The first was on Michael Fleischner’s “The Marketing [>>]]]> Businesses trying to reach a younger/edgier/contemporary audience often use a little shock value—we’ve been talking around the office about humor and the way that can push the envelope, for instance. Recently I saw some more extreme examples of envelope-pushing that gave me pause on two well-established marketing blogs.

The first was on Michael Fleischner’s “The Marketing Blog,” headlined: 10,000 Twitter Followers. Who Gives A &^%$#@. The headline annoyed me immediately, but it stood out all the more when I hit the next site on my rounds, Jason Falls’ “Social Media Explorer.” There in the top right corner of the page was an advertisement for Falls’ book with the title in huge type: “No Bullshit Social Media.” (A few days later, the keyword—something of a brand for Falls, I guess—showed up in the headline of a post.)

So, clearly my mother was wrong and swearing is cool.

Falls uses “Bullshit” to lend authenticity, to proclaim that he’s not, y’know, a bullshitter. He’s assuming that his brand and his audience will connect over that kind of “shockingly” straight talk. Fleischner attempts the same thing, but he flinches, he hedges—he doesn’t use actual profanity, lest his plainspoken authenticity offend my delicate sensibilities. Thus he commits the common sin of the buttoned-down businessman trying to look cool: He doesn’t commit to the role. And while most major corporations aren’t likely to be resorting to profanity to connect to their customers, they can make the same sin of awkward half-measures.

It’s not “Wheel of Fortune,” pal

Here’s the thing: We all know the dirty words and how to use them. I look at Fleischner’s headline and my brain immediately fills in the two most contextually appropriate profanities—didn’t yours? Both bloggers have gone and put a dirty word into my otherwise squeaky-clean consciousness. Rather than sparing me, Fleischner actually makes me think about it more, because there’s more than one solution. And he has traded Falls’ authentic cojones chutzpah to crap out (hey, that’s a gambling metaphor) just as he’s trying to queue up some sharp, cut-the-crap (OK, that’s not) perspectives on social media.

Replacing a “dirty word” with random symbols, or worse, blank f- – - – - – spaces, just makes you look more square than ever. Even my mom can fill in those blanks.

S#!& my boss says

The general rule that profanity has no place in marketing copy is typically an easy one to follow. But if you are making a less extreme, “nontraditional” choice, and therefore portraying yourself as a wild card who makes nontraditional choices, commit to it. If your message calls for some #&$@% swearing, then just fuckin’ swear. (I had to check our own blog’s profanity policy before writing this, and that’s pretty much a direct quote from our VP of Content. Followed immediately by, “But really, why would you?”)

The takeaway here is not to learn to swear better in your marketing communications.  But if you’re going to be edgy, whether as an upstart startup grabbing some attention, or a familiar brand trying to reach a new demographic, don’t undercut your message.  Don’t be the person who makes a really rude joke and follows it up with a quick, “Just kidding!  Ha ha!” Either trust your audience to embrace your persona, or dial it back. Own the voice you’re using.

Otherwise you look like a jack- – -.

Nowadays, most of us probably receive text messages from someone with whom we do business; for example, a message from your [>>]]]> Much has been said about the benefits of using social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace for connecting with customers. However, there’s another much-less-touted although equally valuable vehicle for reaching customers—SMS or text-based messaging.

Nowadays, most of us probably receive text messages from someone with whom we do business; for example, a message from your bank regarding some questionable activity on an account or an appointment confirmation from your doctor. Currently, retailers have made the most use of SMS to engage their customers.

There’s a wealth of opportunity for marketers in other industries to incorporate text messaging into their communications strategy, not only to improve customer relationships but also to boost sales.

There’s no denying that mobile usage is up. In 2008 sales of mobile devices outpaced those of PCs 4-to-1. Because a majority of cell phones have text capabilities, SMS provides an ideal opportunity for communicating with your customers, especially when so many are inundated with email and may be missing your message entirely.

In its Mobile Market Survey 2009, Netsize reports on how some companies are using mobile as part of their marketing strategy to attract and keep customers:

“The vast majority of respondents (56%) currently use mobile to acquire new customers. But that will change as respondents follow through on their plans to boost customer retention and loyalty through mobile marketing (64%), streamline transactions (37%) and enable commerce and sales using a mobile device (37%).”

In addition to strengthening relationships with current customers and attracting new customers, text messaging provides a way to increase brand awareness. For example, Clorox ran a national promotion to connect its brand with Keith Urban fans by offering the chance to win a backyard BBQ with the singer.

