2010 Marketing Trends

First, happy new year to everyone and what a year past for professional communicators.  Shoot, what a year, period!

I wish I had my own top 10 list for 2010, or even for 2009.  Instead, I just feel like I get smarter reading certain lists of others.

I am glad to share this exceptional “10 Things Changing Marketing in 2010” list provided yesterday by Joe Marchese in his “OnlineSpin” blog. 

My high level take-away is that things are still evolving, but people are really beginning to understand real value in the integration old and new media to achieve client objectives.

So, here’s Marchese’s list and I really encourage you to click through to read the details:

“1.     Rise of Mobile - Mobile is going to be huge in 2010, especially if marketers can build digital campaigns with mobile extensions. Digital provides reach, and mobile can provide increased depth of interaction. For more on why 2010 is FINALLY the year of mobile, check out last week’s post on “Why Mobile In 2010.”

2.     Facebook Connect – It’s hard to overstate the implications of Facebook Connect for marketers. The ability to create more rewarding experiences for consumers, and simply be more creative, by using Facebook Connect will change all digital marketing efforts — and, I believe, take “social media” out of its silo. For more on Facebook Connect’s implications, check out “The End of Social Media” and “Secret Race For Permission.”

3.     Cause Marketing – I don’t know what digital rock you’ve been under if you haven’t heard that Pepsi has pulled out of the Super Bowl to focus more on marketing  for the social good. The key will be, can Pepsi activate people to spread its message because of the social good they are doing? Social media makes this a very possible outcome with the right programs put in place. Put simply, Pepsi is hoping, as I wrote earlier, that “Corporate Social Responsibility = Profitability.”

4.     Engagement Pricing – Digital media — heck, all media — needs new metrics that do a better job at measuring the value publishers deliver to marketers. These metrics  should be harder to “fake” – and should be able to be standardized across media outlets for media buyers and planners. No, engagement won’t be the only metric, but I’d put my money (and have) on it being one that stands out in 2010.

5.     Social Media Agencies – I know, it’s crazy, right? How can I claim the “end of social media” is coming and that social media agencies will take off in 2010? Well, for those who read the entire post, I say what actually will end is considering social media a marketing silo. Instead, the skills that make a marketing firm good at executing “social media campaigns” from concept, to execution, to management, will be the skill set required by ALL digital agencies. Most likely, we  will see something like what the marketing industry saw with the growth of search engine marketing: a rise of specialty agencies in the social media space, and the subsequent acquisitions of said agencies by holding companies and larger digital shops to help provide scale. 

6.     Local – See mobile. If you’re working on a national brand, what’s your local mobile and digital strategy extension?

7.     Brand Dollars Go Digital – It can be argued very easily that we are witnessing a “direct response bubble” in digital marketing. This is because of a near obsession in closing the loop on ROI measurement. More and more marketers are expanding their definitions of digital ROI outside of direct response and looking at how digital can help achieve brand objectives. And as I argued before, it’s just a question of scale and efficacy before digital media can compared to more traditional forms of marketing initiatives. See: “$1 Million Social Media Marketing Challenge.”

8.     Social Media Campaigns Grow Up – Will we stop hearing the word “viral” in 2010? I doubt it, but we can hope to hear it a whole lot less. I think the social media landscape is littered with enough failed viral efforts that most sane marketers and agencies will stop thinking  that social media as “free.” There is a formula and a science to making social media efforts work. Dedicated resources, measurement of the right things, and adapting to what is learned will make social efforts more stable.

9.     Real-Time Search – This is perhaps the most “bleeding edge” of any of the trends/issues facing marketers in 2010, but I do believe it is one that can have a major impact — and very quickly. The simple fact is that as real-time search improves, so does people’s ability to get real-time, unfiltered feedback from peers on products and services. It will be much harder for brands to control or manage their reputation, as with review sites. Instead, brands will need to turn to strategies that encourage positive conversations to balance out the inevitable bad.

10.  Whatcha Got? I figured I’d leave the 10^th open and hear what you all think. Drop me a line on Twitter at www.twitter.com/joemarchese and/or add your thoughts to the comments on the Spin board below.”

My best wishes to everyone for a very happy new year.

Post by Nick Vehr – 12.23.09

Old (media) and New (media)

Out with the old and in with the new.  Popular and populist, especially as it pertains to media.

The truth, though, is that many “internetistas” who think a whole new world was created with the internet are beginning to realize that knowledge of how it used to be done is quite helpful.

Some rules don’t – and, perhaps, never will – change.  Be informed and be prepared – do your homework.  Be responsive and respectful.  Be actively engaged. 

Strategic communications is about developing and maintaining relationships that are important to the enterprise. 

It’s about protecting and strengthening a brand (corporate) reputation. 

Importantly, it’s about enabling or delivering results that move the business forward.

