As posted by Sarah Fay on November 5th, 2010 at 9:36 pm on iMedia Connection:
A resounding message came through to me at the ad:tech conference this week and that is: Social Media Programs are moving the needle for big brand marketers. And not just a little bit -- a LOT. But companies who implemented these programs had to let go of some major hesitations before jumping into what Lauren Zalaznick, President of NBC Universal Women and Lifestyle Entertainment Networks described as “brackish waters”. In her keynote on opening day, Zalaznick made note of her reasons to be wary of new technologies that are disruptive to her business, changing the rules and undermining her revenue streams. And yet her mantra is “No Fear”, while focusing on the consumer, and creating the content that will win. She sees technology as an enabler to give consumers what they want, when they want it, so they can become more deeply involved in programming. In fact, she pointed out that there is a direct correlation between consumer involvement in social spaces and programming success.
In one instance, on Oxygen Live, a mobile marketing component for “The Bad Girls’ Club” turned viewers into marketers, and ratings jumped 87% on the east coast and 119% on the west coast on a season over season basis. Zalaznick also noted research that confirms 96% of women saying if they like your product, they will recommend it to everyone they know. It is no wonder that the NBC Universal Is weaving in all kinds of opportunities for audiences to interact with programming and has been first to execute with such new technologies as Foursquare and Groupon.
Jeffrey Hayzlett, the former CMO of Kodak, and keynote on Day 3 of ad:tech had a similar message that is drawn from his recently released book, “The Mirror Test – Is Your Business Breathing?” He talked about the need to innovate and to move quickly. In his hilarious and fast moving speech, he illustrated a brilliant use of Twitter: Kodak was on its way to market with a fantastic high resolution, waterproof product with a lackluster name, which was some combination of letters and numbers – Kodak style. In his frustration, Hayzlett sequestered his team until they came up with a better name. They thought of tapping Kodak’s huge Twitter following with a contest to come up with the best name. Great idea, but what about the legalities – all contests at Kodak have to be vetted through its vast legal department and there would not be enough time to make the launch deadline. Hayzlett calculated that the cost of a suit would be outweighed by the value of what was gained (not to mention the agency costs circumnavigated) so they did it – without Legal. What did they get? 28,000 submissions and a great name: “Play Sport”. Kodak brought the contest winners to CES and their pictures were inserted inside the product box, showcasing Kodak’s consumer involvement. Hayzlett went on to say that fear hobbles a company’s culture, and you have to fail at some things – he gamely made note of one opt in program that got just two responses. The good news: “No one died.” And the Kodak team was able to tweak the program and turn it into a winner.
Examples of harnessing the voices of influencers on behalf of brands are everywhere. I moderated a panel where Michele Sweeney, CRO of Netshelter demonstrated how marketers like Verizon and Microsoft garnered exponential returns on budget by immersing content into highly focused technology sites where influencers are engaged and actively weighing in with their opinions. High level executives on the panel, such as Lily Chakrabarty, an SVP of Starcom who heads up the Samsung account, and Stephanie Agresta, Managing Director of Social Media at Weber Shandwick are dedicated to creating long term social strategies for their clients.
This is happening! Why do I keep hearing reports of how hard it is to find people in the marketplace who believe in social media? The evidence is clear. For those who want to learn more about why social media is important, and how to go about creating successful programs for your company, you might want to read the recently released, “Perspectives on Social Media and Marketing” co-authored by Bonin Bough of Pepsico and Stephanie Agresta of Weber Shandwick.
Hopefully you will realize the water is safe – or at least worth the risk!
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