Archive for the ‘social’ Tag

It’s official. Sharing on Facebook / Twitter is as good as sex. Who says ? Harvard University no less. So what is it that pushes our buttons ? Boasting. Apparently it’s orgasmic…

I saw the initial report on CNN last night and it is echoed all over that interweb thing today by the likes of the Telegraph, CNET and even the Medical Journal.

It seems that a team of neuroscientists at Harvard studied 300 subjects using fMRI brainscanners to see what effect ‘boast posting’ (just made that up) had on areas of the brain. It seems that the pleasure receptors which light up when you are disclosing intimate details about yourself online are the same ones that are stimulated when you either eat a good meal, win some cash or have a Poke (pun totally intended).

Diana Tamir who led study said “This helps to explain why people so obsessively engage in this behaviour. It’s because it provides them with some sort of subjective value. It feels good, basically.”

Well I’ve got to be honest I’m not quite sure that I believe the study… my main problem being, how do they know what areas of the brain light up when you are having sex ? Surely there isn’t that much room in an fMRI scanner ?

Facebook just announced the acquisition of Instagram for a billion dollars. This comes only months after experts had started touting Instagram as a potential Facebook killer

So, is this a knee jerk-reaction or a well-thought-out strategy? I guess only time will tell on how Facebook leverages the combination across platforms. On the surface, it would seem that Facebook has acquired Instagram for its  photo-sharing capabilities, and that’s what the official announcement says. In my opinion, it goes far deeper.

With more people accessing Facebook more often, on handphones than a computer screen, the mobile experience still leaves a lot to be desired. whatever the platform (iOS, Blackberry or Android) the experience is less than exhilirating, especially if you want to do more than the basic stuff. What Instagram could bring to the party is the advantage of being built-for-mobile, not just mobile-compatible.

Mobility is at the core of Instagram’s functionality and when integrated with Facebook, its advantages could be leveraged beyond just photo-sharing. It could help Facebook create a superior social experience on mobiles, and ward-off a serious threat to its business. In fact, if done right, this could further accelerate mobile access of social networking sites and help Facebook strengthen its dominance.

Can’t-beat-them, buy-them. An interesting approach, to say the least. But what else do you do when you are the category and are cash-rich as a company.

Going by same  logic, the ‘check-in’ feature of Facebook isn’t really the coolest geo-tagging service in circulation. The recent Gowalla acquisition seemed more like a talent-play than a business-buy. Should Foursquare be next? Never say never.

My first job in advertising, when I started my career, was to sell sanitary pads to women. The business problem to solve, we were trying to sell the most expensive sanitary-pad to a woman who was using cloth (which comes for free). After lukewarm success for a couple of years and lots of focus groups, we identified that price was a barrier. Our solution, let’s drop the price by 20% as an introductory offer, and create a TV advert to announce it.

During one of the meetings about this campaign, I first discovered the phrase, ‘call-to-action’. The message needs to have a strong call-to-action, and my creative director, quickly added a line to the in-store posters that proudly said, ‘Hurry! Offer Open till Stocks Last’. While I must admit that this did work well for the business, I do wonder how it would really pan out if it were 2012.

Our surroundings have changed and so have people’s lives, relationships and behavior with it. And while the theories to explain it are getting more and more complex, the facts are rather simple.

1. People have gone from being audience to participants to now brand-authors
2. 24X7 is the new prime-time
3. Social communities are overshadowing geographies

Experts are suggesting that marketing and brands is about ‘Acts not ads’. A lot is being said on how positive brand-activism is the way to go if you want to become a part of popular culture.

It seems like the script has changed, but the actors haven’t. When we say ‘Acts; not ads’, how different is it from a ‘call to action’?

It isn’t in a way.

Fundamentally, when a brand says something to the world, whether via an ad or any other means, success of the brand is defined by how does it move people? Does it influence their views or behavior in a manner that helps business, immediately or over a period of time? Is it leading people to act in your favour or not?

But then, there are some large differences.

The biggest, people no longer listen to brands that do all the talking. People engage in conversations with other people, albeit in a more visible manner on social networks. Now if a brand happens to be participating in the same conversation, it gets people’s attention. And it has to continue fighting for that attention by staying alive in the conversation, bring in a viewpoint for people to agree or disagree with. And after a long drawn dialogue, if the viewpoint is compelling-enough, it may move people to take action in its favour.

