Cymfony's Influence 2.0

Blog Bits - Week of March 20th

Here is an interesting blog to visit:  Customer Listening: Markets are "Conversations"...Brands are you Really Listening?  The description of the blog can help give you an idea of its content:

The world is changing, marketing is changing, today, more than ever, consumers - your   customers are in control. Marketers, brands you need to evolve and listen to the ones that make you alive...the ones that buy your products, recommend them to others, and have ideas to evolve them. STOP TALKING, STOP ASKING, and start LISTENING & CONVERSING. Brands you either listen and adapt or die... Do you really think you have the choice?

The latest post is on how focus groups don’t work as well as marketers think because the discussions are “fake.”  The author, Laurent Flores, compares focus groups to an aquarium, the fish in the aquarium may be real but the way they are featured is not, it is completely artificial – the same way a focus group is set up.  So what should you do instead of use focus groups?  Flores recommends, “Go in the street, talk, and listen to people. They have millions of things to say, be natural and listen..."Netography" or the science of listening to consumers on the Internet is there to help.”

Check out Marsha Gellar’s latest article “Are Newspapers and TV dying?” In this iMedia Connection article Gellar discusses the latest data from the Pew Internet Project on how the growth of online news-gathering is mirroring the growth of broadband adoption, a new study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, a survey released at the annual Association of National Advertisers that concludes TV advertising is becoming less and less effective, and more.  Some stats that Gellar points out in this article are:

• 50 million Americans turn to the internet for news on a typical day.
• For broadband internet users, online news is a more regular part of the daily news diet than is the local paper. Not surprisingly, for home dial-up users, online news is not as much an everyday activity.
• Over the last four years, overall internet penetration rose from 58 percent of all adult Americans to 70 percent, and home broadband penetration grew from 20 million people (or 10 percent of adult Americans) to 74 million people (37 percent of adult Americans).
• According to the ANA, 78 percent of respondents to the study think TV advertising is less effective than it was two years ago, mainly due to the proliferation of digital video recorders that allow users to skip commercials.

Dispatch from the ARF Engagement Metrics Panel

Yesterday morning, the Advertising Research Foundation ReThink! conference explored in depth the idea of “engagement” as a consumer-centric metric to supplement if not replace the traditional media-centric metrics of impressions, GRPs and reach/frequency.

I’m biased of course, but I see the analysis of consumer-generated media playing an important role as marketers move toward the future of engagement as a central principle.

Joe Plummer, the ARF's Chief Research Officer, kicked off the morning summarizing the work of the committee and presenting this definition of engagement:

Engagement is turning on a prospect to a brand idea enhance by the surrounding context.

He went on to define "turning on" as "activating associations and metaphors so the prospect co-creates brand meaning."

So here's the central paradox of the idea of engagement as a metric: it is fundamentally a “soft” concept in a world demanding more and more hard metrics

Jean-Louis Laborie, Global Research & Development Director for Integration Marketing & Communications, demonstrated some progress toward resolving this paradox. He granted the point that engagement is attitudinal, and as such, can only be a relative measure, e.g., this consumer is more engaged than the other consumer. An objective scale of engagement is probably impossible. He showed indices his company is developing for consumer engagement with media and brands.

Why CGM has a role: CGM is a qualitative data source in high volume. Applying the right analytic tools and techniques can identify brand associations with quantitative rigor.

Other notable comments from the session:

Ted McConnell, Manager of Interactive Marketing Innovation, P&G, quoted this excerpt from the World Federation of Advertisers’ Blueprint for Consumer-Centric Holistic Measurement:

We know our consumers beyond demographics and get info about them in a very timely manner. We truly understand their multi-media behavior and respect their privacy.

Ted also had one of the most quotable quotes of the day: “We should measure share of choice, not share of voice.” He didn't elaborate on what he meant, but I interpret it to mean simply counting the number of impressions we deliver in an ad campaign is inadequate; we need to shift the perspective to the consumer reaction or behavior that is the result of those impressions.

Why CGM has a role: CGM is both timely and revealing of consumer attitudes and habits: it is available continuously in real-time, and this spontaneous voice of the consumer provides insight into consumer feelings. And because Cymfony analyzes both CGM and mainstream media, we can track how mainstream media is impacting these feelings.

Greg Smith, EVP Media Insights, Planning & Analysis, Carat Fusion, had one of the other most quotable quotes: “Today’s media choices allow us to paint our brand story in color; current metrics only measure black and white in b/w.”

Why CGM has a role: Greg is agreeing with the WFA vision of understanding more about consumers than dry facts. In CGM, consumers share their motivations, needs, wishes and other  colorful details. Extracting the essence of these emotional characteristics from CGM and overlaying it on the demographics statistics will put flesh and bones on our statistics.

