revolution + research = r2

What I Learned From SXSW '09

SXSW Interactive 2010 kicks off in just under a month. With the excitement building, I thought I'd again share what I learned at SXSW last year...

Download 10 Things I Learned at SXSW '09

Convince Moms to Spend Time with Your Brand

This week in our CDM (Canadian Digital Mom) series, we dive into how CDM's consume information.

The present changing technological landscape represents the greatest crisis faced by marketers. But it also represents the greatest opportunity – if we are prepared to evolve, rethink the ways in which we’ve been doing things, and embrace the technological revolution head-on. In the past, advertisers had a distinct advantage over their contemporaries of today: a passive audience that was, for all intents and purposes, trapped.

Connecting with Moms today is less about the old ethos of “breaking through” and instead focused on being “invited in.” Brands must shift away from passive consumption and move towards active participation. Technology makes all of this possible. Though women historically have not been considered beta-adopters of technology, they are proven early adopters of social media. Of Moms surveyed in our 2008 Mom Central “Moms on Twitter” Study, 48% consider themselves early tech adopters. These women intuitively understand the importance of social media and online networks, as those pathways closely reflect their everyday offline behavior. 

Canadian moms weave the internet and social media into the fabric of their lives; they’re now leading the charge.

These Digital Moms, on average, spend 3.1 hours per day, 6 days a week, using the internet for leisure purposes. As a mom from British Columbia puts it, “I prefer to be online. I’m able to be selective about what I read and watch and I can quickly get what I nee d to help me through my day.” Many Canadian moms agree with this sentiment. They spend more time online than with traditional media including TV, radio, and print. In fact, Moms are least likely to be seen reading a newspaper or a magazine – information that they used to get from these sources is now easier and less expensive to access online.

For today’s marketer, reaching the modern, active engaged Mom consumer means convincing them to spend their valuable time with your brand. Our role as marketers today is to do more than create a great TV spot or print ad. It’s about creating ideas that will actually engage Moms; ideas they’ll find interesting and in which they can actually participate.

5Q's with David Yarus, Social Media Explorer at BuzzUniversity

David Yarus

Chief Buzz Officer - BuzzUniversity

David Yarus runs a boutique marketing firm that builds brand buzz on college campuses through innovative campaigns that offer unprecedented access into college life.  (Full disclosure - David and I met a year or two ago. He is a smart, connective 23 year-old who travels through life at full force. I am always amazed by how much he packs into a 24-hour day. -thr)

MCC: What's the one intriguing social media trend you're keeping an eye on?
DY: Real-Time updates. Take Twitter and Facebook, add an iPhone 3GS with video, and you become an instant reporter for station-U. As the technology becomes more present, the amount of people tweeting, posting, and uploading content (Video, Photo, Text) from their daily lives will continue to grow until WOM is universally recognized as THE most important beast to leverage. Lucky for us, we already know that!

MCC: What's your fave social media site right now and why?
DY: Facebook. Hands down. Perhaps it’s because as a member of GenY I spend an unhealthy amount of time online, chatting with friends via Facebook Chat, uploading thousands of photos from our different events and promotions, building online communities off of the Facebook platform, and using Facebook’s top notch Ad platform. I remember sending daily requests to Facebook in 2004 pleading with them to add Babson College to their website. I remember spending countless hours the first day Babson was accepted to Facebook adding everyone I could think of as a friend. The emotional connection is there, but the truth is I find value in their innovation.

Facebook has effectively adapted to incorporate everything that I could possibly want to do online. Rather than building individual powerful social media silos, I have made an executive decision to focus on building a superpower. The videos that I once posted on YouTube are now uploaded to Facebook Video. I’ve rolled separate blogs into Facebook “Notes.” Why Flickr when I can just upload to Facebook, tag, and generate infinite viral content. This way, in order to showcase one of our programs, we can direct someone to one particular link: Facebook.com/ROCKSTARonCampus. It’s as easy as that.

MCC: What about social media keeps you up at night?
DY: College students. As hard as I try to work the normal 9-5 hours, I find myself glued to the computer every night from 11:00PM - 1:00AM. Why? Because that is when most college students are on Facebook. I use my “Online Friend” count as a general tally for college students online. When I see an unusually high count online, I hop onto the various communities we manage and think about fun and innovative ways to engage. Is it a mid-night photo contest? A funny comment? A simple question? Who knows! The combination of being half-tired and half-SUPER energized by online engagements really get my creative juices flowing.
 
