Spicing up the marketing mix

A shift has taken place in the world of marketing. It's a powerful, fundamental shift, yet many marketing professionals don't realise the gravity of the change, or if they do, are at a loss as to how to adapt.

Walter Pike, founder of Pike New Marketing, compares it to a physical U-turn: “It's like driving down a straight road from west to east and then a complete change occurs and suddenly you're driving in exactly the opposite direction. The road looks the same, but you are going someplace else.

“The reason so many people are getting it wrong is because they still believe marketing in the new world is the same as marketing in the old world, because they look the same.”

Pike says the rise of social media has brought massive but subtle changes, with the focus shifting from information to experiences between people, and between people and the brand, as well as how they share that.

One example is the online component of Nando's new ad campaign, which allows South Africans to upload their own scripted or filmed endings to TV ads on www.howfarwillyougo.co.za.

The campaign revolves around the apparent secret behind Nando's Peri-Peri flavour, the African bird's eye chilli bush. Dubbed 'The dubious history of the delicious Per-Peri', it consists of six TV commercials that chronicle how Nando's eventually came to possess the fiery plant. The series culminates in a three-minute mini-film playing on DSTV and selected cinemas from 20 June.

The truth always comes out on social media.

Jo Duxbury, Peppermint Source

Melissa Attree, managing member of GetOn eMarketing, along with Mike Sharman of Retroviral Digital Communications, led Nando's first foray into the digital realm in December last year. The aim was to extend exposure of the company's tongue-in-cheek CEO advert by taking it online. The clip - a cheeky stab at Cell C's own viral marketing stunt - went on to become the most voluntarily watched South African ad, with over 100 000 views in a week.

Attree says the secret lies in spreading the message to the right people. “It's all about relationships and knowing who will be interested, such as prominent bloggers, online loudmouths, and people who share content.

“The principles of traditional marketing still apply - you need a good story, good content and have to get it out to well-connected people.”

Sepanta Bagherpour, Nando's marketing manager, says once the company experienced the “enormous” power of social media with its CEO ad, it began thinking how to up the ante with its new campaign.

“We wanted to take it further by introducing an interactive element, whereby we could open ourselves up to a dialogue, as opposed to the monologue most brands push.”

Like Attree, Bagherpour stresses the need to target influential online personalities, who in promoting their own platforms, promote the content companies provide.

Pike, however, says the changes Web 2.0 and social media have brought require a completely new approach. “Media has changed from being a source of information to a site of coordination. This has changed everything because no longer is the marketer in control of the message nor can she make the brand.”

He believes the Nando's campaign is misguided because the online element is an add-on. “You can't just put a URL on the closing frame of a TV commercial, in small writing with lots of letters, and let the audience decide whether to click on it or not. There's no incentive for them to do that.

“The problem is that the thinking began with a TV campaign, and then they said 'Let's get the digital team in to bring it online to serve as an extension of the campaign'. But the online element has to be the intention of the campaign from the beginning.”

Pike argues that instead of media being used to push information at people, it's been transformed into a space where people interact with each other. “It's me speaking to my friends, not me speaking to a brand.”

How do companies stimulate these kinds of discussions? “Develop social objects around which people gather,” Pike argues. “Create a reason for people to talk to each other through the creation of a social object. It may not be a physical object, but ideas which become shareable and marketable.”

The CEO video, for example, was an interesting, topical talking point, says Pike. ”You don't get people talking like that by throwing prizes at them. All that does is get people on your Facebook page that want a prize; you want people to be there because they want to be there.”

To ensure followers truly want to engage rather than just flocking for freebies, Attree stresses the importance of the holy trinity of social media marketing: content, conversation and community.

“It's about a long-term vision; creating communities around the brand and then giving them something to talk about. Without good content you don't have a leg to stand on - you can't create good conversation.”

According to Bagherpour, until recently the practice was very much to post something on YouTube and hope for the best. “We learnt by doing that you have to engineer content to get it to the viral stage.

“Content is king in the online environment, so if your content is amazing your chances of going viral are much higher. The most important thing is creating content people value and then putting it in the hands of influential people who comment on matters of PR and marketing, so it generates increased exposure for the brand.”

Apart from creating good content, companies also have to think about where they put it. A lot of companies miss the point, says Attree, because they don't actually ask customers which platforms they use. “They just assume their customers use social networking platforms when communication could be much more effective via e-mail or mobile.

“Having a presence on Facebook and Twitter is not a social media strategy.”

Jo Duxbury, founder and marketing strategist at Peppermint Source, says many South African companies on Facebook are not doing it strategically.

You need a good story, good content and have to get it out to well-connected people.

