Public Relations
“Green Marketing”? Save Some for the Fishes…
Here’s a great opportunity: The oceans are dying.
Seriously, the oceans are in horrible shape, and it’s your fault. You did it, Supply, Demand, Pollution and Overfishing. And if we don’t take ownership now, our brands, our children, and our collective appetite for seafood may never forgive us.
I’m not trying to bum you out, but the next time you feel the need to impress clients or co-workers with your sushi-ordering skills, you should at least know whether you’re eating sustainable fish. (Either way, you’ll have to kiss your Chilean Sea Bass goodbye.)
Perhaps you’re wondering, “What’s all this hippy, save-the-Earth stuff got to do with online and multi-channel marketing optimization?” Great question, and I’m glad you asked.
By now, you’re familiar with the environmental catch-all term “green marketing,” but what you may not realize is that “blue marketing” is a relatively untapped way to differentiate your brand while raising awareness for an urgent problem that affects everyone. Besides, it’s not easy being green, because, when everyone’s doing something “green,” it loses meaning fast. (Seth Godin has a great post on the coming backlash over green marketing.)
A quick anecdote to make my point: The other week, I saw two containers of soy milk — original flavor, same brand, same size — sitting next to each other in the fridge at my corner store. One of the containers had a green cap, the other didn’t. I picked up the container with the “green caps for green energy” promotion, turned it around, and saw that they were promising to donate 30 kilowatts of “green power” (solar power?) if I entered the number from under the cap into the database on their website. Pretty smart, right? Well, yeah, but when the first words I read are, “Can one little green cap change the world? Just maybe.” I have my doubts. Even if their campaign is a great idea, it’s lost amid the over-branding of “green.”
It’s sad, but as much as we care about the planet, Broca is tuning out.
Making Waves
World Ocean Day happened on June 8 and, if you’re like me, you didn’t think to commemorate it. Still, I have been paying attention. Did you know that if we don’t curb overfishing, pollution and global warming trends, there will be no more (edible) fish in the sea by 2048?
It’s true. Here’s how I found out:
(If video doesn’t load, click here.)
The URL at the end caught my attention, so I went to Oceana.org/matingseason.
Oceana is the world’s leading ocean conservation group, and their website is full of blue ideas. You can become a WaveMaker, tell your grocer to buy sustainable fish, find out why you should say no to shark fin soup, and you can even download a pocket seafood guide so you always know if you’re ordering something sustainable and low-mercury.
Not concerned with saving the fish? How about saving the humans? As the climate of the ocean changes, so goes the rest of the world. Anyone who’s lived through the East Coast heat wave these past several days will find it easy to believe that 11 of the warmest years on record have happened in the past 13 years and ocean temperatures are rising.
How to Avoid Drift Net Marketing Tactics
Whether your eco-friendly marketing initiatives are focused on land or sea, here are a few ways to build trust, encourage word of mouth, and keep it financially sustainable (read: the other “green”):
1.) Be specific — What’s the exact dollar amount you’re trying to raise? What’s the exact percentage you’re donating, and to whom? Why are you donating to that cause and that specific non-profit?
2.) Campaigns are best — It’s so much easier to track and manage special promotions at the campaign level than it is to track it across the entire organization. By focusing on campaigns, you can see very closely how and why your customers and clients are responding to your environmental marketing efforts at each touch point across channels.
3.) Don’t guilt trip — Nothing is a bigger turn-off. People donate because they want to, not because you’ve nagged them to. Be careful not to come off as holier-than-thou about whatever cause you’re promoting. (I was at an event to raise money for drinking water in sub-Saharan Africa the other night, and the CEO of the company that was hosting the event was yelling into the microphone, acting as though attendees — who’d already donated $100 just to be there — were being cheap if they didn’t raise their hands to sponsor a $5,000 well, and literally shushing the crowd like they were in a grade school library. Whatever the online equivalent of that is, don’t do it.)
If Sharks Were Marketers…
Ideally, giving to a great cause should be the icing on the cake that encourages fence-sitters to convert to happy customers. Whatever you do, don’t go the drift net route and merely advertise your brand’s inner green- or blue-ness as though it’s self-evident. Each year, tens of millions of sharks are killed by drift nets while marketers like us roam free.
Hmm… If sharks had better marketing support, maybe we wouldn’t have an irrational fear of them.
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Written by:Robert Gorell
America’s Test Kitchen Shows How to Sizzle an Email
For years I’ve been a fan of the America’s Test Kitchen chefs and their magazine, Cook’s Illustrated. I’m a bit of a foodie — and a pragmatist — so I love that they give their audience no-nonsense, real world advice on how to cook. And even though they have a hit TV show, they continue to publish their Cook’s Illustrated in black-and-white and illustrated in order to reduce costs so that they don’t need to run ads in the magazine. They’re authentic and passionate, and that energy feeds the relationship with fans like me.
