Archive for June, 2009
eBrand Media Research Brief: Email is main communication channel worldwide – IM and SMS well behind
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
According to Epsilon’s Global Consumer Email Study, conducted by ROI Research, the survey of over 4000 consumers in 13 countries finds that Email remains a mainstay communication, showing that 87% of North American(and 74% of European respondents are more likely than their peers in APAC to use email as their primary online communications tool.
Instant messaging as the main channel for communication, is notably high in APAC with 28% of respondents, while text/SMS and social networking remain consistently low across all regions. While most consumers manage one primary inbox for the programs they subscribe to, mobile phones and PDAs are gaining popularity for time-sensitive alerts such as news, weather and finance/stock information.
Email is also replacing other channels of communication. Over one-third of respondents have replaced traditional (communication) channels in favor of email for communications from:
Posted by Tom Polanski in E-mail marketing on June 16th, 2009
When a blog isn’t enough: expanding customer interaction with a branded social network
SUMMARY: Social media helps marketers create more interaction with their customers. But sometimes, adding a single element — like a blog or a forum — isn’t enough.
Read how an outdoor sporting goods brand used insights from their blog to create a social network for their customers. They share their thoughts on the value of social media to consumer brands, and offer advice on designing a network and promoting it in multiple channels.
Mountain Hardwear has a core customer base of devoted outdoor enthusiasts, says Phyllis Grove, Marketing Director. Customers are die-hard hikers, climbers, and outdoor winter-sports enthusiasts, who also want to discuss the apparel and gear that Mountain Hardwear provides for their adventures.
In March, Grove’s team added a slew of social media features to the site, giving Mountain Hardwear’s fans all the tools they need to interact there. They named their social network Expedition Republic.
The new network has increased membership, the level of user engagement, and the amount of content and discussions happening among customers. Those results make Grove confident that Expedition Republic is boosting the brand’s connection with its fans. (Since the site does not sell directly, it is difficult to measure whether the new social network is lifting sales, Grove says.)
Posted by Tom Polanski in Social Media on June 11th, 2009
eBrand Media Research Brief: How 8 behavioral types cope with the recession
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
Richard Storey, chief strategy officer for M&C Saatchi, London, suggests that recession is discussed as if it were a singular phenomenon, and that consumers have taken for granted the notion that there is one single, inevitable and all enveloping global crisis. News headlines tend to report macro trends, making bleak reading: slowing economy, falling house prices, rising food and fuel costs, or decreased consumer spending.
The problem, he says, is macroeconomics that would have us believe that the recession is a macro phenomenon with a single, reasonably predictable outcome, but understanding the dynamics that lay beneath these conditions could identify more interesting and effective recession strategies for businesses.
M&C Saatchi‘s ‘Reacting to Recession’ study uncovers the attitudes and behavior adopted by different groups of consumers and finds eight consumer typologies with distinct approaches to spending and economizing. Understanding and adapting to each segment presents opportunities for businesses, says the report.
Through a program of qualitative and quantitative segmentation, the study separated different consumer typologies. Each has adopted a different predominant behavior or ‘strategy’ to cope financially with the downturn and it is this behavior that defines each grouping:
Crash Dieters… 26%
Scrimpers…13
Abstainers…15
Balancers… 9
Treaters … 12
Justifiers… 12
Ostriches… 9
Vultures… 4
Posted by Tom Polanski in The Economy, Trend Tracker on June 9th, 2009
eBrand Media Research Brief: Texting talks for teens and twenties
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
Results from the second annual Vlingo Consumer Mobile Messaging Habits Report show that, this year, nearly 60% of mobile phone owners use their phones to text, with 94% of teens the largest user group, and 20-somethings at 87%. Among those in their 40s, usage jumped from 56% in 2008 to 64% this year, and for those in their 50s it jumped from 38% to 46%.
Texting is also gaining on sending/receiving calls as the primary use of mobile phones, with 35% of all respondents using their phones for texting more than for phone calls. Almost half of respondents do both in equal numbers.
The volume of text messages has gone up as well across all age groups, although the 13 to 19 age group remains the most active, sending more than 500 texts per month on average.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Teen Talk on June 5th, 2009
Andrew Keen on the death of Facebook and the future of the web
by Meghan Keane
Andrew Keen is a former entrepreneur who has since recanted his enthusiasm for Silicon Valley and come out as an outspoken opponent of Web 2.0. Keen is no stranger to controversy. His 2007 book “Cult of the Amateur” argued against the wisdom of crowds and he is known for incendiary commentary, like the time he likened Web 2.0 to a communist society or when he told Stephen Colbert that the Internet is worse than Nazism. In case you were wondering, here’s his definition of blogging: “It’s all about digital narcissism, shameless self-promotion. I find it offensive.”
Keen now writes at The Great Seduction, twitters @ajkeen, and speaks on a variety of topics. This week, Keen wrote that Facebook’s infusion of $200 million from Russian investors signaled “the final act of the Web 2.0 tragi-comedy.” We caught up with him via phone while he was in Alabama this week (“studying the natives”) to discuss the death of Web 2.0 and what comes next.
** Do you think that the formation of this “cult of the amateur” had anything to do with mainstream dissatisfaction with the “experts”?
I think there’s a strong cultural strain of fear and hostility towards experts and professionals. It’s a historic phenomenon, but it’s getting more and more prominent. With the Internet, the little people have the means to challenge the authorities. It’s another kind of rebellion.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Facebook, Interviews, Social Media on June 3rd, 2009