left their body. Our quick prayer "God Bless You" put them back.

For brainstorming? Saying "there are no bad ideas" is the reminder to not immediately judge and filter out what you may think is a bad idea.

Our brains are wired for quick categorization and judgement. It goes back to our caveman days when we didn't have time to assess the large-toothed, giant-clawed creature trotting our way. We needed to instantly categorize "danger" and judge "run fast!" These are our basic reflex and memory systems.

When brainstorming - instead of seeing a new idea as new - we instinctively try to find a category for it. This reflex often delivers two categorized responses: "we already did that" (i.e. it is old, not new), or "we already tried that (i.e. it didn't work). Seems all you can come up with are old or failed ideas.

So what?

Okay, we get that people are good a quashing ideas... But, how do you change this habit?

For starters, kindly asking your team to remember there are no bad ideas is not the solution. You need something more rigorous and shifting than that. A method to force us into separating idea generation from judgement - at least for a brief period.

Edward's Six Hats

In his book Six Thinking Hats, Edward de Bono offers a method for breaking the thinking process into phases. He suggests six different roles or hats, each with a different perspective. White (facts and figures), Red (emotional), Black (caution/devil's advocate), Yellow (positive), Green (new ideas), and Blue (organization).

Very simply put, the objective is to have the team wear one hat at a time. Green hat "new ideas" is different from Black hat "caution." Six Thinking Hats offers you and your team a language and rules to follow for better brainstorming and problem solving.

If different hats aren't distinct enough "compartments" for your team, perhaps try a method Walt Disney would use.

Walt's Three Rooms

Walt would often approach idea generation in three phases

The Dreamer,
The Realist, and
The Spoiler.

The Dreamer would come up with as many ideas as possible. The Realist would assess the ideas to sense which were good, and which should be "plussed" or improved. Finally, the Spoiler would look for potential problems and what could go wrong. (I like to consider the spoiler phase 'bullet proofing' an idea).

Moreover, Walt would use three different rooms in his house... one for each thinking phase. For example, the Den for Dreaming, The Dining Room for Realist, and the Kitchen to be the Spoiler. (I made the rooms up, I can't find documentation which room he used for which).

Changing physical space can be effective as it clearly dilineates where you are in the process. If we're in the Realist space, we are no longer creating new things. Rather, seeing how we can make the new ideas better. (Of course, capture new ideas if they DO come up in any stage - you don't want to lose them. However, the focus of Realist is plussing and building).

In the Spoiler stage, we're looking for flaws, not new ideas or even solutions. (Once you finish the Spoiler stage, I recommend you return to the Dreamer space with the newly broken ideas that still seem promising and think-up fixes or new versions of those ideas.

Walt's idea is appealing to workspace or home. You can equip and theme each room with artifacts and stimuli that help with that particular process. Paint a blue sky ceiling in the Dreaming room. Fill the spoiler room with scales and devices of measurement. Also, once you get into the habit of using the rooms for each purpose, if you simply need to critique and idea... head to the spoiler room. Want to plus something? Pop into the Realist space for 30-minutes.

Similar to school lunch trays, each item has its own defined, compartmentalized space. Idea-meisters will be happy there is a place for their fresh thoughts. Builders will have their time. Spoilers can relax, confident their pessimistic view will have their space.

Experienced challenges with your team (or personally) allowing free flow of new ideas without judgement and filtering? Try one of these two approaches.

What other methods have you tried that have worked for you?

Elaine Fogel: What a Genuine CEO Message Looks Like

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Transparency and authenticity are what it takes today. Yet, many companies have been slow on the uptake in demonstrating a genuine approach to their customers. I have posted many times about lackluster customer service and messaging, so it's time to balance the score card and share a shining CEO message.

I just purchased a new router and wireless network adapter to replace older technology. Admittedly, my choice of product was motivated by cost, so after doing my due diligence at the local Best Buy store, I decided on the Belkin N router and wireless adapter, both on sale.

