The New Year is quickly approaching and it seems fitting to take some time to look at a few of the key learnings from the past year. What better way to do that than to highlight some of the key take aways from some of 2009’s most successful social media marketing efforts. While we all may have different definitions of what “success” is, my look back on 2009 will focus on those social media campaigns that opened our eyes to the opportunities in social media or taught us new things about marketing.
Microsoft – I’m a PC:
After taking a beating from Apple, Microsoft finally responded with an innovative TV and multi-channel participatory marketing program that ended with two simple words – “Upload Yourself.” The campaign demonstrates that all media can be social/participatory and the importance of involving customers or the community in defining and defending your brand.
Ford – Fiesta Movement:
Ford invites 100 Gen Y’s to drive a Ford Fiesta (not available in the U.S. until next year) for six months and report their experience on various social media sites and blogs. The program demonstrates how social media and “Buzz” is the fifth ”P” –People– in the classic four “P”s of marketing (Product, Price, Promotion, Place). It also demonstrates the continued acceleration of product launch cycles and that “pre-launch” is the new product launch with today’s social web. Special congratulations to Courtney Force who was recently awarded the Favorite Fiesta Agent title.
Nike – What Do You Play For?:
Nike calls on teens to share their sports stories. Participants are encouraged to upload photos of them playing the sport they love and to share their inspirational stories. Visitors then voted on their favorites and winners received prizes. While Nike is a brand that was built on showcasing the talents of unattainable superstars like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods (who are not without their faults), this effort demonstrates the company’s evolution by leveraging the power of participation and real people to inspire other. . In today’s social web, advertising and promotion needs to be relevant, personal, identifiable, authentic and trusted. I believe this is the start of a major shift in advertising – bottom line: celebrities are out – real people like you and I are In.
Starbucks – I’m In:
Starbucks encourages vistors to Starbucks.com and over 11,000 Starbucks locations to pledge 5 hours of community service. In exchange Starbucks is giving those that pledge a free cup of coffee. Participants also receive a pledge card and an “I’m In” badge that can be embedded on their websites to help spread the word. What’s so great about the Starbucks program is how it demonstrates the power of participation, and how organizations can be a catalyst for doing good. The program has recieved national recognition and over 2.3 million hours have been donated between consumers and Starbucks employees. Just goes to show you how marketers who think out of the box and add a little participation sweetener to their marketing efforts can not only build their brand and sales, but change the world.
1-800-Flowers.com Mother’s Day:
Using an innovative outreach program, 1-800-Flowers targeted 24 “Mommy Bloggers” filling eight archetypes (On-the-Go, etc.) of motherhood to help spur Mother’s Day sales. Chosen bloggers received a bouquet of flowers and discount codes to share with their readers. Additionally, they were recognized by 1-800-Flowers’s blogger, encouraged to write their own blogs and attended a cocktail party in their honor with CEO Jim McCann. The program was significant for several reasons – first it highlights the importance of transparency and trust on the social web. In October, the FTC published its final guidelines requiring bloggers to disclose freebies or payments. Next, the innovative program incorporated unique tracking codes allowing 1-800-Flowers to measure success of the program including redemptions by blogger/site. For the 53% of you still struggling with measuring the ROI of your social media efforts this is a start.
Westin – Want to go for a Run:
Westin’s want to go for a run is an innovative participatory marketing and social program. Within minutes of checking into my room I received a voicemail from Westin’s running concierge inviting me to join him and fellow guests to refresh my mind and body with a 3 mile running tour of the city. Not only did the program reinforce Westin’s brand positioning and messaging (relax, renew, refresh), but the program showcases the fact that the best participatory marketing programs involve your employees and are operationalized to create unique differentiated experiences.
American Express – Shine A Light:
At a time when we could all use a little inspiration, Amex hit a home run with a program that shines a light on small business and serves as a powerful and positive reminder that the American Dream is still alive and well. While the program, which invited the public to nominate, “spotlight”, and vote on the small business that most inspired them, leveraged social media the real story is in the success of the small businesses themselves. More specifically the story is about what they teach us about the importance of customer relationships management (CRM). While social media may be in the spotlight right now, we all need to remember the importance of understanding our customer’s needs and interests and mastering the marketing basics like building great products and providing exceptional service and value before we jump on the social media bandwagon.
