On August 8, 2011, GfK Custom Research North America Co-President David Krajicek and Jason Redlus, founder and managing member of Argyle Executive Forum, discussed the ways that social media and mobile devices are driving marketing, and how CMOs can best reach consumers.
The following is an excerpt from their conversation. To read the full discussion, log in and click the link “Argyle Executive Conversation with David Krajicek” next to Downloads above.
JASON REDLUS: A lot of CMOs are still trying to define and execute their social media and mobile strategy, which is necessary now for a successful marketing plan. You probably have a lot of these CMOs confiding in you due to your partnerships with them. Can you give us your take on how so-called “disruptive” innovations in social media and mobile are impacting marketing?
DAVID KRAJICEK: CMOs who are successful at engaging consumers with social media and/or mobile have moved away from seeing these simply as channels within a media mix. Instead they see these for what they are, disruptive technologies that change how and when consumers interact with the brand. In addition they appreciate that, as a company, you are missing the mark if you think you can simply show up in these channels and assume good things will come to the brand. Since these are disruptive technologies it is critical to understand, for any given brand or category, how these new technologies change the consumer environment; specifically how consumers engage with a brand as well as the kind of decisions or choices that they make about the brand as a result of exposure to the others’ attitudes or opinions.
Consumers can be exposed to a whole host of attitudes or opinions about a brand before a brand even gets into the conversation. Partly that’s because individuals are increasingly using some of those social media or mobile tools to learn more about or understand brands and the products or solutions they provide. They also look to consumers to increase that level of awareness and knowledge. So it’s not just showing up in one “channel,” but understanding that a new consumer environment is developing that is not controlled exclusively by brands. Of course, this is not to say that companies can’t
effectively leverage social media or mobile tools to enter into the dialogue and help to shape the environment.
In fact, three things come to mind when I think about successfully engaging consumers with social media and/or mobile:
- reverberation,
- resonance and
- relevance.
Interesting, can you explain a bit more about each of those three concepts a little more?
Reverberation describes the significant megaphone effect that social media can have on propagating attitudes about a brand. One specific comment reinforced by three or four others can create a snowball of attitude that takes on a life of its own. Very little effort can yield very strong reverberation, which is both positive and negative. Positive, if you get a very compelling and helpful reverberation about the brand; but negative because a problem can get out of control fairly quickly. Lesson to be learned here: NO comment or issue should be considered ‘small’ and dismissed. Be proactive, as certain negative perceptions seem to be gaining momentum.
Resonance deals with emotional connections that a brand should be making in a social media context. In part you want to ensure that there is an appropriate dialogue or level of messaging from the brand to consumers. Worrying too much about what we say results in a lack of authenticity around the brand. So be aware of the social media environment and understand that the messages have to resonate via conversation. The slick and tailored messages you may use in a direct-mail piece or even in a television ad tend to be too formal and polished; you want to stay consistent to your brand’s values (not only your
communication objectives). If you only focus on your core communication objectives, the dialogue is over within 30 seconds; letting your brand values also guide the dialogue sets up a longer-term sustainable interaction no matter what social media channel you use.
While I think reverberation and resonance are the watchwords for social media, I think relevance is one of the keys to the mobile market. When you think of relevance you should think: is the information relevant to consumers at the right time, in the right context, in the right place? We’re seeing a drive to more location-based marketing or advertising efforts, with the focus on leveraging knowledge about where someone is and what they may be doing to drive the dialogue or content they are exposed to. Consumers we talk to say their willingness to look at or consume advertising or messages on their mobile devices is low, but they get more excited when we explain certain strategies. Based on some research we did a couple of months ago we found that people are more willing to share their location (via their mobile device) with a marketer than family members—assuming that in doing so they would be getting relevant coupons or information. So, the key to successfully engaging in mobile environments will be all about how relevant you can make your activities for consumers.
If this was a baseball game, what inning do you think we’re in in terms of marketers being able to understand and take advantage of what their customers are thinking?
