Holcim–Communicating Process and Strategy
December 15, 2009
Zurich based Holcim, a construction materials and consulting company, knows something about how to use their website to provide stakeholder information. You only need to to look at the About Us section…
Some highlights:
- a good landing page, with teaser links to Strategy, Videos and more
- “This Could Be Interesting”: an unusual title for related links, which contains a link to an good explanation of how the company manufactures their main products
- a factsheet, “Holcim at a Glance”, is available but alas only as a PDF.
Holcim uses a well organized approach to explain its strategy to visitors in some detail.
The strategy is explained with the use of visuals. The link to the Value Chain displays a comprehensive visual and a portfolio analysis of its product lines.
The company also includes targets related to the strategy. This is an item overlooked by some companies.
This post would not be complete without a visit to the Corporate Governance section.
There is a link to Vision and Mission. Also visit the Organization section. The only suggestion I would make is to offer more content as HTML in addition to PDFs.
Welcome to Real Time
December 14, 2009
Start thinking about real time. Start now.
If that statement makes perfect sense, you can probably stop here and return to your Twitterstream. If not, read on.
ReadWriteWeb took a swing at Explaining the Real-Time Web in 100 Words or Less. Here’s the first sentence:
The Real-Time Web is a paradigm based on pushing information to users as soon as it’s available–instead of requiring that they or their software check a source periodically for updates.
And here’s the last sentence:
Real-time information delivery will likely become ubiquitous, a requirement for almost any website or service.
ReadWriteWeb is not infallible, but still pretty authoritative–so let’s assume this topic is important! However, that definition was published on September 22, 2009, and “two months ago” equals an eternity in real time. So we fast-forward to a very recent post and presentation by the guru of now, Jeremy Owyang: Real Time Web Is Not Fast Enough—Three Strategies For Business.
While I’m writing this, Jeremy is tweeting his real-time observations from LeWeb, “Europe’s largest Internet conference,” which is focused this year on (you guessed it) “Real Time.” And LeWeb is live broadcasting in another window on my desktop.
Which is a perfect example of the real-time-web experience. I’m semi-watching the conference (which is in another country) along with nearly 3,000 other viewers, while getting tweets from people who are there, while simultaneously researching the topic on the “slow-time web” and writing about it on my WiFi laptop.
All of this takes very little effort on my part (though of course I’ve spent time setting up the infrastructure). Nor do I need fancy equipment—everything I use comes from regular retailers and is reasonably priced–and I have normal broadband cable service, which is not especially fast.
There really are few barriers between the average user and the real-time web. But there are some real challenges involved for companies.
Jeremy writes:
Real time data is exploding at a rapid pace with the influx of status features and mobile devices. This brings new opportunities for people to get information when they need it and opportunities [for] the companies that want to provide contextual information. Yet, despite the opportunities, most companies are unable to keep up with the “Slow time” web as it is.
More to come about those challenges—and some emerging prescriptions—in future posts. But for now, I strongly recommend Jeremy’s post mentioned above, along with a more detailed version in which he offers some forward thinking about “what’s next” (the Intention Web) and how business can meet the challenges of “right now.”
Takeaway: The time to start thinking about now is . . . well, you see the point.
(Many thanks to kasrak for the evocative “self-portrait.”)
Microsoft was Most Talked About Brand in 2009 on the Social Web
December 14, 2009
Microsoft has been investing a lot of manpower and money into turning its struggling brand around and making it a powerhouse again. With brands like Apple and Google beating Microsoft in terms of innovation and creativity, Microsoft has done its best to keep up with the release of its Bing search engine and “I’m a PC” commercials in 2009. It looks like some of those efforts are working.
According to a study by Zeta Interactive for BrandWeek, Microsoft was the most talked about brand on blogs, Facebook and Twitter in 2009. Google and Apple came in 2nd and 4th place, respectively, on the list of the top 10 most talked about brands on blogs, Facebook and Twitter in 2009. You can see the top 10 below:
- Microsoft: 375,661 online posts with 83% positive and 17% negative
- Google: 361,344 online posts with 82% positive and 18% negative
- Amazon.com: 282,668 online posts with 88% positive and 12% negative
- Apple: 241,879 online posts with 75% positive and 25% negative
- Target: 208,848 online posts with 78% positive and 22% negative
- Honda: 195,845 online posts with 82% positive and 18% negative
- Sony: 209,955 online posts with 71% positive and 29% negative
- Blackberry: 117,641 online posts with 92% positive and 8% negative
- Nike: 121,188 online posts with 89% positive and 11% negative
- Walmart: 108,988 online posts with 90% positive and 10% negative
It’s interesting to note that Blackberry had the highest tonal rating with 92% of online posts written about the brand carrying a positive tone and only 8% carrying a negative tone. On the flip side, Sony had the worst tonal rating of the top 10 brands with only 71% of online posts written about that brand carrying a positive tone and 29% being negative.
Also interesting is the fact that only one automotive manufacturer made the top 10 list (Honda) and three discount retailers made the top 10 (Amazon.com, Target and Walmart). It can be assumed that the struggles of American car companies and the economic recession drove the number of online posts about these companies and brands up in 2009.
