Since 1996, I’ve served on the advisory board for a number of the marketing-related programs for the University of Washington’s Professional and Continuing Education division. If you live the Seattle area, you should know about the Advanced Interactive Marketing Certificate.
Here’s a short video overview:
Check it out, and share this post with anyone you think might benefit from the program.
Search for “oil spill” on Google and you’ll get this:
On Bing you’ll get:
British Petroleum · www.BP.com/GulfOfMexicoResponse
Get Info about the Gulf of Mexico Response Today
Yahoo:
BP – Info about the Gulf of Mexico Spill Learn More about How BP is Helping. www.bp.com/gulfofmexicoresponse
Normally, I’d say this is Responsible Marketing: Use paid search to share the positive and combat the negative. Bully for BP.
But where’s the competence? Where’s the character? I see neither and BP has lost my trust.
They’ve stumbled so badly, so often and on so many fronts this feels like a desperate ploy to manipulate public opinion. Actions speak louder than words and I’m no longer listening.
In fact, I’ve boycotted BP.
So what do you think? Does this feel like smart marketing or slimy spin?
And what will it take for BP to regain your trust?
Comment below to weigh in.
You know the ads on the right hand column of your Facebook feeds page?
Here’s a view I’ve received a lot lately:
Yeah. I know. You’ve seen these ads enough already.
Not sure why I’d receive ‘em…I’m not a gamer and there’s nothing in my profile that would lead you to believe I’d be interested in this. In fact, I really don’t like seeing a gun or a crime scene every time I log on to Facebook.
So I’ve nuked these ads whenever I’ve seen them, using Facebook’s advertising feedback feature:
Now that’s what advertisers and users are looking for: Users can receive tailored ads, and advertisers can build a feedback loop for their creative.
Well, at least in concept.
You see, I decided to delete all the “Mafia Wars” ads that popped up, and they simply kept appearing—sometimes two to three of them at once. It didn’t seem to matter which reason I gave, they still littered my screen.
Look, I like a good mob movie as much as the next guy—but what if I really found these offensive? I’d be pissed.
This practice isn’t just anti-user, it’s anti-advertiser.
Somebody has said every way they can that they don’t want to see your ad—but Facebook is still serving them up?
Sure, the feedback widget says “Over time, this information helps us deliver more relevant ads to our users” but if you are given the option to remove an ad because it’s offensive, misleading or anything else on the list, shouldn’t your wishes be granted there and then? Are there any advertisers out there that really want to offend people over and over?
I started deleting the “Mafia Wars” ads weeks ago. And while they don’t pop up nearly as much, I’m still receiving them.
It’s nice Facebook is asking for feedback, especially since it appears they are using the information provided to improve the user experience…somewhat.
But they aren’t asking people to passively answer a poll regarding the color of their wallpaper. They are asking people if they find an ad offensive or misleading. If the user says “yes, this offends me,” the ad needs to disappear from their user experience—forever.
What do you think?
I’ve owned dozens of cars, and like a lot of people, most have been Japanese or German. So when I turned in my leased Honda and started the hunt for a new hybrid, I drove the Toyota Prius, Camry and Highlander Hybrids, the new Honda Insight and a Lexus RX 400h.
But the events of the last week have me second-guessing myself, and I have Ford’s social media marketing team (and a great product) to blame for it.
Let me explain.
A few weeks ago, Ford contacted me “looking for fresh perspectives and feedback, something a little more engaging and authentic” from “non-traditional approach for bloggers and other content creators” and asked if I’d be interested in test driving the new Fusion Hybrid for a few days.
I agreed, and last Thursday, they delivered a shiny new one to my office, with the Michigan “Manufacturer” plate and all.
Here are few pictures I snapped with my iPhone:
The fit and finish were good and the ride was really quiet. In fact, it put my both my high-energy kids to sleep on the ride back from their grandma’s house. Sounds like a cliche, but it’s true.
I got a lot of comments from neighbors “That’s really a nice car,” co-workers “I’d buy that” and was even given a special parking spot by a parking lot attendant after he said “Is that the new Fusion Hybrid—cool!”
What I liked most was the fact I nearly forgot it was a hybrid. The transfer from electric to gas is less obvious than it is with my Lexus, a fact that the press hasn’t missed, with USA Today calling it the best gas-electric hybrid yet.
Oh, and while I didn’t get the 81.5 miles per gallon achieved in a recent hypermiling stunt, I did get a respectable 39.5 MPG in a mid-size car.
All-in-all, an eye-opening experience.
Ford’s social media team is firing on all cylinders
You might have heard the buzz about the Fiesta Movement, Ford’s social campaign that put 100 “agents” (selected from over 4,000 applicants) behind the wheel of a 2011 Ford Fiesta for six months and how they’re sharing the results of their “missions” on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.
Ford is winning on the social web due to the aggressive approach that Scott Monty and Ford’s social media team have been taking to engage customers and build authentic conversations around their products and brands.
A return to the past?
Their bet is that if people actually drive a Ford, they might buy one. In fact, Alan Mullaly, CEO of Ford, is interested in resurrecting “Have you driven a Ford lately?” campaign from the mid 1980’s.
Here’s an ad from that campaign that aired in 1984, the year I graduated from high school.
So, why didn’t I consider Ford?
Old attitudes and habits die hard.
Recent research from Nielsen puts Ford’s brand advocacy quotient below companies such as Kia, Pontiac and Chrysler.
