Front End of Innovation and Community 2.0

I'm at the Front End of Innovation and Social Media & Community 2.0 Strategies conferences in Boston this week. You can follow my tweets using the #feiboston and #socialc20 hash tags.

Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 9 years, and helps the Fortune 100 identify unmet consumer needs, create ideas to fill those needs, and bring them into market. He currently works at Maddock Douglas.

Microsoft LookingGlass Sets Stage for Next Generation of Monitoring Services

Microsoft recently announced the development of LookingGlass, a platform for brand monitoring and action in social media outlets. We had a chance to get a live demo of the software at the Chicago Media Marketing & Advertising group and was impressed. Found this video from AdWeek NYC 2009 and wanted to share. Keep in mind LookingGlass is still in development and may never see the light of day, but we think it's pretty cool.

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Auto-Tune My Voice and Put the Money Right in My Hand: Technorati

This article originally published in Technorati October 16, 2009.

In an industry with ever-dwindling sales and unmet consumer needs, major record labels still don’t get it.


It’s a sad state of affairs these days at the Big Four music groups (Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, EMI, and Warner Music Group). The music industry as a whole has been hurt by the American recession, and there is little doubt consumers are spending less on everything from physical albums and their digital counterparts to merchandise and concert tickets.

But why does an industry suffering from year after year of shrinking sales refuse to innovate?

The answer: major record labels have failed to learn and practice modern marketing skills.

Example: Warner Music Group’s recent attempt to modernize their marketing efforts by selling advertising space before and after music videos.

Really, Warner? That’s the best you could come up with for your so-called "Web Strategy 2.0"?

In an era with social technologies, pull marketing, and word of mouth marketing taking center stage, revenue from physical album sales (the primary revenue stream of the major labels) is plummeting. The desperation amongst industry insiders is palpable as they realize a fundamental business model change is going to have to happen if the major labels are to survive another two to three years.

Labels need to focus on producing a product that their customers view as high quality at a price point that is fair, and then delivering that product to the channels consumers prefer (digital). That may seem like common sense, but it reflects the way the marketing and advertising industries have dramatically restructured to leverage emerging technology and trends in consumer behavior. Returning to the adage of building a high quality digital product with a good story backing it up is essential for anyone working the business to consumer angle in 2009.

As Nancy Jeffries, head of Creative Development and Licensing at MPL Music Publishing recently shared with me, "Great music, undiscovered, filtered and at great prices is what’s called for now."

Digital Rights Management issues aside, unless major labels get their acts together by hiring in fresh, talented marketers - and taking them seriously - we don’t have much to look forward to from Hollywood in the coming years, nor can we expect to have any kind of say in the low brow, Auto-Tuned, airy music dominating Billboard’s top lists.

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Innovation In Music: New Opportunities For Advertisers From MPL Music Publishing Part 3

I recently had the opportunity to speak with MPL Music Publishing. The value proposition of the label is an iTunes like interface that allows individuals to search and download fully licensed music. I found their business model unique and offered to let Nancy Jeffries, MPL’s head of Creative Development and Licensing, tell ADMAVEN a little more about how technology is constantly evolving the business of interactive advertising.

Read Part 1 of this article
Read Part 2 of this article

What kind of response have you seen from the online community? Has utilizing social technology worked for you?
The response from the music community was really great and we now feature tracks by all kinds of artists from the great blues guitarist Sonny Landreth playing with Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler to Philip Glass protégé Trevor Gureckis; from Edie Brickell’s “Heavy Circles” to Pokey LaFarge, a young man carrying on the country blues tradition. Dance music, film cues, you name it, they all came along instantly revitalizing a catalog and adding interest to the site.

How does this compare to life in the old (and currently volatile) record label model?
It’s actually a lot more fun to do this kind of thing outside of the confines of a record label. There you’re looking for hits, you’re constrained by the promotional gatekeepers, here you’re looking for anything that might strike someone’s fancy. It’s much less limited and crazy creative.

We’re a music company developing our online business as opposed to a tech company exploiting the killer app. It may seem a bit backwards, but we think the time is right to focus on content and affordable quality.

