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Susan Gunelius

Susan Gunelius

CEOs Cite Social Media as Number 2 in Hierarchy of Customer Interaction Methods

ibm ceo study bookletTraditional marketing practice for years has placed face-to-face as the number one method of interacting with consumers with websites coming in second place. However, new research by IBM, which surveyed over 1,700 CEOs across 18 industries and 64 countries, reveals that CEOs expect social media to steal the second spot within three to five years. Traditional media will plummet to the bottom of the hierarchy of customer interaction methods during that time.

At the heart of social media is transparency, and CEOs are catching on that people expect honesty and forthrightness from brands and companies just as they expect those traits in other people. Many CEOs who responded to the IBM in-person interview research study indicated that they’re prioritizing internal openness through a more social workplace. Of the top 20% of companies included in the study (based on revenue and growth) nearly one out of two reported that they promote social workplaces and openness in an effort to increase collaboration.

However, the social media learning curve is still huge, particularly where performance measurement is concerned. The majority of CEOs indicate that they don’t have access to the data they need to make decisions. For those companies that have found ways to measure social media efforts and turn that data into strategic decision-making, there is a new understanding that engaging consumers, lengthening conversations, and listening to people can mean the difference between brand success and failure in the future.

The hierarchy of customer interaction methods looks like this today according to the IBM report:

  1. Face-to-face
  2. Websites
  3. Channel partners
  4. Call centers
  5. Traditional media
  6. Advisory groups
  7. Social media

CEOs don’t expect that hierarchy to stay the same for long. Is your brand ready for the shift? There’s no turning back now. Leave a comment and share your thoughts on the future of the hierarchy of customer interaction methods.

Image: IBM

Coca-Cola Takes Content Marketing to a New Level with the Content 2020 Project

coca-cola company content 2020 projectThe Coca-Cola Company is prioritizing content more than ever in its marketing strategy as part of a new mission to move from “creative excellence to content excellence” through its Content 2020 Project in the U.K.  The company defines content as “the creation of stories that are to be expressed through every possible connection.” For the Coca-Cola Company, “each story must have value and significance to people’s lives.”

The Coca-Cola Company views content as an opportunity to “create ideas that are so contagious, they cannot be controlled.” The company calls these ideas “liquid” and explains them as follows:

“[Liquid ideas] are so innately relevant to our business objectives, our brand, and consumer interests, we call this ‘linked’ and through the stories we tell, we will provoke conversations and earn a disproportionate share of popular culture.”

Using a Conversation Model, the Content 2020 Project starts with brand stories that become liquid ideas to which the company reacts. Leveraging technology, the Project is built on what the Coca-Cola Company refers to as a “demand culture where consumers can turn their demands on 24 hours a day.”

You can learn more about the Content 2020 Project in the two-part videos below.



Already, the Coca-Cola Company has launched a variety of content initiatives on Twitter, Facebook, videos, live online events, and blogs as part of the Content 2020 Project. With a goal to increase reliance on listening to consumers and engaging with them to gain deeper insights than traditional market research can provide, the Coca-Cola Company expects that the Project will enable it to create content that can be flexible and evolve with consumers’ demands.

What do you think of the Content 2020 Project? Leave a comment and share your thoughts on the Coca-Cola Company’s new strategic focus on content marketing.

The Advertising vs. Social Media Debate

nike appIn a recent speech, Nike vice president of digital sport, Stefan Olander, urged brands to stop focusing on “old metrics” like clicks and likes. As Nicola Clark of Brand Republic reports, Olander stated, “A whole industry is stuck on trying to force old metrics on to new channels. Advertising is a new model that is being squeezed into the new framework of social media, when the fact is that people don’t want to be interrupted.”

There is definitely truth to what Olander says. The power of social media marketing for brands comes from leaving the old-school interruption marketing tactics behind and leveraging opportunities to enhance the online experience instead. However, that doesn’t mean there is no place for advertising within social media.

Olander says, “Nike has moved away from investing in advertising to the creation of digital services such as Nike+. Once you have established a direct relationship with a consumer, you don’t need to advertise to them.” However, that only tells part of the story to brand managers.

The key term in his statement is “once you have established a direct relationship with a consumer.” If you don’t have a relationship with a consumer, advertising plays an important role as part of an integrated marketing plan to increase awareness, recall, trial, and ultimately loyalty. Social media helps to increase the value and depth of those relationships. Furthermore, advertising plays an important role in reaching beyond an existing customer audience.

With that said, social media is a space where brands can deliver meaningful content, conversations, and experiences that enhance people’s online activities, and it’s incredibly effective for pull marketing. Advertising is an example of push marketing. There is still room for both in a marketing plan.

The next step is to create social media experiences that not only add value to consumers’ lives but also add value to the brand’s bottom-line. That’s the piece of the puzzle that most brands haven’t found yet. However, brands like Nike that have had great success with digital services like Nike+ are perfect for benchmarking and learning how to deliver consumer value and revenue value.

