Emotion, Expression and Experiences

As Marketing becomes Emotionalizing…Why I think we love Pinterest and Instagram.

Enabling Original!

Brands are certainly challenged with their new role.  Transitioning from a product focused approach is somewhat frightening and can be intimidating.

Still, a brand must consider the alternatives and understand that the process has been disrupted.

Image: Pinnable Business

People are a living part of your business and want to be involved.

A brands new role is centered on service. Offering the resources people need and enabling “Life”…everything and everyone!

The narrative is always changing…

In 2012 we hope to see brands imagine the possibilities. People are keen to be social adventurers, always exploring, hoping to discover and anxious to share “found” treasure with their connections.  Emotion…I think this is one reason why Pinterest has quickly captivated our attention.

Maggie’s Brand and Maggie’s Message

Marketing is no longer the objective, even social media continues to change. For instance; savvy social brands are able to subtly nurture connections.  Whilst enabling people to discover products, they also benefit from the natural connections that occur from sharing. This is a very different form of influence.  It’s real!  This type of influence starts with emotion builders, content that is authentic, and messages that portray conviction.

“Improves the look of”  You may have tested and retested marketing messages, but with a less than authentic tone and a true conviction, this type of message is  less likely to be effective.  The sincerity found within people-to-people content is more promising and often a part of the reciprocal process within a cycle-of-courtesy.

Prepare for continuous distraction, as real-time substance meets emotional connections.  The dominance of “original” content will likely rank absolute and continue to be widely expressed.   Start here: Celebrate original and remain flexible so that you can instantly respond, reward and convey ideas.

Experiences

Nike relentlessly focuses on marketing.  In Collaboration and Co-Creation, we explore Nike challenging traditional with their commitment to connecting within social environments.  Now we see Nike emerging with even more purpose and enabling branded experiences.

Nike is extending the Nike brand experience through an invite-only basketball court in NYC.  Nike has renovated a distressed gymnasium within a residential building. As part of Nike’s #makeitcount New Year’s campaign, the Masaryk building has an unbelievable gym and Nike has court-side evidence of a sincere commitment to making “it” count.  An ideal extension of the Nike brand experience!

Nike continues to enable…Fuelband keeps you active while you make it count!

Related articles

• So, We Don’t Want to Engage with Brands via Social Media (pallino1021.wordpress.com)
• Getting Social Integration Right! A Few Posts To Ponder… (pallino1021.wordpress.com)

Exploring the Stages of Engagement to Connection

What came first the chicken or the egg? That is what comes to mind when hearing different perspectives of Engagement and Connection. Sometimes these terms are tossed around like they are interchangeable. Depending on the view you are subject to, you may have to do some digging to ascertain the direction of the message. We view Engagement and Connection as two very different stages within what ultimately enables a Cycle-of-Courtesy.

Many still question engagement as a good source for online and mobile lead generation, opting for intrusive messages via SMS, email, or newsletters. The problem may not be engagement, but within the idea that engagement is a standalone solution.

      Engagement within social media is only the first step. The difference between engagement and true connections lives within how you prepare, respond and adapt

Exploring The “Value” of Collaboration| Featuring IBM’s CMO Study and a post by @koertbakker

IBM recently released the IBM Global CMO Study for 2011. The study offers a comprehensive look inside the challenges facing more than 1,700 global CMOs from 64 countries.

In chapter one, IBM challenges CMOs to “Deliver value
to empowered customers”, reflecting the importance of understanding people and using digital media as a source for insight.

IBM asked CMOs to “rank each factor in terms of its expected impact on the marketing function over the next three to five years”.  IBM also considers levels of confidence CMOs feel about managing each factor. 

Figure 4 illustrates the critical issues.

While we completely agree with the critical issues, we are also keen to explore number nine, “Customer Collaboration and Influence”  as a significant part of all the other issues.  Collaborative agendas redefine the process and the multiple dimensions of value.

Wanted/Needed…Social Media Sideline Reporter @PhoenixSuns

As sports teams/organizations get more social smart and social savvy, you will see more of these calls for help. Sports teams are looking for ways to keep their fan bases alive with anticipation…and fans want to be involved.