What about the artists? How do they feel about reaching out via social media channels and servicing fans more directly?
We never want to forget that the people making the music are artists, and so are the people making the commercials and the films. We think that by taking a position that services the artist we are doing something fairly unique.

At this point we’re just getting into social networking and ways to reach out to let the wider community know this is available (this piece is part of that). We feel it would be good at this point to go beyond our core clients to include smaller agencies, people working on spec, film students etc. Having gathered the music now and set up the site we’ve just begun getting the word out. We’re working with a consultant who comes from Topspin, the company that’s developed a platform for artists to distribute their own music online directly from their sites. It’s an exciting time for us.

What is your response to those who say the music business is doomed in the current business climate?
The heart of this initiative addresses the current creative and economic climates directly. Great music, undiscovered, filtered and at great prices is what’s called for now.

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Manipulating Social Media: A Losing Proposition

Several days ago TechCrunch featured a rather embarrassing article alleging deceptive practices by a reputable public relations firm. Andy Sernovitz, word of mouth marketing ethics expert, also analyzed the situation, albeit assuming guilt based on the article from TechCrunch.

Although I will not name the company involved nor comment on the validity of the claims, I will discuss my feelings on the bigger picture.

As companies rush to enter the social space, the temptation to use old media techniques will be great. It seems to follow that if the success of a product is influenced by the number of positive reviews on a particular website, increasing the number of positive reviews will result in greater sales.

Sounds familiar doesn't it?

Neat, clean, methodical, and formulaic. It's an old-school media/public relations attempt at quantifying ROI in a new and uncertain era for advertising. I won't even touch the ethical issues involved - individuals like Andy Sernovitz are better able to articulate those points.

Let's talk about money and media spending. Social technologies allow us to spend money on a rolling basis, but get more and more return from that spending as time goes on. Unlike traditional campaigns where media is purchased, used, and exhausted, social media allows you to create a living, breathing community around a brand that lasts (as long as the product or service is of quality and the company continues to care what consumers say).

My smartest clients understand that their brands are now in the hands of consumers. Those consumers can be won over one at a time using social technology. They refuse to be tricked, bartered with, or swindled into impulse buying. They feel very secure in the knowledge that buying something that has been vetted by their peers will result in satisfaction. When a company tries to manipulate the systems that vet these products and services (reviews) by injecting biased content it places itself in a very bad position.

Don't let your clients or your brand fall victim to the short term solution. There are no simple formulas to calculate the ROI of social media efforts. Each system is unique and must be carefully reviewed to quantify success. It isn't about cold hard numbers, its about relationships and people.

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Marketers Love Facebook and Twitter, But At What Expense?

New data (and common sense) points to Facebook as the best place for brands to have a social presence. This goes in line with the concept of providing valuable information to your target consumer audience in outlets those consumers prefer to access. The question I am faced with - as an individual responsible for large scale social strategy implementation - is the old adage of putting all your eggs in one basket.

Our best quantitative research reveals that Facebook is not only top of mind across a variety of segments, but that it is used on a daily basis by more people than any other social media outlet. These findings cannot be ignored - in fact they must be acted upon. But where do we draw the line? The combination of Twitter and Facebook cannot be the fit for all companies seeking to engage in social media, yet these two outlets are the most common topics of discussion when beginning a project.

Stripping away the Facebook top layer reveals a rich ecosystem of other social media outlets. Marketers in general are ignoring these outlets in favor of the Facebook and Twitter combination.

Moving into the last half of 2009 will see many changes for Facebook and especially Twitter (as it moves to implement a revenue model). As a marketer you should always ask yourself this question, "If X was gone tomorrow, would my brand be okay?"

If the answer is anything but a resounding, "Yes!" you may have some work to do.

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Developing Social Strategy: Choose Wisely

As marketers grope to communicate with consumers using relatively new and exciting tools, agencies are trying to sell the story of social media products and services to marketers. These social media products and services come in a variety of forms - methodologies, software packages, websites, and plain old elbow grease.

