Still think the blogosphere is just for early adopter fringe web users?
Think again. Check out some of the stats in this article.
- YouTube traffic doubles monthly
- MySpace is bigger than Yahoo
- Blogs can drive explosive growth or outrage
- Revolutionize customer service programs
- Senior citizens are the fastest growing blog population
User generated content or free for all communication; call it what you like but blogging and social media networks have really grown into their own over the last 12 months. Companies are launching new 3o second commercials solely on YouTube instead of paying $$ for network airtime. Fortune 5oo companies use MySpace to launch products to highly influential young adults w/ billions of dollars of purchasing power.
When a customer is happy enough or mad enough to talk about your product or service you should pay attention. In fact, you should encourage the conversation. That’s what web 2.0 is all about. The tables are turned and if you’re not taking the lead you will be left behind. Your audience is too savvy. They demand control over their experience with your brand and the ability to speak out about it - good and bad.
You cannot control your brand. You can only hope to guide it’s direction by knowing who you are, who your customers are, what they want, and who you want to be to them. If you think the world is small; the gap from CEO to customer is tiny. You don’t need a million dollar research program; just start a blog and pay attention.
The truth is that they’re already talking. They always have been. Read more…
technorati tags > blog, social, networks, media, youtube, myspace, marketing, advertising, customer, branding, web 2.0
Check out this great campaign from Carmichael Lynch. It was commissioned by the AAF to educate CEO’s on the powerful cultural impact iconic brands possess. Their research showed that many CEO’s undervalue advertising contribution to corporate strategy.
technorati tags > advertising, carmichael lynch, aaf, ceo, corporate, strategy, branding, iconic
Battle of the brands and walletshare…
As Bill Gates prepares to exit the company he founded, Microsoft finds itself dumped from the US’s favourite brands… by, of all, people, Apple! Sony was ranked the best brand in the US for the seventh year in a row, according to Harris Interactive.
read more | digg story
technorati tags > apple, microsoft, sony, hp, branding, US top brands, harris interactive
Here’s a quick tutorial of some of the web 2.0 sites that are driving viral & social networks.
Branding 2.0 - Mashable
technorati tags > branding, web 2.0, youtube, myspace, ask a ninja, social networks
Great article from Jim Lenskold. The gist of it is that long term branding activities should not be in a death match for budget dollars against short term marketing projects that generate a measureable ROI. They should be complimentary. You may not be able to pin-point exactly which branding initative contributed directly to quarterly sales, but branding has long term impacts on pricing, stock value, and strategic direction.
If you only focus on short term project-led ROI, you miss out on big picture industry-shaping strategic activities that lead to future sales growth. If you’re not tracking either; you should and need to be able to prove a positive return on your daily activities. If not, how do you expect C-level execs to continue funding? Not to mention, you’ll never have a true seat at the table for strategic discussions.
It’s funny that I was just talking about this the other day as well. The point is that what gets measured improves. You can track long term strategic goals like preference, attitude, and profitability; as well as short term goals like purchases from online ads, direct marketing response rates, and event marketing.
Done well, all short term activities feed and strengthen your long term strategic goals. You can build brand while making sales - as long as you are truly working with your customer’s best interests/desires in mind.
technorati tags > branding, marketing, ROI, investment, strategy, metrics, measurement
Sony’s just released and pulled ad (more) in Amsterdam is over the top. I’m sure they thought they would create a little free PR; but the overtly racial overtones are too much.
Here’s what Sony says:
“All of the 100 or so images created for the campaign have been designed to show this contrast in colours of the PSPs , and have no other message or purpose.”
I’m sure a little testing would have served TBWA well in this case. Either way, this ad should have never made it out the door. They are getting attention, is it worth it? I’m not saying go back to boring product shots, but this crosses the line IMO.
technorati tags > advertising, sony, psp, bad taste, racist, tbwa
Geez, I can’t believe that someone is going to fall for this. Or better yet, pay an agency to come up with it.
More comments
technorati tags > icon, logo, KFC, YUM, branding, rebrand, strategy, advertising
Naras Eechambadi has a great article on making your marketing measurements count on CMOmag.com. It’s hard to pinpoint which specific activity persuaded a prospect to turn into a customer. It’s even tougher considering that industry best practice dictates at least seven touches need to be made before a prospect recognizes your brand. It’s difficult to fully understand where your budget dollars go the farthest. This doesn’t even touch the sticky mess that is short term ROI versus long term shareholder value.
Too many companies think that installing Siebel or Salesforce.com will automatically make all sales & marketing activities measurable. Anyone in the midst of a CRM roll-out knows that the devil is in the details. How clean is your customer database, are there duplicate database field names in disparate legacy systems, where did the inside sales team get their pre-show mailing list? There are too many questions to wrap your head around.
But you have to start somewhere. Start by mapping out what actions you want to take to be able to improve your business. Make the data available to base decisions on that inform those actions. Transparency and accountability are crucial elements required for success. And always keeping moving forward towards your end goal. Just remember, that which is tracked improves.
Here’s the best quote from the article:
An honest diagnosis of current capabilities and an assessment of how suited they are to future strategy is a crucial step in improving marketing performance. Ensure that the organization is properly aligned to strategy and to the processes that are essential to execution. Develop the right processes and make sure people are trained on these processes. Align the incentives for all of the people involved in planning and executing campaigns.
technorati tags > marketing, CMO, measurement, ROI, CRM, programs, effectiveness, strategy
In a great many ways, Calvin & Hobbes is responsible for my creative thinking; so I just had to include this…
Calvin & Hobbes ran from 1985 to 1995. They are my favorite comic–by far. Bill Watterson drew thousands of strips, and while I wish that he would come back and draw more, it’s probably best to reflect and be thankful for what he’s done. Below we have showcased, in no particular order, some of our favorite Calvin & Hobbes strips of all time.
read full story | digg story