I’m a sucker for good, experience-based marketing; the kind that draws you into an experience with a product or service. So, what’s even more impressive to me than the magazine is that they have some of the best email marketing around.
In addition to their typical, retail product-based emails, there’s one thing I love more than anything about this company: Christopher Kimball’s newsletter. Kimball is the CEO/Editor-in-Chief and, in addition to being head of the company, he runs a family farm in a small town in Vermont. For as long as I’ve been a subscriber, Kimball’s newsletter has always had a welcoming, familiar tone, describing every detail about “what’s going down on the farm.” He talks about the harvest, funny happenings around his small town, updates on things the family has cooked, links to photos, and so on. Here’s an except from a summer update:
“Two weeks ago, our family and neighbors turned out to help get Jean’s hay in [links to photos], and our strawberry crop has been terrific. Adrienne will turn out at least a couple dozen jars of strawberry jam and probably a similar number of raspberry. The 23 rows of corn were better than “knee-high by the fourth of July,” and all the potatoes are doing well and are free of potato bugs, at least so far. I hope to start digging new potatoes out of the ground by early August, steaming them, and serving them with nothing more than salt, butter, and chives. Click here to see recent photos of the farm [links to photos]”
It’s a whole email of this rich commentary, interspersed with links for recipes on the Cook’s Illustrated site and updates on the filming of their weekly show on PBS. But here’s the thing: I’m absolutely compelled to read them. What’s more is that I completely look forward to taking a 15-minute break from city life to be transported to an environment that seems so alien to me, yet I’m allowed to experience it as a resident. I pour over each link and look at every photo, but more importantly — for them, anyway — I’m driven to read the recipes. Why? I’m curious and excited to learn what made the cobbler he and his wife served at the latest community event so amazing. And that’s the point. His words draw me into the experience and persuade me to interact with the brand and its products.
Knowing when it’s more effective for your copy to have personality and create an experience, versus cutting straight to the point, is crucial. It’s about showing your audience that you know them by anticipating their interests and needs. That’s what Kimball does so well, and it works.
Want to know how Kimball does it? If you’d like to craft authentic, engaging prose that turns visitors into customers, customers into fans, and fans into advocates, join us for our upcoming Persuasive Online Copywriting seminar in Orlando. (Sorry, kids, no coyotes and freshly-picked apples, but you might find a cartoon mouse or two.) If you can’t make it to Florida, perhaps you’d like to buy the Persuasive Online Copywriting e-book or simply subscribe to Future Now’s free newsletter instead.
[Editor’s Note: This is the first post from the latest addition to Future Now, our first-ever VP of Marketing, Bond… Brian Bond. It takes a brave soul to market the marketers, so if you’ve enjoyed the email soufflé, feel free to wave ‘hello’ in the comments. Welcome to the team, Brian!]
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Written by:Brian Bond
Opting Out of Facebook’s Disruptive Ad Model
Joshua Porter of Bokardo.com has taken a serious look at Facebook’s new so-called “opt-in” ad model.
…Facebook is now partnering with 3rd party sites and selling your information to them for money. How does this work?
Here’s a scenario: you go to Blockbuster.com and rent a movie. A little interface element pops up and tells you that Blockbuster is sending information to your Facebook account. It gives you ten seconds to say no…and then it sends it anyway. This is called “opt-out”. You only have the option to say no. It sends your personal information by default. “Opt-in” would be where no action is taken by default.
You then log into your Facebook account, and it says that “Blockbuster is sending a story to your account”. You have the option to say no to this, but it is not apparent at all. In fact, Facebook gives you the option “Don’t show me this again”, which seems to suggest that they agree this message is annoying. They have designed this screen for you to focus on the pain of having to read a silly message and dismiss it. But what isn’t very clear is that when you do so you’re also giving implicit instruction that all services can send information to your news feed in the future. This is a HUGE deal to Facebook…this is how they’re going to make money. [Continue reading “Facebook’s Brilliant but Evil Design”… ]
It’s an important read for anyone who uses, or advertises with, the popular social networking site.
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Written by:Jeffrey Eisenberg
“No, but I did sleep at a Staybridge Suites last night… “
Often we relate stories here on Grok about conversion missteps or persuasion challenges facing companies on- and off-line. Today, I’d like to relate a success story!
An Open Letter to Andrew Cosslett, CEO of InterContinental Hotels Group:
Dear Mr. Cosslett,
As a business traveler, my needs are simple and predictable: I just want some restful sleep, power outlets numbering more than one, and an internet connection that works. Now, in the last 90 days, I’ve spent more than a third of those nights in a hotel room, so I’m waaaayyyy too familiar with lumpy pillows, concave mattresses, and TV remotes where the previous guest felt entitled to liberate the “free” AA batteries inside.