Most of them are a complete waste of time.

As I survey the social landscape sprinkled with a light coating of "solutions" I get a sinking feeling that the noise is drowning out a very important point: the reason social technology has become so prevalent is the human desire to communicate. When coupled with technological innovations people can now exchange information with greater efficiency. That can't be quantified in a buzz word, a trademark, or a fancy looking online package. It's a simple - yet incredibly deep - notion that now permeates our daily lives.

Smart companies understand the secret to moving forward lies in activities that work with consumer behavior rather than against it. That isn't really a secret at all - it's just good business. Marketers who understand the unmet needs of their consumers and seek to fill those needs with transparency and forward thinking communications across all channels will become powerhouses of efficiency within the next two years.

Selecting the right partner to develop social strategy is the first step; choose wisely. Dig deeper and look beyond the buzz words and slogans - what makes a social agency or consultant tick? Is it the passion for a more meaningful marketing future in which brands and consumers get along, or is it a selection of tips, tricks, and disparate tactics to eke by?

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Marcus Sakey: Social Media Marketing in the New World of Publishing Part 3

Marcus Sakey was an award-winning copywriter on brands ranging from JCPenney to World Championship Wrestling until he left the business to write novels. His books have been translated into a dozen languages, labeled “nothing short of brilliant” by the Chicago Tribune, and chosen among Esquire Magazine’s Top 5 of the Year. His latest, THE AMATEURS, will be released on August 6th. Marcus approached ADMAVEN to tell his story and detail how he uses social media marketing to go above and beyond traditional publisher driven advertising. I found his story compelling, and I am not receiving compensation for allowing Marcus to guest post. With that being said, Marcus will detail his story in three posts that will appear on ADMAVEN weekly.

This is the final installment of my guest editorials at ADMAVEN, and I’d like to thank Nick for the opportunity, and all of you for reading—very much appreciated!

Last week I wrote about how even novelists need to build and maintain a brand. Today I’d like to talk about one specific way I did that, taking advantage of social networking.

Twitter is today’s buzz topic, and a lot of agencies and clients are trying to find ways to maximize the value it offers. To my mind, the most important thing is to remember that Twitter was created so that people could keep up with one another, not so they could be marketed to. The worst thing you can do on Twitter is treat your followers like a passive crowd that you talk at—or worse, sell at.

Okay, fine. But what does that mean?

Well, for me it meant that first, I waited to leap to Twitter until I had an idea of what I wanted to say. I didn’t want to just shout about my books. Also—and this is important—I didn’t want to be an early adopter. Unless you’re Ashton Kutcher, the benefit to being first to something like Twitter is outweighed by the cost in time and message. Remember that before Twitter there was Facebook and before Facebook there was MySpace and before MySpace there was Friendster and before Friendster there was AIM and before AIM…you get the picture.

The next thing you want to do is maintain a direct connection. That means replying to people. It means re-tweeting interesting posts. It means shooting thank you messages to people who follow you. It means spending some time being a real live person.

Beyond general interaction, I wanted to do something that would A) increase the number of people subscribing to my posts, and B) promote my new novel to a large group, while C) not being annoying.

All of which added up to a contest. A carefully planned contest.

My new novel, THE AMATEURS, is about four friends in their early thirties who are dissatisfied with their lives, and who make a risky plan to try to take what they think they deserve. Along the way, the meet every week or so to chat and drink and play games, one of which is called “Ready, Go.” It’s essentially a question game:

“If your best friend killed someone, how far would you go to help them cover it up? Ready, go.”

So for my contest, I decided to host a two-week round of Ready, Go. Every day I would tweet a question. To enter, all you had to do was re-tweet your answer, and tag it with @MarcusSakey and #TheAmateurs. Every answer counted as an entry. My publisher, Dutton, generously provided a prize package, about $1000 in hardcover books (A significant prize is important—small prizes feel small, and no brand wants that).

