Branded Maps: Girls can now have a good sense of direction

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Hannah L

Generally speaking, girls have been stereotyped as having a horrible sense of direction. I, unfortunately enough, am one of those type of girls.

Take the following scenario for example:
J (my boyfriend) & I have to bring relatives out for dinner at Guu Original, a japanese izakaya in Downtown. So naturally, my relatives ask for directions on how to get there.

J: Walk down Robson and turn left on Thurlow
Me: It’s next to Banana Republic!!

Now for some weird reason, many prefer J’s directions over mine! I now know how to push everyone onto the same wavelength as me. I shall distribute these brand maps in future whenever people ask me for directions:

Now everyone will understand me when I say walk pass Victoria Secret, H&M, Zara and Levi’s, turn right at Bloomingdales and meet me at Subway!

Branded landmarks are often the most easily identifiable things around us, so using stores and restaurants to find our way around should be nothing new. No wonder I’m a marketer. Even unconsciously, I’m portraying how powerful branding can be. Being able to know exactly what’s around you with a quick look at a map can be a huge timesaver.

CityMaps, the creator of these branded maps has gained a fair share of attention for using business names and logos to map out cities. The internet has changed marketing. The internet is social. Cities are social, and now – maps are too!

Isn’t it amazing how branding can evolve so much?

Psychology behind online consumer behaviour

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Hannah L

When thinking about e-marketing or e-commerce, one must consider what consumer behaviour is like online as opposed to assuming behaviour stays as it is in the offline world. While the differences may not be stark, the online setting changes the dynamics of the game. The following infographic explains how and why people shop online:

Infographic by TabJuice

Consumers’ habits to look unto others for advice is a big reason why brands need to foster a community online. Brand ambassadors, advocates and an active community all help encourage others to take interest in the brand.

Word of mouth is becoming increasing important and this is only amplified on the WWW. This “under-the-radar” kind of marketing allows brands to cut through the clutter in a credible manner because they get to utilize networks of friends and family. You may not want to read some company paid blogger’s views on soft drinks, but it’s hard to turn away if your best friend recommends a particular brand.

Bloggers are an interesting twist. While there is often ambiguity as to whether or not a blogger has been sponsored (paid) to advertise a certain brand, many bloggers provide that perfect balance in the sense that we look up to them like a celebrity but feel as if they are our friend. Many take bloggers as an upward social comparison. That’s key because these are people we trust and feel have the knowledge or expertise to make right decisions.

Key Takeaways:
When creating an online marketing plan, remember that:

Consumers value the opinion of others, especially those they know and those with authority.
People are wired to share (so use tools that enable users to repost your content easily – e.g. Facebook “share”, Pinterest “Pin it”, Tumblr “Reblog”)
People have a tendency to group with and trust those that share similar interest

Project Re:Brief

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Hannah L

This year, Internet advertising turns 18 years old. For the longest time, Internet has been used to inform, and not used as much to engage and connect. Google however is attempting to change that and take it to a whole new level.

If there is anything that reassures me that marketing is where I want to be, this is it. To me, marketing is not just about inventing new ideas but also about re-inventing novel ones.

Marrying the best of the old and the best of the new can be so inspirational. It’s the perfect mix of refreshing and nostalgia. Re-imagining an iconic idea and bringing it to life with modern technology helps to push the boundaries of advertising. Sometimes we get so caught up with the new trends, the new technology and “jazz” that we forget the raw underlying idea behind a marketing campaign. But Google, together with Coca Cola, mixes ideas and technology so beautifully.

I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but this video really does inspire me! I hope it encourages you to look at ideas and marketing in a new perspective!

Bye CNN, Hello TNN

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Hannah L

While the last post addressed my reservations towards social media, I can’t deny how much some social media platforms have now became a fabric of our digital culture. Perhaps not 100% relevant to me, but it’s reality that things like Twitter and Facebook are now ingrained within our digital DNA and is reflected in how we connect with one another.

News no longer “breaks” – it tweets. In such a short amount of time, we have become the architects of a new media alert system – the “Twitter News Network” (TNN). Twitter is now the most efficient global information network in existence today.

I no longer rely on traditional news channels to track breaking stories, I just go on Twitter! In fact, Twitter helps in one critical way – it filters news for me because of my prior selections (on who to follow). Since I follow only people I like, or are like-minded, there’s a big chance that whatever news catches their attention, will be of interest to me.

Twitter represents an extremely promising integration of new media, relationships, traditional media and information, forming a highly connected human network.

For brands, Twitter is a communication tool. Just like how I describe the way I use Twitter for a filtered newsfeed, brands can easily network with like-minded people and keep up on the buzz in their industry. For brands it’s all about targeting and segmenting the right customers to go after.

Users’ following people based on the following infographic:

It’s slightly trickier for brands to find the right people to follow but here are a couple of 3rd party tools that allow for more advanced searches:

Monitter: Real time twitter search tool that enables you to monitor a set of keywords on twitter. It also allows you to narrow the search to a particular geographic location, allowing you to find out what’s going onin a particular part of the world.
Tweepz: Search for twitter accounts based on names, locations and keywords.