Another difference is the move from one brand proposition to a broader brand philosophy. Many cults, political leaders and a few brands have done that well in the past.  Most brands have to learn that skill. As a brand you have to champion a philosophy, live it by example and build a loyal following (not just Facebook likes) that will grow the community for you over a period of time.

In effect, what we’re saying is that the players have changed, and indeed the platforms too. What hasn’t changed is the brands’ success or failure, defined as their ability to move people to take action. The good old-fashioned call-to-action where brands engage with their users. Only this time it’s brands who need to act first.

At one point Internet addicts woke up in the morning to look at email on their smart phone even before they looked at their spouse. Then it was to see the latest pictures and updates from their on their Facebook timeline.

Now it’s to check their tweet stream. For Mentions and DM, and of course to know what’s happening in the world around them, and who and what is making news.

I call these folks the Tweekies – Twitter Junkies.

Make no mistake, this is a growing tribe. Of people tuned into Twitter more than anything else. Who scour their timelines constantly. To stay in step. To stay ahead , by knowing what’s happening before anyone else does.

To read the news. To break the news. To share views. To make news.

Yes, Tweekies aren’t just information consumption junkies. But information dissemination and news generation junkies.  Starting with news that’s about them. And what’s happening around them.  The things that affect them. Both in the social stream. And outside it, in the real world. On the road. At the workplace. In restaurants. At airports. On flights.

Information is their currency of influence.  And 140 is their weapon of impact.

Opinions are no longer meant to be kept bottled up. Or shared with buddies over a beer.

But they are meant to be shared. As they happen. The moment matters. Even if it’s not the full story. It needs to be told. Shared. Spread. A tweet at a time.

You can spot these Tweekies easily. They are the most prolific tweeters. Not just in terms of putting out tweets, but also in terms of interactions via Twitter. At any given time, they have several conversation streams going. They always have something to say, er, tweet.  They do have their preferences in terms of topics, but their tweet stream generally has a healthy mix of what interests them and what’s happening around.

They are popular. Their Follower numbers are generally always on the up. Partly, it’s because of how much they share and say. Partly, it’s because most of them are real. They let their personalities come out through their tweets. They are open about their likes. Dislikes. Fears. Desires.

This tribe of Tweekies is interesting from a marketer’s perspective and can form an invaluable resource for them as their brands grow their Social Media presence and activity.

Here are 5 simple ways how Tweekies can be turned into an asset for a brand:

1. Look out for Tweekies. Analyse their tweet streams to determine underlying themes and interests. Cull out those Tweekies whose interests intersect with those relevant to one’s brand. Connect with them, provide them opportunity to interact with and experience the brand, and then let them go about their hyperactive Twitter lives.  But don’t look to lock them into a ‘influencer’ programme. They are free birds, and letting them be so will work best for a brand.
2. Get deep into their tweet streams to understand their triggers. As people. As parents. As friends. As co-workers… And yes, as consumers. Pick up on the threads that make them happy. And those that do not. Pick up on the emotions they express. And understand what brings them out. You may well find insights that could help shape how the brand communicates with them. What it says. And how.
3. Analyse their streams to understand what gets picked up by their Followers. What gets amplified. And triggers conversations between them and their followers. Look for patterns. Again, these could form great input for how a brand ought to speak in the Social stream. And also how it could connect with these followers. To build another layer of outreach. And influence.
4. Give shape to the chatter streams of these Tweekies as the brand interacts with them. This can be done easily by using devices like hash tags (#) to improve searchability and outreach.
5. Get your key blogger influencers to interact with these Tweekies in the Social stream. Doing so could have twin benefits: nurturing the brand’s relationship with them, and also providing added impetus to how their tweets are picked by their followers and amplified further.

So the question that comes to mind is:

Is it time to look beyond the usual ‘influentials’ and uncover the ‘celebrity’ hidden elsewhere, perhaps in the Tweekies?

The New Delhi edition of AdTech was held earlier this week. As I could not attend this year’s event, I did the next best thing – I scanned the tweet stream of the event. And picked up 20 tweets that told an interesting story.

