The folks at Mediapost were kind enough to publish a commentary I wrote called Social Media And Today's 'Marketing Athletes'.  Part of the story outlined "The Common Rings of Social Media and the Olympics."  Namely:

1. Measurability matters -- you don't podium if you don't medal. Facebook (Twitter and others -- more all the time) has incredibly compelling numbers to back up even more compelling stories for brands. Numbers can lie, but they don't here.

2. The Olympics are extraordinary because they always bring out the best athletes on a global basis. Social media is now attracting a similar elite talent pool because technology, consumer strategy and creativity all are leveraged for the "greater good"... like the Olympic spirit!

3. Change is what's normal. At the Winter Olympics, look at how snowboarding, ice dancing, etc. looks compared to just the last Games in 2006. Social media is the most dynamic media platform any of us have ever experienced. Technologists can't keep up with brand desires and vice-versa.

4. Three common "linked" words: Stretch body and mind as to what's possible today and in the foreseeable future. Test new approaches and equipment. Finding harmony can be hard, but it's worth finding. Be Nimble to capitalize on both of the above.

Even though the Olympics ended last night, I hope you'll read the full piece here.

It’s Social Media Week in New York City, and the digital scene is buzzing with conferences and brimming with ideas and insights about a culture that’s constantly in flux.  Yesterday, I attended the Advertising Research Foundation's event dedicated to 'The Science of Social Media' (#ARFSMC), and found myself particularly engaged by a presentation given by Jeff Doak, Chief Technology Officer of Converseon, called Social Media Mentoring Metrics.  Jeff’s presentation revealed some staggering insights into the analysis of social media metrics that confront the challenges of analyzing metrics via the confines of automated tools that are still in the infant stages of their technical evolution.

The first monitoring metrics that came under the lens were metric returns for “volume”—which is basically to say how many times a brand is mentioned, period.  The context for which a brand was mentioned in is, of course, up for grabs, and that is one of the biggest problems.  Volume without context is really pretty useless, and it’s really up to humans to decide how that volume aligns with overarching business objectives.  One trip to Twitter shows you that your friend Bill did, in fact, wake up this morning with his usual glass of Uncle Matt’s and drove to work in his Prius—and not much else. There’s your volume.

Well, what about influence?  Maybe Bill’s got the hottest blog right now on a low-emission lifestyle and over a hundred-thousand devoted readers who are hanging on his every tweet.  That’s not something your influence metrics are going tell you at face value, and those metrics are never going to provide perspective for the way your brand fits into Bill’s sphere of influence.  That’s the kind of pithy insight that only comes with human analysis.

Lastly, we really can’t forget about sentiment metrics, which is to say how people are talking about your brand.  Current social media monitoring tools measure something called “automated sentiment” which is basically an algorithm that searches for “sentiment words” and their proximity to your brand or product name.  Huh?  This analysis seems logical in a mathematical way, but we’re talking about words and that arbitrary phonetic symbolism that begets meaning.  Human beings can also be pretty witty, and as Jeff so bluntly puts it, “machines don’t get sarcasm or slang.” 

Enter the hammer and the scalpel.  Jeff prescribes the use of one these tools, metaphorically of course, to analyze your social media monitoring metrics.  The hammer is most appropriate for those analysts looking to smash into that data and create some cool charts that’ll impress the boss.  For the rest of us, it’s really the scalpel that going to come in handy.  The scalpel is best suited for that kind of detailed analysis that requires a surgeon’s precision and a human being’s understanding.  Scalpels let you bisect tiny segments of consumer data to bring under the lens and expertly carve around other irrelevant brand chatter.  It’s the scalpel that’s going to help you understand if it’s Bill’s preference for your organic orange juice that’s driving sales, and how you might leverage that affinity to connect with your consumers.

Right now, we’re working with social media metrics that have been around for as little as eighteen months.  The measurements are bound to get better over time, and it’s nice to imagine having tools that create easily accessible and understandable data.  But that’s just not where we’re at right now.  I have faith in the human ingenuity that will eventually lead to greener pastures, but until then, I’m keeping my scalpel on hand.   Kudos to Jeff from Converseon for an enlightening presentation.

