Eggblogg

Real-time, reality and blended reality

One of the things about Twitter that seems to have grabbed people's attention is what I call its 'in the moment' quality. The photo of the downed plane in the river at New York, Stephen Fry getting stuck in a lift... the speed with which Twitter bursts into activity following something big happening.

Like conversation, tweeting is over in an instant. Yes, it's archived and searchable (always important to remember before you say something you might regret!), but basically it's a tool for 'real-time'. Twitter's 'trending topics' is a fascinating way of watching the ebbs and flows of global conversation.

In a similar way, Google Wave looks like bringing electronic conversations into real-time, smoothing the way for better collaboration and clearer communication. (This is a great short video introduction to Google Wave, by the way.)

In a recent article in New Media Age, we learn that Google is investing big in real-time search, as the demand for up to the minute information increases. Certainly, I was interested to hear from Rosie Sherry recently that she always searches Delicious before bothering with Google, as topical content is produced and bookmarked long before the search engines pick up on it.

The November issue of Wired Magazine has a whole section on the digital city, and Andrew Blum talks about how social networking is making cities manageable, that tweets, status updates, mobile maps and such like don't replace waving at your neighbours or the way a place looks, but they form 'an electronic conversation overlaid on top of all that ...This is far more interesting than we were promised a decade ago.' He goes on to say that Anthony Townsend of Silicon Valley's Institute for the Future (how cool is that!?) calls it blended urban reality.

Blended urban reality is '..neither cyberspace nor an urban landscape blanketed with blinking TV screens, but the regular old city, albeit socially fused with real-time electronic interactions.'

So there's no need to worry about spending too much time online and coming over all Second Life. It seems we're getting back to reality. Or blended reality, at least.

Photo credit: DipNip

Letting go of control - the biggest challenge for marketers?

New Media Age this week reports on a piece of research by YouthNet which suggests that marketers are failing to connect with young people online. 

I liked the quote from report author David Hulme - "a lot of marketers are really just wrapping up the old-fashioned method of control and broadcast and making it look young." And it doesn't work - under-24s expect to be able to 'interrogate' online content, in other words, question it, get opinions on it from their peers, re-work it, put their own take on it.

Yet more evidence of how social media is forcing a change in traditional marketing thinking. 

Last month, Marketing magazine reported on an in-depth study carried out by The Youth Conspiracy on behalf of MTV, and it came up with similar evidence. The 16-24s are apparently a generation of 'celebrity-mes', demanding control and refusing to allow brands to 'interrupt their media consumption without good reason'.

Its sometimes easy to forget that the 'youth market' isn't some niche sector of society, it's the people who'll be running things very soon. These new attitudes will shape the future of marketing, and it's started already.

Image credit: http://abstrusegoose.com/120

How does advertising work?

Anyone who knows me knows I tend to warn small businesses not to spend their scant marketing 'budget' on advertising. ('Budget' is in inverted commas, as most small businesses don't have a marketing budget.)

So when I read a report that says 'everything we think we know about how advertising works is wrong' my attention is guaranteed.

What I'm referring to is Les Binet's paper The dangers of common sense in the June 2009 issue of Market Leader. The crux of the piece is not that advertising doesn't work, just that the way we think it works just isn't the case. I thought it was worth summarising the main points of the article (which also contains charts and stats to back up the claims). I've added my thoughts about what this means for the small business.

Advertising works by increasing sales - no

Campaigns that focus on generating sales don't do particularly well. The best thing to focus on is reducing price sensitivity. 'Using ads to firm up prices is almost twice as profitable as trying to increase sales'.

Comment: In my experience, small businesses are more likely to try cutting prices rather than bolstering them. A sobering thought.

Advertising works by increasing brand loyalty - no

Brand loyalty hardly ever changes, and it's not something that responds to advertising. Focus on increasing market penetration, however, and your campaign is likely to be three times as effective as trying to increase brand loyalty.

Comment: small businesses need to nurture brand loyalty, but it won't happen through advertising.

Awareness and image are the keys to a strong brand - no

Here, Binet is adamant. What you really want to aim for is fame. Fame means people are thinking about and talking about your brand. 'Fame is the real key to business success, and in particular word of mouth seems to be crucial,' says Binet. 'It seems we're willing to pay much more for the brands that everyone's talking about.'

Comment: word of mouth, fame... these are not the sole preserve of global brands. With social media on the up, even small brands can make the big time, look at Moonfruit for example...

Advertising works by communicating brand messages - no

Oh dear, another lovingly-held tenet bites the dust. Forget the strategic messaging, says Binet. Emotion is why people buy. 'Ads that simply aim to generate pure emotion turn out to be twice as profitable as ads that use emotions to support a rational proposition.' So what about those ads that make you want to chuck a shoe through the TV? Surely they won't make me buy? No, you have to like it...

Comment: I love this idea! No seriously... as they say - 'people may not buy what they need but they always buy what they want'.

Advertising needs to stand out to work well - no

'According to our data,' says Binet, 'what matters most is not how well the ad stands out, or communicates, or persuades, but how much people like it.'

It's a thought-provoking piece. If you want to read the original it's available here.

What do you think? What's the relevance of this kind of research to small businesses?