The idea was simple. At this point, being relatively new to Twitter, I didn’t have a huge network. But this contest took advantage of the networks of everyone who entered. Every time someone responded with:

“I’d help bury the body. @MarcusSakey #TheAmateurs”

it flashed out to their entire network. Thus my name, and the title of my new book, appeared on thousands of screens everyday for two weeks. Not only that, but because the questions led to intriguing answers, a lot of people in those networks checked out what had prompted the reply—and ended up subscribing to my posts.

Of course, at the heart of this is that personal connection. This wouldn’t have worked if it wasn’t a real person putting it together, maintaining it, responding to some of the juicier answers—in other words, interacting. Which is what social networking is all about.

Anyway, I’d like to thank ADMAVEN again for the opportunity. If you liked what I had to say—or if you hated it—please let me know on Twitter or Facebook.

Better yet, if you like to read, check out my new book, THE AMATEURS. I think you’ll like it.

Cheers!

-Marcus Sakey

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Marcus Sakey: Social Media Marketing in the New World of Publishing Part 2

Marcus Sakey was an award-winning copywriter on brands ranging from JCPenney to World Championship Wrestling until he left the business to write novels. His books have been translated into a dozen languages, labeled “nothing short of brilliant” by the Chicago Tribune, and chosen among Esquire Magazine’s Top 5 of the Year. His latest, THE AMATEURS, will be released on August 6th. Marcus approached ADMAVEN to tell his story and detail how he uses social media marketing to go above and beyond traditional publisher driven advertising. I found his story compelling, and I am not receiving compensation for allowing Marcus to guest post. With that being said, Marcus will detail his story in three posts that will appear on ADMAVEN weekly.

Last week I talked a little about where I came from—First Turner Broadcasting, then a design company of a dozen people, finally freelancing for companies like DDB and Leo Burnett—and how I got from there to here, working as a professional novelist. One of the things I learned is that while the game has changed, the rules remain the same—the point is to reach as many people as effectively as possible.

A lot of people have an idea of novelists as reclusive, hiding in their garrets and typing away in the midnight hours. And some are like that. But I believe that careful management of your brand, even as an author, can measurably expand success.

There are a lot of ways to build a brand in my business. Some of them are traditional—touring, speaking events, teaching, attending conferences, running traditional ads. And all have their advantages. But these days, the real benefits are in new media, the web, and social networking.

The reasons are the same for me as they for a shoe company. For the first time since we lived in villages, there’s the opportunity for producer and consumer to meet directly. Not only that, but it’s cheaper and effective.

What does that mean for me? Well, first a website. And not just a sales piece, but something honestly beneficial to a visitor. All the flashy graphics in the world pale in comparison to answering someone’s question, helping them with a project of their own, or simply giving them a personal vision of your brand.

In this case, my brand is me. And I craft a brand message with some care. I’m shooting to give people the impression of what I hope my books feel like—compelling, intense, with both high stakes and complicated moral issues. I’m also trying to let them know that I’m a real person, that when they buy one of my books, they’re inviting me to tell them a tale, and that I don’t take that lightly. And a good part of that comes from accessibility.

So I have a Facebook page, of course. I also have a mailing list, and whenever I send one out—which I do with calculated infrequency—I give something away. I blog. I maintain my own website. Every year, I host a release party for my new book. This year’s is in Chicago, on August 6th from 7 – 10pm at Sheffield’s (3258 N. Sheffield). Come by and let me buy you a beer.

These things make sense for an author. But I think they also make sense for a brand. Want an example? When I turned 18, Gillette mailed me a razor, a Sensor. I’m now 35, and I still shave with it. Convenience? Sure. But also, they reached out to me. They made me feel a personal connection. They tied themselves into my life. And it paid out, for 17 years and counting.

Next week, my last with ADMAVEN—and thanks again for having me!—I’ll talk about how I’ve been using social networking to reach out to fans in a way that’s a little different.

Meanwhile, if you’re in Chicago, come by my release party! I’d love to chat.

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Social Media Helps Skincare Upstart Take on Big Beauty

A recent article in Cosmetics Design entitled, "Social media campaigns can help small players enter competitive markets" highlights using an integrated campaign to win market share in a hyper-competitive industry.

