Ian@work

Stretching the Brand

Three Minds comments on why Starbucks is finding success in being more than just another coffee joint:

"Because the brand is trusted, valued and  safe, and consumers are willing to follow a commercial path of consideration and  purchase they already have demonstrated their affinities for: quality, authentic  experiences in clean environments. (i.e., folk rock without the drugs, moving  stories without the existential darkness, films that are smart yet family safe,  coffee that is quality, clean and just plain good.)"

There's a lot of insight in this brief post, which goes beyond the intricacies of brands as marketers see them to get right to the heart of what they mean to people:

"Mass brands are rarely persuasive or attuned to my needs as a dedicated long-tailer with niche interests and distrust of the corporate soft sell, but when that rare moment happens, when Netflix helps me find movies I will love by exposing me to film nuts who write reviews without promoters distorting their vision, when Google serves me ads that I actually find interesting, or when I sit in a JetBlue plane and they have little TV’s in the back of every single chair, with movies I actually like, I get that shiver of recognition. It’s like they know what I want, and they’re right. Before I know what’s happening I’ve taken out the credit card, handed it to the lady, and signed the little paper. And smiled."

Technorati Tags: brand, Starbucks, Three+Minds

eMarketer: Why you should know Jonathan Coulton

As eMarketer points out, online marketing success can be the result of 1) intense focus, and 2) smart, integrated use of multiple online channels.

Their case study of Jonathan Coulton's online marketing is worth reading because it makes simple, but often overlooked points:

1. There's no magic to online marketing.
2. Knowing your audience and what they expect is a prerequisite to success.
3. You can't underestimate the importance of focusing on #2, and how you're going to satisfy those requirements.
4. If you are tempted to underestimate #2 or ignore #3, remind yourself that your audience may be more passionate about what you do than you are, and that good enough isn't good enough
5. There are a lot of online channels out there. If you don't know what they are, you can't use them well.

Technorati Tags: marketing, video, podcast

You only think you're in a relationship

Doc Searls muses on the delusional nature of relationship marketing, and points out a missing piece: Customers aren't sufficiently equipped to relate to vendors.

This is useful reading for anyone immersed (or about to be) in CRM.


Technorati Tags: crm, vrm, relationship+marketing, vendor+management

Social Networks: Expansion vs. Brand Dilution

Wharton looks at the potential downside of social sites' thirst for growth. A key point:

"It's debatable whether broadly expanding is a good idea. A lot of businesses start small and expand, but when you are dealing with affinity groups that hope to foster a sense of community, [the decision] is more complicated. Is it better to focus on a successful niche or make a play for world domination?"

Technorati Tags: social+network, Wharton, facebook, myspace

The slow death of magazine publishing

An example of resistance masquerading as incremental change.

Can you imagine the thinking behind this woefully out-of-sync idea? I can't.

However, I suspect that the MPA skipped any discussion of audience behavior. Sure, they love students as a demographic group, but they clearly can't be bothered to think about what they're actually doing online.


Technorati Tags: publishing, magazines

Where the Talent Is

Q: Where are recruiters connecting with top talent, particularly in the fields of new media and IT?
A: Blogs and social networks.

This is a point I continue to make with clients. Social networking is a channel for finding talented people, not just marketing to customers.


Technorati Tags: social+network, blogs, recruiting

Give Up Your Old Ways

Pay attention to this. The money quote:

"You've also got pronounced changes in consumer behavior while they're consuming media," said Tom French, director at McKinsey. "And ad spending is decreasingly reflecting consumer behavior."

More evidence that marketers need to continually question what they're doing, and why.

Technorati Tags: advertising, consumer+behavior, media, mckinsey

Alltel - Gasp - Gives Customers What they Want

Advertising Ourselves to Death on the brilliance of Alltel's new ad campaign, which touts MyCircle. If you haven't seen these commercials, watch the one on AOtD. It speaks clearly to what wireless customers want while taking a subtle swipe at national competitors.


Technorati Tags: cell+phone+advertising, alltel

Avatar Marketing

The Harvard Business Review on marketing to the inhabitants of Second Life and other online worlds.


Technorati Tags: second+life, avatar+marketing

Email Newsletter Usability

Universally, marketers who discuss email with me form their judgments almost solely from personal experience. That's a good starting point, but it doesn't tell the whole story.

A recent article from Jakob Nielsen takes a more analytical approach to email and provides useful insights into how people read and manage email. Some key findings:

• The usability of the subscription process directly affects subscriber numbers. Great efficiency equals greater numbers.
• Email recipients don't read. They scan. 35% of the time they only scan a small part of the newsletter.
• Interest is transient. Good newsletters are replaced by better newsletters.
• Multiple, prioritized email accounts help people manage their email. The more relevant the newsletter, the more likely it will go to a high priority account.

Nielsen also addresses RSS: "The first, and strongest, guideline about news feeds is to stop calling them RSS."

More.

Technorati Tags: email+newsletter, usability, jakob+nielsen