On a recent trip out to the Googleplex in the San Francisco Bay area, I found myself searching about for a quality place to stay. The usual spots had no vacancies, so I chose one of your less commonly known properties, Staybridge Suites. (I happen to love staying at “suites” hotels; the visual separation of a living area from the sleeping area, and an actual kitchen, creates the feel of a condo that a human lives in rather than just a hotel room.)
I check in, no problems. It’s actually *half* the price of regular hotels in the area. I’m pleasantly greeted by staff and quickly finding my room. But once inside, I’m delighted to see this:
That’s right, a hand-written note from the general manager, Ms. Lisa DeLorean. Not a computer-written-in-handwriting-font note, but a real, live, ink-on-quality-stock note. I wasn’t even terribly concerned about the words themselves — the note’s pleasant enough — but this fine business manager took the time to write that note herself, and addressed to me personally, so I know it’s not just the boilerplate greetings that tells you the name of the cleaning staff.
It actually took me awhile to read the note, as most of the “wow” effect came from just receiving it! Of course, she thanks me for choosing her hotel, but she also thanks me for all the other visits I’ve made to the affiliated chain members (Crowne, InterContinental, etc., none of which I suspect factored into her bonus those past years), and then she finished with a bang [emphasis mine]: “We want you to be very satisfied with your stay.”
Not just satisfied, but very satisfied.
And I was. The place was indeed restful, power outlets everywhere and free internet. And, yes, fresh batteries in the remotes.
I’m sure you’ve all heard the stat that a dissatisfied customer tells, on average, 12 others about their bad experience. (Well, Lisa DeLorean, I just told 85,000+ GrokDotCom readers about you, your fine hotel, and the classy way you treat your customers. Keep up the good work!)
Mr. Cosslett, as CEO of Lisa’s parent company, if this handwriting of thank-you notes is corporate policy, congrats to you too! If Lisa did this on her own initiative, you just found your next regional manager. Cuz if you don’t, I’m sure another hotelier will snatch up talent like Lisa’s — and fast.
Sincerely,
John Quarto-vonTivadar, delighted customer
P.S. — At the end of my stay, I tracked down Lisa DeLorean in the manager’s area and thanked her for the note. Curiously, she was taken by surprise, and expressed that no one’s ever thanked her before for writing these notes and (get this!) she was beginning to doubt if they made a difference. Chin up, Lisa, they most certainly do.
If any readers would like to stay at Lisa’s facility, here’s the 411: Lisa DeLorean, general manager, (650) 588-0770 — Staybridge Suites, at the San Francisco Airport, 1350 Huntington Ave, San Bruno, California
[Oh, and by the way, I have no financial interest in InterContinental Hotels Group or its affiliates, nor do I know Andrew Cosslett, and I never met Lisa DeLorean until the events related in this story.]
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Written by:John Quarto-vonTivadar
Is Trump a Guru? — Inspiring Online Credibility (Part 3)
No disrespect to Mr. Trump — and I’m talking about his public persona, not the man himself — but most people wouldn’t naturally connect “The Donald” with that word.
Why’s that? Well, he has proven expertise in his field. He’s a bestselling author, several times over. He has an intensely personal “take” on not only his profession, but just about anything you might care to bring to his attention. He’s been a mentor to more than one “apprentice” (sorry, couldn’t resist). And he’s demonstrated thought leadership through his business exploits, his many books, and through Trump University.
By most standards, Trump might be considered a guru, but he isn’t. So, what gives?
Instead of me just saying why I don’t think he’s a guru, let’s examine two other essential methods of creating thumos (see my last post for definition), and then use that insight to figure it out.
1) Use your Web copy to target the relational customer
While there are many differences between transactional and relational customers, the three most important for would-be gurus are that:
Transactional customers:
- Consider only the current transaction when making a decision
- Are generally willing to switch suppliers, stores, etc., for reasons of price alone
- Prefer to be their own expert
Relational customers:
- Consider any transaction to be one in a series of interactions with a given business/expert
- Generally will not comparison shop once they’ve found their expert
- Are searching for an expert they can trust
Basically, if you’re going to be an expert/guru, it helps if you speak to people who are actually looking for one. And again, Dr. Shay’s essay, “Aristotle’s Rhetoric as a Handbook of Leadership” provides some insight:
For starters, we must understand the context that [Aristotle] thinks his remarks apply to, what it means for a leader to seek trust: It’s about dealing with fellow-citizens, where each looks the other in the eye and says, “you are part of my future, no matter how this turns out.”
So, targeting the relational customer requires speaking to visitors as if you:
- Desire to be part of their future beyond any immediate transaction and are willing to make concessions in light of that.