Is your perfect night watching the #Suns while talking about them on Twitter? We're looking for YOU. http://t.co/0EgqIItO #SocialSideline

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) October 3, 2011

As we learned during our research for Collaboration and Co-Creation, the Phoenix Suns have one of the most loyal fan bases in the NBA. The Suns are committed to involving fans as much as possible and understand the value of fan-to-fan interaction. Recently, the Phoenix Suns made an announcement for a new job opening for a social media sideline reporter, the first and only one of its kind in their history.

What Social Media Should Be…Collaborative | Part II

What Social Media Should Be…Original | Part I

Social media experts create engaging content and have adapted extremely well to the idea of influence and the need to motivate share-ability. Yes, social media offers advantages.  Most notably, ease of convergence across platforms, but can social media support loyalty simply through engagement?

A Visual Look Inside SXSW 2012…and a bit about our panel

Matt Biddulph has created a visualization of the more than 3,000 prospective 2012 SXSW panels that is certainly worth a look.   Matt’s efforts offer a good look at what people want to talk about.  Social Media is still an overwhelming category, but it is good to see many have moved into what’s next. (click here or image for full view)

Coca-Cola’s Secret Ingredient for Happiness…Social Media!

People!

“It is a world yearning not just for the beverages we provide but for the ideals and values we represent—ideals like community, fun, happiness and the hope for a better tomorrow”

Muhtar Kent,Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer | Source: Coca-Cola: Advancing our Global Momentum

Disclosure: We do not work with Coca-Cola, but we love the way they approach new media.

Extending the brand experience is replacing traditional marketing, and one of our favorite examples is Coca-Cola. Sure, marketing is still a way for Coca-Cola to connect with the world, but it seems they embrace a responsibility of service, resource provider and enabler…with far more enthusiasm.

I’ll Have the Authenticity, Please!

@jblawrence

Recently, while visiting a restaurant (The Colony Restaurant), I asked to look at the menu. I was handed an elegantly bound and foil-stamped leather menu with the tasty appetizers and entrees printed inside. Then the young lady said “Oh, here is a copy of the specials for tonight”. It was a photo copy of the handwritten specials, as created and described by the Chef (who also happens to be the owner). I asked “Do you hand these out to the patrons, or just have the servers read them?” “We hand them out to the guests.” was the reply. “We tried printing them on nice card-stock and handing them out, but everyone kept asking for the menu written by the Chef”.

Not that the descriptions were any different, it was the “authenticity” that they are craving.  Guests wanted to know just how the Chef was thinking and the exact words he used to describe his creations.

Guests felt connected to the Chef… he was writing these specials just for them…

What businesses need to do today…

Collaboration and Co-Creation: New Platforms for Marketing and Innovation

Springer has just released Gaurav Bhalla’s Collaboration and Co-Creation: New Platforms for Marketing and Innovation, a book about customer-centric methods of value creation.

We are pleased to have played the lead creative role in developing content and direction for this book.

Our journey to discover and define inspirational accounts of “Collaboration and Co-creation” was in itself, a splendid learning experience.  Technology enabled our efforts to reach far beyond the subject matter. We were able to capture the unique and distant aspects of collaboration and co-creation, discovering trajectory shifts and their influence on established direction.

In the book we introduce Listen-Engage-Respond, a framework for creating the conditions and disciplines needed to truly be collaborative. Case studies and recommendations help readers to reach a deep understanding; moving through the warm-up, the practice, the game and the rewards.

In the coming weeks, we will explore the case studies and outcomes in more depth. Move from engage to connect, and how to position mobile as a constant source of information and sustainable relationships.  We look forward to sharing our thoughts and hopefully encouraging highly interactive discussions.

Physicians Facilitate and Benefit from Collective Care

The aspiration of Collaborative Health-Care guides readers through the introduction of our soon to be released book, Collaboration and Co-Creation: New Platforms in Marketing and Innovation. (Springer) Collaborative health-care is a groundbreaking and progressive form of treatment. Not only does it engage patients, but it encourages a physician—patient cooperative relationship during every aspect of care, from diagnoses to treatment of their disease.