Every day, millions of people use Twitter to create, discover and share ideas with others. Now, people are also turning to Twitter as a means to reach out to businesses. It’s great way to connecting with customers and facilitate customer feedback. Also, it provides an alternative way of presenting a call to action. At the end of the day, it’s a useful tool for consumer engagement. It helps give brands what I like to call “flashes of personality”.

What is your take on Twitter?

As a sidenote: this just caught my eye <Twitter secrets for sale: Privacy row as every tweet for last two years is bought up by data firm> Referring back to my previous post, HAH! I knew my reservations were perfectly sound.

Images by Infographic Labs

SEO vs Social Influence

Posted on February 25, 2012 by Hannah L

If you’re a marketer or are pretty familiar with the WWW, it’s a no brainer that one of the biggest (traditional) tools for website success is SEO. It’s one of those old textbook answers to your problems.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of designing your website to be search engine friendly. It is essentially building your website such that search engines can intuitively understand what your website is about, and showcase it when users conduct relevant searches.

Since it’s always been argued that it’s important to focus on improving your site’s SEO – perhaps one of the best ways to improve is to learn from the people are already successful.

To give you some context on how powerful/influential some of these people are:

Darren Rowse: 157516 twitter followers; included in 73273 Google+ circles
Chris Brogan: 204109 twitter followers; included in 86489 Google+ circles
Brian Solis: 122688 twitter followers; included in 47705 Google+ circles
John Jantsch: 60 977 twitter followers; included in 16412 Google+ circles
Seth Godin: 146136 twitter followers; included in 90575 Google+ circles

Now let’s take a look at the more technical aspects of the SEO of their sites. Since these bloggers are successful by pretty much everyone’s standards, their websites should all be SEO optimized to perfection, right?

Let’s take a look:

Darren Rowse (problogger.net): YSlow Grade D (67 score)
Chris Brogan (chrisbrogan.com): YSlow Grade D (65 score)
Brian Solis (briansolis.com): YSlow Grade D (69 score)
John Jantsch (ducttapemarketing.com/): YSlow Grade D (65 score)
Seth Godin (sethgodin.com): YSlow Grade B (82 score)

With the exception of Seth’s website, the other leading bloggers and marketers have very little focus on SEO. There’s so much said about the importance of SEO, but the people who are succeeding are barely taking it into consideration.

Perhaps social influence outweighs SEO in importance. Often in the search for success, we focus too much on the technical. The tools. The metrics. But the above analysis highlight how more “fluffy” factors like trust, authority and reach can provide greater results.

At the end of the day,
“Giving people what they want is more important than delivering it perfectly”

People buy WHY you do it, not WHAT you do.

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Hannah L

Following the articles by Jill and Ivan, I thought I too, should delve into why people buy the things they do.

My boyfriend recently asked me a really interesting question: “Do you think people buy TOMS Shoes for the design or because of their One-for-One initiative?”.

I would think the answer would be “Both” – Take Jill’s personal recollection of her decision-making process when it came to TOMS. She was initially attracted to the style and comfort of the product, but it was the cause that tipped the scales and ultimately drove her to purchase the shoes. The original question made me think hard though – Are there actually people who would purchase TOMS Shoes solely or largely based on simply the cause?

This brings me to the theme of this post:

“People buy WHY you do it, they don’t buy WHAT you do.”

I, for one, am not a big fan of the design of TOMS Shoes, but their buy-one-give-one shoe initiative most definitely gives me a big push towards that act of purchase. In fact, I don’t even like the shoes! But I want to help. I believe in their cause and beliefs. On one hand, I don’t identify with the actual product, but on the other, everything about TOMS Shoes feels right.

At the end of the day for me, it comes down to a basic cost-benefit analysis. Can I afford $50 to re-enforce my belief that helping people the TOMS way is right? An interesting perspective to explore, is the possibility of putting a monetary value to a firm’s set of believes, or purpose. For instance, if I value a pair of TOMS Shoes at $30 (while in reality it retails at $50+), can the firm’s purpose justify the additional $20 I’d be paying for its product?

In this competitively intensive era, brands now more than ever need to clearly communicate their philosophy, mission and purpose, as these are they key decision criteria behind a consumer’s purchase intent.

Jill talks about Cause Marketing 2.0, where brands and non-profits are able to spread their message in new ways through the power of social media and user-generated content. It’s true – the internet opens the door to boundless opportunities for firms to “touch” consumer lives.

Nowadays it is what you’re saying that counts not how or what you’re selling. Bringing purposeful, interesting and entertaining ideas to consumers is the new focus in order to develop stronger relationships and foster brand loyalty.