At last week’s Social Consumer seminar in New York, a fascinating case study was presented by Rich Keller, Global Business Director Marketing Innovation at Godiva Chocolatier. 

As we approach the end of 2009, it’s no secret that many brands and organizations are beginning to effectively harness the power of social networks to effectively interact and engage with consumers but Godiva is a great example of an organization that’s taken things a step further.  Rich’s case study illuminated how Godiva used their three-year old Godiva Chocolate Talk online community of 600 chocolate lovers to guide product development and marketing of their successful “Gems” line extension.  Beyond benefits including effective product development and a stellar launch, this community also proves to consumers that they really do matter and that the company is really listening.  – This is a win, win, win, win.

According to Keller, the “Gems” case study begins with the economic meltdown that cut significantly into sales of a luxury item like Godiva chocolate.  In this environment, it was incumbent upon the brand the figure out new ways to retain (or even grow) marketshare.  With a decision to move from mall/specialty stores directly into plain jane supermarkets, Godiva called on its community of core constituents to ensure that the transition didn’t tarnish the brand.

Community members weighed in on the product itself, its name, packaging and pricing.  The company was able to significantly accelerate its “innovation cycle,” save the cost of engaging a naming company, and coordinate expedited consumer research leading to a new hit product. 

The process was sort of summed up as using social media “as a feed into innovation.”  Not placing it in a silo but making it an integrated part of their business. This is a path we’ll see more and more companies taking in the months and years ahead.

While we’re told the recession is over or coming to an end, new studies referenced in an article published in today’s NY Times show that, in light of economic circumstances, coupon redemption is way up over the last 12 months, especially for food/groceries.  Here are some quick stats:

• Redemption up 10% in Q4 2008
• Redemption up 23% in the first half of 2009
• Coupon use up 14% by young, single consumers in 2009
• Redemption of digital (web & phone) coupons up 25% in first half of 2009

Even with that last stat – 25% growth in digital coupons – research shows that digital coupons still account for less than one-half of one percent of all coupons distributed.  Why? The primary reason seems to be that old habits die hard.  This appears to be true from the marketer’s angle (they’ve always distributed coupons in newspapers) and the consumer’s perspective (they’re used to clipping coupons from newspapers).

That said a number of factors are converging, making electronic coupons a more relevant part of the marketing mix, certainly worthy of testing.  These are:

1. Youth: Probably spurred by economic factors, young consumers are taking advantage of coupons – providing a great opportunity for CPG companies to reach new audiences.  Of course, today’s younger consumers are tomorrow’s heads of households. 
2. Mobile: New technologies and systems like those from Cellfire are making instant, mobile coupons (and associated sampling) a reality.  This is an important trend, especially as it concerns younger consumers that are more likely to have a mobile/smartphone at the center of their day-to-day endeavors.
3. Newspapers: Weekend newspapers are still the dominant means of coupon distribution however, it’s no secret that newspaper circulation is declining –especially among younger people, who favor accessing news via the web or other electronic channels.  In many geographic areas, printed newspapers have ceased to exist completely.

In the not-too-distant future, it will be critical to use digital channels (including coupons) to reach significant demographic chunks that don’t read newspapers.

Here are some links to some related sites of interest:

www.coupons.com
www.cellfire.com
www.redplum.com
www.selectcouponprogram.com
www.freebies4mom.com

Will the ascent of social media as a key communication tool (especially among the movie industry’s core target audience of 12 – 34 year olds) herald a corresponding ascent in the quality of films produced in Hollywood? Unfortunately, that probably won’t happen.   – Too many factors seem to be at play in the proliferation of bad or boring studio movies.

But according to industry vets including Peter Guber, the former chairman of Sony Pictures as quoted in a NY Times story today, the immediacy of Twitter, Facebook and text messaging “has made it much harder for studios to trick consumers into thinking the movie is worth their time.”

The Times story is ostensibly about the diminishing ability of mega-stars to drive folks to theaters on opening weekends and beyond.  It quotes economists that believe marquee names have long been unable to drive box office results big enough to validate their paychecks.   However, it seems that this fact has accelerated significantly over the past twelve months with the ascent of social media and growing penetration of smart phones.

