This is a really unfair post. Razorfish just published their 2010 Outlook Report. I think it’s a disappointment and I’m going to tell you why. So why is that unfair? Because they took the time and energy to write it and I didn’t. Instead I’m going to sit on the sidelines and carp.

So first off some deserved props. Razorfish should be applauded for publishing the report each year. It’s always a well-written, nicely art directed piece, and comprehensive as these things go. It’s also become a bit of an ‘event’ in the space. Presumably their clients like it too – it’s nice to know your agency is a widely acknowledged thought-leader in the digital space. And….that’s it.

OK, so what’s wrong with it? Here goes

1: Terrible design and choice of technology platform. Razorfish is supposed to be on the leading edge. And this is a forward-looking document (it says so on Page 2). But what they serve up is a print magazine. Online.

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Republished with author's permission from original post by Jeremy.

Doc Searls (he of Cluetrain Manifesto fame) has a great post up called Reputation vs Branding. His premise is that the idea of branding is dead and that what’s really important is the sum total of a company’s reputation, established over years, and held in the minds of customers.

I completely agree.

Branding was a useful tool for an age where marketers needed a device to represent all the hooks and aspirations they were trying to communicate through command and control marketing and advertising. Those days are over (which is different from saying traditional media is dead).

The reality now is that consumers and customers are now creators and sharers of opinion about every company under the sun, and they have access to a virtual ocean of information from which to make smart decisions about which companies they trust and which ones they wouldn’t be seen dead supporting.

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Republished with author's permission from original post by Jeremy.

Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (Jeez you’d think these guys would have learned a bit about crisis management by now) still has a very pretty blurb on its website about the work it did back in 1999 to help rebrand the oil company BP.

Quote: “Our recommendation was to position BP as a new type of global energy company — one that confronts difficult issues like the conflict between energy and environmental needs and takes action beyond what is expected”.

Which makes it sound, possibly erroneously, definitely hubristically, that the whole idea of creating the Beyond Petroleum ‘brand’ for BP (this went way beyond a tagline) was invented at Ogilvy. In other words this very wonderful idea didn’t come from inside BP. Of course this could be wrong. Lots of agencies boast of things that are untrue, partially true or at least un-proveable. Allegedly.

But it certainly makes sense.

Since the Beyond Petroleum brand and multi-billion dollar global marketing campaign launched in 2001 to enormous media fanfare (and public skepticism) it’s become painfully clear (shock!) that this particular corporate rebrand/relaunch had a purely marketing rationale, at least as far as the BP C-Suite was concerned.

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Republished with author's permission from original post by Jeremy.

As customers and consumers become more active in social media, they’re gaining access to the wealth of constantly evolving information that resides on the web and increasingly contributing their own knowledge of brands, products and services. At the same time millions of businesses – big and small – are dipping their toes in social and trying to figure out a) how best to mine the customer insight they find there and b) testing the water with various initiatives that typically fall into three categories:

1) Social network activity (Tweeting, FB fan page, etc)

2) Blogging and/or influencer programs

3) Customer community development and management

All of which is great. But it’s also only one side of the social media coin. Outbound activity that focuses on engaging more effectively with customers in social is important. But embracing social insights in order to change the internal culture and processes of a business is even more so. Much more so. And much harder.

Like numerous other companies, Cisco has established a thriving online community to engage, assist and learn from its customer base. But unlike others they’ve taken the next logical step. Rather than just focus on improving engagement and collaboration with external parties, they decided to do the same inside their own business.

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Republished with author's permission from original post by Jeremy.

Crowdsourcing and co-creation are two major buzzwords in social media circles and for good reason. The network effect of social enables companies to engage with consumers and customers in ways that might radically accelerate innovation and creativity – and drive WOM, loyalty, market-share and profit in the bargain.

Lots of experiments are taking place and the jury is still out. But recently an article in Businessweek caught my eye as an example of co-creation done right. Unilever, working with Face, a London agency that specializes in co-creation, assembled a team of 16 young adults from around the world at their New York offices. Their task: to develop a new fragrance for Axe, Unilever’s hugely successful deodorant brand for young men that addressed the need for ‘freshness’.