Aloe Vera skin care company Lexli has launched a marketing campaign including social and digital media that is designed to help it succeed in an industry dominated by big players.

Such a campaign is perfect for relatively small players such as Lexli coming into very competitive marketplaces, explained Nick Kinports from innovation agency Maddock Douglas which designed the campaign.

“Without a million dollar advertising budget it is difficult to compete with the Dove’s and Aveda’s of the industry in terms of print and TV advertising,” Kinports told CosmeticsDesign.com.

In addition, there is a lot of consumer misunderstanding within the skin care industry and a social media campaign can help get the message across, he said.

Although social media is not the only strategy open to smaller players, for Kinports it is one of the best available right now.

“With a proper strategy and a good understanding of the online behaviour of the target audience you can make inroads quickly and find advocates for the brand willing to spread the word,” he said.

Integrates blog, online store and microsite

The Lexli campaign includes a traditional website that acts as the online store for the brand with product information and the possibility to purchase products.

In addition, Lexli has taken on aesthetician Jessica O’Dair as a brand ambassador who writes a blog entitled Real Skin Care Solutions with links to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

According to Kinports, Jessica is a more credible figure than a celebrity brand ambassador as she is a skin care professional. “She isn’t just a mouthpiece for Lexli. The Real Skin Care blog allows her to continue what she has been doing but through a new medium.”

For Kinports, transparency is the way to retain credibility alongside the knowledge that Jessica is working for Lexli.

“If it is handled correctly there isn’t a problem and transparency is the key. Yes, she works for Lexli, but if people can see she does more than just say ‘Buy Lexli, Buy Lexli,’ we expect a return on the time investment,” he said

Read the full article a Cosmetics Design

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The Great Innovation Race! Building Online Advocacy With Twitter

When Dave Wilson and I were tasked to come up with an innovative and educational experience for the Maddock Douglas Summer Interns, we instantly gravitated towards social technologies due to the fact that they are simple to setup and deploy, easy to track or measure, and transparent (read: good publicity for MD). We also knew that Twitter needed to play a major role in the experience because of its especially simple setup, open API, and ubiquitous nature.

The issue for us was how to motivate six interns to create meaningful engagement online while learning how to market a product or service using social technology as a key tool. The solution we arrived at was simple: our interns would compete to build online advocacy around their personal brands over a six week period for a cash prize.

The Great Innovation Race was born!

The goal for our Summer Interns is to amass the most followers on new Twitter accounts (owned by Maddock Douglas) using their personalities and intellects to fuel advocacy. Getting followers is great, but the point of this contest is to build and deploy a winning marketing strategy. The rules prohibit the usual shenanigans and protect our clients' confidentiality.

Benefits for the agency include enhanced PR, discovery of the Maddock Douglas brand, internal buy-in for social technologies, and a great case study to assist in future client deployments.

An interesting thing has happened in the 24 hours since we launched the competition. Internal advocacy for Twitter has been exploding. All of a sudden Maddock Douglas communications have been fractured between Twitter and the usual means. In my opinion, this is a good thing.

Be sure to follow the race - you can check out our intern pictures, bios, and latest tweets at Maddock Douglas.

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Major League Innovation - BusinessWeek's Innovation Engine Features Chicago White Sox and ESPN

As fans cut back on spending, sports teams must find ways to increase their share. Here's our formula for Major League Baseball—and other businesses:

By G. Michael Maddock and Raphael Louis Vitón

We are often asked about ways to innovate beyond the traditional business setting. In honor of the All-Star Game, here is our suggestion to the owners of professional Major League Baseball teams.

Sports teams run on statistics. Players are signed, promoted, rewarded, or released based on how well they perform against an agreed-upon set of detailed metrics. Yet when it comes to figuring out the best way to attract and keep fans—especially during a recession—it's a whole other matter. These same teams are, for the most part, relying on either outdated research approaches or "gut feel" to determine what fans want.

