Nov 30, 2010 | Branding, Collaboration, Social Media
One of my consistent themes has been the power of a group to get stuff done, and the ways the web facilitates, and empowers the processes needed to get the stuff done by the group.
However, which is the chicken, and which is the egg?
There are no groups without members, and the “members” need a motivation to form, be a part of, and contribute to a group, in a way that enhances the outcomes for the group.
As a marketer, it is our task to find that motivation, and use it to build a network, group if you like, of those to whom the value proposition of the product/service being marketed adds value.
Nov 15, 2010 | Branding, Customers, Marketing, Social Media
I am a member of three frequent flier programs, Qantas, Virgin and Singapore, and get frequent updates, offers, and spam from all three, all ignored.
I know where and why my business is split, but they do not, and none have ever asked me the question, although it would be very valuable information to have, not just for me, as my expenditure would hardly rate as significant, but at a macro level. If they had the information, and could mine it, and develop programs that may make them more relevant to me, and presumably many other consumers.
Well, that is coming.
The emerging location tools of the mobile world are going to offer the possibility that Qantas will be able to track my presence in an airport and know when I am not booked to travel with them.
Intrusive perhaps, but valuable consumer share of wallet information if they cared to ask why I travelled with one and not another in any given circumstance.
Nov 3, 2010 | Branding, Leadership, Personal Rant, Strategy
The new focus on Rural and regional Australia (R&RA) in the current parliament has great merit in ways hard to quantify.
The nature of “Brand Australia”, how we see ourselves, has always been about the wide brown land, the sunburnt country, the Akubra hatted drover gazing into the sunset, however much that sense is a myth, given the urban nature of the population, it nevertheless defined us.
Over the last 50 years a steady erosion of the rural population has occurred, and an erosion of the support infrastructure has followed, schools, hospitals, communities with insufficient size to be sustainable, coupled with the levels of immigrants who have no connection to the myth, and this has had, and will inevitably continue to have an impact on the psyche of the country.
How you put a value on this Australian psyche I have no idea, but I hope that the independents last long enough to make an impact that lasts, and that they do not become subsumed in the Canberra Politic” as I am sure that the value they can add to the sense of who we are will be greater than anything treasury can put a figure on.
Nov 1, 2010 | Branding, Communication, Innovation, Marketing, Social Media
The communication alternatives are mind-boggling today, but sometimes someone comes up with an innovative way to combine them. Imagine Social Responsibility Marketing linked with social networking and the broadcast media, backed by comment around the world, for what must be a pretty modest outlay compared to, say, a 30 second ad spot in the superbowl that few remember. Pretty cool!.
“Chalkbot” did it brilliantly for Nike during the recent Tour de France, just how you measure the impact is a tricky question, but the value must be huge, and it is going viral, so will multiply for Nike and cancer awareness over time. Next year will be “huger”
Nike is a consistently brilliant marketer, they may have plenty of $ to splash around, but they just go to the essence of brand-building by grabbing people by the heart, not the wallet, and not letting go.
Sep 28, 2010 | Branding, Communication, Customers, Social Media
Social media, as I keep saying, has changed the rules completely.
In the pre-digital days of mass marketing, the consumer simply ignored most of the stuff thrown at them, and there was no genuinely effective mechanism to measure the waste.
Now, using the tools of the web the task has changed, as we can measure many dimensions of a messages effectiveness very quickly, and effectively, so the waste is measurable, and the degree of engagement, or “opt-in” becomes a key performance measure of marketing.
This is a whole lot harder than going to lunch with the ad agency, and then just throwing money at the TV or popular magazine in the hope that some of it would stick, as we can now measure not just awareness, but the degree of consumer “opt-in” any communication generates.
Sep 8, 2010 | Branding, Marketing, Small business
Many companies face the challenge of commercial sustainability in mature markets, with declining patronage, increasing costs, and often a fatalistic view of the future.
Last year, I went with a couple of my kids to a performance of ‘A midsummer nights dream” in the Sydney Domain. Wonderful!.
This performance recognises there is an untapped market for these wonderful plays amongst people who would be unlikely to be theatre goers in the “normal” sense, i.e., they do not subscribe to a theatre season, or frequent Shakespeare performances, but the less formal, relatively cheap experience of seeing a classic comedy play under the stars, enjoying a picnic on a summer evening is irresistible to some of those missed by traditional theatre marketing.
What a great way to introduce new customers to Sir Bill, and perhaps convert them to regulars, opening new avenues for exploration, a lesson for others in mature markets?.