Here are the tweets (edited to focus on their essence), and my views around them on what Digital marketers ought to do to make Digital work harder for their brands:

1. In a digital world, still critical to be true to the core value of the brand.

It must always about the brand and using Digital in a way that’s relevant to the audience, and smartly integrating the brand’s story and values into the interaction stream

2. “Users spend 1 out of every 5 minutes online on social networks.”

Little wonder then, brands must go where the audience is. The challenge is creating differentiation and going beyond the usual Promo-Like-Share-Win routine.

3. Brands that use data for real time marketing will be the ones who will succeed.

And the ones who will be way ahead of competition are those that co-relate fast data (online behaviours) with slow data (sales data).

4. Realise even to succeed on earned media you need money.

Social Media maybe free, but Social Media Marketing is not. More so, in an increasingly cluttered Social space.

5. ”It’s not about having a strong fan base but about having a solid business case.”

Both are important, but without objectives beyond fan numbers, Digital will fail to deliver for a brand after a point.

6. From Paid, Owned, Earned (POE) to Participation, Utility, Contribution (PUC)

POE is about the Where, PUC is about the What. Together, they can make Digital work harder.

7. There’s more to Digital than Facebook.

And there’s more to Digital than Social Media, and Augmented Reality and QR codes.

8. Putting up billboards saying, ‘Follow us on Facebook’ is not a social strategy.

Well, it’s certainly a way to promote Social presence offline. But simply saying ‘Follow us’ is a weak way to do it. Digital can be more effectively integrated into offline.

9. I’m fed of listening to the speakers. Time to listen to the audience.

Hear, brands, hear! Social is getting crowded with too much brand speak, too little audience speak. Don’t crowd them with your chatter.

10. Communication via Social Media is often casual, so true ROI comes about when users are entered into a company’s CRM system

It’s possible to nurture users right in the Social stream, even before moving them to conventional CRM.

11. Social handle of a brand should be in-house, to have direct control and quick response.

For that to happen, businesses will need to become Social businesses, and every employee become a Social voice. It’s a good goal to shoot for.

12. Screenification! Gamification!

Don’t get caught up in buzzwords. Focus on being buzzworthy by becoming relevant to your audiences instead.

13. Tie everything to the big idea, always-on engagement, friends of fans.

Ideas are the primary drivers of engagement. And yes, having ideas that spread through the ripple effect of fans is the best, and most likely to create waves.

14. Listen. Engage. Inspire.

Too many brands focus on the Engage, and forget the other two. Without them, engagement will remain shallow at best.

15. Don’t forget about ‘the boring basics’.

The coolest ideas and innovations are grounded in sound fundamentals. Too often this is forgotten.

16. The medium doesn’t matter as long as the idea is simple and presented interestingly!

With Digital, often the idea is IN the medium. But leaving the medium to do all the work is a recipe for failure.

17. A recent study showed people socially follow brands they already like. Social doesn’t make you LIKE a brand but lets you express DISLIKE!

It does both. But simply having a Like button and a promotion around it will not create a real like beyond the action of a click.

18. Brands are now Publishers.

Not just publishers, but brands need to be curators of content, as it’s not the business of most brand to create content.

19. Brands need to understand that they have to get more creative while going on digital.

In an increasingly cluttered environment filled with sameness, creativity can be a differentiator. Marry it to relevance to one’s audience and it can become a winning combination.

20. Brands can depend on consumers for real-time distribution but it’s a difficult task nevertheless

If brands help consumers make content their own, and provide easy ways for them to share it, they can help with this distribution. But the primary responsibility to distribute content and messages will remain that of the brand.

Despite robust growth, the market share of internet advertising in both Hong Kong and Japan is about 10 percent. Singapore’s internet advertising market share, as a portion of its total advertising market, is 6 to 7 per cent. China’s market share has grown to 9% of its total advertising spend while Korea’s is about 12%.

But even at these low percentages, the importance of the Internet is still seriously underestimated. Or is it?

Research conducted by Professor Eric Clemons at Wharton University in the USA indicates that many advertisements in traditional media are failing. “The problem,” he says, “is not the medium, the problem is the message, and the fact that it is not trusted, not wanted, and not needed.”