While this study isn’t enough to bet the farm on, so to speak, it does provide a high-level picture of the online buzz about brands across the social Web. There is no way to ignore the social Web in terms of brand building anymore, and brands that focus on leveraging its broad reach and power are generating a loud online buzz, which is predominantly positive. A social media marketing plan is simply a strategic imperative in 2010.
Your thoughts?
Image: Flickr
Social Networking: Make Room for the Introverts
December 11, 2009
I see the terms “social media” and “social networking” used a lot. Really, a lot.
Susan Burns makes an important distinction between “social media” (a collection of tools) and “social networking” (the application of social media):
Social networking is pursued with the underlying intention of dialogue, engagement, and interest . . . If you are simply pushing jobs out to Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, you are socializing job postings by using social media, but not necessarily engaging in social networking. If you’re engaging prospective talent in discussions and building active communities, you are pursuing a social networking strategy.
A very valuable point. But let’s say a company and its recruiters understand the nature of social networking and want to engage, build, and generally communicate on a community level. There is an “easy” side to that strategy, in the sense that there’s an eager audience of social media users out there who will welcome the opportunities they are presented with. They will naturally communicate and communitize.
Of course there is also a set of people who don’t have the connectivity and/or the technical capability to respond to social networking opportunities. They will have to be reached by some other means—and that’s the challenge of the “digital divide.” Although it’s less and less of an issue, it does still exist.
But there is also a third group, and these folks may be the most ignored. Social networking is by its very nature geared toward outgoing, expressive personalities. As well as ambitious, even aggressive personalities. And these “extroverts” often have a natural knack for connecting via social media tools.
Yet not all potentially valuable employees will fall into this “extrovert” profile. In fact, many highly successful executives are “introverts” according to a fascinating article in USA Today, which offers insights into the relationship of creativity, charisma, leadership, and personality type.
So. Where do introverts fit into today’s world of social recruiting?
A thoughtful post by “Cincy Recruiter” Jennifer McClure explains that the difference between extroverts and introverts is not what most people think. Extroverts are not necessarily non-stop socializers, and introverts are not necessarily shy and retiring. According to McClure, one big difference is that “introverts recharge by spending time alone,” while “extroverts recharge by being around people.”
That rings very true in my experience—and it also accounts in part for why the two types are not always clearly differentiated by Myer-Briggs and other personality tests. McClure goes on to offer some connecting/networking tips for self-defined introverts, aided by a delightful slideshow for the “shy connector,” created by Sacha Chua.
Although McClure herself is a recruiter and an introvert, the great majority of people in sales/recruiting/HR are extroverts themselves, and so may take that state of mind as the norm. Therefore! Anyone attempting to develop and implement a social networking strategy would do well to read McClure’s post and give some thought to creating an integrated approach that will appeal to quieter types as well as go-getters.
PS: Attitudes toward extroversion and introversion have a definite cultural aspect. In the U.S., for example, extroversion is generally considered “normal” and introversion is viewed by many as falling short of the personality ideal. That’s not true everywhere, and may actually be reversed in some cultures. But there may still be lurking bias—especially in interview situations—toward more outgoing candidates or prospects.
(Thanks to kevindooley for the illustration of bokeh–a photographer’s term for the diffused light that appears in an image when the light source is unfocused.)
20 Must Read Branding Articles of 2009 from Corporate Eye
December 11, 2009
2009 is almost over, so I thought it’s a good time to review some of the branding highlights from articles I published here on Corporate Eye this year.
In reviewing the approximately 150 posts I published on Corporate Eye this year, I saw a few topics stand out as particularly popular — social media, brand strategy, recession marketing, and niche marketing. In fact, those topics are all mentioned in the must read branding articles of 2009 from Corporate Eye.
The following top 20 branding articles offer a variety of content, from strategy to trend analysis, opinion and commentary to debate and discussion. My goal in selecting these articles was to revive your strategic brand thinking in preparation for a successful 2010!
20 Must Read Branding Articles of 2009
- The Brand Champion Exit Strategy Redux – Lessons from Apple and Steve Jobs
- What is Intangible Brand Value?
- Are Your Sub-brands Embarrassing Your Primary Brand?
- A Branding Debate from the Swiss Army Knife
- 5 Ways to Position Your Brand as Eco-Friendly
- 80% of Online Video Traffic Comes from Blog Referrals
- 5 Ways to Achieve Experience-Based Brand Differentiation
- Has Your Brand Been Twitterized?
- Would Your Employees Wear Mardi Gras Costumes for You?
- Social Media – The ‘Always On’ Focus Group
- How to Make Your Brand Like Chocolate
- How Important is It for Brands to be Green?
- Brands Still Not Connecting with Consumers on Social Media Sites
- Small Brand Strategy – Not Just for Electronics Anymore
- Brand Longevity – The Message Consumers Need to Hear
- Niche Brands are Hot
- Building Brand Trust
- Twitter Brand Mentions are More Informational than Critical
- What’s in a Name? When Companies Rebrand
- 10 Trends for 2010 that Affect Branding, Marketing and Business
Image: Flickr
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