The Identiti Chronicles
The Evolution of Your Brand’s IdentityArchive for CMO commentary
From Marketing to Herds to Marketing the Swarm
Mr. Brymer, President of DDB offers telling insight into the discipline of marketing desperately needs to shift it’s thinking. Conventional marketing wisdom had marketers speaking to consumer through mass communications as if it were a herd congregating in one place. The herd no longer exists; what is left is the imprint of humans linked by digital social networks. No longer does socialization take place in small groups (TV model); now they share info with 40 friends within a social network, 140 via blog feed, with significant pass along tendancies, noted Brymer. Hence, the creating a swarm of communication. The business challenge, today you are marketing to a swarm of people who gather and deposit information with the collective intelligence of an entire social network. Gone are the days of relying on expert sources, mainstream media, and mass advertising. Now, the swarm is fueled by friends, family, peers, and online communities. The Marketing eco-system has now been completely redefined.
People are Building Brands
Not advertisers, not advertisers, and not brand stewards (read Mediapost article). Brands are now being defined by the conversations consumers are having about products and services. That means in order to keep building brands, brands must go where the consumer is going. comScore reported that every month 600 million people visit conversational media sites. In this era of consumer-in-control movement that leaves very little comfort as brands must now venture into unchartered territory. Nevertheless, the societal shifts necessitate that brands follow or perish.
Status Spheres: The Spheres of Influence
STATUS SPHERES can be loosely defined as those variety of lifestyles, activities, and persuasions that shape the outward “identity” of todays consumer. 1. Traditional Sphere is about buying more and/or better stuff than fellow consumers (consumers who do want to consume more, who do covet all things bling, who do crave in-your-face brands). 2. Transient Sphere is driven by entertainment, by discovery, by fighting boredom, living a transient lifestyle, freeing oneselves from the hassles of permanent ownership and possessions. 3. Online Sphere is all about social status 2.0 (who you connect to and who wants to connect to you, tribal-style). 4. In the Giving Sphere, giving is the new taking. 5. For the Participation Sphere, participation is the new consumption. For these creative beings, status comes from finding an appreciative audience.
Notable quote from Jonathan Mildenhall, Coca Cola
“We are not looking for an ad campaign. We are looking for a cultural platform around which everything we do on that brand can live,” states the VP of Global Creative and Communications.
so, what is your agency offering…
The Diminishing Value of Your Brand
December 4, 2008 at 2:34 pm · Filed under CMO commentary, Return to Strategy, Social Connectivity
In John Gerzema’s and Ed Lebar’s recent book, “The Brand Bubble,” a detailed account is give to how many of todays brands are experiencing a rapid decline in perceived value. Simply stated, they are overvalued and consumers are falling out of love with them. Based on Y&R’s BrandAsset Valuator study, the book cites that there is a growing divergence between brand valuation and brand speculation. For the complete modern day Marketer, that means the campaign-based push marketing is dead. Call it the customer conversation era, the day social connectivity, or which ever term de jour you prefer, the previous paradigm is over. As the two authors state: “You can’t just go after them. You must attract them.” No longer is it about measuring reach and frequency or even marketing mix modeling for that matter. Success will be measured by motivating the right consumer behaviors that drive engagement and connection.
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