- Which means you need to create the perception (backed by the reality) that you’re more concerned with helping visitors to make wise choices than in making the sale. If they’re part of your future, you’ll have a vested interest in helping them plan for that future.
- See them as an equal (i.e., fellow-citizen) while lending them your expertise. Which means you should
- Wear your expertise lightly. One doesn’t brag to friends.
- Sound like a real person rather than a faceless corporation; be as informal as possible.
- Answer visitors’ likely questions and provide information transparently.
- Help them to become an insider to your industry (or at least think like one).
- If there are concepts, terms, or dynamics that a person would have to be familiar with to understand your industry or profession as an insider, help your visitors understand these things.
- Bring them up to speed in the way a trusted friend and counselor would.
2) Develop an over-riding passion that speaks to the character of your visitors
The word Guru literally denotes a “spiritual teacher.” And even in common use, most Gurus — even cooking or productivity Gurus — see their profession in broader, almost spiritual terms. To use the parable of the three stonemasons, gurus have something of the last stonemason in them; they’re building cathedrals with their work, not just cutting stones.
Indeed, much of a Guru’s draw stems from the infectious passion they feel for their particular craft and for their humility before it. In sports it’s called “respect for the game.” Practically speaking, your web copy should show this passion by:
- Demonstrating that you’re as interested in the advancement of your profession as your own/company’s advancement.
- Linking what you do to your visitors’ larger ideals, ambitions, and affiliations. The Heath Brother’s refer to this as “staying out of Maslow’s basement.”
- Being generous with your time and your expertise. Gurus are magnanimous, almost by definition. Seek to be so, then ensure your website demonstrates this.
These things have to be combined with genuine thought leadership to work well — no one wants to be inspired by a wannabe Tony Robbins — but when all three guidelines are combined, they’ll transform visitors’ perception of you from a dime-a-dozen “professional” into a bona fide expert with all the ethos and persuasive credibility of a demi-Guru.
Getting back to Mr. Trump…
While “The Donald” is certainly a promotional genius, he has always tended to promote himself more than anything else. And let’s be honest, that’s part of his genius — but it’s also the reason why “Guru” doesn’t spring to mind when you hear his name.
Also, his promotions have almost exclusively focused on “The Deal” at hand. In fact, his first major book was even titled The Art of the Deal. I’ll confess that I know very little of the genuine passion that Donald Trump may feel for development, real estate, etc. And that’s just the point: I, the casual observer who may represent some vast segment, know more about Trump the celebrity, than Trump the passionate (and quite possibly magnanimous) professional.
Does this mean I’m bashing Donald? Hell no! He knows exactly what he’s doing. I selected him simply because he’s an excellent example of someone who might otherwise have all the other prerequisites of guru-dom, yet lacks that particular ethos because of how he’s commonly perceived. Just contrast him to Trump University’s Chief Learning Officer, Roger Schank to see what I mean. (Though far less famous, Schank genuinely is, and is widely considered to be, a guru.) Still, Trump may be well on his way to remedying that image…
- First, his establishment of Trump University, the publishing of his new textbooks, and the Trump blog have all given him a real platform to showcase Trump the passionate professional (vs. Trump the celebrity).
- Second, the university, more than anything, has allowed Trump to invite the wider public into longer-term and relational contact with him. This is a situation where he can act as a magnanimous counselor to start-up entrepreneurs. So, guru status might accrue him in time. We can only wait and see.
In the meantime, get busy implementing the strategies we’ve discussed so far, and you just might beat him to it. 
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Written by:Jeff Sexton
Spirit Air: You Don’t Have to Turn on the Red Light
Spirit Airlines used to have great customer service. It was refreshing, actually. In the late 90’s, you could fly round-trip from, say, Detroit to New York for about $120 in a hand-me-down jet staffed with friendly people. It was a great, low-cost airline that was always able to surpass its customers (even lower) expectations.
But all that’s changed. Today, they have a brand-spanking-new fleet of mid-sized jets staffed with would-be friendly people who, bound and gagged with corporate red tape, can’t do much to help the customer even when they want to. Sure, the fares are lower than ever, but even with off-peak flights for as low as $1 (yes, really), it’s still not worth it. Why? Because, according to their current CEO, Ben Baldanza, the customer is always a cheapskate — and wrong.
Maybe it’s time to put a dimmer on those red light specials. They say that “a fish stinks from the head,” and if there’s ever been any proof, its this email Mr. Baldanza sent to a customer by accidentally hitting “reply to all” on his BlackBerry:
“Please respond, Pasquale, but we owe him nothing as far as I’m concerned. Let him tell the world how bad we are. He’s never flown us before anyway and will be back when we save him a penny.”