One newspaper after another is going out of business across the United States. The same is happening in other markets as more and more people migrate to the web.  Although newspaper ad spending was still 51% larger than Internet ad expenditure in 2010, newspaper spending is shrinking 1.4% annually.

Ad revenues of traditional print media, even of highly respected magazines, is declining. The ultimate failure of broadcast media advertising is likewise becoming clear. Meanwhile, Internet advertising is forecast to grow at an average annual rate of 14.4% between 2010 and 2013 overtaking newspapers.

A decline in Internet advertising?

The Internet in Asia is still nowhere near the potential that marketers are hoping for. Media time spent by consumers vs. Internet ad spend is still out of whack. With the economy in serious decline in many parts of the world, there has also been a drop in Internet advertising revenues.

Yet Internet advertising’s decline wasn’t caused by the general recession nor the decline in retail sales. Clemons argues that Internet advertising has the potential to lose its value and its impact due to the simple fact that advertisers continue to use traditional advertising formats, and these fail on the web. They simply cannot be carried over to the Internet, replacing full-page ads in newspapers or magazines. By traditional advertising formats I mean display ads, video ads, and any other ad whose format and value proposition approximates or imitates that of an offline advertising format.

Google is the only company that has succeeded in web advertising, having perfected search advertising whose value proposition is perfect for the web. Google’s share of the Internet ad market has risen almost 10 percent in the last five years, from 34.9 percent in 2006 to 44.1 percent in 2010, making it the undisputed Goliath in online advertising. Google also dominates global search, accounting for 85 percent of all searches.

The reason traditional ad formats fail on the web is because people have no patience for them, as they did in traditional media. People want sites to get to the point; their attention span is diminished. An ad message that is pushed at a potential customer without their approval to view it,  or when the consumer is in the midst of something else on the net, is a recipe sure to fail as a major revenue source for most Internet sites.

If, as research reveals, only the top 0.01% of websites can generate sufficient revenues from advertising, advertising is almost irrelevant for the success of the Web.

Web advertising should be valued in terms of the value of the business it creates from the new users it attracts to your site. This value is usually very small, which is why Web advertising works poorly and (while not completely useless) will be one of the smallest contributors to the future of the Web.

The problems with advertising

Clemons predicts that online advertising is going to be smaller, not larger, than it is today.  He thinks that it cannot support all the applications and all the content we want on the Internet. Online, he says, is not the answer. There are three problems with advertising in any form, whether broadcast or online:

1. People don’t trust advertising. They are distrustful of ads and messages attributed to a commercial source. A Forrester Research study also concludes that advertising and company/brand sponsored blogs are the least-trusted source of information on products and services, while recommendations from friends and online reviews from customers are the highest.
2. People don’t want to view advertising. Think about your own behaviour when you watch TV. Most of us channel surf or fast forward to bypass commercials. We even leave the TV to get a snack when the commercials come on.
3. People don’t need advertising. There is a vast amount of trusted content on the net.  Most of us now form our opinion of a product from online reviews and independent rating sites.

Marketers and their ad agencies are realising that we are not watching traditional ads as much as we used to. They attribute this to the fact that we have moved beyond newspapers, magazines, outdoor, and television, to the likes of video games, Smart Phones and the Internet.

A survey of people who had actually bought things on the Web revealed that only 12% of buying customers had arrived at the website from an advertisement.  88% of the shoppers had navigated there in other ways—via search engines and links. Proof, that if you offer content-rich pages, other sites will link to you.

Online advertising must create value for users or it will create little or no value for the marketer/advertiser’s bottom line. This would seem self-evident, but it has not been the case with traditional advertising, which was developed for captive audiences, and web users are increasingly anything but captive.

Personally, I think the future of online advertising will involve the old school method of clever product placement. The “editorial” won’t be about the product, but the product will exist within the editorial. The future of modern online advertising is integrating product placement with high quality content.

Porting traditional style ads to a medium like the Internet will not solve the three problems noted above.  The problem is not the medium, the problem is the message, and the fact that it is not trusted, not wanted, and not needed.

Mike Fromowitz

OCTANE

Benetton has, once again, thrust themselves into the spotlight with controversial ads of world leaders locking lips. As part of their “UnHate” campaign, they’re urging leaders and citizens of the world to combat “culture of hatred.’

