Experience Manifesto

MediaPost Publications - Facebook, MySpace Aren't Making the Marketing Cut - 11/26/2008

As we said in Social Networks + Advertising = Amway, there's not going to be a big rush to use social media sites like Facebook & Myspace until there's an authentic connection to what's happening on those sites. Simply attaching ads to these sites is NOT using social media, it's advertising. For far too many advertisers, social media is simply the tactic du jour and they're not using it to create authentic and relevant connections to their audience. They're using social media the way they use all other media, to interrupt the experience in order to deliver their message. They're not using SM tools to really engage their audience because that takes real work and an on-going commitment, which is not usually how advertising works. We're used to putting up a campaign, letting it run for it's scheduled time and then moving on. We don't usually know how to keep a conversation going and, truth be told, most people in this industry aren't really interested in having conversations. So don't be surprised to start hearing people say they're not sure that sites like Facebook or myspace are good places to advertise. Anyone old enough to remember those early Amway days can tell you, socializing and selling don't always work well together!

While chief marketing officers are intrigued by social networking sites Facebook and MySpace as potential marketing vehicles, actually using them is another matter, according to the results of a new survey.

More than one-quarter (27%) of consumer and B-to-B chief marketing executives surveyed online in late October by GfK Roper Public Relations and Media for marketing services firm Epsilon identified social networking and word-of-mouth as the tools they would most like to introduce to their marketing mix to compensate for anticipated budget cuts--ahead of all other traditional or digital marketing channels.

However, more than half (55%) of the 180 responding chief marketers--representing brands with revenues ranging from $250 million to more than $10 billion--indicated low current interest in actually incorporating the networking sites into their plans.

One-third said they're "not interested at all" in getting Facebook and MySpace into their plans, and 22% said they're "not too interested," while 35% are very or somewhat interested.

MediaPost Publications - Facebook, MySpace Aren't Making the Marketing Cut - 11/26/2008.

P&G's McConnell Not Sure Marketers Belong on Social Networks - Advertising Age - Digital.

Experience Manifesto: WOMMA's Word of Mouth vs. Advertising: A logic game.

MediaPost Publications - Gaffney Singlehandedly Sends Nation Into Recession - 11/21/2008

Just something a little fun from Mediapost as we get ready for the holidays. Seems like something you'd find in The Onion. I wonder how many brand managers would love to see this lawsuit filed for real!

Eric H. Holder Jr., most-powerful-man-on-the-plant-elect-Obama's choice for Attorney General, lost no time in showing the nation he will not tolerate slackers at any level when he announced a suit against John Gaffney, a well-known freelance journalist and father of two. The suit, filed in Connecticut District's Second Circuit, alleges that Mr. Gaffney has failed to "appropriately stimulate the local economy of his hometown of Madison, CT by cutting back on discretionary purchases and shopping at discount stores." 

"If we are ever to get this nation back on its economic feet, we need consumers to step up and do their part," Mr. Holder might have told, say, The New York Times--but probably didn't, since he has yet to actually become the AG. "We can't allow guys like Gaffney to skip over well-known, heavily marketed brands in favor of generics and store brands. He has to understand there is a ripple effect of his decisions that impacts not just manufacturers, but retailers, advertising agencies, media and ultimately the effective CPM of online impressions. We cannot let this stand."

MediaPost Publications - Gaffney Singlehandedly Sends Nation Into Recession - 11/21/2008.

Word-of-Mouth Efforts Lacking by Beverage Marketers - Advertising Age - News

Word-of-Mouth Efforts Lacking by Beverage Marketers - Advertising Age - News.

Sampling a product versus experiencing the brand - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic

Sampling a product versus experiencing the brand - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic.

Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time.

Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging Letter

Saw this when I was traveling in Poland and forgot to post it, but I really think that they've hit 

Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging, a multi-year initiative designed to alleviate "wrap rage," features recyclable boxes that are easy to open and free of excess materials such as hard plastic clamshell cases, plastic bindings, and wire ties. The product itself is exactly the same—we’ve just streamlined the packaging.

Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging Letter.

Products with Frustration-Free Packaging.

The Motrin Controversy

I've ben following the Motrin issue tonight and for me, I'm thinking that maybe it's gotten just a little blown out of proportion. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, go to Motrin.com and watch the video there. It's about "babywearing" and talks about how babywearing seems to be in fashion, but it's painful, etc. Seems to be a little tongue-in-cheek and, as a dad who did a lot of babywearing (I have great memories of Sydney on my back, while we x-country skied into down during a blizzard here in Montclair a few years back), it didn't really offend me.

