Understanding the Digital Uniform

Big Announcement: I am joining Facebook!

It's Official.

After 6 incredible years as the CEO of 80/20 Solutions, I made the difficult decision to step down from the CEO position and move to an advisory role with the company effective December 31, 2010.   In the same breath, I am extremely excited to officially announce that I will be joining the senior leadership team at Facebook Canada effective January 10, 2011.

In my new role at Facebook, I will be leading a team responsible for building trusted advisor relationships with some of Canada’s largest brands and agencies, helping them to understand the changes in social marketing and ways to better leverage Facebook to gain market share and build their brands.  I cannot overstate my excitement to be joining the Facebook team.  I strongly believe that Facebook, with its 500+ million active members and its incredible vision, is the future of the internet and I consider this to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help the company realize its full potential in Canada.

In my place at 80/20 Solutions, I am very happy to announce the appointment of Lawrence Tepperman as President of 80/20 Solutions.  Lawrence is my hand picked successor and we have been working together in close capacity during this transition period over the past few months.  He has held several senior roles at 80/20 Solutions including VP Client Services and Chief Operating Officer.  He is an extremely talented leader and I’m very excited to see where he can take the company.  I will remain a member of the board of advisors and I am happy to be leaving 80/20 Solutions in great shape. November 2010 was the best sales month in the company’s history and the company has recently raised additional funds to further support its growth and continue to invest in its patent-pending Marketing Control Center Platform.

As a co-founder of 80/20 Solutions, this was a very difficult decision for me and I will sincerely miss working with the 80/20 team members and our many great clients and partners.  That being said, I am happy to be joining the coolest company in the world at a very exciting time.  Stay tuned for big things from Facebook in 2011.

Please feel free to connect with me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/irvine.steve

Brand Marketing Magic: Examples of Integrating online and offline experience

Do you ever wonder what Facebook would be like if you experienced it offline?  Wonder no longer.

I'm really getting excited about where marketing is heading.  I have started to see some really great marketing experiences recently that are breaking down the barriers imposed by multiple marketing channels by seamlessly integrating online and offline experience for customers.  The two best examples involve integrating Facebook social experiences into real world settings for an effect that can only be described as "Marketing Magic".

The first example was sent to me by a friend and top brand marketer, Rob Sorgini and recently included in a blog post from experiential marketing thought leader Max Lenderman.  It comes from an agency in Isreal called ProMarket.  They setup an experience for Coca-Cola that integrated the Facebook "Like" concept into activities, food choices and other offline activities in Coca Cola Village with a real-time integration through RFID wrist bands to actual facebook accounts online.  See the powerful video embedded below.

The second example is a concept from DDB Paris.  They promoted the launch of Bouygues Telecom's Facebook presence by creating 1,000 physical books made from people's own Facebook pages.  This is a brilliant idea and I could actually see it being a successful independent business.  The marketing value of this integration is huge and it really delivers a powerful cross-channel experience.  See the video below.

When Facebook becomes a book from Siavosh Zabeti on Vimeo.

 

What do these campaigns deliver for the brands involved?

- Strong brand equity

- Tons of "earned" media online

- Customer Loyalty and Affinity

 

Why does it work?

There are unique opportunities now to create multi-channel experiences for consumers.  Because we have been conditioned to believe that marketing and by extention our experience with brands are restricted to individual media channels, the effect of creating an experience that crosses over those channels works similar to an magician's optical illusions.

We sit and watch magicians like David Blaine and rack our brains to understand how he can make cards appear in beer bottles or on the other side of the glass.  Our brains are conditioned to think in a particular way and despite our best efforts, we are not able to understand the illusion as anything other than "magic".  This has a similar effect in marketing.  We are so conditioned to expect a disjointed brand experience that when we move from our online facebook account to an offline interaction we almost don't believe it is possible to merge the experience.  When done successfully, brands can generate excitement and loyalty that would take years to cultivate using traditional strategies and at a fraction of the cost.

 

What is the bottom line?

Be creative, take chances and try to create better experiences for your customers.  It is more cost-effective than ever to test new ideas.  Don't be affraid to try something new, the rules of marketing are changing and you might get left behind.

Congrats to ProMarket and DDB Paris for creating inspiring campaigns that are pushing brands to think differently about marketing.