What do you think? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Evan Wander

South Korea Rebranding the DMZ

korea dmzSixty years ago when the Korean War ended, a four kilometer zone (2 kilometers on either side of the cease fire line) and spanning 248 kilometers was identified as the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) where no military equipment or personnel could enter. Of course, that didn’t stop both North and South Korea from lining up millions of soldiers and landmines to guard either side of the DMZ.

Fast forward to 2012 and the DMZ still exists, and has become a popular tourist attraction (complete with lines of observation binoculars, gift shops, and T-shirts for sale) where BBC News reports that 6.5 million people visit every year. The DMZ and approximately 8 kilometers next to the DMZ on the South Korea side has been virtually untouched for six decades because public access to the area has been highly restricted.

As BBC News explains, “Environmentalists say that has created a pristine nature reserve, with thousands of species including rare cranes and Korean flying squirrels.” South Korea plans to turn the area into an eco-tourism zone where instead of visiting “the world’s last divided country,” they can experience wildlife.

With its new plan for the area adjacent to the DMZ ready, the next step for South Korea’s Environment Ministry is changing the perceptions people have of that area and turning a negative into a positive. With that in mind, the government plans to rebrand the area around the DMZ as the PLZ, which stands for the “Peace and Life Zone.”

Overall, this rebranding seems like a good idea. If 6.5 million people visit the DMZ each year, it’s safe to assume that the number will increase with the addition of the new brand positioning of the “Peace and Life Zone” which will include nature trails and more.

What do you think? Will this rebranding be successful? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Justin De La Ornellas

LinkedIn Acquires SlideShare

linkedin slideshareNews that LinkedIn acquired SlideShare for over $118 million broke this week (along with a SlideShare presentation explaining the news) — an acquisition that gives LinkedIn access to a lot of content created, shared, and discussed by its target audience of professionals. In March 2012, the SlideShare website received over 29 million unique visitors, which means it’s one of the most trafficked websites for professionals.

Over 7.4 million presentations have been uploaded to SlideShare since it debuted in 2005, and since then, those presentations have been embedded in over 1.4 million unique domains. All of that content represents opportunities for LinkedIn to connect with a larger audience and get access to valuable information about its users.

In a press release, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner explained, “Presentations are one of the main ways in which professionals capture and share their experiences and knowledge, which in turn helps shape their professional identity. These presentations also enable professionals to discover new connections and gain the insights they need to become more productive and successful in their careers, aligning perfectly with LinkedIn’s mission and helping us deliver even more value for our members. We’re very excited to welcome the SlideShare team to LinkedIn.”

Information is valuable these days, and the SlideShare acquisition certainly gives LinkedIn information. The acquisition represents what appears to be a turning point for the direction of LinkedIn as a company. Undoubtedly, the LinkedIn strategic direction goes far beyond the SlideShare acquisition. Simon Sharwood of The Register speculates, “The [acquisition] could mean ‘this is our cloud storage play’ or ‘our members were spending a fair bit of time using Google Docs and Office 365 and we wanted that time-on-site’.”

One thing is certain, what started out as a simple social networking destination for professionals might just be turning into something far more comprehensive. Let’s just hope that “something” really is useful.

Image: LinkedIn

Some Executives Really Do Believe in Social Media Marketing

For most marketers, getting senior level buy-in on social media marketing investments is an uphill battle, but new research by PulsePoint Group and the Economist Intelligence Unit (as reported by eMarketer) shows that some North American senior executives are starting to figure out just how effective social media marketing can be.

Most of the 329 senior executives who responded to the survey are quick to note that social media marketing is still lacking in objective metrics, but there is no denying that it does have a positive effect on brands. Executives who claimed their companies have an extensive social engagement presence reported a return on investment (ROI) twice as high as those companies with a limited social engagement presence and four times higher than companies with no social engagement presence.

While much of social media marketing is still analyzed subjectively, executives reported a variety of positive benefits of investing marketing budgets into social media initiatives. For example:

  • 84% reported improved marketing/sales effectiveness.
  • 81% reported increased market share.
  • 68% reported improved product/service quality.
  • 67% reported improved brand or stock value.
  • 65% reported improved speed to market/innovation.
  • 65% reported improved collaboration with partners.
  • 58% reported improved talent retention.
  • 37% reported decreased costs.

Senior executives are also realizing that the long-term brand building value of social media comes from developing relationships that lead to brand loyalty and brand advocacy and a form of word-of-mouth marketing that’s extremely powerful. 69% of executives stated that customers speaking out via social media (even if those conversations were negative) increased sales. 67% of executives said that suppliers connecting via social media raises their games, and 54% said that employees speaking out helps them attract talent.

These are the types of benefits that lead to long-term, sustainable, organic brand and business growth. Short-term tactics are an important part of a social media marketing plan, but a brand’s integrated marketing strategy should focus on building brand awareness, advocacy, and ultimately, equity that can survive through any macro- or micro-environmental problem.

What do you think? Leave a comment and share your thoughts on the study.

Image: Denis Dervisevic