Without question, social media (new media) has created new and faster opportunities (channels) by which to engage and interact with the relationships that matter.

Knowledge of these new and faster channels is vitally important in our Web 2.0 world. 

Of equal importance is understanding what action you desire from your target audience, what message will move your audience to action, and what you need to do to enable the action in the most deliberate, intuitive (read: easy) way.

Check out this case study on Alice.com provided by the folks at Shift Communications.  Old media facilitated the launch of a new online company because everyone involved understood that the two can’t, and really shouldn’t, be viewed separately.

So, old school meets new school and strategic communications still works the way it always has – just a whole lot faster.

Post by Nick Vehr – 12.21.09

The Future of Mainstream Media?

I’ve already retweeted this blog post by Todd Defren (PR Squared), but I also just had to blog about it as well.

Defren comments on the impact of the new electronic tablet readers on mainstream media.  He shares a Time Inc. video that demos how Sports Illustrated can be read in the future. 

Please go to the link above for the video (I had trouble inserting a video link – sorry!).

This is incredible stuff.  As someone who still likes to read newspapers, books and magazines, I can imagine that the experience shown on the video could change this habit, and quickly.

For those who claim newspapers are dead or dying, think of the experience of reading your daily newspaper in the format on the video and, perhaps, the proclamation of the death of newspapers is premature.

Anyway, I just had to share this video as quickly as I got my hands on it and hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Post by Nick Vehr – 12.4.09

Different opinions inform your decision

In my experience, the true leaders are those who do not assume they have all the answers.  People may expect them to have them all, but they know better.

What does that mean for your business?  Well, it’s pretty straight forward.

A good boss will assume that his or her team have important and diverse insights and experiences that can enhance relationships with key stakeholders … customers, vendors, clients, etc.

That’s right – you have a team of good people working together, so see what they think.  Their different opinions will inform your decision, if you value and embrace them.

Face it, it’s been a while since the boss “owned” each and every customer relationship.  Chances are, someone else knows what’s really going on in that vendor’s head.  What “they’re” thinking may surprise you.

You pay your employees a lot of money to do what they do, so talk with them, listen to them, ask for their advice and help.  They’ll respond, especially if they trust you and know you trust them.

So many answers to business challenges can be solved by asking employees what they think and what they know.  Too few bosses bother to ask.

Post by Nick Vehr – 11.28.09

Happy Thanksgiving

Best wishes to all during this special holiday. 

So much for which to give thanks!

Wikipedia slows … new media matures

The front page of this morning’s Wall Street Journal (11.23.09) shares an article titled, “Volunteers Log Off As Wikipedia Ages.”

Is it, perhaps, really an article about the settling, or maturation, of new media? 

For cave dwellers, Wikipedia began as an, “online free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.”  It began nine years ago and now has about 325 million monthly visitors, according to the article.  I use it regularly for this blog and as a general resource.

The focus of the article is the fact that Wikipedia, in the first three months of 2009, experienced a loss of 49,000 online volunteer editors.  During the same period the previous year, the comparable number was 4,900.

To me, the article represents what I and others think is occuring with new media in general … a settling or maturation.  Here’s what I mean.

We all know the pendulum for hot new products swings way wide before it settles back in.  So, too, for social media. We are witnessing it with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and countless others.  How long ago was it that MySpace was going to take over the world?  Who do you know that is actively using it now?

Does that mean social media – or Wikipedia – is dying?  Of course not.  I think it does mean that it is finding its place, it is settling in, it is maturing as most products and services always do.

There is little question that social media (new media, the internet, Web 2.0 – whatever you want to call it)  has forever changed the way many people communicate.  At some level, it may have even profoundly influenced the way many people manage their personal and professional relationships. 

There is little question that it has forever changed our professional - strategic communications or, what many call, public relations.

But, the pendulum is swinging back towards a point of equilibrium, or at least to a more measureable , natural and sustainable sway.

That’s what I thought when I read this a.m.’s article about Wikipedia?  What did you think?

Post by Nick Vehr – 11.23.09

Talk to your folks!

"You can't handle the truth!"

How often have any of us as professional communicators had clients who are critically and, perhaps, maniacally focused on external audiences to the detriment of their own folks?

Even worse, what about those clients who worry that employees, “can’t handle the truth!”

The best businesses – whether B2C or B2B – understand that healthy, open and transparent long term relationships with clients are the key to sustained business growth and profitability. 

Most CEOs or CMOs do not “own” the relationship with each and every client.  The people who work for them do.  So, the bosses need to commit to maintaining healthy, open and transparent relationships with their employees.

The folks interacting with clients need to know what’s going on in and around the business so the clients know they are dealing with informed professionals working in a culture that values them. 