This convergence of events is especially worrisome for Hollywood studios that routinely place $200 million dollar bets on products that historically need to capture the public’s imagination (and money) over the course of a 3-day weekend.  -- The combination of the immediacy of social nets to deliver unfiltered, trusted messages along with make or break opening weekend hysteria is a toxic combination for movie makers.

But this is a lesson that should be paid attention to by marketers of all stripes: it’s getting harder to get over on audiences (see ‘Land of the Lost’) but companies that deliver great products (Flip Video, MadMen, Chevy Camaro) that generate genuine consumer excitement are destined to be winners.

Many folks that know me know that in the aftermath of the 2001 dot-com crash, I opened a restaurant in NYC's West Village with the belief that there was no long-term future in running a digital agency.  After working 2 jobs for 3 years I (thankfully) figured out that my future actually was in digital marketing but that's not really the point of this post...

Believe it or not, my involvement in the food biz somewhat naturally led to a broader interest in food, cooking, restaurants, etc. that persists to this day.  So, yesterday, when reading a blog post from outgoing NY Times food critic Frank Bruni, I was struck for the first time by parallels in the process of creating great digital experiences and creating a great restaurant.  (In many ways, this is sort of an extension of my last blog post.)

In a companion piece to his 4-star review of Eleven Madison Park, Bruni explained how and why a restaurant that merited a mere 2-stars five years ago, could elevate itself to the rarefied world of 4-star dining.

1. According to Bruni, Eleven Madison Park was a restaurant that insisted on improving. How? Discipline, perfectionism, and impeccably high standards.  Similarly, without these kind of aspirations in digital marketing, it’s impossible to achieve 4-star results. 

In digital marketing, there’s an also an understanding that a key component of achieving these type of standards is to meet data-driven key performance indicators.  And that rigorous, on-going testing, measurement and optimization is the logical, rational path to success. 

2. “Restaurants do improve in fundamental, noteworthy ways, taking customer feedback and reviewers’ comments to heart.”  This is a great parallel for embracing customer insights accrued within social media campaigns, via usability testing or through other feedback mechanisms.

3. Desire To Share: In the same way that most of today’s most successful digital marketing campaigns harness consumers’ desire to share experiences via Twitter, Facebook and other social networking channels, Bruni factors his eagerness to tell people about the dishes he’d had and the pleasure he’d experienced into his measures of success.

4. Gut Feeling: Bruni explains that at the end of the day, the difference between a 3 and 4 star rating isn’t necessarily scientific.  His years of experience give him valuable criteria for analysis, in the same way that a deep track record in digital marketing provide great insights into the success or failure of specific campaigns or components therof.

Restaurants have been around forever but digital marketing is still a relatively new field.  (At Flightpath we often reference our “constantly evolving skillset”.)  So, I think we’re fortunate to be able to derive good ideas and best practices from examples of excellence that are all around us – even if they’re decidedly un-digital.

It’s always interesting to me when I hear about people in completely foreign lines of work that share similar professional challenges to those of us in the digital marketing industry.  Over the weekend, I was confronted with two very interesting stories that seemed aligned with some of the issues we face when developing and rolling out web sites intended to achieve business goals on behalf of Flightpath clients. 

While stuck in traffic on Friday, I heard a story on NPR about the Airtrain that connects JFK airport to the NYC subway system.  As reported by WNYC’s Andrea Bernstein, five years after its inception, the AirTrain draws 5 million passengers a year despite confusing signage and insufficient passenger information.  Listening to the story, I couldn’t help but draw parallels to challenges we face in creating simple, usable, user-friendly web sites.  This is a fascinating story for anyone who creates web sites or is considering commissioning creation of one.

Next, the weekly Public Editor column in Sunday’s New York Times titled ‘How Did This Happen?’ chronicled a comedy of errors (seven, in fact) that made their way into Times reporting rushed into print around the death of Walter Cronkite.  The newspaper printed wrong dates, incorrect information about Cronkite’s work, and more. 

Apparently, many of rules and processes the Times employs to check facts and approve stories fell by the wayside as they rushed to meet deadlines.  Anyone that’s ever been involved in web site quality assurance will likely understand the cascade of events chronicled in this thought-provoking story and remember checks and balances they’ve implemented in order to circumvent similar problems.

