Alternative marketing thinking

Human beings are social creatures. Groups evolved from common ancestors, bound by common language, common traditions and mutually rewarding goals. But the industrial revolution created new cities and towns and the emergence of cheap travel ensured that communities that once lived together for centuries broke up and grew disparate.

Soon economists and anthropologists were busy finding ways to group people with different interests, views and beliefs. Age, income, job profile, education, family size became some of the yardsticks used to put together different people into similar groups.

Direct marketing went a step further. Instead of talking to large groups, these marketers went out to create ways to speak to individuals. 1 to 1 became their mantra. Engaging with one person, creating customized products and services that could fulfill his unique needs became the order of the day. Tools like CRM were able to take one to one marketing to levels of sharpness that could never have been possible.

The world is changing once again. New communities are forming online that are in many ways similar to the old ones that broke up a century or two ago. In fact these communities are bound by a different set of values that go far beyond the ones that bound traditional ones. What’s more, these groups can come together and break up at will. The recent protests against Flickr allowing video uploads were from people around the globe who came together in a matter of few days and broke away the day after the protest was over.

Even more interesting is that a person can be a part of multiple groups, leading multiple lives quickly and easily.

So are we about to see the emergence of GRM (Group Relationship Marketing programs) and the emergence of specialists who deal with social groups? While this may look like a simple evolutionary step, there could be interesting challenges that need to be thought through before direct marketers take a plunge into engaging with social groups.

Unlike talking to one person and convincing her about the values of buying into something, groups are a little more complicated. There is a lot of chatter that goes about within these groups. Also, if a person within the group has had a positive or negative experience with a product or service, then that pretty much seals the chances of acceptance or rejection within that community.

Another interesting angle to these new group formations is that people have started to understand how much power these groups can actually wield. Unlike in the past, a stray complaint could have been handled one to one and resolved without too many people becoming aware of the problem. In the new group-forming culture, small hiccups could turn into big problems for companies and
marketers.

Interesting reads. The new book by Clay Shirky Here Comes Everybody . Al Gore’s new environmental effort, We Can Solve It. Steve Yastrow’s new book, We. The Ideal Customer Relationship

One of the problems that marketers are having with new media is that there are not enough reliable measurement tools to calculate ROIs and other metrics that they are so comfortable with. According to Ian Scaffer of Ad Age, this cat and mouse game is set to continue, with ad models continuing to lag behind changing media habits of consumers. More from AdAge.

A new game, named Foldit, turns protein folding into a competitive sport. Introductory levels teach the rules, which are the same laws of physics by which protein strands curl and twist into three-dimensional shapes — key for biological mysteries ranging from Alzheimer’s to vaccines. After about 20 minutes of training, people feel like they’re playing a video game but are actually mouse-clicking in the name of medical science. The designers of the game have lofty goals - help scientists understand the complex world of proteins which computers of today would take decades to decipher, by playing a game. And the participants could be candidates to win a Nobel prize. Read more.

There are many interesting experiments happening out there trying to help websites and web experiences stand out from the sea of sameness. San Francisco ad agency Publicis & Hal Riney has redesigned its website to enable a mouse-free experience. Use a webcam to navigate the site. Try it with an iCam enabled Mac, it really works. Modernista has gone in for web 2.0 coolness with this attempt with a floater. StrawberryFrog did something similar with GirlSmiles. Blog formats are catching on too. Coudal Partners started this trend. Now Barbarian Group is going that way too.

MIT’s media lab and Bank of America are coming together to create a banking research and development laboratory, with investment worth $25 million from the latter. This innovation hub will engineer and transform the ways of modern banking in an environment which banks increasingly understand to be dynamically changing. The MIT media lab is known to bring together some of the brightest minds of the world, in a quest to invent a better future. Read more here.

In an interesting chat with Vikram Akula, the founder and CEO of SKS Microfinance, India’s fastest growing microfinance institution, Wharton reports on the emerging trends in microfinance. Akula talks about how once the RBI recognises the full potential of mobile banking, regulations will be eased so that time and money are not wasted in traditional brick and mortar infrastructure. Akula also talks about the constraints that come up, the dispute about high interest rates charged from the poor and how the future is looking for SKS.

