SociaLight Media Blog

And there you have it. Up until now, the most effective use of Twitter for business has been as a customer service quality control (hats tipped to Comcast, Zappos, etc.).  Here is a great example of a (huge) company listening to Twitterers’ tweets - Johnson & Johnson - about a new ad campaign and shutting it down in a matter of 48 hours.

Johnson & Johnson was attempting to build a Motrin campaign around a shared experience among women: childbearing and raising, and the pain it brings.  Apparently, J&J played the angle that women treat their young as fashion accessories, and that having a baby slung across their shoulder makes them look like an “official mom.” What’s interesting is that, without a doubt, J&J did some serious consumer research to arrive at these conclusions about women’s motives; why, then, did it encounter such swift and harsh recoil from that very market segment? Perhaps because there are things that may be true, but for which people don’t want to be glorified for.  I’m not saying that all, or even most, women feel that their children give them some clout in whatever community they belong to, but some must, or J&J wouldn’t have built an entire ad campaign around it.

What’s great about social media, and in this case Twitter, is that all of these people who felt attacked, called out, or insulted, were able to speak out, globally, and J&J listened.  Mommy Twitterers with thousands of followers were outraged and outspoken about the Motrin ads, and some even went cross-social-media and published YouTube videos (this one is called Motrin Ad Makes Moms Mad - 21k views)

This is so great; genuine conversation between Brand and Consumer. This was what my first ever post was about. Two-way communication. The ad industry is no longer about push, push, push. Consumers can talk internationally, instantaneously and companies are actually listening and acting.  Is it weird that this story makes me feel warm and fuzzy?

It’s everywhere - investors, co-workers, family, and friends yelling “Recession!” from the rooftops.  Yes, America is in a recession.  By definition a recession is two consecutive quarters of decreasing GDP, and we’ve had nine of them since World War II (not including the Great Depression).  If we’re experiencing these troubled times roughly once every six years, shouldn’t we be used to them by now? Shouldn’t we know how to handle them?  Some businesses do - those who realize that growth occurs during recessions, and, if they capitalize on that fact, they come out much better than they were at the onset.

It’s true that the proverbial corporate belt buckle needs tightening during harsh economic times, but to look immediately at cutting your advertising and marketing budget would be a big mistake.  Consider boosting efficiency, adjusting operating hours, reducing overhead, and streamlining production and operation, which are all much more beneficial for most companies than biting the hand that feeds you: your ad spending (the thing that drives all of your sales…).  In this economic climate, online ad spending is especially important because it’s so targeted and efficient, and competition is less fierce than in conventional media.

In a basic marketing class, you learn that your advertising budget gets you a piece of the pie in the consumer environment - there are many companies putting a lot of money into grabbing a hold of the customer’s attention.  During a recession, when many companies pull back their advertising, this increases your voice and the effect of your ad money; and if you increase your ad budget, it gives you an even more powerful voice.

“History also reveals that businesses that recognized the fact that growth does occur during recessions and took advantage of it, were able to make gains in their market share despite economic hard times. With media rates softening and competitors sitting tight and cutting their marketing budgets, an aggressive business can experience great strides in a recession.” -Articles in the Spokane Journal of Business

Additionally, the National Retail Federation projects that overall retail sales are expected to grow 2.2% as the holidays approach, as compared to the 12% projected for online growth.  Mr. Silverman, of Deliotte’s annual holiday survey, advises that “Retailers should be viewing [online investments] as a way to capture lost sales and prevent them from going to a competitor.  I’m not going to say the growth in online is all additive — a lot of it is shift. However, if you haven’t been investing in your online store, that shift may not go to you, it may go to a competitor.”

I’ve added a couple additional notes to Ed Clark’s basic tips for small- to medium-sized businesses during recessionary times:

1. Don’t cut your ad budget; increase it. Let your competitors cut ad spending (and their market share).
2. Shift some ad spending from conventional to online - especially approaching the holiday season.
3. Your customers are nervous about spending; adjust your marketing campaign to assuage them.
4. Develop your web presence quickly - if you sell a product online, try to offer free shipping.
5. Lower rates and ad promos from hurting conventional media companies provide great opportunity.
6. Build brand awareness by sponsoring events - this is relatively cheap and definitely effective.
7. Promote online; sponsored events (above) are extremely easy to promote online through social media.
8. Know who your loyal customers are and let them know what you have to offer.
9. Step up public relations efforts. Developing your offline presence is still just as important.
10. Don’t “cheapen” your advertising by trying to save on creative or production costs. Your customers will notice and worry about quality. This is a time to stress quality and value.

What are some steps the company you own or work for is taking during this difficult economic climate? What are some steps you are taking as a consumer?