But, wait! There’s more!! Here’s their Director of Communications, Alison Russell, on a separate incident where blogger Alex Rudloff told readers, “Do Not Fly Spirit Airlines“:
“We wouldn’t respond to a blog post. This goes back to the larger question of the veracity of everything you read on Internet blogs. Our customer service is great.”
Oh, really?? More on my horror story with Spirit 2.0 in a moment. But first, let’s see what Google has to say about the company:
Here’s what Rudloff had to say in his blog post:
“So, instead of losing $5 on a customer who has every right to be angry, I’ll write this blog post and tell all my traveling buddies to add Spirit Airlines to their growing list of airlines to avoid,” Rudloff wrote on Aug. 4. “If Google works their magic like they usually do, at least one of the 4,931 daily searches for “Spirit Airlines” will turn up this result and save someone the headache (and hopefully end up costing Spirit Airlines $6 or more).”
Rudloff later told the Orlando Sentinel that:
“I think ultimately that customers have to speak out and they have to engage in word of mouth . . . That’s what the market responds to.”
Cool! What a great segue…
All Spirit, No Soul
Last May, I was flying from New York (LGA) to Detroit (DTW), as I often do for Memorial Day weekend — my favorite time to vacation in Detroit. I was running late. The car service was half an hour late, and traffic wasn’t moving, thanks to jackknifed truck on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. After paying top dollar to sit in a car for two hours, it was clear that I’d miss the 30-minutes-before-departure check-in deadline. So, I called Spirit Air’s 1-800 number, only to find there was no “customer service” option. So I waited on hold for, say, 20 minutes until I eventually hung up and called back, pressing a random — and incorrect — selection in hopes of reaching a human who could tell me what to do about the situation. When I finally reached a customer service rep, she told me to go to the airport and speak to the agents at the check-in counter — where I waited for (you guessed it) another 30 minutes.
After all of that, I got to the airport just before the 30-minute mark, but there was a line — a long one — and not enough agents to serve it. When I got to the front of the line, the agent told me that nothing could be done. If I wanted to book another flight, there was one leaving in an hour, but it would cost as much as my entire round trip. I kindly informed this person that I’d be willing to pay a charge — as is typical with other cheapskate airlines — to switch the ticket, but that buying a whole new one, just for a one-way leg of a round-trip flight was absurd. Then, when I asked for a number for customer service because I wanted to complain about the event — after all, I’d been a customer for 10 years — the guy hands me a card with the same freaking number I’d used earlier to get someone who couldn’t help me! When I brought that to the agent’s attention, he said, “I’m sorry, sir, there’s nothing I can do about it” — a common refrain at today’s Spirit Air.
So, Northwest Airlines to rescue (for once), and I was on my way to Detroit with a pounding headache and the world’s dumbest $200 missing from my bank account.
On the way back to New York, I was actually looking forward to flying Spirit. “If this isn’t a good trip after that nonsense,” I thought, “I’m so going to blog this.” Checking in with a smile, I handed the agent my ticket. “I’m sorry, Mr. Gorell, but we don’t have a seat with that name on it for this flight,” he said. I told him that was impossible and that I wasn’t imagining the ticket in my hand. Then it hit me: They’d canceled my entire round-trip ticket because they couldn’t serve me in time!
Turning beet-red, I calmly told the agent of my snag in New York. As I retold the story, one-by-one, all four agents at the desk came up to me, visibly upset by what I had to say. I let them know I was a blogger for a company that specializes in planning and optimizing the customer experience, and that I couldn’t believe the airline had tied their hands from doing anything of value for its “passengers.” Then a crazy thing happened. They actually encouraged me to blog about it! As it turned out, everyone at the counter seemed upset with the company’s new policies, too. I could tell they were biting their tongues, until…
“We used to be #1 in customer service,” said one agent. “Now we can’t help people.”
Her co-workers looked me in the eye and nodded. It was such an honest moment that I actually bought a one-way ticket from them… for the flight I’d already, supposedly, booked. (Oh, and since this was a last-minute one-way flight to NYC, you can be sure I got red flagged for security screening.)
For months, I let it slide. After speaking with the good people at Spirit in Detroit, I worried that blogging about the experience might put their jobs at risk. That is, until I saw Mack Collier’s post, which hipped me to the fact that a lot of other bloggers out there are also convinced that Spirit’s CEO — and not its employees — is what’s putting their jobs at risk by causing this fish to stink:
Sorry, Mr. Baldanza, but you can’t fly faster than word of mouth (or blog).
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Written by:Robert Gorell
Going Nuts Over Viral Marketing & Word-of-Mouth
Is viral marketing the same as word of mouth? Seth Godin asked the question after receiving an email from a college student whose professor wouldn’t allow the phrase “viral marketing” in a paper, insisting the term was meaningless proxy for word-of-mouth.
