David Armano on Micro Interactions

David Armano of Logic+Emotion delivers yet another amazing presentation, this time on Micro Interactions + Direct Engagement in Web 2.0.  He is consistently one of the best bloggers out there, thanks in large part to how he graphically showcases concepts.  Check out the latest:

Social Media Skyrocketing According to Latest Internet Trends Report From Morgan Stanley

Just came across the latest Internet Trend report by Mary Meeker, courtesty of TechCrunch.  The rise of Social Media as highlighted in the report is outstanding.

Which companies have the right to be VC’s?

Lately there has been some good discussions about other companies acting like Venture Capitalists, especially ad agencies.  Personally I have major concerns if an agency starts acting like a VC, especially if they are investing in New Media companies.  The potential for conflicts of interest are huge.  First, theses agencies need to be media-neutral.  I need to trust my agency is making a recommendation that is best for my brand…not because their agency stands to profit through my support of a business they have invested in.  Second, they are funding those investments based on fees I paid them and then potentially profiting off media buys I make.  That makes me really uneasy.

However, I do think the future of the agency model could be in Shared IP and equity.  I have no problem with an agency working with a new/small brand and taking an equity stake instead of normal fees.  I think this is a great win/win since the brand saves money and the agency gets tremendous upside based on their work.   But if this new brand is a media property that the agency can then pitch to other clients, I get concerned,  My agency’s neutrality goes out the window and I end up feeling like my agency pimped me out.  Not a good place to be.

Now the people I do think have the right be investing in new media companies are the brands themselves.  A media buy from an established company like P&G can end up making a company.  I think back to the small buy I did with Secret on MySpace.com back in 2004.  My counterpart at MySpace said that because of that deal and the media coverage we generated from it, he ended up getting over 50 calls from major brands who before wouldnt even return his call.  Think if instead of a media buy, P&G had made an equity investment in MySpace?  We would have ended up with a major return on our money when MySpace sold out to News Corp.  Plus, many start-ups could benefit tremendously from the brand building knowledge that a major CPG could bring to the table.  Plus it has an employee benefit because marketers could take a “broadening assignment” to go work at the start-up for a year or two.  They would get a chance to scratch their entreprenuerial itch without leaving the CPG company.  That is a major HR win to keep top talent happy.

Now obviously there are drawbacks here.  First, CPG companies aren’t experts in the world of VC investing but that could be solved by partnering with a leading VC.  Second, a company like P&G investing in a company could potentially keep competitors from buying media on that site.    Third, almost all major CPG’s are publicly traded companies and VC is a hit or miss industry.  But then again, technology companies like Dell are publicly traded but they have been investing in start-ups for years now (though Dell Ventures did close after a few years).

The way I see it, there is tremendous upside for a major CPG company to partner with VC’s in the start-up game….but tons of downside if our agencies are acting as the VC’s instead.

Weekly Round-Up 4-26-2008

The best from the blogosphere this week:

• New blog discovery – Decker Marketing: As I was reading Brand Autopsy, I can across two mentions of Decker Marketing including 193 Marketing Ideas and 9 Guerilla Marketing Thoughts.  In a short time, I’ve become a big fan of this blog.
• Blogs vs Social Networks: Just caught this through a tweet from David Armano
• The Future of Advertising is Design: P&G puts a huge focus on design but we still have a long way to go to get everyone to embrace it
• Fred Wilson – A Lot Has Changed In A Century, But Not Everything: Communication overload.  I know the feeling.
• Social Media Basics for Marketers: Pretty self explanatory but a great read
• Second Life – Don’t Call It A Comeback: Second Life was all the buzz last year and it looks like # of hours spent on the site have been surging the past couple of months.
• MySpace Self-Serve Platform:  Interesting comments from Ian at Deep Focus
• Does Your Advertising Agency Get It?:  Great discussion and one I am torn on.  Traditional agencies are doing their best to learn Social Media but many dont get it.  What scares me is so many brands have such absolute trust in their agencies, that they let them try social media even when they shouldn’t.  This results in failures and bad social media marketing that turns off consumers.  Lets all promise not to do this!
• Seven Types of Highly Effective Corporate Blogs: Love the simplicity on what works (and what doesnt) with corporate blogs.

A Day in the Life of a Brand Manager – 4/24/2008

When I started writing this blog, one of the things I wanted it to do was give a peek inside the day to day life of a Brand Manager. The thinking is that it would be helpful for aspiring marketers, students, agencies and anyone else that would like to get inside the head of a BM. I’m hoping to do this type of post every once in awhile so you can see the variety but here is Day 1:

Is it good or bad to be blogging daily?

Ever since I started up Hard Knox Life, I’ve been trying to write a post every day, or at least every work day.  I haven’t quite reached that goal, having posted 38 out of 61 days so far.  But ironically I have done 61 total posts in those 61 days so at least I have that going for me.  I was feeling pretty good about that until I came across an interesting post on the Pandemic Blog about the “negative effects of daily blog posting.”  These negatives were:Daily posts mean hasty readers.

