A few more interesting statistics from the new study are:

• 87% believe that store brands are equal or better than national brands in terms of “offering products that meet my needs.”
• 86% claim that store brands are equal or better than national brands in terms of “offering products that are good for the family.”
• 81% stated that store brands are equal or better than national brands in terms of “offering food products that taste good”  and “offering home products that work well.”
• 80% said that store brands are equal or better than national brands in terms of “offering products I trust.”
• 73% reported that store brands are equal or better than national brands in terms of “offering high-quality products.”
• 69% claimed that store brands are equal or better than national brands in terms of “offering innovative products.”
• 65% believe that store brands are equal or better than national brands in terms of “having appealing packaging.”

The question is whether or not national brands should be concerned.  There was a time when national brands felt little or no competitive threat from store brands, but today, store brands cannot be ignored.  They’re growing as more people try them in response to economic problems and a desire to save money, but they’re also growing as more people talk about them.  The word-of-mouth marketing for store brands is strong as consumers are happy to tell friends and family about the less expensive but equally good in terms of quality store brand product they discovered.

National brands need to develop strategies and tactics to not just react to growing store brands but also to proactively protect their market share.  It’s not a matter of if store brands will steal market share from national brands but when, and chances are, it’s going to happen sooner rather than later.

Image: Flickr

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A few days ago I spotted Michael Portillo on TV using the medieval term for Europe: “Christendom”.  It was a programme about Christianity and in context, so there was nothing wrong with it.

But it makes the point, very well and very powerfully, how grounded our cultures are in a particular way of approaching life and its concomitant issues, even after centuries of change.

Hence one of the big stumbling blocks to Turkey’s accession to the EU: there are some who still say that the EU is and should remain Christian at heart.  Turkey, being a Muslim country, can therefore not join.

A similar set of blinkers surrounds CSR.  We in the west tend to think of it as a business strategy .. what if it was more personal than that?

How Is Western CSR Perceived in Africa?

Ida Horner runs Ethnic Supplies, a UK based company which trades fashion accessories and gifts direct from villages in Africa for sale in the UK.

She has a very hands-on approach to her business and regularly visits her suppliers in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Madagascar.  Through this contact she has developed an innate understanding of how CSR is tackled in Africa.

I interviewed her for this piece, and started off by asking how CSR and sustainability are tackled by foreign companies in Africa.

“For some companies, their approach is ‘first do no harm,’” she says, “But many are in Africa just to extract raw materials or exploit (the people there)”.

This is often the way we perceive CSR operating outside the US and EU, no doubt often backed up with cheque book philanthropy to create a good image.

What’s So Special About African CSR?

So I asked whether there was a uniquely African way of addressing the same issues.  The answer was all about people:

“People look out for each other … people see it as their responsibility to help.  This can both help lift others out of poverty and create independence.”

This closeness engenders a kind of transparency and a genuine caring within the community which western businesses find so hard to emulate.

At its core is the expectation that people will look after one another without reward.

“This (expectation) makes people accountable, no matter how well off they are,” says Ida, explaining that if a person is found to be doing less than is expected they are deeply frowned upon, irrespective of their social or professional position.

This brings to mind the security guards in Seattle, censured for not intervening in a vicious attack happening literally within touching distance.

They were just following company policy which, were told, makes their actions (or lack of them) acceptable.  I wonder whether a burden of expectation to look after other people, which Ida speaks of, would have encouraged them to act differently?

Can Western CSR Bring Any Value To Africa?

Lastly, I ask Ida whether western CSR could bring anything of value to Africa.  She tells me about her worry that foreign corporations can have a detrimental effect upon the communities they work within.

“If it’s just giving people an excuse to do nothing then no,” she explains, “But if they’re actually doing something worthwhile then yes.”

This is where Ida’s own experience once again comes to the fore.  As well as running Ethnic Supplies she’s also involved in Let Them Help Themselves, a small charity which works with communities in Uganda.

Unlike donation led charities, Let Them Help Themselves engages with communities to help them establish small businesses which can then trade in the local neighbourhood.

For example, in the village of Ruhanga, Uganda, the charity has helped to build, equip and staff of a nursery school.

Donations have played a part but the linchpin is the establishment of a co-operative through which the villagers can engage visitors to the nearby mountain gorillas.

It’s About Communities, Not Money

This is a radical departure from normal chequebook philanthropy.  Instead of supplying the money to fund the teachers, the charity is helping the villagers to establish self sufficiency through sustainable small businesses.

One of the oldest sayings in the CSR book is the ancient Chinese proverb: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day: teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

It should be on the wall of every overseas CSR office of every overseas company, just to make sure the communities they work within come to help themselves, rather than owing their soul to the company store.