At the end of the campaign, Clorox experienced total mobile activity of more than 300,000, and 6% of those participants opted in to ongoing Clorox brand promotions. And that’s one of the key benefits of SMS: You’re reaching your customers on their terms and at their request.

The simplicity of text-based messaging, though, creates the possibility for overexposure. You don’t want to abuse the privilege of having your customers’ permission to communicate with them. According to a recent Nielsen report, sending too many texts or not targeting them appropriately can adversely affect your ability to connect with your customers.

As with any social medium, SMS is another way to engage your customers in a conversation. As with all marketing activities, though, make sure that an SMS strategy fits in with your overall business goals.

Let’s [>>]]]> In the early days of the Internet, businesses with a physical location were referred to as “brick-and-mortar,” while those on the Internet had a “Web presence.” Obviously, that distinction doesn’t hold up anymore, but a recent Google campaign and a new iPhone app got me thinking about the convergence of the online and offline worlds.

Let’s start with Google. The company took its online world offline this summer with its “Favorite Places” marketing campaign. Think Yelp meets Google Maps meets celebrity endorsements for the mobile age. For the campaign, Google asked local experts/celebrities in more than a dozen cities (in the Bay Area, folks like Gavin Newsom and Alice Waters are featured) for their favorite hotspots.

Go online and you can search by personality—what cultural events do Yo-Yo Ma and Maya Lin like?—or by city to find out the celebrity dish on shops, restaurants, culture, and nightlife. And in San Francisco, Google took the campaign a step further with a physical presence: Celebrity-endorsed businesses got a life-size version of the signature teardrop-shaped marker from Google, complete with a plaque telling you who had endorsed the business.

In the spirit of “there’s an app for that,” the offline world jumps back online with a new iPhone app from Acrossair, which has developed an augmented reality browser with 3D navigation. With this app, your iPhone becomes a portal to an “augmented” reality; now you can view the names of businesses, events, and so on that are near your physical location; hold the phone flat and it turns into a Google map view that also moves with you so you know exactly where things are in relation to you. Check out the video—it’s pretty cool.

Convergence and convenience
What’s old is new, what’s online is offline, and what’s stuck in a silo isn’t going to fly. It’s really about convergence and convenience—about making things as easy and “full-service” as possible for your customers, your audience, or whoever you’re talking to. Of course, none of this should be a revelation, as companies like Microsoft realized this a decade ago.

In the late ‘90s I worked for Microsoft’s Sidewalk.com, online city guides that provided editorial-based information on restaurants and arts and entertainment. The sites were great, but they were doomed almost from the start because of Ticketmaster. Microsoft wanted to make a deal with them to sell tickets through Sidewalk—users would read an editorial review of “Wicked,” for example, and the page would include a link to purchase tickets—but negotiations broke down and Ticketmaster made a deal with rival Citysearch instead. Sidewalk trudged along for a while, but Microsoft knew it had lost its best opportunity to monetize the websites (perhaps a fee from each ticket sale made via Sidewalk), and also to provide a one-stop shop for users who could read about an event and then buy tickets, all in the same place. They knew early on that convergence was key, but they couldn’t convert the idea to reality.

Now it’s a new reality, and companies need to promise an even bigger and better bang, not only for your buck, but also for your time and your convenience. Is there an app for that?

When used effectively, virals can and do perform in ways that traditional PR and advertising simply can’t. But how do [>>]]]> A bit like the Supreme Court’s definition of pornography, viral marketing is something you know when you see it, although it’s hard to define outright. All viral marketing campaigns share one element in common–an unstated agenda.

When used effectively, virals can and do perform in ways that traditional PR and advertising simply can’t. But how do you separate an excellent viral campaign from a dud?  With five key criteria in mind, let’s rate one of the more recent viral splashes: Jared Holstein’s “fake Shooting Brake” Porsche promotion for TopGear.com America:

Eyeballs

The more people see and share a viral, the higher the mission-critical eyeball count. After a false start or three, The Shooting Brake viral sputtered to life and managed to pick up enough of an audience to achieve liftoff. We’ll give it a C+ for taking the time to analyze initial seeding attempts and be willing to try again in less-than-obvious places.

Engagement

If YouTube videos “A” and “B” each have 100,000 views, but “A” has 1,000 comments whereas “B” has 10, viral “A” will have proven to carry a higher level of engagement. Here, ‘brake did really well. The ratio of user involvement in the dialog was extraordinary as viewers of both the video and still images felt compelled to toss their $0.02 in on the debate and repost for others to weigh in. A+

Longevity

Short lived but highly engaging virals that capture a lot of attention often have superior recall rates to those that stay at a slow simmer and net a greater number of views over time. The chatter surrounding the Shooting Brake viral began to diminish around the one-month mark, around the time the instigators revealed all. We’ll give this a B for performing above what one might have expected through the clever use of three separate permutations of the ‘brake.

