Millennials were the subject of a recent WOMMA webinar that MMC attended.
The session – led by Mr. Youth Managing Partner, Doug Akin – focused on tips for engaging Gen-Y consumers whose lives have been impacted by Social technologies. Akin referred to this group as Consumer 2.0.
According to Akin, these targets share four core values: connectivity, individuality, authenticity and ownership. They expect the brands they love to talk to them. They’re not bound by a universal definition of “cool” and – often through Social Media – feel free to pursue their own interests, passions and creativity. He went on to discuss the five ways a brands might capture their attention:
- By being disruptive: Akin referred to the “U by Kotex” campaign as “inspired” and “genius” in its mission to empower women to more openly talk about vaginal health.
- By allowing consumers to express themselves: Nike’s “One of a Kind Society” invited consumers design their own shoes – a risky, but smart move, said Akin.
- By sparking communities: Akin attributed the growth Tom’s Shoes experienced – from a home-grown brand to an online community – to the power of story-telling through Social Media.
- By recognizing consumers as collaborators: Mountain Dew’s “Dewocracy,” said Akin, was so successful because it encouraged fans to co-create elements like new product concepts and product packaging along with the brand.
- By telling great stories: while acknowledging that every brand has a great story, Akin singled out Levi’s for “owning a piece of the market” with their hard-working “Americano” platform.
As a vocal generation that continues to lead in Social Media, it’s clear that Millennials – especially the women in this bracket – cannot be ignored. “Listening closely to your consumers and engaging them in deeper, two-way relationships is a great start,” concluded Akin, and we couldn’t agree more. But it doesn’t end there: having a deep understanding of your consumer, what makes them tick, and who (or what) helps shape their opinions – is absolutely critical.
Year after year, significant increases in the number of searches conducted by Web users seeking information about themselves are recorded. Today, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, more than 57% of all online adults 18+ are engaged in one form of reputation management or another. And for good reason.
When it comes to building one’s online identity, most users, say Pew, fall into one of two categories: those who are “careful to protect themselves” and those who “embrace an open approach.” Adopting the latter can be troublesome, particularly among younger adults.
In a recent poll, 44% of those between the ages of 18 and 29 admitted to taking steps to “limit the amount of personal information available.” 71% said they changed their privacy settings often and on sites where photo- or video-sharing is popular, 41% removed their names from tags used to to identify them.
Smart.
We’ve all heard stories about celebrities, politicians or even friends who’ve suffered at the hands of something found online. So before you publish that next post, leave your next comment or tweet your next tweet, remember: you’re putting yourself out there for everyone – your friends, your employer, your clients – to see.
Today, following a tip from Mashable’s Jolie O’Dell, I started playing with Layers, a new Social application that takes Google’s Sidewiki to a whole new level.
Supported by the Firefox, Chrome and Safari browsers, Layers lets users overlay videos, images and text on top of any webpage. The result, according to its creators, is a “conversation in context,” a collage, if you will, that can easily be shared via email, Facebook and Twitter.
While some might find a tool like Layers positively frightening, my mind’s brimming with ideas. Under the right circumstances, adding what amounts to “virtual graffiti” to a website – an outpost most often intended to be a one-way channel – could certainly be damaging to a Brand or company. However, if used for good (I’m talking to you, raters and reviewers!), imagine the possibilities.
Give Layers a whirl and tell us what you think.
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Two weeks ago, MMC hosted an NYC editor event for Arnold and Oroweat Breads to launch a new sliced bread, Health-full, and help reenergize Sandwich Thins. Food Network Chef Claire Robinson, host of “Five Ingredient Fix,” and Registered Dietitian Christine Palumbo hosted the Arnold and Oroweat Sandwich Slim Down, giving 22 editors, producers and social media influencers a taste of our products.
