Fall+2008+Section+08-PJ+Week+12

=Class Discussion For Week 12=

Talking power: Sales and marketing has changed. Product awareness has shifted from using star role models for marketing to a more inter-conneted model. The advance of the web has made information available at enormous pace. The thinking power has shifted to a collective intelligence. Product marketing can spread from group-to-group quickly. Although there has been a shift, the use of movie stars, athletes, and well-known individuals (Oprah) still can be very effective.

The marketing world is one that is constantly in a state of transition. The distribution channels of how you get your information as a consumer, says as much about you as the clothing you wear. The "medium is the message", a phrase coined by [|Marshall McLuhan] in his book, "//[|Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man]//", published in 1964, ironically the same year of the release of Bob Dylan's //The Times They Are A-Changin,// discusses a principle that is still prevalent in today's marketing and branding. McLuahn's suggests that the "media" and the way information is disseminated, should be the focus not the message that is is delivering. For example, when considering bzz marketing, look at the methods of marketing the product. The person "medium" is the predominant factor in delivering a message that is impactful and the product becomes secondary.

Bob Dylan a poet, a sage. His words will continue to resonate for our parents generation, ours and many future generations that will come and pass. Come gather around people, wherever you roam And admit that the waters around you have grown And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone If your time to you is worth savin' Then you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin'

Come writers and critics who prophesize with your pen And keep your eyes wide, the chance won't come again And don't speak too soon, for the wheel's still in spin And there's no tellin' who that it's namin' For the loser now will be later to win For the times they are a-changin'

Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled The battle outside ragin' Will soon shake your windows and rattle your walls For the times they are a-changin'

Come mothers and fathers throughout the land And don't criticize what you can't understand Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command Your old road is rapidly aging Please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand For the times they are a-changin'

The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast The slow one now will later be fast As the present now will later be past The order is rapidly fadin' And the first one now will later be last For the times they are a-changin'

Blogging at BzzAgent So what's the latest buzz? That would have to be stealth marketing. Stealth marketing can be described as advertising a product to an individual or a group of people without letting the audience know that they're being marketed to. For example, a person in Times Square could be marketing Kodak's latest digital camera to tourists by pretending that he himself is at tourist. All he has to do is approach a tourist and ask him or her to take his picture. The tourist, thinking that he or she is helping out another tourist take pictures, notices the fancy, hi-tech camera and unsuspectedly falls for the marketing ploy by asking questions about the camera's features. The tourist that's really a Kodak stealth marketing agent gladly explains the camera's features and, in a sense, has presented a Kodak commercial. BzzAgent, on the other hand, doesn't engage in stealth marketing. Rather, they focus on the most effective element of stealth marketing: Word of mouth advertising. People are defensive or even critical of advertising. However, when they receive product feedback from a stranger on the street or from a friend (a.k.a. word of mouth) they are more receptive. In BzzAgent's case, they instruct their agents to have "product parties" with their friends and to immediately inform them of their association with BzzAgent. Interestingly enough, even though the friends at the party know their friend is marketing products to them, they don't see a marketing agent, they just see their friend.

It is important, however, to make consider some elements about a product before trying to "buzz" it:
 * 1) A product has to delight the agent buzzing it. Otherwise, any attempt at buzzing will come off as a sales pitch.
 * 2) Agents should be chosen carefully so that the buzz may come off natural. People who are not runners cannot naturally buzz running shoes.
 * 3) A "buzzability" rating should be developed. Not everything is equally buzzable.
 * 4) Buzz agents are a great source of marketing research. Their feedback on a product is valuable, even if they don't find the product worth buzzing.

Check out the Beelog! http://blog.bzzagent.com/


 * Crowdsourcing**

//Successful companies and organizations that have used crowdsourcing effectively://** -Wikipedia ** -The Democratic National Committee and the "Flipper TV" project -Threadless- A company that allows users to create their own tee shirts via the internet based out of Chicago -Netflix and the challenge to increase the ratings system -Moveon.org

Books to consider: 1) Wikinomics By Don Tapscott 2) Smart Mobs By Howard Rheingold 3) The Wisdom of Crowds By James Surowiecki 4) Crowdsourcing By Jeff Howe Here is an article from Business Week about several internet sites that use crowd-sourcing. These sites allow people with medical conditions to register their treatments and symptons. The site helps to connect people with similar diseases. Members coordinate different treatments and report back their findings. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_50/b4112058194219.htm

Participation marketing. Cool points on the difference between 'permission marketing' and 'participation marketing' http://www.alanrosenspan.com/recent_pubs/participation.html

I like this link from the UK Guardian - The World's 50 most powerful blogs. These 50 blogs may or may not be great, but the list offers insights into the topics in which a number of individuals are looking to blogs to find information. I think by digging a little bit deeper into these blogs is where some interesting links and opinions could be found. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/mar/09/blogs/print

Key ideas to keep in mind for effective marketing: 1. Influence instead of control 2. Branding based on trust 3. Invest in relationships not transactions 4. Risk is not in participating