 

Do you have any other examples of great customer experience in marketing?  Feel free to add a comment or let me know your thoughts.

RockMelt Web Browser - Is this a Sign of a Larger Social Web Movement?

I got an invite to see the new RockMelt browser yesterday and it got me thinking about some broader market implications.

 

Background

As way of quick background, RockMelt is a new take on the traditional internet browser with a much richer interface focused making it easier to integrate social sharing and networking into your browsing experience. 

 

My goal for this post

The intention for this post is less to focus on the many cool social features incorporated into RockMelt (and there are a number of very cool features to talk about including a prioritized facebook friend list on the left hand column, real-time RSS feeds in the right hand column and a much easier sharing experience) and more to discuss the broader implications of this new and more social browser design.

 

Implication to You (the web surfer)

Many people will point to the large implications for the average person and the ways in which this new browser design will help to shape your experiences online and promote much more collaborative viewing and sharing with friends and family. This is a very consistent view of the changing web landscape and although it will take time to hit the mainstream web surfers, it is certainly an undeniable trend.

 

Implication to the Big Web Players (Google vs. Facebook)

I'm going to move past the inevitable discussion about whether RockMelt as a company has the chops to really become a force in the browser world.  Let's assume that regardless, we are going to see more focused attention in all browsers towards a more social web experience.  If this in fact the impact of RockMelt, what does that tell us about which company is at the center of the web?

For many years now, Google has been the centerpeice of the web, helping us find information and top web pages to meet our specific interests and inquiries.  However, more and more we are using social networks like Facebook to gain information, share experiences and content with family and friends and just hang out.  People worldwide spend over 700 billion minutes on Facebook alone every month.  So it begs the question - if the browser becomes more social is Facebook going to be widely considered the center of the web?  Are we truly moving, as some would suggest, from Pages (Google) to People (Facebook) at the center of our web experience? Are we in fact more focused on building from our personal relationships outwards to content and information on the web?

 

Conclusion?

It is an interesting question and one that I think we are a bit too early to answer, but RockMelt might be an interesting indication of a broader and much larger shift in the face of the web and ultimately could start the coronation of a new king of the web in the next 5 years.

What are your thoughts?  Is this a significant step in the further socialization of the web or is it just another doomed attempt at the next best web browser?

Wal-Mart CrowdSaver Social Networking Strategy: More than Meets the Eye?

 

 

Earlier this week, Wal-Mart released a new social networking strategy called CrowdSaver.  Similar to the social buying / group coupon concept recently popularized by super start-up Groupon, Wal-Mart is using social networking as a way to help consumers save money.  The basic premise is that Wal-Mart posts certain deals on their Facebook page.  Consumers are then prompted to "Like" the deal in Facebook and, if a certain number of "likes" are acheived, then this deal will be unlocked and available on online.

This sounds like a no-brainer for Wal-Mart, but there might even be more benefits to this strategy than you might initially think.  Let's quickly break down why it works and review of the obvious and less obvious benefits.

 

 

 

Why it works...

There is actually a strategy - This might sound basic and almost insulting to some, but the main reason why this will work is that there is a solid strategy behind this social networking program.  Too many times, I see brands rush into creating Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, YouTube channels and mobile apps without a sound strategy, ultimately driving little to no results.  Let's be honest, Wal-Mart is copying the strategy of proven smaller players like Groupon for this campaign, but regardless of orginality, the strategy is sound and well thought-out prior to launching this campaign.

Psychology of social sharing - Seth Godin wrote a great blog post earlier this week entitled "I spread your idea because...", where he describes 20 reasons why people are compelled to spread ideas online.  One of the reasons he notes is "because both my friend and I will benefit if I share the idea (Groupon)."  That is the brilliance of the model, it is a win-win-win model.  You win as a consumer because you get the deal, your friends win because they also get the deal and Wal-Mart wins because they get the volume of guarenteed purchases and the increased brand awareness and engagement.

"While Supplies Last" - This is one major difference between Groupon and Wal-Mart.  Liking a deal, does NOT guarentee that you will get the deal.  It only helps to unlock the deal.  This allows Wal-Mart to fix the inventory level for any deal.  The value here to Wal-Mart is in minimizing any risk of these promotions.  If inventory is fixed and the deal is only available online in a centralized and controlled e-commerce environment, the risk profile for this type of initiative is significantly reduced.