After installation (during which the overseas Belkin rep was extremely helpful), I noticed that the Best Buy bill had a message on the bottom:
........................................................................
BEST BUY VALUES YOUR FEEDBACK!!
TAKE OUR SURVEY AND ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A $5,000 BEST BUY SHOPPING SPREE!!

Visit http://www.bestbuycares.com
& enter the following codes:
.........................................................................
The link takes you to a landing page with a large photo of Best Buy CEO, Brian J. Dunn. I immediately notice that he is wearing a jacket, a pale-blue, open-collar shirt and no tie. The picture doesn't even look like a posed professional shot, but one taken in the hall of the office one day. Message: informal, relaxed, friendly, approachable.

Here's the message that falls under the page title "Best Buy Customer Voice Survey."

First, I'd like to thank you for shopping with us. We recognize that you have many choices about where to spend your hard-earned money and I appreciate that you have given us an opportunity to earn your business. Second, we strive to create the best possible experience for you, and I appreciate your honest feedback about what we are doing well in our stores and where we need to make improvements. Listening to our customers is very important and you can be assured that your voice will be heard. Thank you in advance for your time and input.

At the conclusion of the survey you will have the opportunity to enter a drawing for a $5,000 Best Buy shopping spree*.

Sincerely,

Brian J. Dunn
Chief Executive Officer

I really liked the message. I liked that he thanked me first before saying anything else. So, I took the survey. As a marketer, I know how important the feedback is, so I usually comply with these requests.

Mr. Dunn and his marcom people "get it." The message appeared genuine, caring and indicative that he and his team will take the survey results seriously. The first step gets an A+. Of course, I can't say whether they walk the talk at this juncture, but I was impressed.

What do you think? Take a look at the landing page and tell me what your impressions are? Is it genuine to you? Does it create a positive brand experience?

Matthew Grant: Looking Back at The Digital Marketing Mixer

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:00:00 -0500

It's a week ago today that I departed Boston for Chicago in order to attend, and blog upon, Marketingprofs' Digital Mixer.

While I live-blogged a number of sessions - on creating effective webinar programs; on developing corporate social media policies; on using Facebook for brand recognition; on deepening customer relationships with Twitter; on SEO plus Social Media; and on the exceedingly clear thoughts of Dr. BJ Fogg - I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some of the grander themes or gaudier threads that I noticed running through the event.

1. It's the humans, stupid

Again and again I heard people talking about "personalizing" or "humanizing" social media efforts, which makes sense to me since I've always viewed blogs and such as "personal genres." This humanization needs to take place both at the organizational level, by creating social media policies which encourage participation on the part of employees and other stakeholders, as well as on the tactical level. There needs to be a living person behind your blog or Twitter stream or what-have-you who will take the time to listen and respond to folks looking to interact with your brand or organization.

2. Personal Brand vs. Professional Brand

Of course, if you are asking people to put themselves into social media efforts, there is always the possibility that they will develop relationships with customers or recognition within a community that begins to outshine the connection to the brand. While many people raised questions concerning the proper mix of personal and professional in brand-related social media activities, the bigger fear seemed to be about retention. Specifically, they asked, "What happens when someone becomes so associated with the brand via social media that their departure leaves a gaping hole in your company's online presence?"

3. Social Media is Growing Up

There was a palpable dearth of 101-type sessions on social media and its application to business. Instead, we were treated to a lot of pithy studies describing what real companies - Best Buy, Intel, Hansen's Natural Soda, Pitney Bowes, SAS, etc. - have really done with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Slideshare, blogs, podcasts, etc. Yes, Dell, Comcast, and Zappos all got mentioned, but it was clear that emerging social media technologies have not only entered the cultural mainstream but have become a permanent and rapidly maturing part of the commercial landscape.

4. SEO = Great Content + Grunt Work.

I got into a rather lively conversation by asserting in a loud, boorish tone that "SEO is a scam," a conversation in which I was duly schooled but which also clarified my understanding of how optimization happens. In fairness to me, there were plenty of folks who were warning attendees against "SEO snake oil," but they contrasted such efforts with the legit, white-hat things that people can, should, and must do to optimize their content for, as Liana E. Evans sagely pointed out, "Optimized content is king."

