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E=MC^2 = Marketing MUST evolve
Times are changing – Whether we like it or not
-> that is one of the few truths in this world.
The old ways of dynamic and disruptive marketing are not as effective as they use to be. Consumers do not like having their everyday lives altered with and heckled by advertisements. Instead, the new approach is make consumers want to hear about you. The key is to be “that cool” that newspapers and everyday people are tweeting and buzzing about you.
You need to become the buzz. Not the buzz kill that interrupts your everyday lives.
Lets see what David Scott and a CMO thought about this change.
Brian Kardon, a CMO who got his MBA in Marketing from Wharton says in a David Scott article titled, “The journey from a traditional marketing executive to a modern CMO,” that he feels that all he has learned from his degree is now “obsolete.” When asked to give one piece of advice to CMO’s Brian said “You’ve got to tell yourself you’re a child again and you have to relearn what you’re doing.” Brian discusses how marketing frankly is a completely different game then it use to be. I compare it to continuing to use Myspace when everybody else is moving onto Facebook or to using wooden bats when everyone else is still now using metal.
A good example of this new type of inbound marketing is Semester at Sea. People come to college and begin searching for places to study abroad. Word spreads through social media, wordpress accounts, and twitters. People will hear about Semester at Sea and do their own research because they are interested in it and learning about it. That is what inbound marketing is all about. Get them hooked through other outlets, through people and the internet communicating.
Inbound marketing creates that two way street. People feel like they discovered the product by themselves and are then invested without feeling forced to be there. Those people will continue to pass on the word. The key is making the initial product appealing. Because Semester at Sea is an awesome way to “sea” (HAHA classic joke) the world people are interested in it and search for more information.
The key = Be the buzz
Sources – The New Rules of Marketing and PR, David Meerman Scott
http://www.webinknow.com/
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Out with the old, In with the new
Inbound vs. Outbound MarketingWhen I was first asked about inbound vs. outbound marketing, I really had no idea what those two words actually meant. I guessed that inbound marketing was interactive, while outbound marketing didn’t create any type… Continue Reading
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Changes in the Playing Field: New Rules to Marketing from David Meerman Scott
David Meerman Scott gives his readers a new manual to marketing in his book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR. I say this manual is ‘new’ because the dynamics of marketing has significantly changed, especially with the emergence of the Web. The Web has made creating content and sharing said content as easy and efficient as ever. And what’s more—it’s FREE. Talk about a game changer. Here are a few of the old rules before the playing field changed, and the updates they have undergone:
Advertising needed to appeal to the masses.
A huge goal of advertising once upon a time was just to get your message out there and be seen by everyone. However, this is no longer the case. We’ve found that targeting a message to specific groups, such as the stay-at-home mom, or the independent college student. Each of these groups has explicit wants, needs, and nuances that are not shared with any other group. For example, an independent college student has no need for a gas efficient SUV, but a stay-at-home mom could really benefit from using such a vehicle. Thus, advertising firms now divide their target audience into these subgroups, and create advertising and content to match the interests and needs of these subgroups in order to bring in consumers.
Advertising was exclusively about selling products.
Obviously this will always be a priority for businesses, but now there are additional goals as well. One of these now prominent additional goals is to create and foster customer relationships. Nowadays companies want (and need!) to create interaction with their target audiences to build lasting customer relationships and brand loyalty. To do this, businesses need to know their goals, create content to help create avenues towards those goals, and let this content drive the action, aka attract consumers.
The only way buyers would learn about the press release’s content was if the media
wrote a story about it.
Here the change in playing field is a huge component. Businesses used to depend on the media to get their message out, and the most successful advertising executives were the ones who had connections with the reporters. But marketers and entrepreneurs no longer need lament if reporters don’t write about their content and press releases. The Web has so many free tools that businesses use to connect with their customers: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, SoundCloud, blogs, to name a few. One can even find tutorials on how to use certain programs and how to build a personalized website and such on the Web. In fact, some companies don’t even have a marketing team—one or two employees take on the marketing tasks that would normally take a team of 10+ people. A great example of this is charity:water’s Viktoria Harrison. Check out her story in the video below!