 

What are the obvious benefits...

Ability to clear out old inventory - This is a great vehicle for Wal-Mart to clear out invetory last-minute with little work or expense.

Strong brand builder - Wal-Mart is already a global giant and well-known brand, but these types of campaigns help to reinforce the core value proposition to consumers, which is that Wal-Mart gives you more for less.

More Fans on Facebook - In order to "like" the deal, you first have to "like" Wal-Mart.  This allows Wal-Mart to quickly build a strong community on Facebook, which can be leveraged in any number of ways in the future.  As of the time of this post, Wal-Mart already had almost 2 million likes on their Facebook page.

 

What are the less-obvious benefits...

Stronger connection to active Facebook users - Facebook has over 500 million active users (users that have visited Facebook in the last 30 days).  If Wal-Mart can get Facebook users to habitually check the CrowdSaver page when they log-in, that is a huge un-tapped market for them.

Lower advertising costs - Social networking strategies like CrowdSaver help to reduce traditional advertising costs by instead harvesting the power of social sharing.  This has a double positive effect for Wal-Mart.  One, they can get value for their advertising dollars and two, they can use some of the savings to offer better deals to consumers (which has a compounding effect on number 1).

Better Customer Intelligence - Potentially the largest benefit of this program is the customer intelligence gained from running these campaigns.  Wal-Mart can start to understand valuable information on the type of consumers attracted to various deals, the key pricing strategies to drive viral adoption and the best inventory to drive volume of purchase.

Consumer loyalty and engagement - using Facebook connect, Wal-Mart has the ability to integrate the experience across brand-controlled and Facebook-controlled web pages in order to better understand and target the key segements of their community.  This will only expand as consumers take more control over their profile and preferences, driving up the demand for more relevant and targeted communications and offers.

 

Conclusion...

There are great opportunities for brands to use social networking strategies to really drive brand awareness, engagement, loyalty and increased purchase behaviour.  However, it is important to stay focused on the consumer when developing these strategies - ie. what drives them to take action, what are they looking for, why would they spread your idea.  Too often, we get wrapped up in the technology or the new online destination and we forgot that it is the same consumer on the other end.

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts.... is Wal-Mart on the right track or is this just another case of benefiting from the smart idea of others (in this case Groupon)?

Getting Noticed on Twitter. Do you know the best time to tweet?

 If you are like most marketers, you are trying desperately to figure out the best way to maximize the use of Twitter and other social networks.  Twitter is a particularly interesting social network based on all of the "noise" that you need to be able to break through to get noticed.  To that end, there are some very interesting niche applications that are being developed to maximize your chances of success.  Once such site that I came across recently is called Tweet O'Clock

Tweet O'Clock allows you to figure out the best time to target a tweet to a specific individual.  So let's say that you really wanted to get noticed by a particularly popular tweeter (like a thought leader or analyst in your space), you can put their @name username into Tweet O'Clock and they will tell you the best time within the week (and each day) to reach them based on their past twitter behaviour.

If you are in sales or PR and you are really trying to be creative about how to get noticed by a particular tweeter, this might be just the tool you need to really put your best foot forward and get noticed.

 

Try it out and let me know if it works for you.

Location-based Social - Part 1: The Landscape

Imagine the day when your consumers can use their mobile phones to automatically notify you and their friends that they are in a physical location (like your store or event), when you can then confirm it through GPS tracking and reward them accordingly.

That day is today.

So my question to you is - how can you leverage this new capability to drive your business forward? If your answer is "I'm not sure", then continue to read through this blog series and I'll help give you some suggestions on ways to use location-based social networks to leap frog your competition and be the coolest person at your next cocktail party* (*results may vary).

Coming off of SXSW Interactive in Austin, it's obvious that location-based social networks are one of the most intriguing and talked-about topics for 2010 - and for good reason. However, there is a lot of confusion about the space and how it applies to marketers. 

I have decided to write a 3-part blog post on location-based social media to help you 1) understand the landscape 2) identify the key players 3) discuss the opportunities for marketers.

THE LANDSCAPE OF LOCATION-BASED SOCIAL NETWORKS

Location-based social networks (also known as Geosocial networking) are designed to merge the online and offline experience. As wikipedia states, they are social networks with which geographic services and capabilities such as geocoding and geotagging are used to enable additional social dynamics. Which, in our terms, means that they use information about your location to enrich your experience (ex. connect you with people in the same area, share photos or images that others took at that site or share reviews of the restaurant you are about to enter).