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Survey: Corporate Blogging Best Practices

Take this survey to help create a benchmark for how much time, effort, and resources companies are devoting to monitoring the blogosphere and to creating their own blogs.

In the past couple of years, a lot has been written about why companies should have blogs, and why they need to tune in to consumer-generated media, as well as examples of the benefits of doing a good job and the horror stories when things go bad. But I haven't seen much if anything about how to do it. How many blogs should a company have? What tools do they use to monitor blogs? How much time does all this take?

Cymfony has teamed up with Porter-Novelli to field this survey with Russell Research to gather the answers to these questions. Please take 10 minutes or so to share your experience. Your answers will be anonymous and you will receive a summary of the results to thank you for participating.

And check back here over the next month for topline results and an announcement of a webinar reviewing the detailed findings.

Thanks! To get started click on this link: Corporate Blogs: Best Practice

Technorati tags:

Corporate blog Corporate Blogging Business Blogging Professional blogging Blogging Blogs

Blog Bits - Week of March 13th

In the spirit of March Madness, here is a post for all of you basketball fans...

John Moore of Brand Autopsy posts Marketingology meets Bracketology.  In his post he leads us to the Shotgun Marketing Blog which shows how businesses engage in marketing in much the same way people fill-out their NCAA Brackets.  Moore’s favorite comparison is:

NCAA Bracket - After you fill out the bracket, pay into the pot, and tape your bracket to the wall, you no longer have any control. The teams will make or break you.
MARKETING - You can develop a great marketing plan and set it into motion, but in the end, it's your good/bad choices and the mindset of the market that will determine how it turns out.

I agree with Moore’s pick but for the sake of being different, I’ll go with my favorite being:

NCAA Bracket - Filling out a bracket doesn't necessarily mean that you know what you're doing
MARKETING - Placing and ad in the paper or a spot on the TV/radio doesn't necessarily mean that you are marketing.

Go Grizzlies!!! Who are you rooting for?

On a completely different topic from March Madness, John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing posts “What's The Opposite of Love?”  In this post, Jantsch discusses how this famous quote by Elie Wiesel is really more to point in business and in life. 

“The opposite of love is indifference. If people don't love your business, it's unlikely that they hate it. If they don't care they just won't do anything. What I'm getting at here is negative feedback from your clients and prospects. While it may feel hard to accept - I say welcome and embrace it. If you're not getting any negative feedback, it may not be because all is well, it may in fact be because they don't care enough to tell you.” 

Jantsch goes on to give examples on how to handle negative feedback and even provides an example of a real complaint that he received and his response. 

NY Times Gets Stealth Marketing Wrong

A New York Times article titled "For Tobacco, Stealth Marketing Is the Norm" is dead wrong. The marketing tactics cited are legitimate and pragmatic, even innovative given the constraints on tobacco marketing. They don't match WOMMA's definition of stealth marketing: tactics that attempt to hide the marketer's identity and fool the consumer. The Word of Mouth Marketing industry needs to keep this definition sharp to avoid confusion and keep the focus on the illegitimate practices that could undermine consumer trust.

Catching up on my reading this weekend, I read this article accusing the tobacco industry of using stealth marketing. But the tactics cited are "direct mail, coupon discounts, and promotional efforts for its database of smokers." Author Julie Bosman also uses the example of a new product, the Marlboro Menthol 72, "a shorter cigarette intended for a shorter smoking break" and a lower cost generic product. Her final example is RF Reynolds opening a tobacco lounge in Chicago in response the a citywide ban on smoking.

To me, this isn't stealth, it is creative, pragmatic marketing responding to the many restrictions the industry faces. But "stealth" marketing? Not in the definition that our industry is using.

WOMMA has developed a detailed definition of stealth marketing. The short version is anything that attempts to deceive the consumer, using a fake identity when contacting a consumer, hiding the marketers' involvement, etc.

These tobacco examples do none of these. The databases are pure opt-in; consumers know they are signing up for mailings from tobacco companies, so there's no deception there. The new products are smart marketing: adapting the features to changing circumstances in the market. The tobacco lounge: maybe this one is on the edge since it is the "Marshall McGearty Tobacco Lounge" (whoever he is) and not the RJ Reynolds lounge. But this seems no more deceptive than using a character like Ronald McDonald or the Jolly Green Giant to promote a product. On the other hand, it clearly declares it is for smokers, and is licensed as a retail tobacco store. Smokers know it is for them, non-smokers know not to go there. Where is the deception?

Many people don't like the idea of the tobacco industry doing any marketing, and perhaps this journalist is one of them. To them it doesn't seem "right" that a company should provide incentives to continue or increase use of a product when that use may lead to serious long-term health problems. There is grounds for a debate about the ethics involved, but that is a different issue than whether this is stealth.

