Wonderful Video Presentation Style

I came across an excellent video by the folks at Xplane video in Portland Oregon. Besides the subject matter being timely (even if skewed to US audience), I think viewers should look at the wonderful presentation style. Simple and easy to read graphics and type. My only concern is the copy does not stay up long enough in some cases.

Great example of the power of great presentations and a great update on the changing media landscape.

Surprise WEB 2.0 Is Working!

A recent study by McKinsey, in fact the third year of the study, indicates that "69 percent of (the 1,700) respondents report that their companies have gained measurable business benefits, including more innovative products and services, more effective marketing, better access to knowledge, lower cost of doing business, and higher revenues."

I hope no one is surprised by the finding. What should you expect when you enter into a dialogue with your customers and employees instead of just pushing information you think they want out to them. One of the biggest technology increases and effectiveness, both with employees and customers, has been the use of video. To me this just highlights the need to make communication easy to understand and engage with no matter what marketing tool you are using.

So if you are part of the 30% that do not yet buy into the power of web 2.0 (blogs, RSS feeds, microblogs-twitter, social networking-facebook, wikis, podcasts etc.) understand that chances are your competitor is and probably growing their business because of it.

For a full read of the McKinsey study follow the link below.

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/How_companies_are_benefiting_from_Web_20_McKinsey_Global_Survey_Results_2432

Do You LEAD On The Web?

Surely by now you have all heard or read about the move from web 2.0 to 3.0, basically preparing to involve and respond to your customers on-line like you never have before. Really you haven't, amazing just amazing. Relax neither have most business leaders.

Well for most of us then the attached article from Donna Hoffman who is a professor of marketing at the University of California, Riverside, and the codirector of the UCR Sloan Center for Internet Retailing, will be a great conversation starter as McKinsey calls it.

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Managing_beyond_Web_20_2389

In short LEAD (listen, experiment, apply, develop) developed by the Sloan Center is a simple model that will help companies thrive in the ever changing online world. I am no Internet wizard but I am smart enough to know that you have to be engaging with your customers on-line beyond just pushing stuff out to them. I have been saying for a very long time its a dialogue not a monologue with customers that will be build the brands of tomorrow and one key tool in the marketers tool box is web 2.0-3.0.

LEAD reminds us that beyond starting the dialogue you need to experiment with it and continue to stay engaged with your customers as they themselves experiment with the wild and wonderful world of the web.

Youth Not Feeling "The Love" At Their Bank

I recently finished moderating some focus groups with 18-24 year old Edmontonians. Part of the discussion dealt with how they wanted to be treated by financial institutions in their city. In short no participant felt their current bank was matching the vision of service they wanted from their ideal bank.

So it made me wonder, do banks really value the younger clients, the clients that will be their most profitable in a few short years. This younger generation (gen-y) is as big and will be as powerful as the current dominant baby-boomer generation, yet they do not feel their specific needs are being met by their current bank. My forum did not allow for a deeper dialogue on the issue but it is clear if I was a bank or financial institution in Edmonton, I would be taking a serious look at my youth strategy going forward.

Sustainability Of The Fitest

I have been talking sustainability to my clients for a long time. I believe that to be a successful brand and business you must be differentiated from your competitors while being relevant to your customers so they will continue to buy what you are selling. If you stay relevant you will be sustainable. You stay relevant by understanding what drives the hearts of your customers and deliver on their wants and needs.

So I love a great sustainable story and I have one to share with you. The link below to McKinsey Quarterly I think will provide you with a fresh, albeit not new look, at sustainability. It goes well beyond the current hype around being green and involves the former green leader from the Sierra club turned marketing sustainability leader, Adam Werbach.

Enjoy the read and remember to watch the video as it is I think required viewing for anyone who has been confusing sustainability with being green.



http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/When_sustainabillity_means_more_than_green_2404

Smooth Sailing

As many business leaders try to grapple with the harsh reality of today's market, I believe that many leaders do not really understand what their businesses are actually doing (or as I ask my clients..."what business are you really in") and have become so focused on their end results.

A recent piece in the McKinsey Quarterly talks about this and refers to it as the "Smooth Sailing" phenomenon, where if all appears to be going well then it is, and they are really not prepared for the underlying realities that all markets eventually bring up. The following is a great quote from the piece. I will post the link to the entire McKinsey article after the quote.


"I think that what has been the big wake-up call for people—and why they feel disquieted—is because they know in their gut that they don’t know where they’re going. They can’t see the future. And they haven’t got a business model and a strategy designed for an uncertain, unpredictable environment. They've got a strategy and business model for smooth sailing."

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Management_lessons_from_the_financial_crisis_A_conversation_with_Lowell_Bryan_and_Richard_Rumelt_236

China Crawls Out Of Recession

A great link from McKinsey to a good conversation between some thinkers on China from the China point of view.


http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Economic_Studies/Country_Reports/Is_China_recession_proof_2366