Here’s an article from last week’s Wall Street Journal called The Ad Changes With the Shopper In Front of It. Very cool. It’s about how some companies, including Procter & Gamble and Dunkin’ Donuts are using new technology to increase the effectiveness of their in-store advertising. DD is using digital screen ads that change based on the customer’s purchase. For example, if you stop in for breakfast and purchase a coffee and bagel, the screen at the register will remind you about their new flavor of iced tea and personal pizzas as a lunch idea. Great stuff. P&G is working with Metro Extra in Germany with radio frequency tags which causes a screen at the customer’s eye level to display an ad based on the product that was picked up off the shelf! You pick up a certain brand or type of shampoo and the ad displayed changes to a complimentary conditioner.

This shift in advertising comes at a time when television spots are almost worthless due to the amount of noise viewers have to deal with, popular technology like TiVo and On-Demand, and the fact that the results of the ad are virtually untrackable. Businesses are trying to get their ads closer to the consumer purchase, which is one of two places: in-store or online. With an in-store ad, companies can rest assured that people are seeing, and not blocking, the ads (yet) because there isn’t as much competition for the consumer’s attention as there is on television. It is also much cheaper than a television spot and more trackable with automatic promotion and coupon codes.

Online advertising and social networks are also becoming the new battlegrounds for consumer attention. Every click is trackable; companies can see exactly where their customers are coming from, where they leave, how long they stay, and what they click on. Try to do that on television, or even in-store! Additionally, for many small-medium businesses, they benefit from the small price-tag of developing an online presence and the fact that they may have very little competition in their market. What’s even more appealing about developing an online presence is that they are providing consumers with information at the exact time when consumers are LOOKING FOR IT! In-store advertising and shifting display ads may be great for impulse-buys, but when it’s a more involved purchase, people research it first. 78% of internet users say that they research a product or service online before they purchase it (Pew Internet and American Life Project). That’s where you, as a business, want to be!

I have to say, I was a little surprised by this article from BusinessWeek, Has Facebook’s Value Taken a Hit?

It talks about how “dozens” (according to this guy) of Facebook employees, including Zuckerberg himself and departing vice-president Matt Cohler, have been selling off some of their common shares - and their prices haven’t been implying the $15 billion price-tag originally set by Microsoft’s 2007 purchase of 1.6% of the company. More like $5 billion. The article also mentions that once Facebook employees got wind of Zuckerberg and Cohler’s stock partings, there was some general dissension. Zuckerberg then sent out a company statement saying that the would allow employees to sell stock as a “onetime program to enable employees to realize some liquidity.” Read into that as much as you want.

So not good news from the Facebook front, however what really surprised me were some of the comments below the article. Here’s one:

May Aug 14, 2008 12:40 PM GMT “Not surprised Facebook is falling flat on its face! The ads don’t make sense. I haven’t clicked a single one, despite spending countless hours on facebook. Any mention of charging users a fee causes an uproar and many would abandon their page for somewhere free like myspace. How exactly do they expect to make any money? Who in their right mind would buy these shares right now?”

Heck, I’m buying some when they go public! Facebook IS the social network powerhouse! MySpace is dead; there’s too much spam. MySpace counts “active” members as someone who has logged in once in the past YEAR! I log into my Facebook account probably between 5 and ten times a DAY. It seems like people aren’t using MySpace anymore/nearly as often as they used to or it’s just a spam haven now. Or both.

This one actually made me laugh:

Midwest Aug 14, 2008 2:09 AM GMT “Potential advertising revenue is the only possible reason for Facebook’s $15 billion valuation. What other reason could there be? There’s no monthly user fee or membership charge so the only reason for the hype is ad $. But guess what? Nobody looks at the ads and the click through rate is laughable. Advertisers might as well take their money and throw it on a fire. At least they can use the heat to grill some dogs on. Advertising on the web is a joke but it remains viable only because it’s so cheap. Hey advertisers, save your money and buy some print, radio or tv spots. Get some real results for your spend.“

Yes, Facebook is having some problems with monetizing their technology and user-base, however to simply say that advertisers should pack it up, quit online advertising, “take their money and throw it on a fire”?? Talk about absurd! Yes, banner ads aren’t the solution. We KNOW that. They never have been! I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve clicked a banner ad - the only times were are for a store that was already on my to-do list. Good job, Facebook, for correctly targeting my interests and providing me with a reminder. However, this minuscule traffic isn’t going to cut it - I agree. The money is in the built in advertising, I think. Here’s a great article from Tech Crunch (back in 2007) called MySpace v. Facebook “It’s Not a Decision, It’s an IQ Test.” The money is in the widgets & applications, like Where I’ve Been, and social ads, where “advertisers provide the text, and Facebook pairs it with a relevant social action that your friend has taken. Social Ads mean advertisements become more interesting and more tailored to you and your friends” (from Facebook). This is relevant stuff in my newsfeed that I’m bound to take notice of, at least I think so. What do you think?