Author Clark Hoyt explains that ‘seemingly little mistakes, when they come in such big clusters, undermine the authority of a newspaper.’  The same holds true for a web site.

Steve Caputo, President of Strobe Promotions, Inc. visited Flightpath today and gave a general presentation to the staff on the future of digital marketing and promotions.  Some of Steve’s major points/themes included:

•  By and large, promotions are serving the same functions as they were in the days of the Betty Crocker Recipe Contest 50 years ago, but by leveraging digital channels they can be more intimate, immediate, interactive and inexpensive.
• If you’re considering launching a promotion, it’s a great idea to build up a strong Twitter following first so that your followers can jumpstart the promotion.
• Facebook and Twitter are fast becoming key components to many successful promotions.
• The future of digital marketing and promotions will leverage new platforms and technologies such as apps, GPS, 2D barcodes, RFID, bluecasting and augmented reality.
• The key to any successful promotion remains clear definition of overall marketing objectives and a clear understanding of what you’re trying to achieve.

Many thanks to Steve for a very informative presentation.

Effective use of a confluence of digital media by Starbucks resulted in two free breakfasts for me this morning.  The smart marketers at Starbucks published a coupon offering a free breakfast pastry with the purchase of a cup of coffee from opening until 10:30 am today. As so often happens, this thing made it to my inbox virally after a friend of a colleague had posted it on Facebook.

But one unique innovation made this offer exceptionally easy to redeem.  The coupon read “print this invitation or show to a barista on your hand-held device at a participating U.S. Starbucks store…”  (The fact that they call thing an “invitation” instead of “coupon” seems quite noteworthy too, but I’ll save that for another blog post.) 

What’s so innovative about this? Well, the fact that I don’t even bother having to print the thing out makes it super simple to redeem and share.  Because the “invitation” is available for such a short window, the possibility of fraud seems pretty inconsequential.  On the backend, the baristas are keying it into their POS system with the appropriate tracking code anyway, so it’s one less piece of paper/trash they’ve got to deal with.  And on top of all this, as an environmentally sensitive company, there’s the benefit of enabling consumers to participate without having to print/waste another piece paper.

On Tuesdays, I’m typically up early, so I started by redeeming the thing in a Starbucks near my apartment.  Around 7am, the folks at the counter didn’t seem to flinch when I showed them the coupon on my phone.  By 9am (time for a second cup of coffee), at the Starbucks near my office, I could see the cashier had some coupon print-outs near her station when I flashed the phone at her.  Apparently, no one had yet redeemed the thing via their device as she quickly conferred with a colleague before getting the nod and ringing me up.

Whether you like them or loathe them, kudos to Starbucks for a smart, simple breakthrough in digital marketing.

Flightpath regularly shares the opinion that social media is exceptionally well-tailored for furthering the interests of non-profit organizations.  More than for many for-profit brands, non-profits can benefit from a strong presence on places like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube for reasons including:

• Participants in social networks often share common interests
• Social networks are a great forum for sharing altruistic goals
• The immediacy of social networks allows for rapid organization and easy dissemination of breaking news
• Tools built into many platforms allow for turnkey advocacy around issues and instant fundraising

Last month, we presented a NY Social Media Roundtable event dedicated to the topic of Social Media and non-profits.   With this background, it’s fascinating to see protesters in Iran, adopting these same media in order to meet similar needs and achieve comparable types of goals. 

Yesterday’s New York Times included a fascinating article, titled “Social Networks Spread Defiance Online,” detailing how Iran’s opposition forces are utilizing Facebook, Twitter, et al to pursue their interests.  (Required reading for anyone interested in this stuff.)  Today’s paper followed up with fascinating commentary from Thomas Friedman, portraying today’s Iranian adopters of social media as members of a virtual mosque, with the caveat that guns may still trump tweets.

While we hope for the flowering of democracy and the rule of law, it’s still unknown how things will shake out in Iran.  Nonetheless, the events of this week clearly mark a sea change in how dissidents interact with each other and with their governments via the intrinsic power of social media.   This situation is certainly being monitored by regimes the world over.  If I were one of the Castro brothers, I’d be very concerned about my future.