Archive for the 'Marketing' Category

How Twitter brought me water

Published August 19, 2008 Marketing , Operations , Strategy 0 Comments
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I present as evidence of Twitter’s power…. a case of water (my boss was kind enough to take a pic with his new iPhone):

How is this powerful? I posted an update to twitter about my love of coconut-flavored owater. In my old neighborhood, there were two stores that carried this particular beverage. After moving to DC, it’s been very difficult to find. Shortly after posting this message, a representative from the company contacted me and asked if she could help at all. One week later, I have a free case of water, an uber-cool coconut t-shirt and a list of retailers in the area that have recently ordered this particular flavor.

The act of connecting with others generates value for an organization. Dissemination of knowledge, promotions, meeting and event coverage are but a few examples.

A BIG thanks goes to Amy Mueller of owater — anyone who has not tried out this incredible beverage is missing out.

Defining Brands that “Suck”

Published August 13, 2008 Marketing , Strategy 3 Comments
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Rodney Rumford posted a review of Twitter blogs entitled “33 Brands That Suck on Twitter.”

After reviewing the list, it’s apparent that the criteria for suck-status includes:

  • You’re brand has been parked or hijacked
  • You don’t follow anyone
  • You haven’t tweeted in months

In an effort to document brand participation on Twitter (and the larger social segment), I linked to the report from the Index. I personally believe this level of criticism is flawed. I parked a twitter account for my former firm after I noticed a number of other, high-level firms being taken and spammed (most likely by a summer associate that didn’t get an offer). Criticizing someone for not coming to a party is counter productive and, odds are, they will feel the pressure to participate in short order.

As for brands that have been hijacked, how is this different from the mid-90s?

In regards to following: several brand managers I’ve connected with have a policy in place addressing followers. Why should a brand, executive or government office follow me? If I have a problem with a product, I would rather have the person on the other end focused on the signal from the community (e.g. summize) than listening to tweets about being drunk on a bus.

Tweeting frequency is something that I also believe is important, but I was proved wrong earlier today. Someone from oWater got in touch with me after reading about my tweets about their coconut infused water. (Sidebar: it’s incredible!) So this person, who has a twitter account and doesn’t tweet often, offered assistance in helping me find my fav beverage!

In thinking about twitter or other social application, it’s important to remember the Web is a heterogeneous environment. How an organization will use an application must be tailored to it’s community and existing culture.

Reputation Risks: Twitter and Beyond

Published August 3, 2008 Marketing , Strategy , Technology 0 Comments
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The response to the Brand Index has been fantastic. However, there have been a few bumps in the road. Take Seth Godin — who’s twitter account was unofficial. The other day it was pointed out that the ExxonMobil account was also a fraud. See Jeremiah’s comprehensive post on the matter.

As a matter of policy, any individual, organization or other entitity legally entitled to a brand identity who is listed on the Index may exercise the right to have it removed or corrected. I chose to do the later in an effort to indicate to twitter users the reliability of a given account.

The social landscape is one that places reputation and identity at risk. As social manager/strategists/etc, how we choose to deal with this risk is critical. SImply putting one’s head in the sand is insufficient, as there could be someone who comes along and takes actions (either blindly or intentionally) against your organization. This very issue could be a focus at an upcoming SM event in Washington, D.C. Details to follow.

Hippos Gone Wild

Published May 21, 2008 Marketing , Operations 0 Comments
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Sorry, this post doesn’t have any adult oriented content (try hornymanatee.com instead).

So why mention hippos? Mya Frazier wrote an article on adage.com: Google’s ‘Analytics Evangelist’ Explains Why Websites ‘Suck’.

Avinash Kaushik thinks one of the reasons why so many websites “suck” today is because of the hippo — as in the “highest paid person’s opinion.”

And, yes, you’re likely a hippo — a successful advertising executive, CMO or brand manager, pulling in a six-figure income, often found pontificating about what does and doesn’t work online.

 So what’s a hippo to do? Instead of diving into the specifics of the Web, establish strategic goals for your organization and task your team with execution. What might be a good strategy? According to Mr Kaushik and other strategists: start a conversation.

Blogging as Asymmetric Marketing

Published April 29, 2008 Marketing , Operations , Strategy , Uncategorized 2 Comments
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I raised the concept of blogging to a marketing manager a few months ago.  The response took me back a bit — “No, we’re not into guerilla marketing.” I forgot about this exchange until tonight: I had “Carrier” (PBS) on in the background while I did some work (school related). In this particular segment, various crew members were describing the role of the carrier group in fighting terrorism. The term “asymmetric warfare” was used frequently. In the midst of hacking out a paper on deprecition and cash flow (yes, it was rough), I remembered my conversation and had to blog on it.