This isn't a matter of splitting semantic hairs. The WOM industry needs to keep the definition of stealth marketing pure so we can focus on marketers whose abusive tactics could further alienate consumers from the marketing process. It is important that we don't allow stealth to be confused with legitimate marketers using honest tactics for products that some consider unsavory.

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My other technology obsession -- alternative energy

I admit it: I'm a sucker for innovative, energy-saving products even if the savings never pay back the higher cost. But my reasons are more complex than showing off to others my environmental concern. And herein is a lesson for marketers about balancing rational and emotional messages to maximum effect.

Since it is Sunday, I will depart from my usual policy of only posting on topics relevant to marketing to vent about a New York Times article I read this week, "Why Appliances Buck the Trend and Cost More." But stick with me, there are marketing lessons here as well.

The author starts from an interesting premise, that while electronic gear packs more features every year, prices decline rapidly for PCs, flat panel TVs etc. "White goods" (refrigerators, washers/dryers, dishwashers, etc) have been increasing their prices while adding electronic controls, water/energy saving features, etc.

Why can one type of product get away with price increases while the other gets into a death-spiral of decreasing prices? The author comes to the conclusion that consumers are actually buying the styling and the look of the appliances, and justifying it with the savings, even though in many cases the higher price more that offsets any dollar savings from energy efficiency.

I can't argue with any of that. The line that ticks me off is when the author draws a parallel between the success of appliances like the high-style, high-end Whirlpool Duet and the Toyota Prius, he says: "The Prius is a feel-good car that runs on sanctimony as much as battery power." Reporter Damon Darlin gets it wrong on two counts:

1) Ask any automotive marketer and they'll tell you that every car purchase is fueled by some emotional reason, and not by gasoline. Why do we never see car reviews that deride Ford F150  or Nissan Titan purchases as a "feel macho car that runs on male insecurity" or a Volvo purchase as a "feel safe car that runs on family protection paranoia"?

2) As a 2002 Prius owner, there is a deeper message we are trying to tell the auto industry: we, the car-driving public, want to see change. We understand the impact our use of the automobile has on the planet, our national security, and the global geopolitical situation, but in our society a car is a necessity. Car makers must get over their thinking that increasing the cost of the automobile will cut into sales -- that only applies to indistinguishable and undistinguised run-of-the-mill models that make up the bulk of their boring product lines. If they come up with something truly unique, with real benefits, there is a market for it.

Since Prius sales have gone from 20,000 to 200,000, there are now 7 other hybrid models on the market, and even GM is getting into the market this statement is starting to have the desired impact. Not to mention the talk of "plug-in hybrids", flexible fuel vehicles, biodiesel, etc. I'd say the automakers are not hearing the sounds of sanctimony, but of cash registers ringing.

Since the days of the early '90's, environmentally-responsible products have failed to go mainstream based on their earth-saving benefits alone: think recycled content paper towels, organic foods, compact fluorescent light bulbs. If it takes wrapping these features in attractive styling and positioning the whole thing as upscale, cutting edge technology, so be it. Just get more of the products into use.

Enough for the Sunday sermon, back to the marketing lesson.

First, truly new, innovative products have talk value. If I'm excited about the fact my washing machine uses 1/3 the water of a normal machine, I'll tell people. I told Pete Blackshaw about my Prius and he went out and bought a Honda Civic Hybrid (see our WOMMA presentation, "A Tale of Two Hybrids"). In the new world of WOM, consumer-generated media, etc. be sure your marketing plan incorporates strategies and tactics that leverage this talk value to amplify your product's differentiation.

Second, consumers do not make a simple, rational decisions to buy things, even such mundane items as appliances. Emotional needs are the real drivers, but people don't want to feel ruled by their whims; they want to be able to explain a purchase rationally. When you find that combination that drives sales in your product category, you'll have a winner.

PS: I also have solar photovoltaic panels on my house, the Miele front-loading, low-water/low-energy washing machine, and all Energy Star appliances. If you want to thoroughly understand my reasons for being environmentally conscious, read Paul Hawken's "The Ecology of Commerce."

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Cymfony's Blogoversary and a Fond Farewell

Cymfony's Marketing Insight blog is celebrating its first anniversary this month.  I can't believe it's been an entire year since I created this site and wrote my first blog post.  We've since added contributors from many internal teams including account management, product development, marketing, sales, engineering and even the executive offices.  Our goal when launching the site was to provide "tips, advice, best practices and market perspective from insiders and guests of the company....on topics such as media measurement, blogging analysis, corporate reputation management, natural language processing and more."  And it still is with some minor tweaks along the way. 