Most advertising is devoid of risk taking. Either no one dares to try to do something new and different or they’re waiting for someone else to do something different so they can copy it. When we should be applying wings to brands to let them soar, we’re instead applying bullet-proof vests. Perhaps our industry thinks the consumer is more interested in comfort and in concepts that are predictable and palatable.

Benetton is one of those companies that has a history of creating controversial campaigns. In the past, Benetton claimed a territory that they could own—a “cause” clearly related to their brand purpose: bringing people together—the United Colors of Benetton.

In the United Colours campaign of the late 80’s and early 90’s, the photographs and the stories they told were edgy, contentious, and a bit too shocking for some. For me, many of the images had something endearing about them, something that I could understand as a consumer. There was a rebelliousness about them that I found easily acceptable.

United Colours took great acts of courage to promote. It helped break stereotypes and encourage many of the positive humanitarian sentiments we have today. When Benetton hired and gave carte blanche to Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani, they probably had no idea what genius and ground breaking work would take place. What followed were years of advertising that pushed social limits and brought to the lime light issues that many wanted to sweep under the rug. They did what was right in their eyes despite alienating some potential customers.

In 1990 Benetton produced posters of a priest kissing a nun; a bloody newborn baby; and a black stallion mounting a white mare. Other controversial ads featured a black woman breast feeding a white baby and an image of a real AIDS patient on his deathbed surrounded by a grieving family.

Since that time, Italy’s largest clothing maker, with some 6,400 franchised stores in 120 countries, went through a period of sluggish sales, closed a number of their stores and struggled to remain relevant in the market.  They were urgently in need of being reinvigorated.

A few weeks ago, Benetton launched their new campaign “UnHate” and has once again thrown everything in the face of conventional wisdom. In it, Benetton has found something they believe will have enough impact to restore their fading image amongst consumers and be a stand-out in the fashion clutter.

Have they gone overboard this time, as many critics are saying? Are they confusing their new objectives with their historical brand story?  Though the UnHate campaign has its naysayers, I see powerful statements in the advertising fueled by truth and by reality—the realities of life.

The campaign is causing controversy and is upsetting countless thousands. Shock value? For sure. But they’re being noticed once again, which proves that:

• People are hopelessly conservative.
• Benetton is miles ahead of most of us.
• Advertising in 2011 is still not a socially-acceptable outlet for wild imagination. Such imagination only inhabits the world of Fine Art.
• Fantasy remains more popular than reality.

Nevertheless, I find the outrage against the UnHate campaign as amazingly ironic. At a time when social media is making everyone more aware of the issues of the day, you would think such commitment would be welcomed. Think again.

Benetton’s ads have reached beyond traditional media with people commenting and sometimes, vehemently criticising the campaign in podcasts, discussion groups, blogs, websites, video on demand, magazine, newspaper and web articles. It’s all over Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

The company says all the images are meant to combat hatred.  It’s Benetton’s hope that the controversial images will help create tolerance around the world.

Yet, their print campaign is creating a furor. In the campaign of digitally mocked-up portraits, we see U.S. President Obama kissing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez; the Pope embracing Ahmed Mohamed el-Tayeb; Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel kissing French president Nicolas Sarkozy; Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas kissing Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu; China’s leader Hu Jintao kissing Barack Obama, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il kissing Lee Myung-bak, President of South Korea.

Much of the world seems to view the campaign as “exploitive” and “offensive”. Critics charge that it profits from the misfortunes of hatred and war.  But will it help to sell more of Benetton’s clothing? I am not certain. However, one thing I am certain of, is that the Benetton brand is suddenly an overnight  sensation. They know that great advertising disrupts, and they’ve run with it.

Early on, Benetton realized that assessing creative ideas is mostly about balancing risk: the risk of uncertainty and the risk of consequence. As a purveyor of rather inoffensive, if not overpriced clothes, Benetton has not forgotten how to get people to pay attention to their ads, and the ads have nothing to do with the stuff they sell.

The job of advertising is to get notice. For Benetton to spend all their advertising budget on typical fashion-style advertising, or explaining why their product is better than the competition, would be like throwing their money away. The route they’ve chosen quite smartly, is to make the UnHate ads look ‘Unadvertising’.