First of all, yes, viral marketing does exist. But it’s a combination of tactics that, hopefully, eventually, enable positive word of mouth to spread. (In a moment, I’ll share a remarkable story of one family-owned e-commerce shop that saved a network TV show from extinction with a few viral marketing tactics, a strong will, and 20 tons of nuts. But first… ) Let’s take a look at how Godin explains the difference between viral marketing and word of mouth:
Word of mouth is a decaying function. A marketer does something and a consumer tells five or ten friends. And that’s it. It amplifies the marketing action and then fades, usually quickly. A lousy flight on United Airlines is word of mouth. A great meal at Momofuku is word of mouth.
Viral marketing is a compounding function. A marketer does something and then a consumer tells five or ten people. Then then they tell five or ten people. And it repeats. And grows and grows. Like a virus spreading through a population. The marketer doesn’t have to actually do anything else. (They can help by making it easier for the word to spread, but in the classic examples, the marketer is out of the loop.) The Mona Lisa is an ideavirus.
Word of mouth expert Andy Sernovitz sees it a (slightly) different way:
Word of mouth marketing is the big category. Viral marketing is one of the many techniques used to help word of mouth travel (usually by email).
Think of it this way:
- “Advertising” includes TV, print, billboards, etc.
- “Direct Marketing” includes catalogs, mail, telemarketing, etc.
- “Interactive” includes web, search, email, etc.
and
- “Word of Mouth Marketing” includes viral, blogs, communities, etc.
Are these two very smart people that far apart in their thinking? If not the category itself, it seems both would agree that word of mouth is the ultimate goal of viral marketing. So, when Godin calls word of mouth “a decaying function,” what he means is that it’s an effect that can be nurtured with various marketing tactics (e.g., blogs, video, remarkable PR). The surest key to successful viral marketing is having a great product. But the other key is having that something extra, that, je-ne-sais-quoi that, as Godin likes to say, makes a company a purple cow.
When the CBS drama Jericho was canceled earlier in the year, the folks at NutsOnline.com saw a chance to sell — literally — tons of product by rallying a wave of new customers to send nuts to the network’s midtown Manhattan offices. Using viral marketing tactics to attract fans of the show, NutsOnline bombarded CBS with 40,000 pounds of nuts from Jericho fans around the world. But here’s the amazing part: The network listened, and pledged to return the show to its schedule.
This video shows how it all came together:
Not only did NutsOnline save their favorite show by selling $55k worth of nuts, they gained tons of positive word of mouth — and new customers — in the process. (Read the letter from CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler or watch this video for details.)
As a matter of disclosure, both NutsOnline and CBS are clients of Future Now. We weren’t involved in the Jericho campaign, but we remain very proud of the outside-the-shell thinking from both companies; NutsOnline for seeing the opportunity to save the show (they got the idea because one of the characters says “Nuts!” a lot at the end of the show instead of surrendering*), and CBS for being savvy enough to respond so gracefully and smart enough to use existing grassroots support to attract viewers. (I had never even heard of the show until it was off the air!)
In a nutshell, viral marketing is only as good as the concept it promotes — something granular enough for people to grok instantly. Otherwise, the result is difficult to digest, let alone share. Don’t you think?
Seth is right, by the way. Momofuku is a great restaurant — but don’t take my word for it. As far as the 3 triggers of word of mouth are concerned, Momo is both kinetic and generous. And apparently, you might run into famous people like Jodie Foster or Seth Godin.
[*UPDATE: My colleague Jeff Sexton informs me that “Nuts!” really is taken from The Battle of the Budge Bulge — easy now — in which U.S. General McAuliffe gave the response to the German Commander’s eloquent call for surrender. Sorry for missing the tie-in, Jericho fans. Please don’t send truckloads of peanuts to my alma mater. ]
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Written by:Robert Gorell
Facebook Deletes Ranger Rick, Saves Paris Hilton Clones
It’s a sad day in social media when Facebook deletes Ranger Rick, the National Wildlife Federation’s beloved spokes-raccoon.
On Facebook, networks grow organically — often slowly — and by deleting Ranger Rick, the NWF’s entire 500-person network was brutally poached.
Sure, this public relations gaff seems more to do with a flawed policy and/or housekeeping algorithm than contempt for nature conservation, but it’s still absurd. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so scandalicious if it weren’t for the fact that Paris Hilton and Hillary Clinton fakes roam wild:
. . . Anyone think the actual Hillary Clinton is checking who tagged her wall today? And for nonprofits like the NWF, creating a group or mascot profile protects the privacy of the staffers who work to reach out to members through social networking sites. Does Hillary’s Facebook staffer wants to have his/her personal info out there for 35,000 supporters to see?