MCC: Who or what do you read on a daily basis and why?
DY: Two months ago a business partner and I decided to challenge each other to read a Book-A-Week that related to some aspect of marketing / social media / business. After several tweets, as social media would have it there is now a community formed and chatting around #BookAWeek! The idea is to provide continuously fuel for innovation in what we do. Recent #BookAWeek’s have included Malcolm Gladwell, Tim Ferris, Emanuel Rosen, and Seth Godin.

MCC: Who have you connected with via social media you would not have met otherwise?
DY: Competitors, potential clients, you name it! Running an agency at 23 can be tough, since most of today’s decision makers have been in the industry since before I was born. That said, it is important for them to realize that it is precisely that time-frame that allows us unprecedented understanding and authentic access into GenY student life. Utilizing social media tools I have been able to bypass the “filters” of secretaries and the like, connecting directly with decision makers themselves.

I see a shift from gathering information to analyzing information.  With so much information from so many sources, research professionals who can make sense of it and help clients understand it, visualize it and act upon it will become increasingly valuable.

MCC: What's the most exciting social media initiative you've been involved in?
DY: BuzzUniversity was recently hired to find 750 influential college women from around the country. The client’s program needed a minimum of 200 schools with a max of 5 participants per school and had less than one week to get it done. Our network is large, but not that large. With a team of 10 young ladies (local Boston students), a thoroughly developed SM strategy, and 4 days in the office over “Winter Break” we were able to sign up 750 girls in the program that ultimately reached 300+ campuses around the country!!

MCC: Where do you see social media heading in the next year? 5 years? 10 years?
DY: My staff is participating in WOMMA’s WomComm Social Media Best Practices certificate program. Once in a while you’ll here people on the streets say “Twitter is a fad” or “Do you really think Facebook will be around in five years?” One of the course instructors articulated something that I believe to be of paramount importance: we aren’t living in five years from now, we are living NOW.. and right now, Twitter and Facebook are here, and huge. I’m not sure where Social Media is heading, but I know that it is upon us. NOW is the time to get started, NOW is the time to engage, and NOW is the time to get left behind in the dust if you don’t.

MCC: What do you most want folks to know about you?
DY: 23 Year old Social Media explorer at the helm of a boutique Boston-based GenY agency called BuzzUniversity. Constantly evolving, rapidly growing... and moving in new directions every day. In our office we joke about being in “Beta” version BuzzUniversity0.1.2.

MCC: What’s the most exciting stuff you’re up to?
DY: I am currently motivated by creating value, not generating profit. That surprises most people, coming from Babson College for entrepreneurship in this business climate. I believe there is a greater meaning in what I have to offer than simply selling more sticks of gum for brand X. Recently I have been approaching communities, organizations, and student run non-profits offering to build them cutting edge online based on current best practices and equip with them all the tools necessary for continued success - at cost. When I see one of these communities launch and gather hundreds of fans within days, it is the most exciting and rewarding experience I could ask for.

MCC: Finally, where can our marketing/social media peeps find you online?
DY    Twitter -> @DavidYarus
        Facebook -> Facebook.com/DavidYarus
        LinkedIn -> LinkedIn.com/In/DavidYarus
        http://Buzz-University.com

Cold Rain and Snow

The Winning Super Bowl Ad-

My favorite Super Bowl ad? Not the commercials of men running around without pants, not Bud's auto-tune, not the weird "KISS" ad, not Letterman hanging with Leno, but this from Kia:

Why? Because it reminds me of my sister. Can you tell which is the ad and which is my sibling?

   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJqs3D2vv4I

Canadian Moms Dominate Online - New Series

Despite the existence of numerous studies of American Moms, little research has been done about Canadian Moms, especially in regards to their online behavior. 

My Toronto colleagues, Managing Directors Cora Brady and Kathryn Easter, recently partnered with Sharpe Blackmore Euro RSCG to uncover how Canadian Moms are ‘doing digital’.

Every Wednesday, we'll present key findings from the Canadian Digital Mom study, giving you a peek into the lives of Canadian Moms and specifically, how technology affects their lives – from how they shop, to how they keep in contact with friends and family, to how they raise their kids.