That being said, I discovered that there are certain link-building activities - directory submissions, Digg-ing, even blogging - that approach data entry in terms of complexity (ie., "not very) and labor intensivity (i.e, "very"). Hiring an intern or "some guys in India" to do this for you isn't scammy, at the end of the day, but it's not brain surgery either and reminded me that search engine rank not only reflects quality of content but also quantity of effort.

5. States Rights

Finally. while discussing the assassination of President Lincoln with Apogee's Bill Leake, I considered for the first time the effect that the 17th Amendment had on states' rights. This amendment "... restates the first paragraph of Article I, section 3 of the Constitution and provides for the election of senators by replacing the phrase 'chosen by the Legislature thereof' with 'elected by the people thereof.'" (read more). The result of this shift, which made senators beholden to their constituents rather than state governments, was the further consolidation of federal power at the expense of the states insofar as senators no longer needed to concern themselves with pleasing their respective state legislatures and could focus on perpetuating their own careers through the maintenance of voting blocks representing diverse local and private interests.

I never really thought about that before. But then again, I'm a damn Yankee.

Ann Handley: Who Are You and Why Do You Want My Candy: Making Halloween a Cross-Cultural Hit

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:25:00 -0500

This is a guest post by Gavin Johnston, Chief Anthropologist at Two West, Inc.

Cultural traditions and celebrations represent a very important opportunity for retailers. The tradition of Halloween has become one of the highest revenue producing events in the United States, representing $21 billion dollars each year, with a median of $40 spent per family. However, it is easy to forget that Halloween is a largely American phenomenon and can be off-putting for someone with no cultural context for the holiday. To capture an untapped multicultural market, expand market share and increase revenue, companies must consider how to make Halloween accessible and appealing for all cultures.

Halloween is finding traction in Europe, parts of Asia and Latin America. The key is making sure that while a retailer speaks to the needs of a culture already immersed in the holiday, the newcomers embrace it as their own. It is about providing people with little or no familiarity with Halloween with the tools to make Halloween their own. To increase the overall revenue during cultural celebrations, we need to know the origins and cultural contexts of the holiday and create environments that are cross-culturally appealing.

For example, The Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos) is a popular tradition in Mexico and parts of Central America, and is rooted on the Aztec tradition of honoring the dead. Aztecs used to honor the dead by talking to the spirits, dancing and celebrating death. This celebration was dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl, the “Lady of the Dead.” Spaniards considered the exposure of human remains as a sacrilege and tried to eradicate this tradition. A way of doing so was to coincide the date of the festivity with November 1st All Saints Day. Just as the Celtic celebration of Samhain evolved into Halloween, so did the Day of the Dead transform into something new.

While very different, the important point is that these two cultural traditions have certain similarities in the ways they are celebrated. These similarities, the migration to the United States and the development of a new U.S./Latin culture by 2nd and 3rd migrant generations, are once again transforming Halloween. So what can you do to grow sales at Halloween?

Expand what you offer. This transformation of American culture requires companies to provide sugar and wooden skulls, flowers, portable music players and toys for the children that have passed away alongside pumpkin pies and costumes. This provides a cultural signpost inviting people to explore rather than shy away from the holiday aisle.
Use multiple languages in signage. Using Halloween as a way of signaling inclusion in the larger American society helps build interest and customer loyalty. We frequently take for granted that consumers and shoppers will simply explore a well-dressed store front or aisle, but for many first and second generation consumers culturally-specific events, such as holidays, can signal that they are not welcome. Using multiple languages in signage serves as an invitation to engage with and become part of the general population. That invitation can build loyalty like nothing else.
Go beyond orange and black. Most retail displays incorporate colors and sounds that are associated with either the harvest (orange) or death (black) in Western societies. Expanding the color scheme to include colors associated with harvest time, death, and all things scary in other cultural systems helps draw associations with similar holidays in the native culture. For example, white and red are often associated with Día de los Muertos celebrations and will draw people into the aisles to shop.
Create “safe” areas of terror. The hormonal reaction we humans get from responding to a threat or crisis is what motivates us to "like to be scared.” This is the same "fight or flight" syndrome which guaranteed our survival in more primitive times. At the moment we are threatened, we have increased strength, power, heightened senses and intuition. The key is to sanitize that fear rather than causing people to run. Without a culturally-centered idea of Halloween, the holiday isn’t a safe type of fear, it’s just plain scary, causing people to avoid the retail environment altogether. Don’t make the most frightening elements of a display the first thing people encounter, rather condition shoppers to the experience by starting with less threatening imagery that becomes scarier as they move deeper into the shopping setting.