One of my favourite examples is Coca-Cola’s shift in strategy in the way they deliver their brand promise of spreading happiness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x_9fQEqZCWs

Another favourite:

To end off: Brands must consider what matters at the heart of their people in order to relate with them on a deeper level. And this isn’t just applicable to firms and actual brands – even in promoting yourself, always remember that people buy WHY you do it, not WHAT you do.”

Bringing Bobbi Back

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Hannah L

Many firms use social media platforms to connect with consumers, and with help of such tactics, it seems like the comeback era is finally making its way to the cosmetics industry.

When consumers find a product they love, they instinctively want to hold on to it. Not many people embrace change with open arms. We like familiarly, things that we know work. But obviously, that’s not how the world works all the time. Things change, things come and go. And when your favourite product, the one you’ve been so committed to, suddenly goes out of production – what do you do? Scream, shout and demand for it back!

Surprisingly enough, unlike stereotypical parents who will not put up with such a “fuss”, Bobbi Brown is doing the opposite and encouraging you to “scream, shout and demand” for your favourite products.

The company is launching a Facebook campaign that allows fans and users to lobby for the return of lip colours that are no longer in production. Fans are invited to vote for their favourite from the list of the 10 most frequently requested colours.

Voting closes at the end of February, at which point, the lip colours with the most support will become available for purchase – here’s the catch – exclusively on Facebook.

I’m aware of small businesses that conduct business on the Facebook platform, but never did I imagine that well-reknowned firms like Bobbi Brown would come up with such an initiative. So why use Facebook to sell an exclusive line?

According to digital analyst comScore, spending in the e-commerce industry rose by 14% in the past year, representing yet another consecutive year of growth. This presents a great opportunity for brands to offer a unique shopping experience to the consumer, as attitudes towards online shopping evolve. That is, to offer a three-dimensional shopping experience by integrating the two dimensions of Brick & Mortar, the “touch and feel”, with the “information and impulse” of the online experience.

Bobbi Brown already has an e-commerce platform on their site, but using Facebook puts an interesting twist to it. It allows a closer and more interactive relationship with consumers, an opportunity to appeal and connect with consumers at a more personal level. Bobbi Brown’s revival of discontinued cosmetics is a perfect example of the creation of a three-dimensional shopping experience. These products have been “touched and felt” before, and now with the online campaign, is working towards building “impulse” through purchase anticipation over time.

What a way to reward its brand loyalists and actively showcase the fact that Bobbi Brown is indeed hearing what its fans are saying! If you’re still wondering how the Internet is changing the dynamics of the 4Ps – here you have it. The pull factor is becoming stronger in product choice (unlike traditional days where it was all about firms pushing out particular products). Promotion is multi-dimensional – a great majority of it comes from consumer generated content. The place you sell your product is ever-changing with instant “globalization”.

All in all, a really neat campaign that aptly shows how a company can embrace social media in ways to engage consumers and build a brand.

(Sources: 1)
(Images: Bobbi Brown Cosmetics)

A new “packaging” for your brand online

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Hannah L

Flashback a year ago, I was just telling my close friends how I thought there would come a point where Facebook would become A LOT more visual orientated. Or as I liked to describe it; more Tumblr-fied. Tumblr is a blogging platform that favours short-form, mix-media posts over the more traditional lengthy text-centric posts. As an avid Tumblr user myself (I first joined the site in 2009), this was the direction I thought internet users were headed conceptually.

Now here comes Facebook Timeline: a new visual revolution for the Facebook profile page. A conceptual life story told through a collage of photos, status updates and friendships.

While actual posts still differ in terms of content on these two sites, it seems like social blogging platforms and social networking sites are making the move towards a more visual and less text orientated aesthetic. This may very well indicate a shift in consumer “packaging” (or appearance) preferences.

And that to many firms, may mean a slight shift in their digital marketing strategy. This visual trend seems promising enough that venture capitalists are quickly putting their money into sites like Pinterest (a visually engaging social application that acts as a “virtual pinboard”). The business potential behind image-sharing networks is huge because of its content curation possibilities. Take Kate‘s success story for example: Kate is a hairstylist, jewelry maker and craft specialist whose business for the first eight months, had only seven readers. But between August 2011 and today, Kate has had over 10 million page views. How? Pinterest.

Pinterest is a great platform brands can use to connect with their audience. The increase in visual orientated platforms simply mean brands now have more to consider in their strategy to engage with consumers. Images have to create intrigue, a “backstory” to compel readers to find out more about the brand. I’ve always felt that consumers are becoming increasingly lazy or impatient, requiring short, “snazzy” images to capture their attention. Just as how brands now have Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, I feel like the next step brands should take, is to follow where the crowd is heading – and that to me, is to visual centric sites like Pinterest.

I for one, am big on this “growth” of visual engagement. What do you think? Do you agree that internet users are moving towards a more visual orientated aesthetic? I would love to know how you think brands will be affected and how you think they should react.

(Sources: 1/2)
(Images from: my own Tumblr page / Facebook Timeline profile courtesy of my friend / Screenshot from Pinterest homepage)