But here’s the bottom line — of all the fake profiles on Facebook, why has Facebook targeted the beloved Ranger Rick? A quick search shows six fake Paris Hilton profiles. Why kill off Ranger Rick? Would it really have torn a hole in the fabric of the space-time continuum to look the other way while Ranger Rick spread cuteness across the Internet?
Are non-profits an endangered species on Facebook?
If so, it seems dubious that sponsored (read: billable) groups like Wal-Mart are welcome to market themselves despite intense community backlash. I’m not saying it’s wrong for Wal-Mart to be on Facebook, but can an eco-journalist raccoon get a break?
After speaking with the NWF’s Online Advocacy Manager, David Pierpoint, the group emailed GrokDotCom the following exclusive statement:
National Wildlife Federation’s concern about having Ranger Rick’s profile deleted is centered on having the same opportunity and level of interaction with the Facebook community that candidates’ campaigns are given. If the door of political discourse is opened, then it is important that all voices have the opportunity to be heard.
We believe Ranger Rick (40th birthday this year) is not a senseless character, but a fully realized representative and educator of millions of our constituents’ voices who care passionately about important issues. We put our resources into creating that profile as a way to put a personal touch to those issues as 500 “real” people on his friends list. We received nothing but positive feedback from friends who received a “Happy Birthday” message from Ranger Rick or were told about an important event NWF was putting on. All of that is important to the relationships we want to have with those who care about wildlife and the environment.
Isn’t that what social networking is all about?
It is also important that not only NWF but many other non-profits are given the opportunity to work with Facebook and its community in a positive way, and we are open to those possibilities. But let the people decide who they want to be friends with, not Facebook.
Guess it’s back to reaching fans — “ages 7 and up” — in the trusty ol’ magazine for Ranger Rick. Looks like lip gloss beats recycled glossy once again.
What now for everyone’s second (third?) favorite Harvard dropout? Will Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg step up and free Ranger Rick, or will fans have to rely on the NWF’s MySpace profile instead? Care to email Facebook and tell them what you think?
Maybe Zuckerberg’s too good smart to sell for billions of dollars, but Facebook doesn’t seem to have a problem selling out for free.
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Written by:Robert Gorell
Do You Believe Mattel’s CEO?
Nothing tells you more about a company than how it handles a crisis.
Recently, Mattel (MAT) has had two product recalls; one for toys with lead paint, and another for toys with powerful small magnets.
Mattel chose the usual large company route: Have your CEO do a public apology, looking serious and sincere, outlining the problem and emphasizing the steps you’re taking to deal with it.
Has this approach ever worked? I’m not being cynical here, I really want to know.
Here’s why, in this case, I don’t think it worked.
It’s obviously a highly rehearsed and planned speech from CEO Robert Eckert, in a suit, sitting in a fake environment. Everything about this video screams planned, rehearsed, fake — right down to his choreographed hand movements. Maybe it’s just me, but when he says, “I’m just as upset and disappointed as anyone,” I cringe.
I’m thinking, “Yeah, because of all the money you’re gonna lose.”
Let’s put ourselves in a parent’s shoes. More specifically, let’s put ourselves in a mother’s shoes. (Dads are just as concerned but, in my marketing to women research, I’ve learned a whole lot about moms, so I’m going to focus on them.) She’s thinking, “My child may have been exposed to something that could possibly harm him. I’m not ‘disappointed’. I’m scared. I’m angry. I am downright pissed.”
“Upset”. Good word. “Disappointed”. Not so much. The word “disappointed” may work for the lawyers, but not for moms.
What’s the purpose of this video? Is it designed for shareholders and investors? Mattel is taking out ads in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and USA Today. This choice of WSJ and NY Times makes me wonder if this PR effort is indeed aimed at investors. If so, I would give the video higher grades.
But if this video is aimed at parents/mothers — “consumers” in corporate speak — then it could be greatly improved. Here’s how:
- Lose the suit. The CEO looks too formal. Who are you trying to impress? Do you feel more powerful in a suit? Come down to a more believable level. Come down to my level. (I understand that for investors the CEO needs to look serious and businesslike, and that they might take offense if he were wearing anything less than a suit. But for moms it only ads to the perception that “he’s not one of us”.)
- Get rid of the fake background. It’s too sterile. You look like a talking head on a set, not a real person.
- Use words that parents are using, not corporate double-speak. You build rapport by making people feel you’re like them; by speaking in their language. Almost nothing about this performance — and it does come across as a performance — makes me think this CEO is like me. Sure, he opens with “I’m a parent of 4,” but he looks and sounds like a CEO, not a parent. How much more effective would it be if he said, “I’m a dad with 4 kids.” And for another example, look at this phrase: “Nothing is more important than the safety and wellbeing of children.” How much more powerful would this be if he had said “your children” or “our children” or even “our kids.”
