Archive for October, 2009
Photo by Jordan Small
I had the most fascinating meeting yesterday. It was with four men in the auto industry. One of them, an existing client, is more savvy than the other three. The other three were what I would have considered typical dinosaurs in the business. I know this because I had met with the same three men a year earlier. At the time I shared our agency’s belief that traditional advertising was becoming more and more ineffective, and that the poor quality of creative messages being delivered by most of the auto industry were only making things worse.
I made suggestions to move them toward more trust-based communications with car buyers, and noted that putting a little respect back into the selling process wouldn’t be a bad idea either. But my message fell on deaf ears. It was obvious to them that I didn’t know what I was talking about. They said this economic crisis was just causing a temporary hiccup in the automotive world. Things would get better, as they always did.
That was a year ago.
Fast forward 12 months, one humongous recession, a national Cash for Clunkers campaign, and a few million less car sales. I was invited back to “re-address” the situation. This time they listened, better yet, embraced what they heard. With God as my witness, I said the exact same things I had before. The only difference was a little more focus on TRUST. I referred to Chris Brogan and Julien Smith‘s book, Trust Agents, and walked them through how changes in media, marketing and creative will only succeed in today’s world if they have this foundation of truth, transparency and trust. They ate it up.
What’s the takeaway here? Some dinosaurs can evolve without becoming extinct. Make TRUST the goal of every marketing program and you might speed up the evolution process.
I had an interesting meeting today with a seasoned gentleman in the business/academia world (I will not mention his name as I did not get his permission). He wanted to learn more about the online world and social media. Specifically he wanted help getting an RSS feed set up. While his request seemed somewhat basic to me, I was so impressed at his interest in learning this new form of media convenience that I found myself really admiring him. He had spent years at Leo Burnett in account services, and years teaching advertising at prestigious universities. And while his peers (and many in academia much younger than him) have no interest in understanding the new world of online communications, he is hungry. What a great guy.
Why is this worth blogging about? Because one of my goals with these blogs is to break down the barriers between those that understand what social media and the online world has to offer, and those that don’t know where to begin learning. I would love for everyone to be like this gentleman I met today. His fascination with the opportunity was so great that his intimidation was irrelevant. We all need to be like this.
One of my favorite sayings is “Do not compare yourselves to others, for there will always be those greater and lesser than yourself.” I am challenged with daily intimidation by those who know so much more than me regardng the online world of marketing. But unless I turn around and offer what I do know to those who are still learning, then it’s all been worthless. So I will.
Don’t be afraid to ask, learn, and be confused. It’s coming at you whether you want it to or not. I hope your fascination will drive you.
Lots of agencies are afraid to tell their clients it’s time to leave traditional media. But why do they hesitate? Is it because they think traditional media still offers some form of decent ROI? Or is it because they don’t know what to do with the alternative media that’s basically free? Or how to charge for the intense amount of brain power and time it takes?
I guess, for the first time in many years, I feel sorry for agencies bigger than us. They have more to lose so they have more to be afraid of.
My agency has been privileged to work with many companies that have smaller marketing budgets. I never thought I would look at it that way, but in the long run, it’s been the best thing for us. We’ve learned how to squeeze every last drop of marketing lemonade out of lemons. And, when relatively cost-free social media came along requiring transparency and full disclosure, it was nirvana for us. We embraced it quickly, learning when and where it fit in our client’s media mix.
So here’s the litmus test. Will you make enough money by being helpful? Because that’s the core of social media marketing. And can you market your product or business with full transparency? Are you willing to expose your imperfections in return for consumer trust? Don’t think every company will say yes. We’ve had plenty of clients who have had to admit no, they can’t.
The most important question is not about media expenditure comparisons and mathematical equations ending in GRP’s. It’s about a company’s ability to be fully transparent, honestly helpful, and interested enough in their customers that they will always put them first. (aka Zappos).
If you can say yes to all of the above, you’re most likely able to switch over to social media. Sound ridiculous? I dont think so.
