The Identiti Chronicles

Tracking the Societal Shifts

transientidentiti — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:42:00 +0000

Much talk has been given about following consumer sentiment as a means of being irreverant in the eye of the consumer. But why following something that’s in a constant state of flux. It’s the societal shifts that we as marketing mindsets must unearth as the key to refining business strategy. Hotels Magazine (based on JWT insight) recently wrote about how “Demography Is Dead” and that the shift will be towards behavioral attributes to reach markets; how cell phones, location-based technologies and sites such as Google are truly “Localizing” the world we live in; businesses need to “Rethink Instant Gratification” and how “Custom-made” and “one-of-a-kind” are rising above the mass-produced din of “now”; the rising power of women now means that “Queen Trumps Kings”; fractional ownership is moving beyond time shares but “Cooperative Consumption” personifies how people are sharing art, handbags, technology, pets, etc; and other shifts such Virtual Anthropology (think viewers of YouTube and Myspace postings) all tell a far more profound story of what’s to come.

The Diminishing Value of Your Brand

transientidentiti — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:34:12 +0000

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.

The Socialization of Marketing

transientidentiti — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:41:35 +0000

In a recent guest speaking engagement at NYU, I highlighted how technology has led to the “Socialization of Marketing.” The presentation has been posted to Slideshare for your viewing purposes. The presentation looks at how the societal trends and shifts that have driven the profession to a much needed overhaul.

Transmedia – the Expanded Go-to-Market Approach

transientidentiti — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:38:50 +0000

It used to be that our most sophisticated marketing archetypes, movies studios, were supported by massive amounts of media and marketing and a few key instore promos. The paradign has changed and Heroes has led the way. Tim Kring the creator of Heroes notes that the idea of broadcast will soon dimish (take note TV marketers). What has emerged is the mashup term “transmedia” or better explained a serious expansion of the narrative. Heroes goes beyond the network TV show to novels, games, broadband, DVD rental, Web sites, comics, online communities, blogs, mobile, etc. The idea is the viewer, reader, consumer however characterized can follow the brand story across multiple platforms constantly exploring the ever expanding narrative.

Book: RenGen (Rise of the Cultural Consumer)

transientidentiti — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:09:30 +0000

In Patricia Martin’s book, rengen, the cultural consumer is defined as a thinking, expressive, and idealistic individual that istransforming and challenging current notions around consumer behavior. The importance of the cultural consumer concept is understanding how the collective identity of the consumer mindset has shifted. Patricia notes that it’s not whether marketers have failed to witness the shift; it is that they are ill equipped to capitalize on the rebirth. “In the RenGen, there is no safe passage for brands that are willing to insult the intelligence of consumer” – Patricia Martin

People are Building Brands

transientidentiti — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 03:00:33 +0000

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.

It’s Social Currency that propels the brand…

transientidentiti — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:23:49 +0000

It was once defined by a gentleman named Douglas Rushkoff as “telling a good joke.” The argue has always been it is style or is it substance that reigns supreme (or in the digital world – is it content that’s king). Really, it’s what creates that “conversation” about a brand. Everything maintains a social currency; it’s the standing of the product, service, good, brand, you name it (whether favorable, unfavorable, desirable, or undesirable) within the context of “conversation.”

It’s the social currency that pegs Google as an unstoppable market force, it’s the social currency that lends Target its French pronunciation Tar-jay, and it’s the social currency that sits at the epicenter of word of mouth.

Interactions at the Epicenter of Marketing Ecosystem

transientidentiti — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:02:38 +0000

The ecosystem of customer experience is defined by micro-interactions with a given brand. Insignificant in isolation; but combined they our emotional connection to the brand. Kevin Roberts expresses the notion as Lovemarks. What does Marketing’s discipline calling for now, “interaction designers“; those whose strategic imperative is crafting and nuturing the experience between brand and consumer. Moving the brand forward will be measured by interaction where technology plus design plays a critical role.

The Most Advanced Direct Marketing Strategy

transientidentiti — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:19:54 +0000

Viral Expansion Loops. Defined the success of Hotmail, Google, Craigslist, Ebay, Amazon.com, Paypal, LinkedIn, Flickr, the list goes on. They all incorporate “virality” into the functionality of their core existence. Viral Expansion Loops are consided the type of engineering alchemy that with executed properly, they are self replicating. No wonder Web 2.0 seems to be the formula for success. The likes of Myspace and Facebook were designed specifically to exploit the notion of viral loops; driven by user generated activity that drove consumer adoption into the stratosphere. Viral expansion loops have long existed offline too…think Tupperware parties, multilevel marketing, chain letters, and even pyramid schemes. The newest app to catch the viral loop craze – Widgets. Now we are moving beyond viral loops to viral networks and double viral loops. Is your brand capitalizing on viral expansion loops?

From Marketing to Herds to Marketing the Swarm

transientidentiti — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 01:15:53 +0000

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.