The guerilla comment rubbed me the wrong way, so in this post I want to examine blogging in context of marketing as well as warfare. Continue reading ‘Blogging as Asymmetric Marketing’

Twitter: Thoughts on Use and Branding

Published April 25, 2008 Marketing , Strategy , TechBrief , Technology 3 Comments
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I’ve been updating the Twitter Brand Index regularly — I’m excited to see new companies, particularly those in the legal industry, establish a presence. In an effort to establish best practices within this new space, the following elements were created after an examiniation of companies in the index. (Note: This is a work in progress; I’ve love to collaborate with others on this initiative.)

The list after the break… Continue reading ‘Twitter: Thoughts on Use and Branding’

Focusing on the User Relationship

Published April 22, 2008 Law , Marketing 0 Comments
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Twitter has opened up a number of new blogs for me. Most focus on user experience & relationships, not that it should be a surprise considering the medium. Being a NYC guy (from birth… ok, there were the messy years out in suburbia), I like to focus on other people living here and making an impact. One in particular is Whitney Hess, author of whitneyhess.com. Her focus is the user experience, something many law firms seem to miss out on consistently (note: my own firm is clearly exempt — this blog isn’t a cheap venue for gossip). Continue reading ‘Focusing on the User Relationship’

Social Intel: Grab the Popcorn

Published April 21, 2008 Law , Marketing , Technology 1 Comment

I had a few days off last week, so Friday’s “Social Intel” post had to wait for today.

Most industries are jumping on social and interactive technologies. I am trying to reduce the use of “2.0″ as it’s really tiresome. Law firms lag a little bit behind others, which isn’t news to most people. However, there is some polarization of the community as social awareness is formed. Take Kevin O’Keefe, champion of blogs and President of LexBlog, who views blogs and other tools as a low-cost marketing tool with a big punch.

In the other corner, we have organizations who take a different view.  Legal technology at law.com, with posts such as Is the Party Over for Social Networking? and Web 2.0 Can Be a Pandora’s Box of Liability, takes a limited view on the medium. Others view the space as an opportunity to promote content services, something that already has caused waves within legal marketing.

Which outlook will prevail? Take a look at the landscape. Blogging on the rise and open standards in social networks are being hacked together. This is a resource that is still in its infancy and I don’t think anyone has a clear picture on how it will impact law firms.

In the meantime, add the aforementioned sites to your reader and grab some popcorn.

Twitter: Brand Registration

Published April 12, 2008 Law , Marketing , Technology 0 Comments
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I’ve been cruising twitter for more companies to add to the Twitter Brand Index. As I’ve been looking around, a number of accounts have been registered and may even have branding (pic, background) but no updates. Take this one for example: http://twitter.com/USArmy

Could this be an initiative by a savvy PR person in the military?

Twitter seems to be ripe with situations where someone could register an account and cause mayhem for a company by blocking their use (passive) or outright spam (active). What if I registered http://twitter.com/HondaMotors and mentioned how Toyota makes a better product, linking to reviews and toyota.com? Or perhaps using it as a personal dumping ground for dealership experiences.

I would be curious as to hear some comments from any IP/trademark attorney.

Twitter as a Customer Service Learning Lab

Published April 11, 2008 Marketing , Operations , TechBrief 0 Comments
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I’m sure you’ve heard of twitter and how a lot of people love it (including yours truly). If you haven’t joined the conversation, you need to today. You wouldn’t believe the great comments floating back and forth about twitter as a customer service tool, the transformation of service and how the lines between PR, marketing and sales are blurring.

ReadWriteWeb had a great post covering the various aspects twitter:

There has been a lot of talk lately of companies monitoring social media, be it Twitter, blogs, or social networking sites, for mentions of their company name and responding to customer service issues. Some of this interaction has been in the Twitter community, with Comcast being one of the more active participants as of late. Although in some cases, customers twittered their frustration after failing to receive the support they needed through traditional methods, in many cases, Twitter was the first place the customers vented their frustration, and then were surprised when they received a response from a support rep or company spokesperson.

 There are also a number of brands that use twitter, as noted in an earlier blog. Rather than write anything further, go to twitter.com and setup an account. Be sure to follow the general guidance given to all businesses looking to start a conversation: first listen.

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