The team recommended a fragrance that changed during the day, naming it ‘Twist’ (typically inappropriate ad here). The concept was run through – and given a thumbs up by – Face’s ‘Headbox’ community of young men and was launched successfully late last year.

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Republished with author's permission from original post by Jeremy.

One of the core beliefs that underpin Understand And Serve is the need for companies to stand for something that transcends the usual corporate mission of maximizing profit. Previously we’ve talked about a bunch of companies that fall into that category including Apple and USAA.

We live in a world where people now seek out brands that meet their worldview as well as providing great, relevant products and services. They look for brands that behave ethically and sustainably, that treat their employees and suppliers well, and whose philanthropic instincts and activities match their own.

But more than that, people are moved by companies whose vision encompasses a clear passion for the sector they serve and the consumer solutions they provide. Allstate comes to mind with their powerful “That’s Allstate’s Stand” stake-in-the-ground approach.  A smaller example is Hagerty Insurance based in Traverse City Michigan. If you don’t own a classic car you won’t have heard of them, but if you do you’ll almost certainly be insured by them and know all about the leadership and advocacy role they play in the classic car hobby.

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Republished with author's permission from original post by Jeremy.

Hello. Is there anybody in there?

Just nod if you can hear me

Is there anybody home?

If that’s a consumer asking the question they might have to wait a while for a reply at least according to a recent Alterian survey of marketers Are You Ready To Engage? Amazingly, barely 1/3rd of companies surveyed indicated they intend to listen to consumers by investing in social media monitoring in 2010 (see below). The same survey also reported that 66% of marketers intend to invest in some sort of social media engagement activity in 2010.

In which new marketing techniques are you investing or plan to invest?

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Republished with author's permission from original post by Jeremy.

Last week Sir Martin Sorrell gave an interview in the WSJ India. In it he discussed his thoughts and attitudes towards social media. Money quote:

“… [social media is] not a medium that really lends itself to commercial exploitation…The more you try and invade it with commercial messages, the more at risk you are.”

On its face of course this statement is correct. Despite the most fervent desires of their owners, consumers have resolutely rejected the idea of receiving commercial messages within social networks.

But I think there’s a more interesting (and unintentional) point Sir Martin makes with these comments. Ignore for a moment the aggressive Mad-Men language (“exploitation”, “invade”) and his apparent confusion of social networks with social media (networks constitute a tiny percentage of overall social activity). My key take away is that despite everything we now know, Sorrell and by extension the agencies he oversees (O&M, JWT, etc, etc) continue to think of social in the black and white terms way they see all other media – as a channel that is either useful as a platform for traditional corporate messaging, or (in this case) not.

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Republished with author's permission from original post by Jeremy.

Strategy sets direction in which a company wants to go.  The key is to develop a strategy that accounts for consumer and competitive realities and then communicate it to all stakeholders.  It can be formal or informal, very detailed or simple, but without some sense for who you are and what you are providing as differentiated value in the marketplace, companies inevitably lose their way and advantage in the marketplace.  Strategy is essential.

As the economy continues its struggle out of recession, there is a wide call for new strategies that will drive top-line growth.  Couldn’t agree more.  Strategists, academics, bloggers have all opined that you can’t cost-cut your way to growth.  No argument.  But in these skinny-times let’s not overlook another constructive argument for strategy: Strategy Saves Money.  And by that I mean it preserves resources that would otherwise be wasted and have no real impact.

Spend Strategy: What You Won’t Invest In

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Republished with author's permission from original post by David.

Watching the Oscars last night I was struck (yet again) by the utter brilliance of Pixar.

Across 17 years, 10 movies and a major (successful) corporate merger, Pixar has consistently delivered movies that not only redefine what’s possible in the worlds of visual technology and animation, but that make us gasp with the beauty and wonder of the human truths and life experiences they describe.

They’ve never made a dud. Far from it. Each movie seems to build on the sophistication and complexity of the last so that watching recent offerings like Ratatouille and Up it’s almost impossible to imagine what cultural heights are left to scale. And yet they somehow manage to pull it off with the next product.

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Republished with author's permission from original post by Jeremy.