And not surprisingly they are swinging and missing. Want proof? Consider some of our recent findings:

• Every sports executive we have ever met says the No. 1 thing fans want is a winning team. Fans rank it 11th when asked why they show up at a game.

• What the paying customers want most is a "fan friendly" environment, right? Nope. Fans rank it 6th in importance.

• Teams worry that their ticket prices are too high. Fans say cost ranks 7th when they are deciding whether or not to attend a game.

This discrepancy between what sports executives believe and what is actually going on in the marketplace reveals that most have failed to take notice of two related and depressing facts: A) Few sports teams recognize the power of their brand/customer relationship. B) Most fail to leverage the unshakable fan loyalty, simply because they have not taken the time to figure out what fans truly care about.

READ THE ENTIRE FEATURE AT BUSINESSWEEK

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Crispin Porter + Bogusky Showcases Beta Social Homepage

And there you have it... A new homepage for agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, creators of Burger King's famed grinning King campaign and Microsoft's "I'm a PC", among others.

The concept is certinaly not new - Modernista has been doing it for over a year, and countless other websites now incorporate social elements into their homepages. Mr. Bogusky puts it well when he says, "It's our hope that this becomes more than a gallery of work and its more about a gallery of what our work is actually accomplishing out there in the real world."

I feel Crispin's approach, however, is a little narcisistic. The new homepage is filled with news and information being shared about CP+B. This may have been interesting a year ago, but in today's world of relevant and timely data I'm failing to see the innovation.

Shouldn't the feeds on the homepage be about CP+B's clients? Doing great work on behalf of clients is paramount to any agency, but leveraging that agency's own presence as a "living portfolio" of social data about client campaigns should be mandatory. CP+B allows you to click tabs along the top of the site to look at various active campaigns, but the focus is clearly on the agency itself.

The second focus of an agency social site should be its own employees. Where is the list of employees who are active on Twitter complete with a feed? How can I - as a prospective customer - get a more intimate look inside the doors of an agency?

I don't want to sound overly critical - building social media components into an agency website is a step in the right direction, but the conversation and engagement elements are overshadowed by messaging about how much press CP+B gets.

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The Social Networking Paradox: Daily Relevance and Revenue

As companies struggle to enter the social space, significant investments are being made to both create a presence on and maintain a presence in social networks. The value of these networks is obvious: millions of engaged target audience members sharing information and communicating on a scale never before seen. But how can a brand understand the relative value and public perception of a social network without expending resources entering the space?

There exists a paradox in social networking that has big implications for brands. There appears to be an inverse relationship between the daily relevance a social network has to the public and the amount of revenue it generates. Attempts to monetize create a tailspin of waning interest that eventually results in the collapse or re-engineering of the network itself.

Understanding where a social network is in the cycle of popularity can mean the difference between starting a strategy that is doomed from inception or growing constructively with a network.

Twitter, for example, is currently exploring ways to generate revenue. Some believe Twitter is already peaking in daily relevance. My assertion, however, is Twitter will be relevant for some time to come.

Marketers would be well advised to partner with an agency or consultant that understands this relationship - both where a social network is positioned and how consumers perceive that network.

I'm still working out the details of this visual - your comments are welcome!

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Twitter Is Peaking, If It Hasn't Already - Steve Rubel at 140 Characters Conference

At the 140 Characters Conference Steve Rubel, SVP, Director of Insights for Edelman Digital, gave a quick talk on activating "social media rockstars" within your organization. This applies heavily to how I approach social media campaigns. Of note Mr. Rubel disucsses how Twitter is, "peaking, if it hasn't already".

When I design social strategies and operating models for our larger clients at Maddock Douglas, I always ask the question, "If _______ was gone tomorrow, would you be OK?" Mr. Rubel does an excellent job of illustrating this point. He goes on to say that no social network has stayed mainstream longer than five years.

Social business design should be about strategy and building core competencies into your organization. The new consumer is slightly evolved from ten years ago, but the consumer of the near future will require social data at every level of the purchase decision to feel confident. Be prepared, but don't put all your eggs in one basket.

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