The Glass Houses raw space was transformed into a Nantucket cabana, complete with oversized white couches and chic beach accents, to reflect that this summer, you can still have your bread and eat it too. We added a test kitchen with stainless steel chefs’ tables to give media an area to actually work with the products. Christine spoke to the nutritional benefits of both Health-full and Sandwich Thins, highlighting current food and wellness trends that revealed the relevancy of each. Claire demonstrated the breads’ versatility through preparing two of her signature five ingredient recipes. She then led the editors in a Five Ingredient Fix Challenge, charging them to break into teams and create their own recipes for Sandwich Thins and Health-full, based on themes pulled out of a white sand bucket. Themes like Surf vs. Turf guided the editors and helped inspire their culinary creativity. Editors departed with picnic baskets full of products, sandwiches in branded to-go containers, and a custom bikini memento to remind them that bread and bikinis really can go together!
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This week MMC hosted our first event for Oneida.com! The theme, which focused around at-home entertaining tips, featured incredibly diverse and well designed table settings created by a premier NYC event designer, Angela Giannopoulos.
Angela, who has worked with celebrities and brands such as Donna Karan, Missoni and Estee Lauder, used Oneida.com dinnerware and flatware to build four different table themes; Classic Picnic Table Twist, Fanciful Formal, Asia to Cuba and World of Whimsy (pictured clockwise in above images).
Each of the tables represented a different design style and showcased Oneida products, which corresponded to these of-the-moment tabletop trends. Angela was present at the event to answer questions and describe her inspiration—her message—take chances when setting your table at home. When speaking about the Classic Picnic Table Twist she explained “not everything should be conventional with tabletop design. I encourage you to pick a bold pattern that is a little risky and surprise your guests with something other than traditional gingham or checkered picnic patterns.”
Another trend Angela highlighted during her discussion was the Asia to Cuba theme. This modern, minimal design has become popular in recent years and can be seen at restaurants such as Asia de Cuba in NYC or Philippe Starck’s Delano Hotel in Miami. Angela set this table with the new Chef’s Table collection from Oneida.com explaining that, “the warm white porcelain color and ability to mix and match the plate shapes is just what you need to complete this look at home.”
All in all it was a lovely evening of entertaining that left us all inspired. What inspires you to entertain?
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Last night was the first Cannes Lions award ceremony of 2010. It also marked the second year PR Lions were awarded.
Since arriving, I’ve anxiously anticipated this event and the chance to see great PR campaigns from agencies around the world. As I began sifting through the Lions short list in the morning, my excitement was tempered. I found myself asking the question many in the PR industry are now pondering: Why the low number of submissions by PR agencies?
The Cannes Lions committee noted that there was a 32% increase this year in PR entries. Yet many of the PR campaigns were submitted by non-PR agencies. Even more curious: the PR campaign that received the Grand Prix was actually submitted by an ad agency!
Check out my PRWeek blog post to hear more about the awards: http://www.prweekus.com/prweek-insider/section/1255/
Stay tuned for more insider info on Cannes Lions.
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So far, the Cannes Lions Festival has been very exciting! Between the awards ceremonies, seminars, classes, workshops and panel discussions, there’s so much creativity and inspiration all in one place. Being here is also a chance to see old friends in the industry and make new ones.
Speaking of friends, today I attended an interesting “Master Class” titled Five Secrets for Inspiring Your Clients, presented by Mary Beth West, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer of Kraft Foods, Inc. Mary Beth started her discussion with a bold statement, “I hate being called a client because it’s formal and clinical. I prefer to be thought of as a friend.”
Mary Beth values the power of personal relationships, which are at the heart of the partnerships she can count on. With every relationship, there’s give and take, and here are the five things Mary Beth is looking for from her agencies partners:
1) Teach us something new: Our role at agencies is to be out there, exploring the world and bringing that learning and creativity back into the company.
2) Don’t digitally bug us – talk to us:
Technology is all around us, but you can’t forget that emails don’t inspire, people and their ideas do. Be present!
3) Get to know us without blinders on:
Take the time to get to know who we are and what we do as broadly as possible.
4) Look outside the category for inspiration: Find an analog in a category the brand is aspiring to and get to know it. Mary Beth shared the work Kraft did with Crystal Light — how they looked at it as a health and beauty brand vs. a simple drink which inspired the team to reach outside the usual confines, and spend a day at the Fashion Institute of Technology, tour beauty and fashion retailers and work with a design team that specialized in beauty not beverages. As an agency that specializes in marketing-to-women, BRAVO for getting the Crystal Light brand’s “reinvigoration” so right!