But, apparently, it offended a lot of moms and they've been pretty vocal about it. What's interesting is the number of complaints I've read on twitter about how the agency isn't open on weekends and that no one has been monitoring the situation 24/7. For example, Twitter / carriekerpen said Their agency is totally NOT working on the weekend and she wasn't the only one poking at the agency, Taxi NY. Although, I'm not 100% sure she was really upset about the whole thing, judging by some of her other comments. Joyce Schwarz, writing about the controversy at Hollywood2020: Hollywood2020.net Blogger Reaches Motrin Ad Agency Rep: Agency Appeared to Knew NOTHING about TWITTER OUTRAGE writes about how hard it was to reach someone at the agency and, when she did, they didn't know anything about what was happening.

So I started to think about this and what the proper response should be. At what point should a company be responding to someone complaining about something. How many people need to complain before a response is needed? 1? 10? 100? And really, is it necessary to react to every single complaint immediately? Is it really appropriate for companies to make sure they're employees are available 24/7 to handle it every time someone says they don't like something the company did? I know that there's always someone complaining about what you do, so can you really handle all of those complaints? As I was writing about this, even my wife asked Don't people have better things to do? I admit that I get frustrated when I don't hear back from a company in a day or two, but I do give them some time to respond. And this is when I reach out to the company directly, not just blog or twitter it and expect someone to find it.

And what should the proper response be? Does anyone else find it just a little ironic that people are using Twitter to ask for the ad to be pulled because they find it offensive? Um, isn't that called censorship? At what point does a company need to remove their ad when people don't like it? Haven't there been other times when people have complained about how quickly companies have pulled ads because someone found it offensive?

I don't really have any answers here, just asking the questions. Maybe Motrin will (and should) apologize for upsetting people. Maybe the ad will disappear and they'll invite some of the people who complained to be part of a new committee to avoid such issues in the future. But, we'll still be trying to answer the question about how and how quickly a company needs to respond when people have a complaint.

Link: (3+) motrin - Twitter Search.

Link: #motrinmoms - Twitter Search.

Disney, Verizon to turn the cellphone into a theme-park visitor's tool - Los Angeles Times

Disney and Verizon bill it as a way to enhance the "theme park experience," enabling parkgoers to use their mobile phones for tasks such as saving a spot in line at a popular ride and zeroing in on where Cinderella can be found signing autographs.

But the service has broad -- and potentially controversial -- implications for marketers and consumers as each attempts to balance the need for information with privacy. The new service has echoes of the futuristic film "Minority Report," in which Tom Cruise's character is inundated with personalized ad messages as he passes interactive billboards in a mall.

On the face of it, the application appears innocuous enough: Visitors to Disneyland or Walt Disney World would be able to download an application to their mobile phones to make trip plans, including booking hotel rooms and creating a checklist of attractions and shows to see. Once they arrive, they'll be able to use their phones to check wait times at Space Mountain or find the nearest pizza.

"What we're doing is putting tools in the hands of our customers to better personalize their experience," said Scott Trowbridge, vice president of creative research and development for Walt Disney Imagineering.

Link: Disney, Verizon to turn the cellphone into a theme-park visitor's tool - Los Angeles Times.

Cellphone shopping makes wallets redundant in Japan - USATODAY.com

Japanese office worker Satoshi Tada pays for shopping, wins free food and gets store discounts all by waving his cellphone. "I use it pretty much every day," the 25-year-old said. "You can charge money on it right there if needed, and you don't have to run around trying to find an ATM. You can even get points because it's linked to credit cards."

The world's top firms such as Visa Inc and Nokia are still mostly testing phone use for payments, but in Japan, more than 50 million, or about half of all cellphone users, already carry phones capable of serving as wallets.

Japan has pioneered not just the technology but also the business models that will pave the way for wallet phones to become a standard payment method in the future. Some 700 million people worldwide are expected to own such phones by 2013.

Link: Cellphone shopping makes wallets redundant in Japan - USATODAY.com.

Sears Wants You to Shop Via Cell Phone

Ready to rumble over the last Craftsman drill? Take off the gloves; it will make it a lot easier to dial up your purchases.

Sears just announced Sears2go.com, a website that allows shoppers to call up purchases via any web-enabled cell phone. Pick from tools, toys, electronics, clothes or other categories, make your purchase, and then choose whether you want in-store pickup or home delivery.

Overall, there aren’t too many categories, but that should make the shopping experience less annoying. Sometimes all of that scrolling is worse than waiting in line. The site also has a search feature if you just want to cut to the chase.

If you want to brave the store’s parking lot and other areas, the site will actually send you a text to alert you when your purchase is ready. That should mean that you won’t be standing around waiting.

Link: Cell Phones: Sears Wants You to Shop Via Phone.