The Talking Village - People driven conversational marketing projects

Conversational Marketing Projects

This presentation

Background: the social media revolution

Who, what, why the Talking Village

Our starting point: the “Moms 2.0”

What we could do together

People living and breathing in the Web have developed their own conversation codes. Corporations know that “out there” people are talking about their brands, but tend to stick to the old broadcasting mentality. The Cluetrain Manifesto (1999): Markets are conversations

“ Right now, your customers are writing about your products on blogs and recutting your commercials on YouTube. They’re defining you on Wikipedia and ganging up on you in social networking sites like Facebook. These are all elements of a social phenomenon — the groundswell — that has created a permanent, long-lasting shift in the way the world works. Most companies see it as a threat. You can see it as an opportunity .” Social Media: A lasting Revolution

Introducing

Who

Flavia Rubino

- Marketing Director, Reckitt Benckiser Greece 2001-04

- Global Category Director, Reckitt Benckiser HQ London 2005-06

- GBU Baby-Beauty Director, Johnson & Johnson Italy 2006-08

- Managing Director Added Value Italy, 2009

- Owner & Editor, www.VereMamme.it

Giuliana Laurita

- Web Strategist Fullsix, 1998-2008

- Semiotic and motivational Researcher OTO Research, 2008-09

- Social Media Consultant, 2009

- Blogger ( http://www.mammaincorriera.it )

If market are conversations, It’s time to speak out. Our belief

What is the Talking Village?

It is a spontaneous community online (bloggers and other active people in the Web), that want to generate, promote and implement Conversational Projects , based on real interactions and collaboration between brands and people.

Aiming at:

Reducing the distance between (people in the) companies and (people in the) web

Promoting Consumer Empowerment

Women & moms: they are among the key players in the italian Web… Because they are often decision makers and responsible of family budget Because mommy blogging is a growing social phenomenon and brands are starting to approach it, sometimes in controversial ways Because these women are looking for a proactive/propositive role on issues of public interest Because they are strongly motivated to change the stereotypes in communication Because they can change an old marketing war-like culture into a new concept of collaboration

… E Some bloggers who followed us: “ 42 anni, un marito scienziato e due figli, sto cercando di far diventare la scrittura un lavoro retribuito” Anna “ Passare dal mojito alla pappa lattea è dura...” Chiara “ Mi piace: scrivere, leggere, danza orientale, musica, cucina, arte e natura. Non mi piace: fare le faccende di casa, fare la spesa, avere a che fare con la burocrazia ” Chiara “ Una nomade con lo zaino in spalla” Elisabetta “ A permettermi un felice incontro tra passione e professione sono state la prima figlia e Internet” Jolanda … .

Some of the things we can do together: Insights gathering, through monitoring of existing conversations online, Participation to workshops Conversations about products in dedicated web areas, through product placement, diaries/reviews and other interactive tools Collective storytelling around your key selected themes/issues Private interactive platforms for idea generation and incubation, matching expert consumers with company brains … .

The Talking Village Manifesto

We believe that the Web is the ideal ground to generate a valuable conversation between brands and consumers.

The players of the conversation should be honest, transparent, respectful, self-aware, competent.

Only when players understand each other’s needs, is the dialogue truly authentic.

Contents create value in the Web. Brands and users can collaborate to produce high-value contents.

Through communication, brands propose cultural models. We would like to contribute as much as possible to the creation of sustainable models.

The web user identity is best expressed by the contents they generate and share – not by their socio-demographic profile.

Empathy is key for productive conversations, ie the ability to be in each other’s shoes. Users should think of themselvers as brands, brands should think of themselves as consumers.