On the other hand, if you were to walk into any Benetton store, you won’t find clothing that is representational of their new UnHate campaign. Their clothing is mainstream and by no means remarkable. It’s not rebellious stuff, nothing controversial, that’s for certain.

I also like Benetton’s UnHate video on YouTube. Though it pales when compared to the controversial images used in the print/posters, the video aims to “bring people together.” The film by French director Laurent Chavez, tells of the precarious balance and complex interweaving between the drive to hate and the reasons to love.

Benetton has chosen what I believe to be a noble cause. Given the present worldwide moral crisis where hate, violence, crime, wars, conflict of ideologies, political or religious, are the rule of the day, UnHate makes us question seriously the progress of our modern world.

Benetton’s YouTube video shows people hugging and kissing. It’s about people opening their hearts. It’s about love and the acceptance of others, and the acceptance of our differences. It’s about human awakening. The video, as I noted earlier, pales in controversy when compared to the print/poster campaign, that’s for certain. For us ad folks, it serves well as an example of the real power of print.

You can view the video at:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qImJFg5dgTE

For Benetton, print has always been a powerhouse medium. For the company, awareness of the brand name is simply not enough. They want people to connect with the brand,  recognize themselves in it, and see it as aspirational.

Critics and marketers call the print campaign, which uses leaders-of-the-world-kissing, “a mismatch and a mistake” when compared to the video execution. Overall, they “hate” the campaign. They think that when the campaign has hit its peak and the wave is over, consumers will once again drop Benetton out-of-sight-out-of-mind. Time will tell.

Is UnHate a calculated risk? Will more people hate the campaign than UnHate it?

I have no problem with edgy communications. To quote Oscar Wilde: “The only thing worse than being talked about, was not being talked about”.  I have no issue if a campaign is shocking, or if it ruffles feathers and starts new conversation. Benetton is not pretending that the horrors of life do not exist. Each kiss we see reminds us of the
difficulties of war, of hatred, of the downgrade in peace and democracy, and that most of the world population still lives in misery, suffers from starvation, and absolutist regimes.

How then do the critics of the UnHate campaign mark Benetton as a company of “heretics”? Is it because Benetton dared to show the Pope, or President Obama, or Mahmoud Abbas kissing? Or are they being more visionary and hopeful than the rest of us? Benetton has smartly tapped into a strategic sweet-spot with the understanding that provocative advertising and social media can be powerful tools in connecting with consumers.

I also think Benetton has made a point to respect the consumers’ intelligence with an intelligent vision of peace for the world. Their approach has nothing to do with style or product—and everything to do with attitude and experience. They are expressing a sense of concern and the desire to connect—to be part of the world, good or bad, and to play a role in it.

UnHate puts them directly in opposition to the competition whose modus operandi is to create consumer needs that can only be satisfied when you buy their products and whose claims often have little to do with truth and authenticity. Benetton has once again, transformed themselves from a clothing manufacturer into a social force. Visionary? Bold? Brave? I think so.

The assumption that risk-taking is itself a selling tool is a disruption and departure from most marketing methods of the day. Just a few days ago, Benetton made the news again when the company was forced to pull one of its images featuring Pope Benedict XVI kissing a senior Egyptian imam on the lips after the Vatican denounced it as a “totally unacceptable” provocation.

Benetton claims the campaign of digitally-altered photos is aimed at fostering tolerance and ‘global love’. Political and religious leaders kissing is ‘symbolic of reconciliation – with a touch of ironic hope and constructive provocation. The photos are meant to stimulate reflection on how politics, faith and ideas, no matter how divergent, must still lead to dialogue and mediation.’

Pulling the controversial ad has only created more buzz for Benetton. It follows the self-evident truth that advertising that is ‘talked-about’ in the marketplace is exponentially more effective than that which is not.

Alessandro Benetton, deputy chairman of Benetton Group SpA and son of the founder of the family-controlled company, said of the campaign: ‘It means not hating. In a moment of darkness, with the financial crisis, what’s going on in North African countries, in Athens, this is an attitude we can all embrace that can have positive energy.’