Companies can readily learn the type of food, music, clothing, toys, etc., needed to cater to a changing U.S. population. These differences need to be known and addressed in order to effectively increase profits and customer loyalty.

The knowledge and origin of traditions as well as the knowledge and prediction of human behaviors allows marketers to better speak to their market. During a recession the elasticity of products fluctuates, but when purchasing these products is attached to a deep cultural need, the economy will have little or no effect on these products demand. Knowing these cultural and psychological variables allow retailers and marketers to build loyalty and grow their businesses even during tough economic times. When the time comes to celebrate Halloween (or any holiday), it is your brand, your service, or your product that will win out.

About Gavin Johnston: Gavin is Chief Anthropologist at Two West, Inc. For the last 12 years he has done research worldwide for a diverse set of clients and research topics within legal, telecommunications, health care and consumer products industries. He leads the Two West research and strategy team in turning research findings into design and product innovations. He has been featured in a wide range of publications, including Alert Magazine, Quirks, Marketing Profs, CMO Magazine, Marketing Daily, Media Post, Practicing Anthropology, and The Wise Marketer to name a few.

Ted Mininni: In Search Of The New Cool

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:22:00 -0500

“Most people know this feeling instinctively. When anything—a brand, a rock band, a style of clothing—becomes popular with a huge mass market, the cool people increasingly find it uncool, and look for something new.” –Kevin Maney

In his new book, “Trade-Off: Why Some Things Catch On, and Others Don’t,” author Kevin Maney makes the argument: “We constantly, in our everyday lives, make trade-offs between fidelity and convenience.” Recapping the book in a recent article for Fortune and CNN Money.com, Maney discusses: “How Starbucks lost its ‘fidelity’”.

The author explains how trade-offs between fidelity and convenience lead brands astray and often, to their demise. And he uses Starbucks to illustrate his points. Bear with me. There is a point to outlining the Starbucks story yet again.

Maney defines “fidelity as the total experience of something.” “Convenience is how easy it is to get what you want.” He goes on to explain how Starbucks, when purchased by former and current CEO Howard Schultz in 1987, sought to emulate the Italian coffee-bar experience, to form a unique culture around the brand.

Obviously, Schultz succeeded—probably beyond his wildest dreams. By giving customers the choice of customizing their own caffeinated beverages and offering exotic coffee blends, customers found the experience cool, new and exciting.

Standing in line for an expensive, hand-crafted drink, full of exotic aromas, and made by expertly trained baristas was no problem. In fact, it was part of the experience. By making Starbucks “the third place”—not home, not office—but an oasis in life, the experience became rooted with a strong emotional pull. Starbucks had become a “cultural touchstone.”

Of course this bit of luxury cost money. A few store locations kept the Starbucks brand cool and “exclusive” in feeling; customers had to sometimes go out of their way to get their desired coffee fix and experience. But hey—that’s what made it so special, right?

Then, the big misstep happened. Schultz thought: why not open Starbucks stores everywhere? Why not saturate markets large and small? Won’t that make access to the experience much more convenient for consumers? Won’t we make much more money? But, by having Starbucks stores pop up everywhere, where was the exclusivity factor? Where was the cool factor? Gone.