Taking The New Rules Out To Sea
Scott show cases a successful business that runs by these rules in his blog post, How Ocean Frontiers use Facebook to get dive clientsreturning year after year. Ocean Frontier’s managing director, Steve Broadbelt, constantly circulates pictures and videos on Ocean Frontier’s Facebook page, which fans are eager to share. But that only brought people back to the Facebook page, not the actual diving location in the Cayman Islands. So Broadbelt gammified the company’s diving options and created the Green Shorts Challenge. If a participant dives at all 55 diving sites the company has to offer, he/she wins the following: a pair of coveted, limited-edition green shorts (just like the Ocean Frontiers staff wear), a party to celebrate the achievement, a gold medal, a plaque embedded into the dock that leads to the boats, and special recognition on the Ocean Frontiers Facebook page—with photos documenting the achievement.
The celebration that follows has two-fold benefits: both the company AND the winner share the occasion on their Facebook pages, really building on that customer relationship that Scott wrote about in his book.
Marketing Star Player
A brand that ties together Scott’s rules brilliantly is Starbucks. The coffee contender has found success in typical social media accounts, Facebook and Twitter, but Starbucks continues the social media reach with its Starbucks app and My Starbucks Idea microsite. The app allows users to pay for purchases (by having the barista scan the barcode provided by the app), track and redeem rewards, reload Starbucks card balance, send eGifts to contacts, and more. But Starbucks really takes the cake with My Starbucks Idea.
The site allows customers to submit their ideas and thoughts about Starbucks to be voted on by fellow consumers. The site also has an “ideas In Action” feature, where users can find updates on the most voted ideas. This feature lets Starbucks consumers know that the company is seeing/hearing their ideas, and taking them into consideration—not just brushing them off. With these components, Starbucks is an idol for businesses in social media use, but as I’ve mentioned, the playing field is changing. I wonder how Starbucks will up the ante next!
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The Evolution of Marketing and Advertising Continues: Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing
Outbound vs. Inbound MarketingWhen it comes to discussing inbound marketing versus outbound marketing, there are arguable pros and cons unique to each strategy. One major player in the marketing field, David Meerman Scott, recently wrote a book,&n… Continue Reading
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One Size Fits All Rarely Works
It’s no secret that the world of PR and marketing is changing and that there is a huge shift occurring infront of our eyes. I’d say it’s the perfect time to be graduating with a marketing degree– there are so many exciting things happening!I… Continue Reading
Earn your attention, Don’t Buy it
Why?artofmadmen.wordpress.comMarketing is no longer just talking to your intended audience, but a conversation between the marketer and current & potential audience. In the popular AMC series Mad Men, Donald Draper is a 1960’s advertising guru. He … Continue Reading
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Scott’s Ways on Marketing
The drive, and power of content is forever changing.
Traditional marketing:
“Prior to the web, organizations had only two significant choices to attract attention:
Buy expensive advertising or get third party ink from media” (Scott)
Oooo how times have changed, we as consumers have been bombarded and interrupted in our lives by these massive campaigns and overloaded material. The old rules of marketing are becoming less and less present in the up and coming marketing world.
One of the major changes in the ways from traditional marketing is the explosion of the web. This is a clear way for organizations to be present and engaging with buyers on all platforms. The traditional marketing tactics of newspapers, magazines radio, television etc, are going out the window. It’s just too hard for niche, services and specialized nonprofits to be able to get the return of investment from these methods.
How many people feel they tune out whenever another ad comes on? This is part of the cause that traditional marketing that commercial messages are lost.
“PEOPLE JUST DON’T TRUST ADVERTISING” (Scott)
This is why the old rules of marketing are leaving the industry. There’s got to be something new…
As David Meerman Scott says, “marketing is more than just advertising”. This is a huge observation that all new marketers need to be aware and act upon. Another huge point of the new rules that differs from previous ideas is that fact that people want participation, not propaganda. This is one of the biggest ones that drives new marketing campaigns.
Participation is the main new stream of interaction between brands and consumers. This is clearly shown in the new Toyota campaign called “Positive Movement”.