The company has also set up the UnHate Foundation, which seeks to contribute to the creation of a new culture of tolerance to combat hatred, building on Benetton’s underpinning values. It is a contribution the company sees as having a real impact on the international community, especially through social media. The Foundation will organise initiatives involving different stakeholders, from the new generations to the institutions, international organisations and NGOs, through to civil society. The Foundation also aims to be a think tank, attracting personalities and talents from the fields of culture, economy, law and politics, and people who have gone from simple citizens to leaders of movements, distinguishing themselves through their ideas and actions against the causes and effects of hatred.

Benetton has put itself right down on the street with the rest of us in the real world.

Their truth is our truth. And Benetton is pushing all the psychological buttons, allowing us to reconsider our hang-ups, our patterns of prejudice and hate, our belief systems and the rules by which we live. Should we not applaud Benetton and give them kudos for stepping out on the edge and causing us to take a harder look at ourselves and our world?

If the goal of an advertising campaign is get people to notice and talk about the company, then Benetton has surely succeeded. From Benetton’s perspective, ‘UnHate’ may lead to some well needed global warming.

For me, the only question that remains is how much ‘truth’ can we stand?

Mike Fromowitz
OCTANE

The last few days have seen a great deal of chatter on Twitter and elsewhere in Social Media – on the changed algorithm introduced by Klout to measure Social Media influence. And how the changes have resulted in carefully nurtured (and built) Klout taking a tumble. In many cases, by as much as 20 points, virtually overnight.

The official Klout blog that has posts mentioning the changed algorithm is flooded with comments. I spotted over 900 comments on a single post, many detailing the unfairness of the changes, and how it’s impacted client relationships, job viability and of course, Social standing.

No doubt one of the defining features of Digital media is its measurability and the ability to tie all activities down to a numerical value for purposes of comparison with competition, correlation to objectives, and to determine that holy grail of marketing, ROI – Return on Investment, for those Social folks thinking Interaction or Involvement.

Of course it is crucial to measure. And to create benchmarks against which one can observe changes. And against which one can set goals. Klout provided one such measure. And I am sure will continue to do so. As will numerous other measures of Social influence.

But the point is not about these numbers alone. It’s about the influence and impact one creates  on one’s audience.  To recognize one’s brand (be it a personal brand, or a product or service brand). To believe in it. Enough to be willing to put down good money to try the brand. And then to continue to believe in it. To stay loyal to the brand.

And through this relationship with the brand, feel proud enough to tell other people of their association with the brand. And confident enough in its performance (quality, consistency, ability to meet and exceed expectations) to recommend it to their friends and peers.

It’s about winning a place in the hearts and minds of one’s audience.  And then earning the right of welcome to stay there. And becoming a part of the lives of one’s audience.

Beyond the transient changes taking place around. Be they in the form of new brands, promising better, faster, more, cheaper, cooler, and whatever else. Beyond the frenzied fashions of the season. Of the Hot List of the week.

Beyond the influence measures of a single Twitter handle. Or a bunch of Social Media handles tied together by a formula. Beyond Klout.

It’s about the influence one’s audience can exercise on behalf of one’s brand. In the manner it feels about the brand. In the manner it speaks about the brand. In the manner it shapes what the brand stands for. This in large measure continues to be in real world life, of which Social Media is just a small part.

For a moment, think of brands that you really care for. That influence you. In how you see the category. In the choices you make. In what you tell your friends about them. Then check their Klout scores. You may be surprised.  To find that the brands that really matter to you may not even feature on Klout. Or have rather insipid scores.

Yet they score high where it really counts. In your mind. In your heart. In a world removed from algorithms. And formulaic measures.

That’s real clout at work. And surprise, surprise, it’s spelt with a C, not K.

This post is inspired by an HBR article on the attitudes that business leaders take towards Social Media.

Ironically perhaps, the six attitudes make up a list of 6Fs — Folly, Fearful, Flippant, Formulating, Forging, Fusing.

(For those interested in reading the original article, click http://bit.ly/p3bS3F)

A reflection of the reality that Social Media is still largely peripheral to the C-Suite vision of key business drivers, and is seen at best as a support to Marketing. That too, largely from the perspective of:

- Connecting with younger audiences, the Social Media natives (aka Gen Y)

- Pushing out promotions and getting user participation in these, thereby spreading awareness (and building that wonderful thing, ‘buzz’)

- Providing customer support, and being the first point of learning of and addressing customer feedback and complaints

- Listening to what people are saying about their brands and competition, a manner of having an always-on market research programme

While the latter two view points start to recognize the importance and potential of Social Media for businesses, they are still just about scratching the surface.

