Two articles of similar nature crossed paths on my laptop yesterday, and I’ve been thinking about the collision ever since. The first was a very simple newsletter from Media Post: Engage Moms. The essence of the story was that when you target “moms,” you shouldn’t focus simply on reaching them as an audience; you should consider everyone they touch as your audience too… and make your message/offer engaging enough for them to pass it along. (Click here to see the complete posting.)
The other piece that captured my thinking was an interview with Chuck Brymer, CEO at DDB, which I found on MeetTheBoss.tv. Watch the edited version below (pre-roll required, and a free membership to MeetTheBoss.tv is required for the full interview version).
Implications: Back in 1980, Reis and Trout authored “Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind,” asserting that marketing does not take place in radio, television or newspaper, but in the mind of the consumer. They were right… and now we can add a plethora of digital tools to the list of media where marketing does not take place. (Positioning still takes place in the consumer’s mind… it’s just that we now access those minds using dozens of tools which did not exist back in 1980.)
So, perhaps the notion that companies own their brands is outdated. If “brands” are nothing more than the identity of a product, perhaps companies own products, but consumers own the brands. That’s important to think about, since many consumers also own their own media companies (including email, blogs, and social networking pages). Is your traditional media messaging designed in a way that inspires adoption, virility, and positive commentary by (consumers) the owners of your brand?
Are you inviting feedback from customers in a way that it can be captured and used? (I’m thinking survey results, and testimony in a wide variety of formats, including email, voice or video.)
Are you rewarding customers who tell a friend? (Not just “liking” you on Facebook, but becoming your product, service or company evangelist!) What kind of rewards might profitably spark that kind of behavior?
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