I couldn’t believe it either. This article, Chew on This, in today’s Wall Street Journal blew my mind. Creative advertising at its best, from a company that’s 117 years old and for a product that’s 94 years old.

In the music world, hip-hop artist Chris Brown’s latest pop-single, Forever, has been on the Billboard Top 100 for a couple months, just peaking at number 4 this week. It’s been playing all over the radio, at parties, at clubs, everywhere; whether you’re tuned into today’s music or not, there’s a good chance you’ve heard this song. Anyone who has heard it can tell you that in the chorus is a reference to an old chewing gum slogan, “double your pleasure, double your fun” - Wrigley’s DoubleMint Gum. We all thought it was just a cute, and meaningless, reference in the pop song - and boy were we wrong. Turns out it’s a direct reference to Wrigley’s product. Better yet, Wrigley paid for the whole thing! Back in February, they flew Chris Brown out to record simply an updated jingle for DoubleMint Gum commercials, just announced to be aired this coming month. During the same recording session, they recorded a 4 and a half minute version of the jingle, Chris Brown called it “Forever,” and in April, they released it on to the radio, where it has become a huge hit.

Now that it’s cracked the top 5 on Billboard’s charts, Wrigley is stepping out from behind the curtain (apparently they are set to reveal it Tuesday) to say that the whole song is a commercial…essentially. I actually really like the song, and now every time I hear it, I’m going to think of DoubleMint Gum. Talk about breaking through the advertising clutter! And it doesn’t stop there. The campaign will also include the same kind of song-commercials from two other pop artists, Ne-Yo and Julianne Hough, for Big Red and Juicy Fruit, respectively.

The ad agency Interpublic Group, is responsible for the fresh idea. And it’s not their only one, either. Also announced today was a new campaign for Dr. Pepper, another company founded over one-hundred years ago, where well-known, but fictional, doctors are “prescribing” how to drink the classic soft drink. A recent - and real - study was conducted which showed that people who drank soda slower actually enjoyed the taste more. Whether it’s true or not, we’ll have to just take their word for it, but it’s made for a great (and creative!) ad campaign for another seemingly stagnant product type. Click the play button and take a look:

I LOVE this video (click the play button to watch). This is a perfect summation of how the advertising industry (and many B2C companies) have worked for the past half-century, and how some are still working today: One-way Communication. I love how suave, smooth-talking Advertising is using all of these canned phrases (which you can picture him using on his other “girlfriend” consumers) like “Hey now! Lookin’ good!” - while not even looking at her - rather than having authentic conversation on Consumer’s terms. And how he responds to her complaint that they never really talk anymore with a barrage of survey-style questions about his one-way advertising methods. “You can talk on our website, can’t you?” Yeah, if I want to say “Order this product.”

Simple call-to-action communication is becoming rapidly obsolete. Consumers want to become involved; they want genuine dialogue; they want to have authentic communication with someone and not feel as though their being advertised to, demographed, and targeted. And they get this kind of conversation from other consumers. Real and raw. Recommendations on Amazon, reviews on Yelp, lists on Netflix, finding out through Facebook what their friends just purchased. Conversation between real people, online.

Now that isn’t to say that they don’t want to hear from the business - far from it. But they want to be approached on their terms, and by a real person with a response just for them. Twitter is a social platform that allows for microblogging, which in itself is a relatively nascent concept (what is microblogging?). People, like you and I, write snippets about what we’re doing, whether it’s having a bowl of soup to arguing with Comcast on the phone.

(Aside: here’s a great article about Twitter from USA Today if you’re still hesitant or skeptical about microblogging)

Now, we can see why Comcast would want to know that we are currently unhappy because we’ve been on hold for 35 minutes, and by responding to this Tweet, they can deliver a level of customer service that we, the consumer, aren’t expecting. Because we have, unfortunately, come to accept the many atrocities of customer service we experience, things like waiting on the phone with the cable company are now expected. So when we Tweet about it, and a representative from Comcast responds us directly with a Tweet of their own, the customer’s expectations are exceeded, and customer satisfaction may or may not occur. It’s a heck of a lot better than having to sit on the phone, listening to elevator music, fuming, and feeling as though Comcast doesn’t care about our business.

Customer service. Genuine dialogue. Things that seem obvious but have been muddled by slick advertising for too long. Welcome to Web 2.0. What do you think?