Dear CMO:
I remember buying my first Walkman in 1981. I was living in Tokyo as an exchange student. I mentioned my interest to my landlady, who called the local electronics shop storekeeper, who promptly came over with the first of the new second generation players. At 10:00PM at night. I paid cash, the storekeeper bowed, wrote me a handwritten receipt, and went home, probably to go back to bed.
This story came back to me the other day when reflecting on the impact of social media and the importance of relationships. We tend to celebrate the new before we acknowledge the old, and marketing is no exception. We’ll talk about the recent exploits of Peyton Manning but somehow dismiss Johnny Unitas. The new is somehow more valuable in unreflected moments. I think it's fair to say that this kind of thinking is a mental shortcut against which we must guard ourselves.
Another great Sony story, which I’ve probably discussed before. Fast forward ten years to my days as a Sony employee. Sitting in a large conference room as the lone recording media guy – a role I became very comfortable performing – we reviewed the launch campaign for the MiniDisc format. Everything was geared towards the newly anointed “Generation X” – the copy, the talent, the music, etc. And this was a problem, because the data showed very clearly that our first customers were more likely to own a Lexus than a skateboard. Our campaign was geared towards a seventeen year old; the product was geared towards his dad, the attorney. Why? Because Gen X was cool and the organizational preconceptions were too deeply ingrained to navigate around.
* * *
Key Takeaways:
> My social media isn’t necessarily your social media. It depends on the composition of our social network, our social practices, and our social mores. If you’re a Millennial, IM is more important than email. If you’re a yacht owner, a personal invitation to an exclusive event has more impact than email. Without deep reflection on your market, you’ll miss the “social” part of social media. Blogging is lovely unless your audience doesn’t read blogs, in which case you’re wasting your time.
* * *
Lewis has been vocal in blogs past about how social media, relationship marketing, and other forms of “new” marketing have been around for decades, and he’s right. The deeper lesson is that we all tend to fall for the newest and freshest because it appeals to us, rather than its appeal to those with whom we seek to create the relationship in the first place.
I remember buying my first Walkman in 1981. I was living in Tokyo as an exchange student. I mentioned my interest to my landlady, who called the local electronics shop storekeeper, who promptly came over with the first of the new second generation players. At 10:00PM at night. I paid cash, the storekeeper bowed, wrote me a handwritten receipt, and went home, probably to go back to bed.
This story came back to me the other day when reflecting on the impact of social media and the importance of relationships. We tend to celebrate the new before we acknowledge the old, and marketing is no exception. We’ll talk about the recent exploits of Peyton Manning but somehow dismiss Johnny Unitas. The new is somehow more valuable in unreflected moments. I think it's fair to say that this kind of thinking is a mental shortcut against which we must guard ourselves.
Another great Sony story, which I’ve probably discussed before. Fast forward ten years to my days as a Sony employee. Sitting in a large conference room as the lone recording media guy – a role I became very comfortable performing – we reviewed the launch campaign for the MiniDisc format. Everything was geared towards the newly anointed “Generation X” – the copy, the talent, the music, etc. And this was a problem, because the data showed very clearly that our first customers were more likely to own a Lexus than a skateboard. Our campaign was geared towards a seventeen year old; the product was geared towards his dad, the attorney. Why? Because Gen X was cool and the organizational preconceptions were too deeply ingrained to navigate around.
* * *
Key Takeaways:
> My social media isn’t necessarily your social media. It depends on the composition of our social network, our social practices, and our social mores. If you’re a Millennial, IM is more important than email. If you’re a yacht owner, a personal invitation to an exclusive event has more impact than email. Without deep reflection on your market, you’ll miss the “social” part of social media. Blogging is lovely unless your audience doesn’t read blogs, in which case you’re wasting your time.
* * *
Lewis has been vocal in blogs past about how social media, relationship marketing, and other forms of “new” marketing have been around for decades, and he’s right. The deeper lesson is that we all tend to fall for the newest and freshest because it appeals to us, rather than its appeal to those with whom we seek to create the relationship in the first place.
Regards.
Copyright © 2007 Stephen Denny
2 comments:
Well said.
I just had dinner with folks who were looking for ways to improve catalog marketing. Their target audience is very different --- different than folks who like e-mail marketing, which is different than the audience who is into instant messaging.
You articulated an entire dinner conversation in a few paragraphs.
Stephen,
Nice post and thank you for the shout out. I have been traveling and just now catching up on my reading.
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