Melissa Attree, GetOn eMarekting

“Often when I ask potential clients why they want to be on Facebook or Twitter, their response is 'So we can get lots of fans/followers'. But why? What do you want to do with them once you've got them? And how are you going to retain their interest?

“You can get thousands of people to join your Facebook page by running a competition for an iPad,” adds Attree. “Bit I'd rather have a 100 committed, quality fans than 40 000 that only joined to win a prize.”

Duxbury adds that there's no reason to remain ignorant. “Make sure you know what you're doing, and if you're not sure, hire people who do. Do not leave it to an intern to manage.

“Social media is not tactical - it's about building and growing relationships. Running a campaign for a month on Facebook and then failing to post again after it's over will anger your fans and make them feel used.”

She says there are plenty of good digital, social media and content strategies available. “Put one in place so you can use your social channels effectively, to help you achieve your business goals.”

Another outcome of the increase in Web and social media technologies is that consumers hold a new position of power, where they help shape the nature and perception of brands.

Duxbury says marketing is no longer about brands broadcasting about themselves, and people “simply lapping up what they're told”.

“With social media, customers can share experiences, provide feedback, compliment and complain. Companies are no longer entirely in control of their brands. Customers can contribute and influence a brand's reputation.”

She explains that while traditional marketing was about singing a product's praises, consumers can now voice their opinions - on a public platform - when it isn't all it's made out to be.

“Would you be more likely to buy a product if four of your friends told you they'd bought it and were happy with it, or if you saw a cool advert for it? I'd trust my friends over a faceless corporation any day.”

Alternatively, brands that do deliver on their promises can benefit from the public endorsement they receive from happy customers, notes Duxbury. “This shift has forced brands to be more transparent and practise what they preach. The truth always comes out on social media.”

According to Bagherpour, whether a brand message sinks or swims is based on how people experience the brand. “The sharing of these experiences, which were previously limited to word of mouth, have now increased exponentially because social networks reach so many more people.”

A common pitfall, he adds, is creating a Twitter feed without thinking about how to support it. “While the company wanted to use to it to spread news and so on, people end up using it to express their dissatisfaction with the brand.” He says Nando's has decided against a Twitter feed. “We'd much rather other people tweet about Nando's than tweeting about ourselves.”

Attree notes that social media has increased the number of channels whereby customers can engage with a brand, which can easily backfire.

“For service brands like insurance and banking institutions, it could be a misguided idea because customers only speak to these groups on two occasions: when they're extremely angry or very happy.

“Customers become inherently lazy, and when they complain they use Twitter instead of engaging via the normal channels. Companies can't handle those kinds of numbers of complaints, and if customers have posted something on the channel you've opened, they expect a response.”

Pike says consumers increasingly expect a relationship with brands and companies because they can touch them and expect them to touch them back. “They expect that response to be real-time or close to, and they expect companies to take them and their requests and suggestions seriously.”

Ultimately, says Attree, it's all about people. “Just as in real life, people want to be validated. “They want to know that they're being heard and receive feedback via the appropriate channel.”

She adds that too many companies are rushing into the space and then don't know what to do because their structure can't support the new channel.

“Big companies need to develop solid internal communication between the PR, sales, and marketing teams because a good social media strategy requires input from all of these.

“Be absolutely crystal clear about what you want to do online and whether it meets the business' and the customer's needs.”

For many businesses, the mere thought of handing over an element of control to the outside world is overwhelming.

“This scares many, many companies - and so it should,” says Duxbury.

She adds this is all the more reason to ensure they have a solid strategy and plan in place before putting their brand on social media.

“You will get criticism and negative comments, but handling it properly can win you more fans. If a company is not willing to listen and respond to customers, to be transparent, to operate with integrity and to be honest, they shouldn't enter the social media space.”

Media has changed from being a source of information to a site of coordination”

Walter Pike

Pike says that companies don't so much let go of their strategy as they do of the idea that they can control the process.

“They still have a view of where they want to go, they just understand that they can't buy the outcome but they do control the experience and they can create the social objects that their fanboys will share.

“A social conversation is not a lecture... it's more of a tea party where you are part of a conversation - you don't own it.”

Balancing open engagement with some sense of brand integrity requires a good moderation system, says Attree. “With 5FM's Facebook page, for example, we have around 100 000 fans - that's a lot of conversation going on, and we had to set the ground rules up front, and say 'We don't tolerate the following' but not in a dictatorial way.”

“Censoring what your audience says will make you look like you don't want to hear any negative stuff about your company - and makes you untrustworthy and heavy-handed,” adds Duxbury.

“If you are going onto Facebook with your brand, include a sound moderation policy somewhere on your page that states what is and isn't permissible on the page. But let your customer talk - and listen to them. You may gain some amazing insights.”