The slideshows below highlight three of my friends who’ve developed a Facebook posting style that’s really fun, and brands can learn from. Not only do I look forward to their next post — I’ve got expectations about their next post. They’re the show, and I’m their audience. And rarely do these guys disappoint. They’re aware of this, so they take care to put some time into each post. They’ve established a consistent theme, but they’re not confined — so they can comment on just about anything during any season at any time. If brands are going to post often on Facebook, they should be as aware of their audience as my dear friends are. It’s an opportunity to earn that “Like”, and establish a mutual respect that’s priceless. read more…
Before dawn on May 9, 1970, Richard Nixon decided to make a surprise visit to anti-war protesters camped out at the Lincoln Memorial. When you watch this video, think of Nixon as a large corporation or a big brand. Think of the protester as consumers. Think about President Nixon’s desire to meet with the protesters personally. Who would the nervous Secret Service be in a company? How about Nixon’s timing? Should he have laid the groundwork much sooner to establish a personal relationship with the younger generation? You can learn a lot about social media strategy from Richard Nixon.
Watch New Nixon Tapes Reveal Details of Meeting With Anti-War Activists on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.
The past two weeks have been buzzing about Facebook’s IPO and whether or not the valuation is too high. A recent article in the NY Times suggests Facebook’s immense wealth of data on nearly a billion users is the key to investors’ wealth. As long as marketers can tap into Facebook’s “treasure trove” of information, they can monetize it by matching ads to people. I’m not so sure about that. And the recent story about General Motors giving up on Facebook advertising isn’t an example of why I’m not so sure. I think there’s a bigger picture we can be discussing — is Facebook in the data mining business or the relationship building business? To me, data is really important but it’s not what will make Facebook a rich marketing platform. Marketers will eventually have to put real time and effort into embracing Facebook’s conversation tools. read more…
There’s a tactical mindset baked into traditional advertising that doesn’t work very well in social media. Usually we churn out campaigns, measure immediately, react to the analysis, and come back with something new or updated. We’ll feed the channels and over time develop some kind of ROI model to justify it. I’ve noticed a lot of brands are pouring the same mindset into their social media platforms. A promo here, a sale there. Bam bam bam. I suppose they track success through likes, links and shares. That ‘s fine, but many are missing the point. I think social media success is reliant upon your entire body of work. Your customers will judge you based on your entirety — just like they size up any other friend. read more…
Loren, thank you for making me laugh and putting it all into perspective. I’ll donate when I get my next paycheck.
At the corner of Waveland and Sheffield Ave. in Chicago, there’s an ongoing “control war” that CMOs can learn from. Ever since Major League Baseball has been broadcasting games, fans everywhere have learned to love Wrigley Field for the ivy walls, the day games, the fickle winds of Lake Michigan, and most iconic — the fans who steal the game from the rooftops across the street.
But the owners of the Cubs decided to wage a war against the rooftop owners. Technically the Cubs have a case — the property owners have profited nicely from their unique real estate. But symbolically, the Cubs are missing something here. Ownership is eliminating rooftop views by adding a Jumbotron in the outfield and building a large patio in place of the left field bleachers. The most obvious move was made in 2003, when they wrapped a black screen around the bleachers. To spite the rooftop thieves, the Cubs’ owners defaced their own home. The Cubs should drop their weapons and submit control of the view back to these fans. Like them or not, those rooftops are an important part of the Cubs brand. CMOs might want to look at how much control they’re exerting over brand lovers. As in the case of the Cubs, control isn’t necessarily a good thing. read more…
I remember when I was a wee lad going to JFK Airport to pick up family and visiting relatives. The airport was a modern architect’s wet dream. I bet city planners turned the development into a design contest, and based on the results the contestants did their best to top one another. Today, airports are very different — because they’re all the same. One friend lamented when he travels he can’t distinguish one airport from the other. However, I’m sure my friend has a much easier time navigating the myriad of gates, terminals, and destinations like restrooms, baggage claim, and coffee. Way back when at JFK, another memory I had was how intimidating and confusing the experience was for my family and arriving/departing travelers. Amongst the architecture and sculpture (sometimes the two were the same), nowhere could you observe any consideration for the people’s purpose for being there in the first place. read more…
Simon Sinek cuts through the marketing jargon nonsense I hear every day with his TED Talk. I’m using this to reconstruct the creative brief at R2C Group.
Here’s my Christmas gift to all my friends out there — a recently published brand book for Santa. Let’s remember to brand Santa together in a unified voice this holiday season. Thanks to Quietroom for creating the book and Duncan Gray for sending it my way.
Click here for your book
The copywriter is probably the most influential figure in advertising. They hold the key to how a brand communicates to consumers. But the advent of social media has presented a stiff challenge to the king of persuasion, so now’s the time to make some adjustments. It starts with the name.
Copy at its most benign is to “duplicate in order to share with multiple parties.” At its most sinister, it’s to “steal an idea from another party.” Writer at its most benign is “a person who articulates a fact or event in words.” At its most idealistic it’s “a person who expresses original thoughts and ideas in prose.” Somehow, early in the 20th Century, the ad business decided to adopt the title copywriter for the person crafting the words for an ad. And copy was the name given to those words. “Let’s look at the copy”. “We need to make changes to the copy”. “The read more…