These location-based services rely on the GPS capability of smart phones (such as the Apple iPhone, Blackberry, etc.) and allow people to "check in" to physical locations such as restaurants, office buildings, coffee shops using their mobile phone.   According to a report from ABI Research, revenues for these networks could be as high as $3.3 billion by 2013 (this might be aggressive, but the space is certainly hot).  There are many new location-based social networks that combine different elements like reviews, trip planning, collaboration, point collection, and promotions with the location-based targeting capability to enrich the user experience.

This is a relatively new space in social because it is leveraging the GPS capabilities that are only found within the most recent generations of smart phones to determine the location of the individual.  The larger concept of geolocation actually started on the web using IP addresses and hotspot triangulation, but the space only got exciting when you could get more portable and targeted using a GPS-enabled mobile phone.

Big Brother or Big Idea

There is a lot of concern about the potential for location-based services to be seen by consumers as "big brother", which is a legitimate concern.  In a world where privacy is a top topic for lawmakers and service providers, it is fair to evaluate the potential downside of this new emerging space.  We have seen a lot of changes in the larger social space with regards to the level of control individuals have over their personal data and marketing preferences.  You need only look at the changes that Facebook has made over the last year to their privacy management features to get a sense of the way the world is moving. 

However, giving consumers control, does not mean that good services that offer value to the consumer will fail.  Quite the opposite in my opinion.  Putting more control in the hands of consumers, allows you to create location-based services and networks that can require a tremendous amount of personal information, so long as the value exchange makes sense.  It is apparent that today's consumers are more willing than ever before to provide personal information, so long as they understand its use and they see value in the additional capabilities or services they get in return.  As an example, if I know that I can get better deals at local stores or restaurants if I provide my location to a specific social network, those deals might be more than enough to overcome my concerns about disclosing that information.

All that being said, it is important when planning any strategy to take note of the risks.  It is certainly possible that there will be a move in the future away from such overwhelming transparency.  This will be further accelerated, if we start to see these location-based networks abused for criminal or socially unacceptable behaviour (ie. people start to use your location to stalk you or attack you or worse).  Here is hoping that we can find a way to take advantage of the local marketing and collaboration capabilities of location-based services, while avoiding the potential for unintended abuse of such targeted capabilities.

Where Apple goes, so goes mobile

It was recently published that Apple filed a patent in September 2008 around a location-based social networking app.  This patent describes a system where all of the devices in a specific location can automatically become part of a new social network based on their location, which the patent filing refers to as iGroups.  This concept promises all the great current features of social collaboration, reviews, and discussion with the ability to set physical boundaries around those that can participate. 

You can imagine the day when you could get on a social network specific to a concert you are attending.  You can get on your smart phone and instantly interact with other fans in the concert hall, share images, video, sharing information and requesting songs.  It is all driving towards a more integrated online and offline experience.  You can see a more detailed review of the iGroups concept in a great ReadWriteWeb review.

Now that we know the landscape, what's next?

So now that we have an understanding of the landscape, it is time to move on to look at the players in this space.  Stay tuned for my next blog post to get a detailed view of the top players to look out for and my thoughts on who might emerge as the big winners in the years to come.

Is this finally the year of mobile? Google and Apple think so

Do you think 2010 is finally the year of mobile?

There has been much hype and speculation over the potential for mobile advertising to break out in recent years.  Analysts have been predicting "the year of mobile" since at least 2007, yet despite consistent growth in mobile messaging, smart phone device sales and mobile app downloads we have not seen mobile advertising take off.  However, there is reason to believe that 2010 might be different.  Here are a couple of reasons why:

1. The big guys are taking their positions:  It appears as though the two big players in mobile are going to be Google and Apple.  Both companies have made strategic acquisitions in Q4 2009 to position arm themselves for a mobile advertising battle in 2010.  Google acquired mobile advertising firm Ad Mob for $750 million and Apple replied by acquiring Quattro Wireless $275 million.  It is also interesting to note that Apple was also rumored to have made a bid for Ad Mob and that Google reportedly paid approximately 17 times Ad Mob's revenues to complete the transaction. Google is also in the process of testing its own smart phone that they will sell directly to consumers to compete with Apple's iphone in 2010.  Yahoo! and Microsoft have also bolstered their mobile offerings in anticipation of a big 2010.