5) Move it forward fast: In today’s marketing world, the need for rapid innovation is ever present. Mary Beth talked about “hot house” ideation sessions that Kraft has held where teams spend two or three days together and run through three steps, Stimulate, Ruminate and Activate, coming out ready to go with an idea.
Who could argue with a CMO wanting these five things from her agency partners? These “secrets” are at the core of building supportive and sustainable relationships with our client partners, and are tenets to live by.
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This week, I’ll be reporting from the Cannes Lions 57th International Advertising Festival. It is one of the most exciting industry events of the year, where corporate and agency leaders come together to learn, debate, celebrate success and consider “what’s next?”
In thinking about how the industry is evolving, nothing makes us happier than CMOs who fully embrace PR as an integral part of holistic brand building – a norm rather than an exception these days. To read more, click here.
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As a member of the recruitment team at MMC, I spend a lot of time each spring meeting with college students who are interested in joining our agency after graduation. Whether informational or for open opportunities, I always have the same advice when it comes to building industry contacts: do your research, network, accept informationals, tap into you alumni network, find me on LinkedIn, market your personal brand. It is all about building a relationship!
I realized a few weeks ago that I wasn’t following some of my own very important advice when it comes to alumni networking. It has been months, if not a year, since I last attended an alumni networking event. So when my own alma mater, Teachers College Columbia University, announced a networking and upcoming “Idea Cafe” event, I registered right away. What more could I ask for than 100 professionals with the same career interests as me all in one room? The Idea Cafe – 15 stations set up to allow participants to share insights and practices on various topics – further added to the event, sparking conversation and generating excitement around several hot topics.
I was very excited to be asked to facilitate one of the “Cafe’s” Idea boards – social media strategies for HR and talent acquisition. I knew going into the event that my team’s efforts in this area would shine. After all, you can follow MMC’s HR and recruitment team on Twitter (@katelizdee, @ausmaree, @mbmurphy15) or Link In with us. Junior candidates can also join the Marina Maher Communications Graduate and Internship Opportunities group on Facebook to learn more about entry-level opportunities. Through these social outlets, we regularly share not only information on available opportunities but also interesting articles, interview tips, relevant MMC news and a variety of other resources.
How do you use social media to network and market the brand of YOU?
Are virtual conferences the wave of the future? I sure hope so. MMC recently participated in SocialExaminer.com’s Social Media Success Summit. The 3-week online Social Media conference provided over 15 webinars on strategy, measurement, case studies, Twitter, Facebook and more. MMC’s rich Social Media capabilities allowed us to actively participate in these sessions to stay on top of the latest trends and tools. We were most excited to hear from prominent thought leaders such as Guy Kawasaki, Jay Baer and Steve Rubel.
I’m a believer in extracting a “top 5” after every industry conference. Here’s my top 5 for the Social Media Success Summit:
- Measurement: Social Media can be measured in a number of ways but the most significant item in your measurement checklist must be to determine goals and benchmarks in advance so that you have clear points that you’re measuring against.
- Contests: The three critical factors for building buzz around an online contest are
- Compelling reward that incentivizes
- Ease of entry
- Social Media components encourage consumers to promote for you
- Online video: The demand for online video continues to increase. These stats speak for themselves.
- 86 % of U.S. Internet users view videos online
- There are 24 hours of video downloaded each minute
- YouTube has 84.1% of all the Web’s video traffic
- Social Media Strategy: Focus on the tools last when developing a cohesive Social Media Strategy. (Okay, this one we knew, but it’s one of our favorites and bears repeating.)
- New tools: There are hundreds of Social Media tools my team and I are leveraging and experimenting with, but as a result of the Twitter session, I’ll be checking out hashtags.org, wthashtag.com and tagal.us.
If you want to see what others are saying about the Social Media Success Summit, search Twitter for #smss10!