Moms have particularly strong B.S. detectors. I’m not saying this CEO is insincere, but if he wants consumers or moms to believe in his company, they first must believe in him. I’ll let moms and dads speak for themselves as to whether this video achieved that goal.
What do you think? Can Mattel withstand transparency?
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Written by:Holly Buchanan
Not Everyone Can Withstand Transparency
Corporate transparency is fickle these days. Of course, companies are still expected to be transparent with shareholders. But interactive media have changed the game, or at least distorted it. The mass marketing days are over and, today, public relations happens in real time.
In a mass market world, it’s easy to hide behind corporate spin because, hey, everyone’s doing it. In a world driven by interactive media and niche markets, though, not everyone can withstand transparency.
The Buzz Bin’s Geoff Livingston wrote a piece called “Astroturfing on the Dark Side of the Moon,” highlighting a few cases of corporate blogging-gone-wrong and the ongoing debate over what should be considered “astroturfing” (define). The article shows how the lines of corporate transparency are now gossamer-thin.
But why? Have business ethics become blurry and situational?
Whether they like it or not, companies are being thrown into a world of transparency. Perhaps what we’re witnessing in these cases of so-called “astroturfing” isn’t so much a lack of personal ethics as it is the systemic floundering of those whose product, business model, policies and/or public relations channels can’t withstand transparency.
I asked a few of our favorite blogging, PR, and word-of-mouth experts to share some thoughts on transparency*. David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR, was first to respond…
I think it is much better for organizations to establish policies about all communications (including verbal communication, e-mail, participation in chat rooms, and the like) rather than to focus on a new medium (blogs). I feel strongly that a company can and should set policy about sexual harassment, disparaging the competition, and revealing company secrets, but there’s no reason to have different policies for different media, such as blogs.All sorts of unethical practices go on in the blogosphere, and you must be certain to hold yourself and your organization accountable for your actions as a blogger. Some organizations have gotten caught using unethical practices on their blogs and have done great harm to their corporate reputations. Some things I feel strongly about:
Transparency — You should never pretend to be someone you are not. For example, don’t use another name to submit a comment on any blog (your own or somebody else’s), and don’t create a blog that talks about your company without disclosing that someone from your company is behind it.
Privacy — Unless you’ve been given permission, don’t blog about something that was disclosed to you. For example, don’t post material from an e-mail someone sent you unless you have permission.
Disclosure — It is important to disclose anything that people might consider a conflict of interest in a blog post. For example, if I write in my blog about a product from a company that is one of my consulting clients, I put a sentence at the end disclosing my relationship with the company.
Truthfulness — Don’t lie. For example, never make up a customer story just because it makes good blog content.
Andy Sernovitz, author of Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking, kept it even simpler with this response via smartphone:
Word of mouth/blog ethics aren’t hard. It’s about:
1. Always being truthful
2. Common sense
3. Good taste
Blogger extraordinaire Chris Garrett concurs, insisting that:
If you keep your customer or audience needs in mind and have the best intentions, the rest ought to follow quite naturally. People mainly get into trouble when their intention is to hide or deceive.
Maybe the lines aren’t blurring because our ethics are becoming more situational; they only appear situational because we’re being forced to respond in the moment. In such an environment, the more PR “strategy” one has, the more phony they appear. People need to separate the argument about “what is ethical” from “what is stupid or ill-advised”.
There are no shades of transparency. Transparency cannot be opaque to any degree, regardless of how we spin it. Customers are simply too smart, and even the slow ones among us have the power of Google at their fingertips. (Try hiding from that!) Transparency isn’t about sharing trade secrets, it’s about engaging with people who have opinions about your brand. Treat your corporate blog like an infomercial and it will fail.
What those who quote Marshall McLuhan without having read him may not realize that “the medium is the message” was a play on words. It’s a few puns deep, actually.
First, McLuhan was insisting that the medium was the “mess-age”; that media, particularly new media, make a mess of the age in which they emerge. His secondary, lesser-known pun was that “the medium is the massage“; that emerging media, although poorly understood, have a massaging, drug-like affect on how we perceive, process, and collectively distort information. For McLuhan, television, the “new media” of his day, was the massage of the mass-age. Along with the message, the massage is explained in McLuhan’s concise book. The thing is, we no longer live in the mass age.
Just before he died, McLuhan looked beyond the mass age to what he called The Global Village. In this last book, he not only foreshadowed the likes of blogging and Facebook, but he assures us that we wouldn’t understand the “global village” once we arrived.
Meanwhile, back in today’s global “Web 2.0″ village, McLuhan remains best known for his cameo in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall. The good news for McLuhan, though, is that not only does the YouTube clip prove that the “global village” exists, it gives an example of someone who can’t withstand transparency.
[*Author’s Note: I’ll update this article as other bloggers respond. Stay tuned… ]