Importantly, employees deserve to know the good, the bad and the ugly, so long as sharing such information does not jeopardize the the company’s competitive positioning.  Some companies, especially privately held ones, share such information even if it does.

Employees (colleagues, associates, whatever you call them) are the most important asset of any company.  Invest in them.  Trust them.  Help them to be better professionals. 

Relationships – personal and professional – are based on trust.  It’s not rocket science!

If your team trusts you, the people with whom they are dealing will trust them. 

That’s the best way to retain and grow your business.

Post by Nick Vehr – 11.21.09

We Just Grew Up A Little … I Think

I think we may have just grown up a little as a new communications agency.  Here’s the back story.  I would very much appreciate your thoughts.

Our company – Vehr Communications - started in early 2007.  Our focus is strategic communications and, although new and clearly in an “eat-what-you-kill” mode during our start-up, we want to be strategically engaged with our clients in figuring out how communications can help to address their business challenges and opportunities.

A week or so ago we received a Request for Proposal (RFP) from a prestigious non-profit with a great Board of Trustees and an important community mission.  We were up against some other local agencies.  Our competitive juices were flowing and we wanted to win.

As we dove into preparing our response to the RFP it became clear  to us, rightly or wrongly, that the prospective client was not really looking for a strategic partner, but a vendor to implement what they predetermined they wanted and needed. 

They sought quick answers – in about 3 weeks – to what we felt were very complex issues and the entire length of the engagement was 3 weeks.  They were clear there were prospects for additional work, but that was not a part of this RFP.

We felt in our heads and hearts that it was unwise for them to move so quickly.  We were not comfortable that the substantive advance work they had done and shared was as complete and comprehensive as was necessary to achieve the stated objectives for the program of work.

We decided to respond and we decided to tell them what we thought.  We said that their accelerated timeframe was not advisable and provided a timeframe that was still compressed but more realistic, from our perspective.

Of course, we didn’t get the account.  The money would have been great and I am certain the prospect for longer term work was real.  I am convinced, though, that we made the right decision. 

I told our team I was proud of them and the substantial work they put into the RFP response.  More importantly, I told them I was proud that we submitted what we thought was right. 

So, that’s the story.  Have you been through this professionally?  Any suggestions for a better way to deal with such situations going forward?  Should we have simply not responded and spent the time preparing the RFP response?

Tips To Make Social Media Really Work

William Faulkner (picture from reverendross)

This one got my attention right away. 

First, it was forwarded by Pete Blackshaw (thanks, Pete). 

Second, in the first sentence if referenced William Faulkner, one of my favorite authors.  In college, I once took a course where we read 13 Faulkner novels in one semester.  Phew!  But, it was one of my favorite courses.

Anyway, the post by Andy Dunn,CEO and Co-Founder of Bonobos, offers some very seasoned and rational suggestions for making social media work for you. 

I’ll summarize his four main points, but encourage you to read them for yourself:

1. Ask provocative questions. If you want to have an impact in these channels, you have to be relevant. Do this by asking provocative questions.
2. Spend as much time listening and responding as you do talking. Be a good date! Show your appreciation for your customers by listening to what they tell you through social media and then by responding to their comments.
3. Complement self-promoting with promoting others. Re-tweet from your corporate Twitter page. It will help propagate an interesting idea, and you’ll pop up on the original tweeter’s radar. Same goes for blogs.
4. Blend the personal and the professional. Consumers are savvy; they want a well-balanced mix of salesmanship and personality. Find a happy medium between promoting your product and bringing variety to your social media efforts. The more interesting it is for you, the more likely it will be interesting to your customers.

As professional communicators, we must understand that social media is “social” first and “media” second.  That certainly doesn’t make it any easier, just as it doesn’t make it the right for all clients.  But, it is what it is!

Regulating Online Endorsements – That Jeanie’s Already Out!

Fascinating column in today’s NYT written by blogger Choire Sicha, co-founder of TheAwl.com regarding some new FTC regulations for online endorsements.

I don’t even know what the new regs are, but I loved this column!  Just read this line:

“That every consumer is now a retailer is capitalism’s ultimate and most logical evolution.  Regulating every last one of us in our tiny imaginary boardrooms (in my mind, mine is mahogany-paneled and has a Haagen-Dasz fountain) is as ludicrous as not skipping past the advertisements on one’s DVR.”

Creative, extremely well-written and, right on.

No libertarian, me, but a realist.  The article shares some somewhat satirical, or maybe real, examples of how impossible it would be to regulate a medium that is, almost by design, unregulatable (if that’s even a word).  It’s a must read.

Government is much too late, if they even had a role in the first place, to put this jeanie back in the bottle. 

I also can’t pass up the irony, or the ironic new reality, of a celebrity trend/fad blogger placing a column in the NYT which will undoubtedly spike his popularity in, you got it, the blogosphere.