The tipping point for Social Media to start playing to its full potential for brands will really come when business leaders stop keeping it at an arm’s length looking upon it as a nice-to-have.

But instead, start to embrace and embed Social behaviour into their businesses. And accept that to unleash the true power of Social, they need to empower their associates and partners through Social to connect with each other and their audiences.

And adopt a positive attitude to transparency, both internally and externally. And recognize the need to be receptive to what’s being said in the Social stream, and then in turn be responsive (without being defensive).

There’s no doubt that Social has thrown up as many new challenges to business leaders as it promises to create new opportunities for their businesses. And really, the only way to make it work is to get off the sidelines, and swim with the tide.

As we work towards adding the 7th F to the mix (‘Friendship’), here’s something for us to ponder over:

What will it take to make the impact of Social Media on businesses become part of a Company’s P&L?

I am not sure if it has reached this point anywhere yet, but clearly getting there would be a sign of Social Media having truly arrived in the C-suite.

And would be time for a ‘Friends’ update between business leaders and Social Media.

It has been an exciting and enlightening two and half years on Twitter. It has been my micro blog related to my observations, opinions and questions on the world of brands, marketing, social media, digital, advertising – and the people behind it all who influenced me, made me think, learn and grow as a marketer. I rarely, if ever, have used it for casual updates of where I am or what I am doing – and when I have, it’s usually been with a twist related to the business of Social and Brands.

Since this post is based on my tweet-life, I will try and keep these lessons as close to tweet-length as possible. In no particular order, here goes:

1. It may be just 140 characters long, but it’s important to allow your personality to come through. In tweets, and really in all communication. People connect with people, not things or sentences or links.
2. It’s about them, not you. And Social allows your audience to opt-out of your message stream easier than ever before.
3. Sitting on the fence is fine, but in Social media is important to have a viewpoint and express it. +1 is simple way to add ‘you’ into a tweet that otherwise would just have been a link shared.
4. People are looking for more – information, views, fun, knowledge, power and success. Find ways of helping them get this, and you’ll have followers who really want to follow you. Yes, the more you give, the more you get.
5. Listening is very important. But passive observation is kind of un-social. In these Social times, participative listening helps endear you to your followers.
6. Follow the basic rules of (social and business) etiquette. In what you say and how you say it. Just as you would face to face. In fact, imagining you are face to face with your audience can help.
7. Don’t run commercials. Converse. Don’t share ads. Share stories.
8. Leave room for your audience to participate. And make your message stream their own. Invite and encourage them to.
9. It’s about being Social. And making your audience your media. If you manage this, Marketing will take care of itself.
10. Don’t sweat the numbers, the Klout score. Focus on providing your audience with what they value. The numbers will stack up by themselves.
11. Stay tuned in. Marketing in Social times doesn’t allow for weekends off and long periods of absence. People may go on vacation, not brands.
12. Be aware that your reach is beyond just your audience. It goes to their network and beyond. This can work to your advantage. Or not.
13. Cut the jargon. Keep it simple. Speak like you would to a friend.
14. Take criticism with a smile. You may be right, but there’s always a nicer way to make your point.
15. Topical is Social. Find ways of integrating topicality into what you say. Yet balance topicality with relevance (to your audience and yourself).
16. You can never plan for a response. Stuff you think your audience will love may get no response. Stuff you don’t may create waves.
17. It’s okay to show your frailties. It makes you more believable, more real. And more likely to get support when you need it.
18. Freely express gratitude and thanks. You can never make someone feel too good. But stay genuine.
19. Be humble. Realize that whatever you are, it’s more because of your audience and less because of you.
20. It’s about relationships. Not followers. Treat your followers as people, not numbers.
21. You are always learning.  Thinking you have cracked the Social code is the biggest mistake you can make.

I learn something new every day, and grow as a person and as a Marketer.

I would love to know your experiences as a participant in these Social times, related to Marketing or simply, the social life. Connect with me on Twitter @ashoklalla, and let’s get talking…