Peter Hirshberg wrapped up today's event with a video presentation demonstrating how conversational marketing developed, how brands create culture, and how markets evolve.
"The conversational nature of everything has won out" as Peter started by relating someone saying this in a general conversation."This was unlikely and it just kind of happened. In 2003, two years before bloggers went to the political conventions, was also the year that the Cluetrain got bad reviews. The social media thing hadn't happened."
Peter went through the Amazon reviews ('that was so 1999'). Web 1.0 was about pages, Web 2.0 is about people. This has changed a lot. If you went to a blogging convention 4 years ago, people talked about bloggers vs. press. They unseated Dan Rather, the WSJ fought back with "I'd Rather Be Blogging." The lesson to take away?
1) Born again converts are the biggest believers.
2) Things Inconceivable become what you do to thrive -"what seems so obvious now was inconceivable then."
He showed a video of his interviews with residents (including shoeshine men!) in NYC four years ago, where everyone is an expert." "It was a dangerous thing..." and cut to footage of people shaking their head and uttering expletives about the word 'blogger.'
When the world of Brands got a hold of this it got interesting.
Brands went through stages including denial and acceptance. Peter also argued with Andreas claims that visualizations weren't useful and showed a graphic of data in real time about Mattel ("A brand is anyone with a reputation and a responsibility to an audience.")
3)Not engaging is weakness, Conversation is Might
"We're consumers, human beings, deal with it... [so] we defected from marketing and sided with markets" — Doc Searls
"We're living at the beginning of an era where the idea of your audience as a competitive weapon is taking off" and showed a clip of a Hotels.com commercial.
"We're celebrating the 60th anniversary of non-conversational marketing: Radio. Radio was really one-way stuff." and showed another clip of an old Clark Gable movie ("from what we now understand as the pre-conversational marketing area."
"One of the best campaigns of the conversational marketing era, was the Dove "Real Beauty" campaign. It was integrated integrated, and included a commercial that took off on YouTube and never needed to be on TV." (The commercial won the top prize at Cannes)
He also cited www.makeupalley.com as a key influencer, where the brand didn't have the database, the blogger did!
"All of these changes take leadership" Peter pointed out. "Marketing people either get support, or they're scared sh*%tless by the people at the top." People respect those companies who put the good, bad and ugly out front. They're perceived as having a spine.
4) It's about the Enterprise
One of the greatest impacts will be on HOW business gets done. He noted Best Buy as an example of LISTENING to the Market. "What you need from leadership is the ability to listen." He used the BSN network as an example of getting employees involved by getting them to connect and collaborate in their one words.
Once employees got a network they used it to connect to each other and spontaneously solving problems, using BSN's video contest around 401k plans as a rallying point.
"When you ask people to make media, they have to figure it out and talk to one another," said Peter. "It changes the culture." He also cited "The Case of the Employee Online Portal That Annoyed Employers" and how it's as important to listen internally as externally, and enabling them to take action. It's a "Loop Marketplace."
"It's easy for us to get excited about how great it all is," said Peter to wind down. "The downside is there are issues around identity and gaming. One of the wisest people I talked to..." Peter went back to video interviews on the street in NYC..."...I'd like to return to the shoeshine man":
"The blog," so said the shoeshine man, "is now about haters. All you gotta do and say something about someone and it's like a gunpowder trail It starts here and goes all the way over there!"
"We look at the world differently understanding the concept of the Global Village," said Peter. He showed a slide showing images of the incredibly connected blogosphere and Internet traffic.
"There are documents throughout history that change history, and Cluetrain fits in there" and showed a slide of Doc Searls right along with Thomas Jefferson!
Apparently, search engine and how to create traffic are two integral elements of online business. Search Engine Traffic dictates the transparency of a site.
Posted by: online wealth | June 25, 2008 at 02:23 AM