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.

Brands usually do everything to not act or talk stupid, in public or anywhere their consumers may see them. You could also say it’s usually not smart to act stupid, to share your inner stupidness in social situations, included social media. But Diesel shows just how compelling, how insightful from a brand positioning, messaging and target demo perspective a “little stupid” can be!

Diesel’s recent campaign “Be Stupid” is a total deep integrated marketing dive -- digitally/socially, store level, traditional media -- into creating a counter cultural POV. A total “We”, not “Them” state of mind. Simply, “Be Stupid” is the ideological twin of Apple’s historic “Think Different” campaign.  It took an Einstein to bring Apple’s effort to life.  The face of a genius was not needed here, just the face of a bold brand to drive real relevance for a consumer looking for the "it" to put down real dough in order to be part of something real…stupid!

The “Be Stupid” campaign featured an extremely engaging, very elegantly simple word based video that told the stupid story on their site, via YouTube, Facebook and other places-http://www.diesel.com/be-stupid/. It tells how easy it is to be smart, how expected it is to do the “smart thing” and how being stupid (aka a “contrarian”) takes the stuff of real stuff…another aka -- “balls”! The video is one great piece of communication, but not the only one. The outdoor posters riff off the same song sheet and the sentiment on the retail windows are real world “social media” looking to literally bring you in.

Eye candy today is everywhere. It’s the reality of our rich graphical playing field. But, Diesel’s “Be Stupid” effort shows why a really well thought out marketing idea that makes people think beyond the brand, will always be the smartest way to elevate a brand.

This stupid post was written by Cliff Medney and designed by Ryan Kitson!

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.

Here’s hoping that little cyber Groundhog doesn’t see his shadow on the internet today.  Then he’ll be able to chatter his little teeth together, put his nose to the ground, and start sniffing out a whole new perspective for 2010. 

Five digital marketing trends I would gladly wave goodbye to:

1. Template Flash-Game Banner Ads – Wherever I’m at on the internet—reading an article, browsing product reviews, searching for tech support—the last thing I want to do is  STOP what I’m doing and throw a frame of virtual ten pin.  This is just not an enticing offer, and when it comes from a one-stop-shop website for flash banners, it doesn't portray the product or service in a unique way whatsoever.  Flash games can definitely be fun, but make sure your consumers want one and make it original.

2. Keyword-Stuffed Websites – I’m a human being not a piece of software.  This means that I have a really low tolerance for repetition, especially in sales copy, and all those unnecessary keywords start to bore me quickly.  When I land on a site that’s stuffed full of keywords and zero content, I start to think the product might be full of similar flaws.

3. Relentless Pop-Up Ads – You know the ones that appear out of nowhere and, with Gladiator strength, obstruct your browser window.  The animation is swirling and flashing all over the screen and finding the minimize button is a needle-in-the-haystack type of quest.  After much anxiety and obnoxious distraction, you can finally move on to whatever it was you were doing before you were digitally assaulted. 

4. Targeted Social Media Ads – Believe it or not, I don’t really mind being marketed to when I’m on Facebook.  The ads don’t really bother me because they’re nicely sequestered to the margins, but I really DO mind the content.  Ads that have fished my user profile and responded with teeth whitening discounts for New York City copywriters make me feel the exact opposite of special.  I don’t mind that they’re fishing per se, but they could bait that hook with something a little more creative. 

5. Irrelevant Landing Pages – Sometimes, I think landing pages were created in a vacuum, free from all external influence and completely void of oxygen.   There’s just no other explanation for landing pages that don’t align with the PPC ad or other link you’ve clicked on.  Consistency and relevancy really matter in targeted, niche markets, and when I get to a landing page that doesn’t fulfill my expectations, I leave. 

So if all goes well today and one cyber Groundhog pops his head up and finds himself out of the shadow poor digital marketing campaigns, my top 5 just might become obsolete.  It’s not real likely, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed anyway.

 

 

 

Foursquare has been living in the social media spotlight.  Sure, it is fun for users; you virtually check-in at certain venues across your city and receive digital badges and accolades for frequenting select spots. But, what do businesses have to gain from Foursquare? What business model will this new chosen one of social media show us in 2010 that will solidify it as a digital tool and not just a trending topic?

Among the best recent news out of 4sq headquarters is the announcement of global domination. Though the game was once restricted to specific cities  with numerous venues within each, you can now check-in from any location across the world, and any venue in any location is fair game. This global awakening is just the first step in providing access to millions of businesses’ who couldn’t reach users before.

No venues? No problem! In 2009, 4sq partnered with Motorola for its CLIQ and DROID parties. When the party elite arrived at New York City's Morimoto restaurant and pulled out their gadget of choice to check-in, they were greeted with a Foursquare surprise! Upon check-in, they received a special message encouraging them to tweet with a suggested hashtag and giving a few lines of info on the party. Though Foursquare has made it's rounds encouraging venues to offer incentives and deals, in terms of temporary events, this was a first. And, by enabling this check-in, Foursquare made it easy for bloggers and microbloggers to share information from this event.