I joined Cymfony in the spring of 2004 to manage corporate communications for the company.  I knew early on I wanted to launch a corporate blog - I just wasnt sure how to do it and to be quite honest, I was very nervous about where it was going to take us. In the begining there were more questions then benefits in my mind...

who should post? what should we write about? what if we say something wrong?   Still, I wanted Cymfony to launch a corporate blog as a communications tool and a resource for customers - a place that Cymfony employees could go to share their perspectives on topics that they want to write about.  I don't edit the site, nor do I approve posts before they go live.  I am far from being considered an  "a list" blogger and our site hasn't made any top 10 lists but we have been successful doing what we set out to do - provide an open dialog in a niche space.

Ironically after a year of posting, today is also my last day at Cymfony.  I'm leaving to help my husband grow his financial services business.  (Who knows, I many even start a blog for Lighthouse Capital Advisers!).  It's been both fun and challenging to keep Cymfony's blog fed with original, insightful, and thought provoking content.  I hope it continues to flourish. 

Best of luck to all and thanks for the adventure.  Keep in touch! Cindy

A Case Study In Development

The CGM world already has a few stand-by examples: the Kryptonite Lock issue, iPod's Dirty Secret, Sony's DRM problems, and now, about to be added to the lexicon, Citibank.

Over the last few days, there's been a growing buzz in the blog world about problems at Citibank, including customer lockouts and system breaches. The first major CGM site to post about it was Boingboing, on Sunday. They followed up with more on Monday, as did Techdirt, security guru Bruce Schneier, and The Consumerist. Other new media sources followed, with Security Focus seeking comment on Monday, and The Register and The Sydney Morning Herald, and MSNBC picking up the story on Tuesday. As of now (3/7/06 - 4:20pm) there's been no US MSM coverage.

On the heels of the Choicepoint scandal, as well as a host of other data-loss/security breach incidents, Citibank is illustrating exactly how NOT to handle a situation. Apparently, someone there thinks keeping consumers in the dark and letting rumors circulate around the internet (or not paying any attention to said rumors) is a better means of building brand equity than coming forward, being honest, and addressing the problem.

In related news, someone might get fired

Learning from Wal-Mart: How NOT to blog

The blogosphere has a distinct culture, and as in any case of trying to acclimate yourself to a new cultural environment, one needs to learn and understand the culture before trying to dive right in and risk being branded as an outsider.

I've been in London for just over a week; it's my first time here in the UK and even though they speak the same language, there is quite a bit of a culture shock. Although there's no hiding the fact that I'm an American (next time, I'll leave the trainers and baseball cap at home), I've had to quickly learn about some of the different customs and different words used here and try to embrace them as well as possible in order to avoid sticking out like a sore thumb, or in this case, the dreaded loud, obnoxious American tourist.

The New York Times reports on how one of Wal-Mart's public relations is utilizing the blogosphere to enhance the company's image:

Wal-Mart Enlists Bloggers in Its Public Relations Campaign

As Wal-Mart has come under increasing attack from various special interest groups and social activists, they've gone on the offensive in trying to defend their image in the public sphere. On the one hand, they've correctly recognized the impact that bloggers can have in shaping public opinion. However, the way they are going about leveraging blogs is contrary to the spirit of blogging and shows a lack of understanding of blog culture.

According to the article, this particular public relations firm hired by Wal-Mart maintains a list of bloggers who they consider to be friendly to their cause. They regularly send out emails to this mailing list offering "suggestions" on what to write about to promote Wal-Mart's image. The article states "In the messages, Wal-Mart promotes positive news about itself, like the high number of job applications it received at a new store in Illinois, and criticizes opponents, noting for example that a rival, Target, raised "zero" money for the Salvation Army in 2005, because it banned red-kettle collectors from stores."

The problem, in my opinion, is not that they ask bloggers to help promote their image. If these bloggers are truly fans of Wal-Mart, there's nothing wrong with a company providing them with facts to help support their arguments as to why Wal-Mart is praiseworthy. The problem is when bloggers take those messages and repost them verbatim, as if they were written by themselves.

To be fair, the article states that Wal-Mart does warn bloggers about posting these messages verbatim. However, they have also not made clear to them that they should be forthright about the source of their information. Wal-Mart could also help prevent bloggers from posting their messages as-is by formatting the emails as a bulleted list of "talking points" or some other non-post-friendly format instead of formatting them as "typical blog postings, with a pungent sentence or two introducing a link to a news article or release" as the article reports.

It is a good idea for companies to embrace the blogosphere, but they must respect the culture of the blogosphere. Blogs must be completely independent and brutally honest. Bloggers resist those who are disingenuous and not completely forthright. Whether you are pro-Wal-Mart, anti-Wal-Mart, or completely indifferent, we should all hope that Wal-Mart will learn from this experience and become a respectable citizen of the blogosphere.

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