Archive for the Category »Web «

10
May
Ooh Shiny…
Jeannie Chan

If you haven’t started following Tom Fishburne, please start today! His latest post really got me thinking… How useless social media is if you don’t have strong fundamentals. Social media is just another latest new trick in a marketer’s bag. But, it’s not the only trick. And just because it’s new and shiny still doesn’t mean it’s the best trick.

His post all started with Mark Ritson’s column. In which, he asserts that “Most brands don’t have the newsworthiness, broad appeal or dynamism to have any chance of making Twitter work for them.” So, get the fundamentals right. Don’t expect your consumers to “fan” you because you have a facebook page. They will “fan” you if they have been a fan. They become a fan when you get every other piece of the marketing mix right (you know, those dang Ps, like having the right product, at the right price, at the right place, backed by the right promotion).

Photo credit: Intersection Consulting

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22
Mar
Social Media is still Media
Jeannie Chan

Marketers like to talk about social media as a marketing platform. How can we get the message out? How can we control the message? How can we leverage this? Well, here’s the thing. The thing about social media is that it is in fact a media venue. (I heard about the health care reform on social media channels before I caught it on traditional news channels.)

Recently, I learned an equation from Michael Levine’s book, A Branded World: Adventures in Public Relations and the Creation of Superbrands. Branding = marketing + advertising + public relations.

Branding is the all encompassing effort of building a brand. It starts with marketing. Marketing defines the strategy. Marketing defines the 4Ps. Marketing defines the positioning.

Marketing’s plan gets translated into words and visuals through advertising.

Public relations builds on the advertising campaign and turns marketing’s plan into actions. Such actions include gathering media attention.

In that case, social media really falls into the realm of public relations. You build a relationship with bloggers the same way you build a relationship with traditional journalists. You “control” the message the same way – truthfully, honestly, and organically. It’s the same idea as controlling the press. Today, in addition to asking the question “What would the press say?”, we need to also ask “What would the world say?”

The world may be changing, but the basics still hold.

Photo credit: Scott Beale / Laughing Squid

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06
Mar
Branding Beyond the Brief: The Digital World
Jeannie Chan

As a young marketer, I have learned so much from so many on the internet. Recently, I participated in a discussion about the difference between a brand and a commodity. In this discussion, I came across an experienced marketer that gave me so much to think about. It also inspired my contribution this week on CPG Branding and Marketing Forum. Check it out here!

In so many ways, the internet has been a wonderful tool. Yet, as a marketer, the internet has brought many headaches.

As the digital world grows more and more robust, brand managers are struggling to keep up. There are many whispers about control. Have marketers lost control? Have the newly empowered masses took control? How would marketers regain control? Should marketers try to go backward or just go forward? Are marketers even equipped to do our jobs in this changing world? Or does this new world of marketing require a different set of skills? A different way of thinking?

There are many questions, yet there are few answers.

We may not have the answers. We may not be ready. But the world is changing. I know that as a marketer. I also know this as a consumer. Last week, I was trying to attend a virtual event. I had problems logging in. My first thought was to twitter for help. My second action was to comment on the facebook wall of the organizer. I did not do so for the sake of whining and complaining. I did so expecting help. In fact, I expected immediate help!

The old rules of marketing are becoming null and void. Yet, new rules have not been thoroughly defined. The internet has the power to influence everything. But how? We thought that the internet killed the TV. Yet, the recent Olympic Games show that there is a water cooler effect of sort that’s happening online, thus boosting TV viewership! So, the internet is killing and reviving TV at the same time. It’s a very confusing time, where the rules of game are constantly revolving.

And it’s not even just about the internet. So much is changing so fast. But, each of that deserves their own posts. Watch out for them!

It’s a challenging time to be a marketer, but an exciting time.

More reading:
Water-Cooler Effect: Internet Can Be TV’s Friend
WSJ.com – Establish Brand Image in Online Media

Photo Credit: takuhitosotome

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