A New Year – New Rules for Marketing

There is one thing for certain, people or organizations may not change on their own, but they will change when forced to. It’s simply a matter of survival. For any organization that has been humming along for some time enjoying prosperity without experiencing roadblocks, there is a new set of challenges to contend with that will affect changes that no one would have predicted 6 months ago. The same can be said by consumers now faced with job losses and/or any other myriad of financial challenges brought on by the economy.

The 2008 numbers will be in soon enough for the official analysis but hindsight may not be very meaningful in this case. The landscape is changing at a pace that will not make sense until the dust settles and there is time to digest the newfound methods for a successful business model of the future.

Spotting trends that will stick in such a transitional state is not always easy to achieve. Let us look at the marketing buzz words of the year - buzz, guerilla, viral, word of mouth all quite popular topics discussed ad nauseam in blog after blog post. What will stick in the New Year? With organizations facing 40% reductions in sales, it’s natural to apply similar budget reductions in marketing/advertising and any other personnel which may not be considered mission critical. This means to survive and regain sales those that remain will need to do more, work smarter (I actually do not care for that expression) but more importantly they need to work in a way that has not been considered in the past.

Circumstances for the consumers have changed as well. In order to succeed, organizations must listen to consumers in new ways and apply solutions that meet those consumers’ needs in a way that makes economic sense. Since most organizations are not eligible for government bailouts, it will be up to them to adapt or parish. That means leveraging marketing and staff in innovative ways. Changing the old approach to adverting in general will also be necessary. However, this may not be a bad thing for anyone but the agencies supporting those efforts.

Will this lead to less ads altogether or merely a reduction in ad prices to make up the difference? My bet is a combination of the two. Ad prices must come down to attract advertisers and those that purchase will be much more cautious about where they spend their money.

The Holidays Really Are Upon Us

How do you know the holiday season is officially here? It’s those special ads that come around once a year, they never change, you can count on that. Who has does not have fond memories of the Chia Pet or The Clapper? I mean having your lights turn on by clapping your hands is certainly a cheery thought for the holidays and who doesn’t just love the idea of putting seeds on a clay shaped animal to watch them grow? Every year for as long as I can remember these ads run relentlessly throughout December, it has become the real tell tale sign for me that Christmas is upon us.

My parents always went over board for the holidays. We had many family gatherings, consumed enormous amounts of yummy food, and were showered with meaningful presents. The holidays were always a happy time of year for me growing up, which makes me a prime target for those commercials that spark memories of holidays past. This year there is a certain car commercial that shows various individuals not wanted to replace their favorite childhood memory for instance. For some reason I love that commercial, not that I’m going to run right out and buy a new car right now, but how many of you can relate? What is your favorite childhood gift, the one you remember forever and do those commercials really work on you?

Social Portability – An Open Web

The latest trend to share social connections may lead to dramatic changes in how we use our favorite social networks. Recent launches of Google Friends Connect, Facebook Connect and the adoption of OpenID from MySpace provides new opportunities for third-party websites to offer portable connections. While all three provide different implementations, the ability to be able to login to a website using your existing Facebook ID, for example, and port your existing friends is a big step in sharing connections.

For those of us that dread creating yet another account on each individual site we use, this new feature may be a very convenient one indeed, but it will be interesting to see who decides to jump on the bandwagon to implement applications leveraging this new approach and who benefits in the end. An example of an implementation of Facebook Connect will allow activity from one site to automatically be posted to your Facebook and vice versa. This new sharing of data provides an open nature on the web.

It will also be interesting to see how privacy concerns and usage of information will be addressed as this new sharing amongst the big networks takes hold. These networks have our most personal information collected from our profiles, which we may not expect to share outside the network. Depending on who is on your friends list it may also impact how they feel about having their information shared. As these big three jockey for position in being the top dog in providing a portable solution I hope they do not lose sight of how we value sensitive personal information.

I’m sure there will be much more to come on the subject in the near future!

Economics Changing The Internet

This economic crisis may be the catalyst for change we really need. In tough economic times most companies will slash marketing and advertising budgets to weather the storm. This may not always be the best solution. A drastic change rather than a simple reduction will be required to survive. I believe those who will be able to prove themselves successful in this recession will be the ones that show us a better way of doing business. The best changes or innovations are often times inspired by desperate times. The traditional business model must change; organizations must alter their plans with the changing times if they want to succeed. In prosperous times we simply do not pay attention spending, it is human nature spend what you have. What happens when faced with a new reality, one that involves your entire budget and livelihood simply gone?

The typical approach to marketing has been to spend as much money as possible to blast ads in every location available and purchase as much traffic from paid search as your budget would support. It didn’t really matter how effective those tactics happen to be, it was just assumed that’s how you did it. There has been much debate in the industry over how to get the right message to the consumer at a time when they were receptive to making a purchase. Search recognized substantial growth as one of those indicators that a customer was interested in a particular item or subject. However, at a time when people are more cautious about their purchases, buying those keywords may not prove conversions at the previous rates. People may be performing the same search but not following through with the purchase having an obvious negative effect on the organization that now has to decide whether to continue spending in hopes that things will improve. Couple that challenge with the fact that even if a purchase is made, it is expected to be at the lowest possible price and you have a major catalyst for change. The basic economic facts do not add up for organizations to spend more money marketing than they can possibly make on the product.

While there is no historical data on internet behavior in a recession to guide us, there are new trends taking place and we should pay particular attention to them. Keep in mind we are shaping the future. Not since the beginning of the internet has there been a time of such change and never before have individuals played such an active role in the outcome. Consumers are no longer breaking out their credit cards to make impulse buys, they are spending more time researching brands and products, which means that organizations must meet their needs in new ways.