Also on the horizon for the GPS based app, don't be surprised if you see Facebook-like fan or business profiles. Though every Foursquare user is provided with a profile, A venue could potentially work with the company to create branded top user and mayor lists, incentives clubs, and daily specials. Brooklyn Museum, for example, is one of the first company's to use this model by providing a great to-do list for museum go-ers and locals interested in arts and culture. The online savvy hot-spot lists staff picks in the area and links to a mobile site where users can find out more about the art on display.Effectively, you would check-in upon arrival to the museum, via Foursquare, click over to the mobile site to browse the galleries, and click back over to the staff picks list when it's time to head to dinner. Pretty effective planning on the part of the museum.

With the many incentives Foursquare can create to draw new business, locate where patrons visit the most, and entice frequent trips, this start up has definitely proven its worth in terms of a steady business plan. Though they are closely related, and often thought of as a predecessor of Twitter, I wouldn't expect a Twitter-like wait for this business model to become mainstream. Though some of these initiatives are still in beta or early form, they are paving a path for future business models, as well  

 

  

Two weeks ago I participated in the Word of Mouth Marketing Association Conference, dealing with Social Media, communities, digital branding, and, of course, straight word of mouth marketing techniques. WOMMA prides itself on grassroots marketing and crowd-sourcing content, reviews, even customer service: in short, letting the consumer take the wheel.

Because of the hands-on consumer approach of these sort of marketing campaigns, the topic of ethics is an enormous deal, and always on the tip of WOMMA presenter tongues. This conference was no different. In fact, taking place just days before FTC blogger regulations were to go into effect, ethics and morality in digital marketing was a theme that panels could not shake.

So, diving deeper into Social Media, where can we expect to come across ethical issues? And what place do ethics really have in Social Media? For a brand that’s using this digital outlet correctly, ethics is the cornerstone.

Transparency. When dealing with, or inside a large brand, being completely transparent may seem like it’s not an option. Every company makes mistakes, has products that don’t go as expected, and experiences a little negative feedback. Instead of choosing to deny these shortcomings, use that moral know-how and be transparent. Honesty gives you credit with both fan and foe and you’ll be surprised when others come to the rescue for you.

Privacy. On the frontline of Social Media outlets like Twitter and Facebook, you might come very close to a few cases of TMI with consumers, partners, and other businesses. It might be tempting to use the personal info you view in the digisphere for your own good, but think twice. Those who let you into their personal networks are showing you that they have placed a certain amount of trust in you. There’s a reason why Facebook needs to correct its privacy statements every few months.

Customer Service. We’ve all been there. An angry consumer who has had a bad experience can sometimes be too quick to take it out on the first person they deal with, even thought it might not be the best outlet. Instead of feeding off that anger, get to the bottom of the situation. If you’re being totally honest with yourself, every spitting angry consumer that reaches you is just another opportunity to right a wrong that can make your biz or product 100% better.

Respect. Treat those in your network as you’d want to be treated. Keep the posting to a minimum, keep it relevant, and let fans and followers know what they’re getting. When you humanize your business with these very flesh and blood tactics, you’ll be treated as a human- as a friend, too.  

 

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

Google announced last week that it is ready to begin its DoubleClick AdExchange.  AdAge reports:

The AdExchange works similarly [to how the search market matches ad buyers and ad impressions in real time], but for display advertising. It also includes integration with Google's search ad-sales system, with the idea that it will let search advertisers move money more easily to display and vice versa. In addition, all of Google's network inventory will be available as part of the exchange . . .

The exchange draws criticism from advertising leaders for failing to offer quality inventory based in genuine relevance because of a focus on moving ads as part of exchanges with other exchange centers that are already part of the display-advertising marketplace, but where Google's offer differs in the combination of its transparency and scalability. 

This combination of offers has always been the advantage of Google's advertising programs--any advertiser who has tested click-based against impression-based programs knows that quality scores and targets require a fine balance and that tinkering with that balance within each program is vital to return on investment. 

 

 

The criticism, then, that the DoubleClick exchange's weakness is its inability guarantee quality is no different than any criticism that one could make against any Google advertising program.  Advertisements ranked by quality scores--indeed, advertisements in any channel--have only ever been as good as the creative and marketing teams behind them.  Consumers do not respond to poor-quality ads in any channel.  The fact that Google traditionally rewards advertisements that will generate responses because they are constructed well--and that it continues to do so in new mediums--doesn't change that much from the perspective of a consumer market that benefits from additional creative display and more focused and scalable targeting.  

In that context, the criticism of "But will it be any good?" seems a bit like it's based in the straw-man and red-herring fallacies, whereby those that have an interest in maintaining premium, static pricing on digital-advertising real estate find it a protective necessity to play only with the major players within a narrow range of price points.  

This is where we find the true genius in the new exchange.  Before advertisers even begin to consider the elements of paid-search marketing, the core offers on their websites must be relevant, high-quality offers, and organic search concepts, arguably the foundation of search marketing, allow even the minor players to optimize and sustain competitiveness through the idea of the long tail, a frequency-distribution concept that means businesses sell less quantity of more unique unit types.  When sites communicate relevance for a specific product, that product gains visibility in search-engine results because it is focused to a specific target's need or needs.  

Google's DoubleClick AdExchange allows a similar focused targeting and scalability, only, now, advertisers can marry these benefits with high-impact creative, which has previously been limited to a mostly static, contract marketplace.  What this means for advertisers is that the best of all worlds are now coming together, so that the real opportunity of the DoubleClick AdExchange network is exactly that for which some are criticizing it--everyone now has the ability to compete based on merit, as measured by consumer response, across all playing fields, regardless of scale.     

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.

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.