The different speeds of community marketing
For me, it has become obvious how "buzz marketing" (late 90's term) /"community marketing" (late 00's term) is *the* way to sell. And that "traditional media advertising" is so XX century.
May because I became an evangelist for this "New Marketing", fully utilising the new ubiquitous channels, and living in "hi-tec Finland", I got so engaged as to not notice what was happening somewhere else.
Yes, in 1997 I was developing concepts of "InterNETional Marketing", and warned that it wouldn't change per se the nature of advertising, it was "only" a new channel, which permitted more interaction with potential customers,
Yet it had the advantage of being terribly cheap, on a spending/public reached ratio. Because of being that cheap, after 10 years of spam ensued, and everyone got vaccinated. Yet some advertisers continue to "launch their nets", hoping to get someone to buy (into) their products. Just like launching nets on over-fished stocks, the marginal revenue is just too low.
It is relatively cheap to spam. Cheap, i.e., efficient, not effective. But then again, the spammers are mostly con artists praying on human stupid... naiveness.
Search engine ads are a big development, because there is a feeling of connection between the what we are looking for and the actual ads. It's not interrupting, it's helping, hence we potential customer actually thank the advertisers.
The Internet indeed permits interaction with the customer (moreover, on a BIG screen), namely on interactive ads, and there are examples of some immensely funny examples. Who didn't make the chicken dance, or made passes at that waiter? Some of them are visually amazing, but then again, how many went to buy more because of those interactive sites? Or even remember the advertisers?
Aye, there's the rub.
Rewind to what a friend of mine in Portugal wrote me. "TV is still the most respected advertising medium". I dispute this, and explained why on a previous entry. I found it mind boggling that a very good marketer like him cames up with this statement. Then I recall what happened while selling a top-notch, community intelligence system around the world. East Asians were eager, Europeans were sceptical. How come? Aren't the advantages self-explanatory?
The 3 speeds for community marketing in 2008:
1 - South Europe - is this working?
2 - North Europe - let's give it a try, but...
3 - Far East Asia - please give me more!
Recently in Portugal a mobile operator spent 30.000.000 EUR for a rebranding campaing.
They have 2 million customers, in a 10 million country. Costs of the campaign: 3 EUR/total possible customers... how effective was that is yet to be seen, but let me tell you, it won't look good, not even for accounting. So why do it? Maybe because the market is not ready for a much lower-key targeted advertising, that will spread virally, some will say. I dispute it also.
Examples of viral spreading are alive and well (even for the wrong reasons) in Portugal, so try to monetise viral marketing! Transfer energies from "traditonal marketing", impose your views on the agencies, or else ask them a nice explanatory brochure to present on the next shareholder meeting...
That's maybe why in Portugal, TV is still the most respected advertising medium...
nothing is done elsewhere! Change it! How? Ask me! :)
May because I became an evangelist for this "New Marketing", fully utilising the new ubiquitous channels, and living in "hi-tec Finland", I got so engaged as to not notice what was happening somewhere else.
Yes, in 1997 I was developing concepts of "InterNETional Marketing", and warned that it wouldn't change per se the nature of advertising, it was "only" a new channel, which permitted more interaction with potential customers,
Yet it had the advantage of being terribly cheap, on a spending/public reached ratio. Because of being that cheap, after 10 years of spam ensued, and everyone got vaccinated. Yet some advertisers continue to "launch their nets", hoping to get someone to buy (into) their products. Just like launching nets on over-fished stocks, the marginal revenue is just too low.
It is relatively cheap to spam. Cheap, i.e., efficient, not effective. But then again, the spammers are mostly con artists praying on human stupid... naiveness.
Search engine ads are a big development, because there is a feeling of connection between the what we are looking for and the actual ads. It's not interrupting, it's helping, hence we potential customer actually thank the advertisers.
The Internet indeed permits interaction with the customer (moreover, on a BIG screen), namely on interactive ads, and there are examples of some immensely funny examples. Who didn't make the chicken dance, or made passes at that waiter? Some of them are visually amazing, but then again, how many went to buy more because of those interactive sites? Or even remember the advertisers?
Aye, there's the rub.
Rewind to what a friend of mine in Portugal wrote me. "TV is still the most respected advertising medium". I dispute this, and explained why on a previous entry. I found it mind boggling that a very good marketer like him cames up with this statement. Then I recall what happened while selling a top-notch, community intelligence system around the world. East Asians were eager, Europeans were sceptical. How come? Aren't the advantages self-explanatory?
The 3 speeds for community marketing in 2008:
1 - South Europe - is this working?
2 - North Europe - let's give it a try, but...
3 - Far East Asia - please give me more!
Recently in Portugal a mobile operator spent 30.000.000 EUR for a rebranding campaing.
They have 2 million customers, in a 10 million country. Costs of the campaign: 3 EUR/total possible customers... how effective was that is yet to be seen, but let me tell you, it won't look good, not even for accounting. So why do it? Maybe because the market is not ready for a much lower-key targeted advertising, that will spread virally, some will say. I dispute it also.
Examples of viral spreading are alive and well (even for the wrong reasons) in Portugal, so try to monetise viral marketing! Transfer energies from "traditonal marketing", impose your views on the agencies, or else ask them a nice explanatory brochure to present on the next shareholder meeting...
That's maybe why in Portugal, TV is still the most respected advertising medium...
nothing is done elsewhere! Change it! How? Ask me! :)
posted by Andre' Serranho at
06:43
2 Comments:
Hmm, I'm interested in your community intelligence stuff - and in particular at the way you characterise different areas of the World. In my experience, the longer a mobile operator exists, the less likely they are to want / understand community intelligence. Maybe that's why?
By
Anonymous, at 6:48 AM
One of the reasons might be the infamous "fear of change". The more established a company (mobile or otherwise) is, the more likely it "sticks to what has worked before". That alone might hamper innovative approaches that have not been tested thoroughly "enough" to show the quantitative extend of the ROI from community intelligence-based marketing initiatives vs. traditional marketing.
By
Andre' Serranho, at 1:28 AM
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