Brand Relevance

Every viral walks the line between being so tenuously connected to its parent brand as to have no meaningful impact and being so closely connected as to not have any hopes of ever succeeding as a viral. Mr. Holstein and crew get a solid A here. TopGear is, and always has been, cheeky, irreverent, subversive, and often sarcastic. In this case, TopGear wanted web traffic to support TopGear.com and new awareness of its original content. Job done.

Reach

A viral that transcends and rises above topical environments, and is just as big of a hit among Scrabble enthusiasts as it is among Labrador aficionados, is more relevant than one that fails to break out of its defined silo. The ‘brake transitioned from automotive to gamers, back to automotive, into mainstream press, and now, by virtue of this write-up, into the industry press for marketers. That’s another A+ for bridging the gap and capturing our collective imaginations.

The sixth, unspoken variable is one that will warm every marketer’s heart–-solid ROI. Here, Holstein leveraged the sizable coffers of Microsoft Game Studios in its promotion of Forza 3 to achieve great effect with his own viral promotion. There is nothing like riding the slipstream of someone else’s online spending spree to capture value far beyond one’s own investment in a project. A+ to team TopGear on this note as well.

Could it be that the next brand of celebrity is the software developer? That seems to be the angle of Apple’s latest publicity campaign. The [>>]]]> Remember when celebrities were mere entertainers? Singers, actors, dancers, athletes. Then came celebrity chefs, celebrity CEOs, and people who became famous for being hot. (What does Carmen Electra actually do?)

Could it be that the next brand of celebrity is the software developer? That seems to be the angle of Apple’s latest publicity campaign. The company is lifting its infamous NDA that prevented developers from discussing iPhone apps and planning an iPhone Tech Talk World Tour. That’s right: World Tour. Apple will be parading its developers in a city near you so that you’ll have the opportunity to find out everything you ever wanted to know about iPhone apps, but were too afraid to ask because of that pesky NDA.

I find myself continually amazed at the depth of Apple fans’ commitment to the brand. But with unexpected branding schemes like this one, I guess I can justify that commitment to some degree. By lifting the iron curtain previously shielding its coding practices, Apple is giving its fans something that feels really exclusive. At the same time, Apple is elevating its programmers to darn near celebrity status, adding to the company’s already considerable cool cachet.

I can see it now: An audience member will ask a developer about Apple’s failed 3G launch. The developer will respond with a witty quip about how Windows Vista sucks. Everyone will laugh. It will be just like the VP debate.

Wry humor aside, this is a great example of a company truly giving its customers what they want—even if it’s in response to criticism. Apple will surely benefit from revealing its sources. Customers can become more intimately involved with the brand, even contributing to the product itself by developing new apps. This can only increase commitment to the Apple brand. I have to applaud Apple’s agility in turning criticism into what will surely be more fawning devotion.

But then again, Apple fans’ devotion is based purely on the company’s great products, right? ‘Course. —Selena Welz, associate managing editor

Turns out that’s impossible. Divorcing my own leanings from the review wasn’t too tough, but it was difficult to avoid outrage at [>>]]]> When I sat down to review the official websites of Barack Obama and John McCain, it was with the specific goal of neutrality—keeping my own politics removed from a critical view of each site.

Turns out that’s impossible. Divorcing my own leanings from the review wasn’t too tough, but it was difficult to avoid outrage at the political hackery I found. The website of the candidate I’m not supporting annoyed me in precisely the same ways his overall campaign annoys me—which, I guess, is the point. It’s all about striking the proper tone and delivering a consistent message.

This is a skill at which Republicans have been masterful in recent years, and McCain’s campaign site is no exception. One sees his “Country first” theme at virtually every bend, along with regular swipes at Obama—less for his governmental proposals than for who he is. It’s a clear attempt to alter public perception absent the use of facts.

Political scientists have said that Democrats vote with their heads (“let’s talk issues”) while Republicans vote with their guts (“my instincts are pointing me in this direction”), and that’s precisely the voter that McCain’s website is trying to reach. While the Republican candidate spells out many of his own ideas and policies, were his campaign manager forced to excise one portion of the site—either the pro-McCain side or the anti-Obama side—I have no idea which one he would choose.

And that, I suppose, is the genius of it all. —Jason Turbow, managing editor