March 2005
Blogs—The New Op Ed
Tendo debates the value of the sponsored blog.
Marketers have always had a love-hate relationship with word-of-mouth communications. When customers are happy, there's no better way to promote a product. But when rumor takes hold, the rapid spread of misinformation becomes the brand manager's worst nightmare. On the Web, the potential risks and rewards are even more extreme, which explains, in part, why weblogs intrigue so many companies as a new communication channel.
Free-spirited and immediate, today's blogs borrow a journalistic approach to deliver a healthy mix of opinion and fact. With more than eight million active blogs now online, readership is on the rise—to the tune of a 100 percent increase every five months, according to Technorati. Marketers are wise to seek a piece of the action.
"Once they grab the attention of an audience, blogs can achieve business goals."
We confess that we've caught the bug. So much so, we set aside an afternoon earlier this month for a lively roundtable discussion of the technology. In the room were four members of Tendo's leadership team: co-founders Karla Spormann and Celia Canfield, as well as editorial director Christine Zender and Chris Barr, our senior vice president, editorial, and the newest member of our team. Although we arrived representing all sides of the debate, we eventually found common ground. Any way you look at it, blogs are fast becoming a valuable tool for accomplishing a wide range of strategic communications objectives.
The New Well
When moderator Karen Croft of Salon.com asked the group to define the term blog, we answered with a variety of media analogies: a letter from the editor, citizen journaling, the Well.com reincarnated. Celia was quick to dispense with the pleasantries. "Whatever we liken them to," she said, "blogs have evolved into a medium for marketing. The question is, what business goals can they achieve?"
Although some of us quietly pine for the days of the pure and personal blog, we had to agree. Whether you sit in the boardroom or the peanut gallery, it's hard to resist the grassroots appeal of the technology. Early adopters have already created blogs to introduce new products, position new technologies, and demonstrate thought leadership across a wide range of topics. "In this day and age, information flows freely, and companies need to put themselves in the flow," Karla said.
We discussed how Richard Edelman of Edelman PR blogs about the World Economic Forum and the challenges of managing a professional services firm; how Sun Microsystems president Jonathan Schwartz defends open source and Java technology in a blog that's featured on the home page of Sun.com. And how venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson publishes The J Curve, with colorful commentary on emerging technologies and their investment potential. As Christine observed, these marketing blogs draw readers in with provocative information or a strong personality—and the best of the lot do both.
Once they grab the attention of an audience, blogs can achieve several business goals: they can educate key influencers or further an agenda, aid in market research, or enliven a brand. "Companies say they listen to customers," Karla added. "Well, blogs are a way to show you mean what you say." As the conversation continued, we identified three essential characteristics for blogging success:
Express a clear point of view. Whether it represents an individual or a group, a blog cannot be all things to all people. The blogger must be willing to take a stand on a topic of interest to the primary target audience.
Disclose sponsor relationships. When Dr. Pepper/7Up recruited a group of teenagers to blog in support of its new Raging Cow drink, the company made a crucial mistake in trying to conceal the sponsorship. The truth inevitably leaked out, causing a PR fiasco—one that might have been avoided had its marketing agency announced the relationships up front. "You have to tell people what you're doing," Chris advised. "But after that, does anyone really care? Sponsored blogs can be just as effective."
Establish ground rules. Unlike teenagers and college students, corporate bloggers need some guidance, particularly since blogging adds a new and uncomfortable twist to the standard corporate culture. Christine reminded the group, "Creativity is well and good, but the goal is to send a coherent message."
Whose blog is it?
As our discussion wound to a close, Karen steered us toward the all-important question of who should create and own the corporate blog. A wide range of partners are providing services to bloggers, from interactive agencies and public relations firms to internal marcom departments—groups that are well-equipped to manage existing channels, but less experienced in creating new media outlets. Call us biased, but given the journalistic roots of the blog, we believe a custom publisher such as Tendo, who can demonstrate a clear understanding of Web communications strategies, is best positioned to develop this new channel and facilitate discussions that support a marketing message.
Ultimately, blogs that are able to drive traffic, change perceptions, and feed information into traditional media outlets will set the pace for those that follow. In the meantime, to those marketers who fear the consequences of an online free-for-all, Celia had some parting words: "If you think you're going to control the information that's out there, you're wrong. It's far better to head straight into the fire."