Lots of great lessons and congratulations to all the brands who pushed the envelope and built innovative marketing programs that got us all thinking – you’ve made us all better marketers for it. For more case studies visit our case study page. Looking forward to showcasing more great stories in 2010.
‘Til Next Time.
In June I detailed an innovative participatory marketing program at the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel. The “running concierge” program demonstrated how leading brands can build a differentiated customer experience through participation and even operationalize it. It also showcased the importance of moving beyond data and using public-facing employees to engage customers in ways that provide a benefit while also reinforcing your core positioning and marketing messages. While I’ve detailed several examples of participatory marketing in this blog over the last 10 months, I think the Westin example and ones like it are among the most powerful. Why? Because they use real people and, like social media, demonstrate the power of getting as many people as you can involved in your brand, particularly those that work for you.
The Westin program also reminded me of the countless opportunities nearly every brand has to engage customers to participate with their brand on a daily basis – be it your help desk, store personnel, web site or online customer service consultants like Saturn’s — which was highlighted in my recent eM+C email marketing column. In the Saturn example the online consultant effectively moved me through the purchase process and offered me a special incentive to take a test drive. Where the program unfortunately fell a bit short was its inability to continue the conversation by asking me to subscribe to future emails from Saturn. However, the lessons are clear – every touch point is an opportunity to engage, encourage participation and continue the conversation. For marketers the next steps are clear.
- Audit all customer touch points
- Web site
- Communications
- Customer service/help desk
- In store o Etc.
- Build a strategy that:
- Engages the customer by offering value
- Encourages a desired action and engages the customer to participate with your brand further
- Attempts to continue the conversation
- Commit to innovation and open communication
- Involve employees in the process by sharing winning programs and case studies that encourage brainstorming and idea exchanges among critical consistencies.
- Train
- The Saturn program and other successful and notable programs like Comcast Cares, Zappos and others all demonstrate the importance of training employees and making the commitment to the customer front and center.
- Execute and evaluate
- Like any great program, success is in the details and your ability to not only execute but evaluate learnings so the program can evolve and get better.
Last but not least, as the Westin example demonstrated – the ability to operationalize a program can be the ultimate differentiator when it comes to building a truly unique and valued customer experience.
Til Next Time
I’m in Boston this week getting ready to speak at the Internet Retail Conference and Exhibition with a few members from the PMN’s Gen Y panel. Our session, “The Email Immune Generation: Getting Your Message to Gen Y,” is going to be interesting to say the least. We’ll be previewing some preliminary results from our next study with attendees. In fact, I spent most of my Acela trip up here building the slides for Thursday’s presentation and pondering my next blog. After checking in at the Westin Boston Waterfront the topic was quickly settled.
When we started the Participatory Marketing Network we made a conscious decision not to name the association or focus its efforts on one medium. What we wanted to do is talk more about what we think is a movement from push and permission marketing to participatory marketing. As we’ve said before, participatory marketing is really about marketing with your customers rather than at them. It’s about people getting actively involved with your brand, engaging them in a dialogue and encouraging them to become advocates for your brand. We also made a point of stressing that participatory marketing is any marketing that encourages participation including contests, print ads, TV and social media. Over the course of the last 8 months, we’ve highlighted nearly 20 brands who have built some really innovative programs. Some of the most successful programs reviewed have also managed to reinforce the brand promise and value proposition.
However, taking it one step further is Westin Hotels. What Westin is doing at the Westin Boston Waterfront serves as an example of how a brand can build a participatory marketing program and even operationalize it to build a truly differentiated customer experience. The program doing just that is Westin’s “running concierge” program. Within minutes of arriving in my room I received a voicemail for Westin’s “running concierge,” Paul Dryer, inviting me to join him and other guests on a 3 mile run to familiarize myself with the city and refresh my mind and body with a great morning workout. What this program does so well and different in my mind is that it is not just about using customer data, it is about using public-facing employees to help engage customers to participate with its brand. At the same time, the program reinforces Westin’s core positioning and marketing messages (relax, renew, refresh, etc.) and provides a level of service and value one would expect at five star hotels.
Hats off to the Westin Boston Waterfront! In fact, I can’t wait to come back. The only thing that will be different next time is that I’ll be sure to bring my running shoes.
Participatory Marketing 