Whatnow

WHAT NOW? Straight talk about your brand and social media Leigh Householder Advergirl.com Spetember 2008

We’ve all been in THAT meeting.
The one where someone says: “No one watches TV commercials. We all fast-forward through them or just watch the shows online”
Stop saying the :30 second spot is dead
Reality check: Only 22% of U.S. households have DVRs
That number won’t even hit 1/3 until 2012
Reality check: Only 10% of online consumers have watched a full-length TV program online

Saying traditional media doesn't work, is the easy way out .
Americans have more choice than ever before. They’re distracted, multi-tasking, over-scheduled and generally a pain in the ass to engage.
But they’re also still showing up . Online, offline, and everywhere in between:
We each spend 2 hours / day actively watching TV
The set is on another 4 in most households
Our average commute (or time with billboards, radio, bus signs, etc.) is another half hour
And, then we invest almost another entire hour a day buying stuff
Great work still matters in every medium

The new segmentation is: Media choice
It’s a powerful level to lay over your standard segmentation strategy to make every dollar work harder AND begin an evolution (not a bloody revolution) into new, social media
The real challenge is: SEGMENTING
TRADITIONALISTS
Consume TV, radio and print almost exclusively
Value expert opinions
May use online tools, but have not made them their own
INTEGRATORS
Grew up with traditional media but embrace online and social tools
Value “pro am” opinions and consensus
Mix their media choice
UNPLUGGEDS
Engage with media across multiple platforms - value immediacy, brevity and choice
Value peer opinions
Can text with their eyes closed

The danger in segmenting is in assuming young people behave one way and older people another
Media choice is a determined by a complex amalgam of age, class, education, opportunity and inclination
Reality check: Half of all active bloggers are over age 35
Reality check: Mom’s powered one of the fasted moving social networks last year (CafeMom). Facebook users: didn’t.
Reality check: Over 30% of 20-somethings don’t use blogs, social networks, Twitter, or tagging
Warning: Age ≠ behavior

Do you have the right story? Is the foundation of your brand compelling and honest? Does it have relevance in the online communities you want to be a part of?
Do you have the permission? Do a gut check - are your execs ready? Are your customers?
Do you have the experience? Are you - or can you get - native in social media? Can you dive deep in some communities and test drive others?
Brand check: Are you ready to try social?

Is your agency really prepared to translate your traditional brand experience to a social one?
Partner check: Is your agency ready?
They COULD BE if:
They talk about your customers like real people (and not demographics)
They talk about ROI in terms of quality and quantity
They’ve successfully executed word-of-mouth campaigns
They‘ve built captive marketing groups or other communities
They admit they’ve never done it before (just make sure to ask them to share the risk - 50/50 on costs)
They’re NOT if:
They promise “viral”
Only people younger than 25 talk in the meeting
They spew lingo you don’t understand (and don’t even try to explain it)
They talk more about the tactic than the connection
Their proposal seems totally divergent from your core brand

The first thing social changes is the goal
Success in Traditional Media
Engagement Desire
“ Watch me” “Want Me”
Success in Social Media
Trial Pass Along
“ Try me” “Talk About Me”
It’s LESS LIKE:
Proven
Value
Buy
Inclusive
It’s MORE LIKE:
New
Intriguing
Free
Exclusive

It depends: On your brand and your audience.
Baseline: The same percent you invest in any “champion vs. challenger’” media buying . Let’s say, on average, that’s 15%.
The big question: How much to spend?
Spend less if:
Your customers rely on primarily expert advice in purchasing products or services like yours
Your typical customer is over 40 (social media use a percent of the population drops dramatically over 39)
Your culture is command-and-control
Spend more if:
Your customers consider peer reviews or opinions in purchasing products or services like yours
Your typical customer is under 30 (social media use is pervasive)
You work for a customer-centric brand

The fundamentals of brand investment haven’t changed:
It has to be measurable. The ROI models are new, evolving and can be radically different. But if it can’t be measured, it can’t be improved.
So that you can react and change: Take what you learned and make the next engagement better.
And be ready to act when you need to: Save a certain percent of your budget to make bold moves. To try new things. You never know where the next big consumer engagement will come from.
Measure, change, act

ME: Leigh Householder on Advergirl.com
Sources:
Social networking adoption: http://chimprawk.blogspot.com/2008/01/how-many-americans-use-social.html
Compete’s Top Moving Sites of 2007: http://blog.compete.com/2008/01/17/2006-vs-2007-top-moving-sites/
Bureau of Labor Statistics behavior data: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.t08.htm
Jupiter’s Online Video report: http://newteevee.com/2008/02/08/jupiter-768m-in-video-ads-latent-demand-for-tv-shows/
Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere report:
http://technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere/who-are-the-bloggers/
Other Resources

http://leighhouse.typepad.com	602
http://smartreklam.blogspot.com	86
http://www.advergirl.com	19
http://thefactory.sicolamartin.com	8
http://bearhouseblog.blogspot.com	6
http://www.slideshare.net	5
http://feeds.feedburner.com	2
http://www.fastfwdinnovation.com	1
http://www.hanrss.com	1
http://www.typepad.com	1
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com	1
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	1
http://isearch.avg.com	1

Whatnow

by Leigh Householder on Sep 25, 2008

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