While Ford’s branding and social media campaigns are good, I’ve become brand loyal to other manufacturers and it will take a lot to break that hold.
Ford’s dealers still publish absurdly noisy ads with prices the average buyer will seldom get (loyalty discounts, military discounts, first-time buyer discounts, etc)— and you’ll always have to haggle with the salesperson and expect them to bring in the manager when they can’t close the sale.
Still, that happens with most dealers and Ford’s product is good and worth a look.
People like me have been saying “Once American manufacturers catch up with Japanese and Germans, I’ll start buying American cars again.”
Well folks, has that time come? Ford’s product quality and the way they’re communicating with customers has me reconsidering their offerings.
Would you consider a Ford?
Comment below to weigh in.
Much has been said about how connected Gen Y is. But I was shocked when I learned that teens with a cell phone average 2,272 text messages per month.
That’s works out to over 73 messages per day, or 4.5 per hour assuming eight hours of sleep. This is compared to an average of 203 calls per month, or a mere 6.5 calls per day.
Recent research has shown the average teen in the UK spends 31 hours online. That’s nine hours shy of a full-time job, folks.
Hyperconnected teens are always on and they are always talking—about everything. That includes the good, the bad and the ugly about your company and its products and services.
What’s more, Gen Y is huge. At about 76 million people, it’s about as big as the Baby Boomer generation.
Let’s just say it would be wise to stay on their good side.
This is the largest, most connected generation ever. It changes the game for everyone in marketing: To be responsible, marketing via web, social media and mobile devices simply can’t be considered an optional add-on anymore.
So, what do you think about all of this?
Image: From Shaping Youth, 13-year-old Megan Pozgar, 2007 LG Texting Champion, won $25,000 for the word “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
Personalization has been the marketer’s holy grail for a long time.
From 1998-2002 I instructed the Integrated Marketing Communications course at the University of Washington. The first few years, I used The One-to-One Future by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers as one of my textbooks.
Of course, one of the key messages of the book centered on making messaging more personalized. “Dear Patrick” is way better than “Dear Customer,” after all.
Permission Marketing was another one of my texts. It raised the bar and said that every message you send must be “anticipated, personal and relevant.”
Now, technology has made it easy to personalize email marketing messages, web landing pages, direct mail, and more. Promotional items have been personalized for years, but the options today are mind-boggling.
Viral online games that you can personalize by uploading your own photos are now mainstream.
Here’s a video about my run for the Presidency that shows just how far you can go with personalization:
Most consumers prefer personalized messages, and personalization increases open rates, response rates and just about every metric that matters to marketers.
Should you start personalizing all your marketing messages?
Well, yes and no.
Personalization often backfires. My wife’s name is Arden, and I can’t tell you how many pieces of mail she gets calling her “Mr. Arden Byers.”
Privacy is a concern. Get too personal and consumers get nervous. You’d surely received the mortgage refinance letters that know exactly what you owe? “They know too much about me – that’s creepy,” is a common response. Personally, I get angry.
Personalized isn’t necessarily personal. Simply inserting someone’s first name after the word “Dear” may not be enough.
Today, Freddy Nager wrote an interesting post regarding the way rock bands, and in the case, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails connects with his fans.
His comments regarding personalization got my juices flowing and are the inspiration for this post.
No, the letter doesn’t address me by name, but fans are savvy enough to know that no rock star can personally address millions of fans, so Reznor simply avoids that pretense.
(Junk mailers take note: just because you use my first name in the salutation doesn’t make me think it’s personal.)
At the same time, he writes in first person, addresses the reader as “you,” and speaks to them in a casual, uncensored way.
Compare that to the emails many of us get from corporations: “Dear Freddy, We at Humongoloid Bank Inc. want to thank our customers for another record year…”
Chew on that for a minute, then tell me, while personalization matters now, how long do you think it will be before consumers get “personalization fatigue?”
Put another way, how long before marketing personalization becomes so prevalent it becomes irrelevant?
Comment below to share your thoughts.
I wish people didn’t call it “new media” anymore.
It’s just media.
But unlike television, radio and print, this media is created by you, me, your co-workers—maybe even your mom.
It’s a conversation that brings you closer to the customer than ever before at a time when recent research has shown that 86% of consumers don’t believe brands, but 78% of consumers believe what their peers say about brands.
But check out this comparison of average media usage versus average media spend from Chris Schaumann’s excellent Digital Branding presentation.
The disconnect is immediately evident: If you aren’t marketing online, you’re looking for love in all the wrong places.
So, what about the customers you already have?
The Break Up is an award-winning viral video from Microsoft that shows the painful disconnect between what today’s consumer wants, and how advertisers are (or aren’t) responding:
So, what are you doing to engage your customer and prospects?
Comment below to share.
Inspiration for this post came, albeit circuitously, from the following people: Justin Marshall > Ryan Turner > Geert Desager > Chris Schaumann
Thoughts regarding anything shared today?
Comment below to weigh in.
Alltop is the excellent blog aggregation site that offers “aggregation without aggravation” because it lists just the best of the best blogs.
I was honored to be included in the marketing.alltop category in May and gave you Responsible Marketers the opportunity to weigh in on which badge I should use.
So, imagine my surprise when I learned that the Responsible Marketing Blog has been added to socialmedia.alltop category.
This list includes the thinking of some of the best minds in social media, and I’m humbled to be included.
Thanks to you for making The Responsible Marketing Blog part of your day, and to Alltop for including it on their list.