1. Daily posts mean low quality.
2. Daily posts mean fewer subscribers.
3. Daily posts mean fewer comments.
4. Daily posts mean pressure.
5. Daily posts don’t guarantee success.

So what do you think?  Are daily posts a good thing?  Or do they cause you to read this blog less frequently and comment less often? 

Super Brand Advocates aren’t new but you need to listen to them

Over at Next Great Thing, they pointed to a new social networking report from Hitwise that says that in 2008, we will see the emergence of a “super brand advocate”.  As the report states:

Whether via a personal blog or as a key member within a community, super-advocates are well informed, opinionated and have the ability to make or break a product launch or ruin a hard-earned reputation.

However, NGT hits the nail on the head when they point out that “Super Brand Advocates” are nothing new.  In 2007, Yahoo & Mediavest put together a report on Passionistas that talked about Super Brand Advocates as people who “have both knowledge and a need to share it.”  It’s pretty common sense that some consumers are going to talk more than others…I’m sure you know a few o fthis people yourself.

But while Super Brand Advocates aren’t new, they are powerful and it is getting easier to connect and identify them.  Blogs, social networks, Flickr, Twitter, Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Tweetscan…all of these allow you to listen to your consumers.  And if you can listen, you have a better chance of hearing who is talking the most and/or talking the loudest.  These are your super brand advocates.  These are people like Jeff Jarvis who caused Dell a serious case of heartburn a few years back.  These are people like  Harriet Klausner who has written so many book reviews on Amazon.com that her comments are now highlighted in new book releases.

Every brand out there should be thinking about identifying these super brand advocates for your industry.  At the very least, you need to be aware of them so problems don’t pop up.  But if you use them the right way, they can be invaluable sources of consumer research.  The key is starting a conversation with them so you can really learn what they want from your brand.  This isnt about a simple focus group where you talk for 2 hours, give them a check and then leave.  It is about an honest conversation where you enroll these consumers into your brand.

For most of us, taking the first step isn’t easy but it will be worth it.  We’re not use to open conversations with consumers.  We are use to hiding behind the focus group glass and the safety of being anonymous.  But now is the time to break that glass.  Take the first step and do a blog search to see who is talking about your brand.  Plug your brand name into Tweetscan to see who is saying something.  Even think about engaging your PR agency or a company like Nielsen BuzzMetrics to monitor the conversation.  A good conversation is worth the time.

Is your WeeMee going to Prom?

The guys over at TechCrunch picked up on a fun little social media experiment that I’m running with a social networking site called WeeWorld. If you haven’t heard of WeeWorld (and their other site WeeMee), it is an avatar focused social networking site that, according to comScore, “reports 100 million page views in March 2008 on 1 million uniques.” The “test & learn” I have up is centered around Prom and giving teens the opportunity to accessorize with our brands like Cover Girl, Herbal Essences and others. The media on the site ultimately drives teens back to the brand page we have up on Walmart.com that includes a Prom Prep Checklist. Check it out for yourself and find the perfect Prom look for your WeeMee.

You can see me decked out in a Prom tux below (ignore my Lab Wilson in the pic…he’s there as my usual WeeMee accessory):

HELLO, My Name is…

This weekend reminded me of one of the reasons I love blogs (and the Internet in general):  You can rediscover old friends who are doing amazing things.

As I was catching up on my RSS feeds, I came across Andy Sernovitz’s post on Scott Ginsberg.  If you haven’t heard about Scott, he is the Nametag guy..the only person in the world he wears a nametag 24-7.  He’s been wearing a name tag every day for the past 2,728 days (almost seven and a half years).   Scott is also an old classmate of mine from Miami University.  In fact, he started wearing his name tag shortly before he and I worked on a project together in a Computer Science class.  Back then, I had no clue if Scott would keep going with the nametag thing, but I did know he would go on to great things because he knew people.  He was the king of approachability and wearing a nametag was a tool he used to make people comfortable.

Scott has managed to turn this simple idea into a career as an author of 7 books, a public speaker, columnist and media expert.  I tell you, it feels great to see a good guy succeed at doing something he loves.

Yet another area the US is falling behind in

A new global study on social media use by Universall McCann shows the US is falling behind in participation rates.  A couple of highlights directly from AdWeek:

• A little over 60 percent of Internet users in the U.S. said they read blogs, but just 26 percent had created one, compared to over 70 percent of Internet users who blog in South Korea and China.
• Consumers in Asian countries are also much more likely to read blogs: 92 percent of South Koreans and 90 percent read them. In China, 88 percent read blogs
• While 30 percent said they watched video online in UM’s initial survey in September 2006, over 80 percent said they had this year.
• Less than 30 percent of respondents said they set up a social network profile in 2006; over 60 percent did two years later.
• Social networking is still growing worldwide, but is reaching a “saturation point” in the U.S., while countries like the Philippines, Brazil and Mexico more avidly use it.  The Philippines, Hungary, Poland and Mexico all boast participation rates over 75 percent, while just 43 percent have joined social networks in the U.S

UPDATE: I finally found the presentation for sharing since the AdWeek link is down