Surveying over 600 Canadian mothers, the research highlights that "Digital Moms" are on the rise, spending on average three hours per day online, and 19% of whom are spending over seven hours per day.  With busy schedules and little time, Moms choose to spend their time online where they can be selective about what they see and read rather than watching TV, listening to the radio or reading a newspaper or magazine.

In fact, Canadian Moms spend 1,000 more minutes online each month that their U.S. counter parts – meaning over 16 hours of extra time online every month, and roughly twice as much time spent online as that spent by U.K. moms.

According to Stacy DeBroff, CEO and Founder of Mom Central, "Marketers seeking to reach Canadian Moms need to ensure that strategic online activity gets embedded into any communication plan."

Mom Bloggers - Stricter Guidelines than Celebs and Journos

Last month, our CEO and founder Stacy DeBroff published an article in Media Post, focusing on Mom Bloggers and FTC guidelines.  She wrote:

Because blogs offer the potential of powerful first-person brand ambassadorship, they have emerged as a key way to ignite consumers. More and more brands want to expose bloggers to their products and services in the hope they will post favorable reviews... With blogger's increased rise in audience and sway comes increased FTC scrutiny.

With bloggers garnering so much attention from brands, agencies and the FTC, we wanted to better understand their perspective.  Last week, we asked Mom Bloggers directly how they feel about the FTC guidelines, how they changed their blogging habits and how brands can best work with them to connect with Moms. Though I'm in the midst of analyzing the results, I thought I'd share some quick prelims:

• 83% of Mom Bloggers believe they now have stricter disclosure guidelines than celebs.
• 68% of Mom Bloggers believe they have stricter guidelines than journalists.
• Nearly half of Mom Bloggers engage in sponsored tweets.
• Finally, though most Mom Bloggers have not changed their blogging disclosures as a result of the guidelines, they do feel more vulnerable to IRS audits.

Stay tuned:  Part II of "Mom Bloggers and FTC" published by Media Post, and the complete Mom Blogger report, will be available 2/10/10.

Iffy ROI - More Popular Than You Think

I'm reading "More Guerrilla Marketing Research" by Robert Kaden, Gerald Linda and Jay Conrad Levinson.

Man, I love it so far. Skipping over the basic overviews, some sections caused me to sharpen my #2 Ticonderoga and do some serious underlying. Like this, from page 46:

It's hard to spend money on research when there is no clear guarantee of a profitable payback. Interesting isn't it though, that spending money to support short-term promotions, circulating additional catalogs or flyers, running a bunch of banner ads, adding to the sales force or tossing a new product or service into the market seems so easy to justify - even when faced with just as iffy a payback.

Love it.

Market Research - Adapt or Die

Bob Kaden, President and Owner of The Kaden Company, recently started a discussion on LinkedIn (in the NGMR Group) by asking “are researchers aggressive enough to have real impact?” He quotes Neeraj Arora of the AC Nielsen Center for Marketing Research:

Marketing research used to be a backroom function, but nowadays the distinctions are blurring between marketing researchers and brand managers. Marketing researchers must have the business savvy of a brand manager and the analytic mind of a researcher. They need to be creative, take risks, spot market trends and pass this information onto CEO.

I agree with with Arora. Traditional marketing research and researchers need to adapt or die. No longer can researchers be content to crunch numbers. We need a new call to action – and a more strategic, bigger picture.

My response:

Perhaps the methodologies and platforms will shape the role.  As research moves into a more organic, dynamic, social media space, how will our industry adapt?

Perhaps the changes will come not from internal brand managers, but from external agencies that change the game plan via social media and other platforms from which they can gather "market research." Perhaps these "hybrid" researchers exist in other capabilities?

Do you think external pressures will help to change the relationship between brand managers and researchers?

What's Going On This Week

According to MediaPost, a Business.com study finds business leaders prefer "passive" social media over those that require more interaction.

From emarketer, digital tools keep Moms connected with their families. More than 40% of Moms wanted technology that would help them be a better Mother.

It's never a good idea to post a photo of your baby smoking a cigarette on Facebook.

Shamable says we're not on Twitter to make friends. They'll call B.S. on you for that one.

Vovici suggests we drop the ageism when it comes to online communities.

And finally, from Tremendous News, 5 Signs That You're Liked On Twitter.