^{All Pictures (c) Ida Horner. Used with permission.}

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Most companies surveyed in the study claimed that they invest in mobile apps to increase customer engagement, connect with targeted audiences, expand their marketing reach, and keeping their brands in front of consumers.

Where are all those dollars being invested?  Check out the chart from eMarketer below to get an idea of where marketers in North America used mobile/social apps in 2009 to get an idea.

Facebook and iPhone apps clearly lead the pack in terms of where investments in branded apps are channeled, and I don’t suspect that will shift much in 2010.  However, it’s expected that more companies will invest in mobile apps than social media apps in 2010.

What is particularly interesting in this trend is the fact that there is more standardization in apps today, so investment costs are actually decreasing in many ways.  Hopefully, that will lead to more advancements in terms of capabilities and functionality.  ‘Plain Jane’ apps could be usurped very quickly as the world of mobile apps morphs before our eyes.

This is a fast paced environment, and the truth of the matter is that many brands may have trouble keeping up and staying relevant, particularly brands backed by large companies that have to wade through corporate bureaucracy to make decisions and move to action.  This could actually be a good thing for consumers though, as smaller companies that can move faster jump in and seize opportunities, but will those smaller companies stand a chance in the long run?  Or will we have a fast rise and faster plunge similar to the dotcom bust in the 1990s?

Regardless, it’s an exciting time to be a marketer!  Does your brand have an app yet?

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What is your prediction for how brand marketers will create and distribute their own content in 2010?

Joe received 100 social media and content marketing predictions from the professionals he sent his question to, and the answers are enlightening, varied, and very telling.  Here is the prediction I contributed to the list:

My prediction is that online video will continue to grow as more marketers recognize its growth potential and attempt to leverage it.  With that said, the success of those efforts is questionable.  Until marketers embrace engagement marketing rather than interruption marketing and truly add value and build relationships by speaking with consumers rather than speaking at them, social media and content marketing efforts will continue to be popular but not deliver the big returns companies hope for.  Furthermore, the success of social media and content marketing comes from transparency and a willingness to give up control — two things that executives have yet to buy into.  I expect 2010 to be filled with more of the same conversations and struggles between marketers and the individuals in the C-suites.  We can’t give up trying to bring those execs over to our side though!

Creating amazing content online represents one of the biggest opportunities for brands to raise awareness, purchases, and loyalty.  It’s an opportunity that didn’t exist a decade ago or even 5 years ago.  Remember, Twitter only debuted in 2007!  The social Web offers a way to build relationships, interact with customers, and create a band of vocal brand advocates and brand guardians that can catapult a brand to superstardom (think Harry Potter — if you’re not familiar with the story of how the social Web helped that brand, check out my book, Harry Potter: The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon for all the details).

Are you leveraging the social media and content marketing opportunity?  Check out the 100 Social Media and Content Marketing Predictions for 2010 compiled by Joe Pulizzi.  Can 100 experts be wrong?

Image: Flickr

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First, take a look at the top 5 fastest rising searches on Google in 2009 globally:

1. michael jackson
2. facebook
3. tuenti
4. twitter
5. sanalika

Compare those to the top 5 fastest rising searches on Google in the United States in 2009:

1. twitter
2. michael jackson
3. facebook
4. hulu
5. hi5

Notice something in common between these two lists?

How about the fact that two of the fastest rising searches globally and three of the fastest rising searches in the United States were for social networking and microblogging sites (Facebook, Twitter and hi5)? And Hulu, which offers streaming video of television shows and movies as well as from sites like MySpace and Facebook, also made an appearance on the top five fastest rising searches in the United States in 2009.

So what does this tell us?

The opportunities for brands to connect with consumers through social networking are vast and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.  The fact that people are still searching for information about sites like Twitter and Facebook tells us that there is still growing interest in the social Web among an audience of social networking and microblogging novices.

In short, if there was any doubt in your mind that you should be investing in promoting your brand and building relationships with consumers through social networking, microblogging, content sharing, and so on, then let Google search trends seal the deal for you.  In other words, if all the statistics from research studies that show the opportunity to connect with consumers via the social Web haven’t convinced you or your executives to shift part of your budget to social media marketing, then let actual Google searches prove it to you.

The social Web represents the biggest opportunity to connect with consumers, build brand loyalty, and generate word-of-mouth marketing.  It’s a dream come true for marketers, but just as marketers struggled to find ways to connect with consumers through new media introduced generations ago, we struggle to find the best ways to connect with and motivate consumers to action through the new social media of the 21st century.

It’s an exciting time to be a marketer.  Sure we face a lot of challenges, particularly in terms of changing existing mindsets and shifting investments from traditional to new media, but there truly has never been a more exciting time to be a marketer in our lifetimes than today.

Here’s to an exciting and successful 2010!  See you on the social Web!

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