Over the last few years, banking and investment services have been opening their doors to social platforms such as Prosper and Lending Club. Now the vary same entrants are posing a threat to traditional banking by suggesting that they will control 10% of the worldwide market for retail lending and financial planning by 2010. Gartner brings to light two particularly note-worthy areas leading this change – lending and payment. The reasons of course are many - consumers are spending more time at social networks, business conglomerates are fuelling these efforts with investment (Virgin Group bought a majority stake in Massachusetts-based CircleLending), and lending platforms are raising significant funds from venture capitalists. And making people comfortable. So much so, the Webby Awards for financial and bill paying services were dominated by these social platforms. Read more here.

In the UK, insurance buyers can now become advisors. Zuzzid is a web forum for people to come together and discuss their experiences after buying insurance in different areas - home, car, fire, health or just about anything else. The community website aims to “beat the system” and rant, rave and discuss about various experiences. A price engine search lets prospective buyers compare different costs of plans and the home page has a list of highest rated carriers. The big debate, however, might arise from the distinct fine print at the bottom that reads ‘© 2006 Norwich Union. All rights reserved.’ So does Zuzzid become less fair a resource if it is funded by UK’s largest general insurer? Also interestingly, Zuzzid Top Provider League Tables put Norwich Union at the top of the table for motor insurance, top for life insurance, second for home insurance, and second in the overall ‘Insurance Top Six’. Worth a thought.

Planner and advertising thinker David Nottoli has some simple advice for brands at a time when all the signs point to recession. Here it is, reproduced in full.

According to the research quoted in a recent issue of NY Times, consumers are feeling the pinch of tough economic times and beginning to trade down to less expensive options at the retail counter.

At the risk of adding one too many “business is war” metaphors, if you were “holding your fire until you see the whites of their eyes”, it’s time to load your musket with recession era messaging. What can you do to protect your brand?

Value Brands
If you’re a value brand, it’s time to drive home your value message. Things like “get more and pay less” or “you’re smart for being economical.”

Premium Brands
If you’re a premium brand, it’s time to justify that premium. Why should people pay more? You might tout your Technical, Functional, or Emotional benefits (can’t remember where I got that from). Technical benefits include design or technology advantages. For example, the huge chunks of stuff Ben & Jerry’s puts in their ice cream. Functional would include differences in performance - like being able to taste or feel the difference in your product. Finally, you can tap into the Emotional feelings that surround your brand. That might mean messages about having “earned it”, or “deserve it”, or “can afford it.” In tough times, people still work hard, maybe even harder. They deserve rewards. Remind them that you are a reward worth their efforts.

Badge Brands
If you’re a badge or status brand, it’s time to elevate the importance of your brand in your customers lives so you don’t become one of the items they sacrifice. That might mean reminding buyers what your brand says about them. Perhaps, purchasing your brand signifies to others that “I’m not hurting for money. I have a good job and can afford to enjoy the good life.” Or “I have such high standards in widgets, I’m not willing to sacrifice my good taste.” You can also highlight the qualities in your product that signify authenticity, or craftsmanship. These remind others that you have discerning tastes.

Luxury Brands
If you’re a luxury brand, you probably don’t have anything (Recession, what recession? read this post from AgendaInc that has compiled a bunch of articles that show how luxury brands are doing) to worry about recession since it is likely to hurt only middle and working class people. If there is anything such as a recession-proof brand, it will probably come from the luxury category. What better way to separate yourself from the masses than to drape yourself in luxury goods during a recession?

From Sidewalk Life

When the marketing team at Unilever UK released their campaign Onslaught for Dove that asked mothers to protect their young children from the onslaught of the fashion industry, not everyone was impressed. Filmmaker Rye Clifton offered a response to the film, with a mash-up short of his own that went on to notch up over a 100,000 views. Now Greenpeace has joined in the act, with Onslaughter a film that shows how pristine forests in Indonesia and Malaysia are being cut down to grow palm oil that goes into Dove products. Now Dove has come out with a response to the palm oil allegation saying that the company will sustainably source its ingredients.