2. Social Networks driving mobile web into mainstream: comScore reports that social networks have seen a 196.7% year-over-year growth in mobile internet usage.  Mobile users spend approximately 24 minutes on Facebook and average 3.3 visits per day, which is now equal if not better than PC users who spend 27.5 mnutes per day and average 2.3 visits.  Mobile application downloads surpassed 3 billion in 2009 and it is expected to continue to grow rapidly in 2010 as smart phone penetration increases.

3. Text Messaging (SMS) surpasses 50% of users: In 2009 comScore reports that over 131.9 million users sent a text message to another phone, which represents 57.3% of total mobile phone users (a year-over-year growth of over 25%).  This is a major inflection point, as it surpasses 50% of users for the first time.  Text messaging services also saw a big jump in 2009 with over 32 million people receiving news or info via SMS, which represents 14.1% of users (a remarkable 114.9% year-over-year increase).

The exciting part is that smart phone, such as the iphone, blackberry and android phones still only account for 12% of the market.  As we see that number increase over the coming years, we will see rapid growth in mobile advertising, mobile application downloads and mobile web usage.

A few things to look out for in 2010:

Local: Look for more apps and mobile web experiences that focus on local markets and include local advertising.

Location-based: Location-based services and apps really took off in 2009.  look for that trend to continue in 2010 as apps incorporate more GPS-driven features.

Integrated: Look out for more integrated experiences, with mobile being used as a bridge media between offline and PC online experiences.  As an example: mobile coupons, SMS alerts and location-based mobile driving consumers in-store or to events.

Are you investing in mobile advertising or marketing in 2010?  Do you think 2010 will be the year of mobile?

Social has changed the rules for retail: consumer groups will rule in 2010

I'm planning on dedicating more time to this topic in the coming weeks, but I thought I would put up a quick post to discuss a major change going on in retail.  Social media has made it very easy for people to congregate and form groups of interest (or as Seth Godin would say "tribes").  Currently, those groups are focused more on communication, digital media sharing and product reviews.  However, there is a logical next step that is going to change the face of retail, consumer group buying, and recently that movement took a BIG step forward.

Groupon, a high-profile start-up from Chicago, just closed a $30 million round from Accel Partners is now valued at close to $300 million.  The company is working with local businesses to provide deep discounts for groups of consumers.  The way the web site works, is that you get a deal of the day for the city you live in.  The deal of the day will be a significant discount on a product or service (ie. a $100 product for $50).  You then have the ability to visit the site and sign up for the deal.  However, the deal only goes through if you get the minimum number of people to participate.  This volume guarantee ensures that the local business can offer the discount promoted.  This is where social media comes in.  You now have the ability to tell your friends on social networks about the deal to ensure that it goes through, which in turn also promotes the site to a new audience.

The reviews and press coverage to date has been huge and I think you will see it continue to grow in 2010.  Look out for big things in this space in the New Year.  This concept of group buying is the future of retail and a perfect example of the power of social.  Congrats to the team at Groupon for getting on it early.  I'm excited to see where it goes from here.  I think you will see this trend show up consistently across all industries - remember, consumers own the relationship in a digital social society.

What do you think about Groupon and the movement towards consumer-group buying?

Free eBook from Seth Godin: What Matters Now

What do you think the big trend will be in 2010?

Seth Godin just released a new FREE ebook called What Matters Now, where Seth got a collection of more than 70 thought leaders (see word cloud on the side) to give a 1-page essay on topics to think about in the new year.

Have a read through some of the ebook and get some ideas for 2010.  Would you give this ebook away for free?

Download FREE ebook here

Why Social Media is so difficult for most organizations

It's a process, not an event.Dating is a process. So is losing weight, being a public company and building a brand.On the other hand, putting up a trade show booth is an event. So are going public and having surgery.Events are easier to manage, pay for and get excited about. Processes build results for the long haul.

via sethgodin.typepad.com

Seth Godin had a great quick post today about social. I think it is important for people to look at social as a strategy that will be incorporated into your long-term planning rather than a tactic that can be used in a campaign to generate quick results.