140 Characters
Nice piece in the NYTimes on microblogging… For me, while brevity is efficient it isn’t necessarily effective.
I don’t buy the argument that “ONE hundred forty characters — the exact length of this sentence — is turning out to be just right for business communications of all kinds”. For certain kinds of communications, it might be. Say, quick project updates etc.
But for other communications – say an employee email on bonuses – context via a little length makes all the difference. But context through event driven content – like we get in Facebook – is really interesting.
Suddenly our conversations are increasingly personal and our work relationships take on more meaning. They are communications blenders – mixing everything from what we are working on to what is going to be on our DVR that evening.
Here’s the rub either way, get your communications off email. Nearly all the benefits detailed in the article apply equally to blogs and wikis as much as they apply to Twitter…
Dell & Green
We’ve placed a big emphasis on being the greenest technology company on the planet… more evidence of realizing that vision today. New Strategic Oxygen research out this morning has Dell edging Apple and HP in a national survey of consumers. Key findings include:
- “Saving energy” ranks first in importance to U.S. consumers considering green electronics (54 percent); “design” (5 percent) is near the bottom of the list of attributes and “image” (4 percent) is dead last.
- The number one barrier to green sales of consumer electronics in the U.S. is “lack of awareness” (53 percent) – that is, brands are not adequately educating consumers on the energy savings and other environmentally-friendly aspects of their products. The number two barrier to purchase is “price” (45 percent).
- Consumers say they rely heavily on information on a product’s “packaging” (33 percent), a “brand’s web site” (32 percent), and “independent brand comments online” (28 percent) rather than seeking green product input from “friends / peers” (13 percent).
- Consumers still are reticent to pay premiums for green gadgets: 57 percent say they do not expect to pay premiums and are not willing to pay. Only 15 percent of consumers say they are expecting premiums and are willing to pa
Marketing value
Interesting read from USA Today on marketing “value” – the new imperative for every marketer during the current “economic challenge”.
- In an October survey, BIGresearch found 47% of consumers have become more budget-conscious in the past six months.
- When it comes to buying apparel and electronics, shoppers are most interested in hearing from their peers about products, retailers and past shopping experiences. In a recent survey, conducted for the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association by BIGresearch, consumers say that word of mouth is still the number one influencer in their apparel (34.3%) and electronics (44.4%) purchases.In addition to first-hand knowledge, product reviews (36.8%) and retail advertising inserts (29.2%) – or circulars – will also resonate with consumers in their electronics purchases this holiday season.
- The ad message of choice: value. “Value is the magic word,” says Kash Shaikh, spokesman for Procter & Gamble’s (PG) fabric-care lines. “In these economic times, people are doing the math in their heads, and they’re being much more thoughtful before making purchases. … Now, we’re going to be even more focused on helping consumers see value.”
- That’s particularly hard on name-brand marketers, who are more vulnerable in this economy to shoppers trading down to cheaper private-label goods. Even before this crisis, in a June survey by Consumer Reports publication ShopSmart, 29% of women said they were buying more generic or store brands than they were a year earlier. In the year ended Oct. 5, unit sales for private-label liquid laundry detergent were up 14%, according to tracker Information Resources.
- As the economy continues its bumpy path, more brand wars are sure to come, says marketing consultant Jack Trout. “Without a doubt, marketers are focused more on taking business from their competitors,” he says. “We’re seeing the return of hard-hitting advertising. … You could say, ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get aggressive.’ “
Classic….
Wall Street Journal article on job swaps between Google and P&G and the digital struggles of a consumer product company has the following quote…
“The worst answer you can hear from an agency is, ‘Don’t worry, we have a group to handle interactive,’ said David Bell, a Google consultant, during a session with some P&G job-swappers at Google’s New York office. ‘Interactive isn’t a group, it’s everybody’s job,’ said Mr. Bell, who himself formerly headed Interpublic Group, a major advertising-business holding company.
Twitter for PR
Great little preso on Twittering for PR…