As Maney points out, if consumers wanted convenience, why not pop into Dunkin Donuts or 7-Eleven, and save a few bucks while they were at it? Maney: “People looking for aura and identity turned back to smaller chains or independent local coffee shops.” Exactly.

By February 2007, Schultz wrote to CEO Jim Donald about “the watering down of the Starbucks experience” and the “commoditization of our brand.” In January 2008, Schultz took the helm of the company again. Since then, baristas have been trained and retrained, outlets closed and attempts made to recapture the aura of the brand. But there’s no doubt: the brand is still ailing. Can Starbucks recapture its former brand magic? Unlikely.

Questions:

Do you think it’s possible for brands to deliver great experiences and convenience at the same time?

If so, which brands exemplify both core values?

Do you think it’s possible for a brand that starts out as delivering great experiences or convenience, can adopt the other and still remain strong? Or do you think straddling both inevitably leads to a watering down of the brand and eventual failure?

Which brands, if any, have done this successfully?

I’d love to hear from you.

Drew McLellan: What Flag Are You Waving?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:16:00 -0500

Remember having one of those whip rod flags on the back of your bike when you were a kid?

I’m sure they were created to improve bike safety, but they quickly became the biker’s expression of self. You might be drawn to your favorite sports team or color. Other bikers went to cool designs or size. (I was a Minnesota Vikings man all the way!)

And you didn’t fly a flag that didn’t fit you. No guy would be caught dead with a pink Barbie flag. You knew, if he was on a bike with one of those flags - it was his sister’s bike! The flags were more than decoration. They were a declaration. “This is what I’m about.”

Although we didn’t know it, we were learning some very important lessons about branding as we selected and flew our bike flags.

Your brand is your flag. No matter what kind of a storm your organization endures or how quickly you are changing directions - your flag is visible to everyone. Your employees, your customers, your potential customers. And they’re going to keep an eye on that flag.

Your potential customers will be able to spot your brand and decide if they want to come to where you are. There’s no reason for them to engage with you if you’re flag is neon orange and they’re really more of a beige buyer.

For your customers and employees, your brand flag reassures them that you’re honoring your brand. They can come to you with confidence, knowing that they’re going to get that consistent experience they’ve come to expect.

When the wind is whipping around, you, I promise -- everyone is watching that flag. Will you take it down? Will you change it in the face of controversy? Is the rod strong enough to keep your flag flying?

We also notice when a company is constantly changing their flag -- as though they aren't quite sure what you're all about or stand for. Are you guilty of the revolving door method of branding?

During battles, troops flew their flag proudly, letting it remind them (and the world) why the fight is worth fighting. Your brand flag serves the same function for your internal team. Give them something to be proud of. Give them something to believe in. Give them a flag that they'll fight to protect.

So as you think about your brand, remember that it is going to wave high over your organization for all to see. Choose your flag carefully.

Beth Harte: Do You Magalog?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:20:48 -0500

I just received the latest issue of the USPS’ Deliver magazine and there was an interesting article on Marketing with Magalogs with examples from mark (a division of Avon) and Zappos and how they use magalogs.

A magalog is just what you might think it is a magazine/catalog. The format isn’t meant to be a vehicle for messaging pushing via content, but a way to provide knowledge, expertise and creativity that is focused on the reader’s lifestyle, just like any other magazine, that hopefully inspires people to also look at the catalog section.

What was most interesting about the article were the findings from a Custom Publishing Council poll, which showed that consumers are increasingly attracted to these marketing methods because they include useful information:

68% say it helps them make better purchasing decisions when companies provide product information through custom publications.
78% don’t mind sponsors selling their products and services through custom publications — as long as the information is interesting.
74% say getting information from an interesting collection of articles is more appealing than getting information from ads.
59% read print custom publications, whereas only 36 percent look through electronic custom publications.

The mark magalog reaches 7 million readers, a number higher than most national magazines.

If budget wasn’t an issue, a magalog (hopefully one that also includes content from contributors outside of the brand) could potentially be a great way to connect with customers.

What do you think? Would you consider a magalog? Are you already marketing with a magalog?