The Talking Village Values Ethics Openness/transparency Dialogue Respect Self awareness Empathy Knowledge Free choice Coherence

Our offer

One mission: from different languages to common visions

Our role is about:

Facilitating conversations

Decoding true feelings and insights

Interpreting company languages and consumer languages, fostering mutual collaboration

Helping brand staying connected with their key values and expressing them with the right cultural codes

Increasing the emotional intelligence of the brands

Concept/product test, focus groups… What’s new here? Everything! We don’t work on pre-cooked solutions... ...We team up from early stages of a process (be it a new product, a name, a new/improved process, a communication or promotion idea) ... We can transform a basic concept in a true, authentic story telling We ensure top quality of both inputs and outputs: Villagers are high-end innovators, highly self-aware regarding consumption choices Moderators are professionals and Villagers at the same time

1. Listening 2. Conversation 3. Support 4. Co- creativity Gathering insights, needs, feelings, stories, reviews, information gaps Brand stimulating and participating into community life Collaborative problem solving and idea generation Depending on objectives, our social/interactive tools can produce different outputs according to a growing level of mutual engagement : from insights gathering to emotional storytelling, from product placement to co-innovation pipelines

What could we do for you?

Listening & understanding through product placement and storytelling

Create a web identity for a new brand/product through an early-adopters/trend setters community online

Build an interactive platform to manage an ongoing pipeline of user-generated ideas and insights

Better mutual understanding

Get the true feelings - unlock the key consumers insights and bring them to life with an unprecedented level of depth

On the other hand, consumers understand the brand strategy

Better relationship

Brands who are open to conversation can create a lasting relationship which drives awareness and reputation

Better communication

Develop Personal, relevant, authentic, engaging stories that consumers will spread for you

What’s in it for you?

Communication initiatives

Success cases: the Mulino Bianco diaries

Bloggers and consumers used the product and held a 5 weeks diary on MB website, stimulated by a weekly “task”:

Before starting, they met with MB marketing team and interacted with them

Their creativity was seeked and appreciated by a big brand

Participants felt like a real Project Team

Another success story: Boppy

Boppy is a breastfeeding pillow: 15 italian bloggers (all of them actually breastfeeding) were invited to join a conversation area on VereMamme.it (the website temporarily hosting The Talking Village) + posted spontaneous insights about their product experience on their own blogs

They used constructive criticism, proposed alternative uses, personalized the product, posted ironic stories...

These are not BUZZ marketing operations , but authentic storytelling by people, true & honest conversations

Innovation initiatives

Su un argomento specifico Eg, executional evaluation Durata: 2-3 settimane Simile a Focus groups o interviste in depth Oppure su un’area più ampia Eg, new concept exploration Durata: 4-5 settimane Simile a ricerca etnografica Moduli con feedbacks real-time Eg, discussion forum, chat, idea posting, Q&A modules a-sincroni con feedbacks + profondi Eg, video-diario, multtmedia blog oppure Ipotesi di conversazione su TASK e raccolta di feedbacks/insights

The Talking Village può ospitare un dialogo continuativo con una community, alimentando una “pipeline di insights”: eg concept & copy development ma anche community interne, per coinvolgere i dipendenti in una comunità aziendale che fornisca stimoli e proposte Oppure community miste, che includono cliente, consumatori, esperti e professionisti Durata: 3, 6, 12 mesi per progetti/argomenti specifici Ipotesi di conversazioni on-going

Moduli di feedback in tempo reale Eg, chat, quickfire Q&A, an idea posting space, stimulus debate Moduli asincroni Eg, video diary, multi-media blogs based on specific tasks, stimulus response 1-2 assignments / settimana foundational insight Ideation Moduli che supportano compiti di ideazione Eg, chat, quickfire Q&A, an idea posting space, multi-media blogs Incubation Moduli che combinano real time ed altre interazioni Eg, concept discussion forum, quickfire Q&A, questionnaires Un ciclo di ideazione completo, flessibile ed integrato Client team Customers

Utilizza una community numerosa di stakeholders, esperti, consumatori “opinion leaders”, per un periodo esteso. Mantenere l’accesso a questa community potrebbe costituire una fantastica fonte di challenge e stimoli per il tuo team, una vera e propria pipeline di insights. Puoi aprire un dialogo continuativo con loro per 3, 6, 12 mesi o oltre… Non una metodologia di ricerca, ma una nuova cultura per co-generare idee breakthrough, ed instaurare un dialogo continuativo sul miglioramento di prodotti e servizi. Nuovi territori per un brand esistente… EPD’s, NPD’s White Space innovation… Brand stretch, White space, nuovi brands Il livello avanzato: High-end innovation partnering Co-creativity Thomas1

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