This campaign is built off the idea of video sharing and story telling. This idea came from the fashion blogger, Caroline Burke, who specializes in fashion, art and beauty. Her passion of collecting and donating clothes infiltrates with Toyota and being able to drive around in the zero-emission all electronic Prius. This campaign is clearly demonstrating the ideas of new rules of marketing. It is clear that brands need to engage on different platforms. People are able to participate in this campaign and pay it forward in their own way.
This creates one of the key parts of branding: Loyalty.
In David Meerman Scott’s blog (link), he has a blog post about content marketing and video showcase expertise. This video expertise is linked to the previous example of Toyota and their video campaign of paying it forward and incorporating bloggers. The cost of video can be small, but the impact can be LARGE. He speaks about an inspired woman who becomes a dog trainer based off her own website and videos showing her talent. Through this participation she is able to visually explain her talent and what she can provide to her customers.
The idea of content marketing is exploding across the Internet and in different venues. There is a clear connection and similarity between the ideas of creating a viral video campaign to Toyota. The idea of making content marketing and essential part of the campaign is necessary. People need to be able to access, share and think about the brand. Without the connection, people won’t be able to make the brand loyalty. I think the most important change and drive of new marketing is the new rule of participation. Without this, the brand isn’t able grow and prosper in the future.
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It’s Time to Check-in to Inbound Marketing
Out with the old and in with the new
For the past few weeks in class, we have been focusing a great deal on David Meerman Scott and his ideas surrounding the power of inbound marketing. Inbound marketing covers a vast number of advertising techniques including blogs, social media, enewsletters, podcasts, and many other forms of content marketing. Scott makes the case that inbound marketing has become much more prominent in driving success in developing customer relationships and brand loyalty then traditional marketing. In the past, marketers who had the biggest budgets also had the best and most advertisements thus leading to success. Their advertisements focused on grabbing consumers’ attention by distracting them, stopping them from what they were doing, or getting them to listen, read, or watch. In today’s market, most consumers are too smart to allow people to buy their attention. They choose what they want, when they want it, and how they want it. They don’t care to be bothered by traditional ads or commercials. So in comes inbound marketing, a new and improved way to talk to and understand our buyers. They want to be engaged, interested, and heard.
“The web is different. (than traditional advertising) Instead of one-way interruption, web marketing is about delivering useful content at just the precise moment a buyer needs it.” –The New Rules of Marketing & PR
The Power of Blogging
An entire chapter of Scott’ book, The New Rules of Marketing & PR, is dedicated to the power of blogs. Blogs have the ability to generate feedback, market and publish yourself or your organization, and essentially create valuable content. According to Scott, there are four uses of blogs for marketing and PR:
1. To easily monitor what millions of people are saying about you, the market you sell into, your organization, and its products2. To participate in those conversations by commenting on other peoples blogs3. To work with bloggers who write about your industry, company, or products4. To begin to shape those conversations by creating and writing your own blog
David Meerman Scott’s Blog
Not surprisingly Scott has his own blog and writes in it quite frequently. I have found myself getting lost in his posts and learning a great deal about a variety of things that I would never have known about just by browsing through it. Some of his posts interest me more than others and one in particular that I really enjoyed has to do with none other than scuba diving. To get the gist, Ocean Frontiers, a small dive company in the Cayman Islands has built an entire “marketing campaign” out of a challenge to earn a pair of the coveted green shorts worn by the staff. In order to win the shorts, scuba divers have to visit each of the 55 dive sites that Ocean Frontiers visits in Grand Cayman. If they accomplish this feat, they are awarded not only with a pair of green shorts but also a big celebration with cake, champagne, and celerity status within the dive community. Essentially Ocean Frontiers has taken a simple pair of shorts and turned them into a marketing powerhouse. This challenge has encouraged people to keep coming back to dive with the company as well as give them media attention on Facebook where pictures are posted, shared, and liked. And what do you know Ocean Frontiers now has more than 12,000 “likes” on Facebook. So what’s the key lesson behind this post? Provides things of value and engage your consumers in ways that are fun and appealing. It’s not all about generating sales and asking for business. Give your consumers something to talk about and get involved in and they will share with their friends and help build that loyal customer base that you are looking for.
