It's Time For A Little Humanity

I believe that the world of screens that is upon us, be it TV, smart phone, computer, you name it, is leading to a distinct lack of people with the ability to hold a personal face to face conversation. I also believe that this is one of the biggest issues in the marketing communications world going forward, as digital grabs a firm hold of the tool kit being used by the industry. This almost single minded focus on interactive in a digital sense, I believe leaves a huge opportunity for interactive in the human "face to face" sense.

I for many years have been a huge proponent of experiential marketing and think the work being done by firms like Momentum and Jack Morton, just to name two I am personally familiar with, is outstanding and a real difference maker in building relevant brand relationships. To me those marketers that engage all the senses of the consumer, in an impactful experience, will win the day over those that just choose to digitally interact with them. Success in building relevant brands comes with striking a balance between digital and human interaction.

So I could not agree more with the following quote from a recent article from McKinsey. "Many retailers assume that customers walk into stores for purely transactional purposes: they know what they want and just need to buy it. Yet McKinsey research indicates that as many as 40 percent of customers remain open to persuasion once they enter a store,despite undertaking extensive product research, reading online reviews, and comparing prices on their own." Just think back to your in store experiences in the past few years. Think of the sales people you have encountered and think of how many added any knowledge or insight beyond what you had already uncovered on-line. If your answer is anything like mine then you will find the attached piece from McKinsey worth the short read.

Enjoy the link and don't forget we are humans not machines.

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Rediscovering_the_art_of_selling_2677

Video Rules and Brands are Too Agressive in Social Media Down Under

When I ran McCann Erickson China in the mid 2000's, John Gregg was the Strategy Director of our Shanghai office. John returned to Australia in 2006 and recently, as part of his role with Curtin University in Australia, published a research report on social media called the "2010 Social Web Index". I have attached the report below and based on North American studies I have seen, these insights are both supportive and instructive

Many insights come from the report but two in particular stand out to me. The first is the dominant role video plays in people's social on-line habits. Watching video clips on-line is roughly twice as popular as the next closest popular activity; chatting or uploading photos. I know video has become big but this number was huge to me. The second finding that stood out was that 73% of respondents find advertising on-line irrelevant, and 68% believe brands are being too aggressive and disruptive in social media. As I wrote back in July 2010, brands engaging in the social web need to be providing relevant insights or information to people if they want to be welcomed as part of their community, and this Australian information reinforces this point.

The report is very much worth a look at for those breaking a trail in the social media wilderness, as it provides current insights into this rapidly changing marketing communication tool.

Enjoy the link. https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=0AftEgov2gw4AZGMyeGo3NTNfMTlka3duY2pmcw&hl=en

What I've Learned

Yesterday I was in a local Second Cup coffee shop waiting to meet with a client, and I noticed their current  promotional materials talking about after 35 years in the business, they have learned a thing or two about coffee and coffee shops. What stood out to me was the word "learned". "Learned" to me is a great way to say you have credible experience and you have taken some swings in your game (industry) and fouled a few off, had few home runs and even struck out once or twice.

Today we have piles of people saying they have experience at something so it is hardly differentiating to say you have "experience". However the language of "learning" and "learning" over a considerable amount of time implies to me anyway, that one has probably walked the path their client or customer is on at the moment, and what one has to say is probably quite relevant.

So tell people why you are relevant to them. Tell people what you have learned to make you experienced enough for them to spend their hard earned cash on your good or service.

I am Don Norris and in the 25 years I have taken to build the Bamboo Strategy brand, I have learned that hitting foul balls and striking out now and then, means you will hit plenty of home runs in the future.