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| Source: Google images |
Thought Catalog
Thought Catalog is an online publication that is dedicated to publishing a whole variety of non-fiction content that may includes stories, poems, opinions, and just general “thoughts.” It is mean to be a source of entertainment as well as a place for those who so wish to be published. While I am not entirely sure how Thought Catalog makes their money or describes their business model, they are certainly successfully participating in inbound marketing. Whether or not they realize it. Anyone can get on and read the content for free, comment on posts, share posts, tweet about posts etc. Those who so choose to do so can submit posts they wish to be published, for free, if the Thought Catalog team deems their posts worthy. Readers are engaged, inspired, and sometimes critical but continue to get the word out. Thought Catalog has more than 2.5 million readers a month and is surely growing. Those who are avid followers have the opportunity to buy ebooks available via places like Amazon, Apple, and Barnes and Noble. But all other content on the site is free of charge to read, share, and comment.
I think that Thought Catalog has taken many of Scott’s ideas of inbound marketing and put them to good use. The whole company is content-driven and focuses on engagement and providing content to readers that they find relevant at the point in time when they are looking for it.
The New Rules of Marketing?
What are we talking about today?So its been a while, a little more than a month actually. Since my last post, we have presented the first portion of our ABAN work and have began work on the second phase. We have also covered a variety of new topics and… Continue Reading
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Out with the old….
“Times are changing”
You may have heard this from a parent or grandparent, but like most things your elders tell you do not brush this piece of information aside because times are in fact changing at a drastic pace. In terms of the marketing world, there has been a huge shift in what the business world is now calling “traditional marketing” to a more content based type of marketing. This shift is also referred to as outbound marketing to inbound marketing. Outbound marketing is referring to the process of reaching out to consumers, and trying to hook them by sending its message out to an audience. This form of marketing is proving itself to be obsolete, which brings us to inbound marketing, which Brian Halligan from Hubspot defines as
“Where you help yourself “get found” by people already learning about and shopping in your industry.”
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| Photo Credit: www.sevenatoms.com |
David Meerman Scott is a firm believer in the power of inbound marketing and how we as a society are more molded towards that sort of content driven marketing. In his book, The New Rules of Marketing & PR Scott talks about how in the traditional way of marketing messages had to “talk through media” in order to be heard by the masses. Today, in contrast, we as the public are capable of finding these messages ourselves through various technological means and creates the buzz that keeps the rest of the world talking. One of the new paradigms that Scott highlights that I took away from his writing was
“Instead of causing one-way interruption, marketing is about delivering content at just the precise moment your audience needs it”
This stuck with me because it indirectly highlights how much clutter and information we are bombarded with daily, and in order to be an effective marketer you need to know what your audience wants and how you are going to deliver that to them in a way that is going to get through the chaos.
After reading many of Scott’s blog posts I had a lot of takeaways to how things were and what they have become. Scott having seen the “old” and “new” ways of marketing offers great insight into the outbound and inbound marketing worlds.
One post in Scott’s blog that I found really interesting and thought provoking was a post Scott wrote back in March titled The marketing one hundred is now the marketing ten thousand. This was a short but powerful post where Scott emphasized the power in numbers in today’s marketing world. Scott highlights the shift from putting out marketing campaigns, to a whole slew of marketing ideas and initiatives that are put out there. Scott says that in today’s world:
“It’s not about the campaign, it’s about engagement.”
It’s all about starting the conversation
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| Photo credit: chronicle.com |
And keeping it going in order to ensure that ideas and initiatives don’t get stale and become lost in the background. A company that I believe has done a remarkable job at this is Apple. Apple is constantly changing and evolving to meet the consumer’s needs, even if the consumer doesn’t know they need it yet. It’s that kind of forward thinking that has kept Apple current and successful. Apple puts out ideas and products and see’s consumers reactions and takes those reactions and turns them into profits. Apple doesn’t just put out campaigns, they start conversations, they get people talking, and once they get the public talking about a product they just can’t shut up about it!