Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Rule #3, Post 2--Lesson 4 Keep it Real

One point Mathieson tries to make clear is that we should be authentic in our attempts at sparking conversation. Do you agree or disagree? Also in light of this, what do you think about the notion that many celebrities are paid upwards of $10,000 per tweet by Ad.ly? Do you think this will be an effective marketing platform in the future? Do you have examples that worked or did not work?

8 comments:

  1. Re: authentic - absolutely agree. You'll be exposed and punished for anything less.

    Re: blogola in general - the Stokes text touched on this, too. I have no problem with it provided that it's clearly marked as such (paid, sponsored, consideration provided, etc).

    I don't have any specific examples of success or failure, but paid celebrity endorsement across any and all channels seems like it would be effective.

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  2. "Bottom line: If you're going to engage in social media, keep it honest, open, and authentic." - Mathieson

    I agree with the overall concept completely. People can and will read insincerity which will ultimately hurt the brand. I also agree with the 2009 FTC guidelines for disclosure of blog compensation.

    According to the FTC endorsement guidelines http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005endorsementguidesfnnotice.pdf (81 pages) the following are used are criteria for disclosure:

    *Whether the speaker is compensated by the advertiser or its agent
    *Whether the product or service in question was provided for free by the advertiser
    *The terms of any agreement
    *The length of the relationship
    *The previous receipt of products or services from the same or similar advertisers, or the likelihood of future receipt of such products
    or services
    *The value of the items or services received

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  3. I don't think they have to be totally genuine. For example, I looked up Ashton Kutcher's twitter page: http://twitter.com/APLUSK
    and his page with the Nikon camera's he endorses: http://www.ashtonscoolpix.com/
    His twitter description talks about how he likes to tell stories and collaborate.

    What's my point? If he tweets about his Nikon camera we will probably take that as him doing his job. But he also tweets about apps and neat websites he likes b/c of their functionalities. So with 5.8m followers is he doing that for free? He could pull it off b/c his other "endorsements" align with our perception of him. We may never know if he's getting paid.

    If he started talking about Dove' Men Products http://content.dove.us/mencare/
    Then I might get suspicious and he would lose credibility.

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  4. Having celebrities endorse your product needs to be genuine and transparent. When the consumer understands the relationship between the celebrity and the product there is more trust. However, I think people tend to perceive celebrities as non-influential to their decision to purchase. The influence to pick one product over another is better explained by the influence of mass consumer reviews. I think many consumers actually trust bloggers/online reviews over celebrities when it comes to promoting common consumer products. Maybe it is me, but when I do research for a particular product in which I am going to buy, I will be heavily influenced by the many reviews from the average consumer instead of a celebrity (unless that celebrity happens to be a subject matter expect). To me, if a product is good the consumer should be advocating it and therefore, marketers should put more emphasis on giving the masses a voice over a celebrity. Though, celebrities do a good job at brand awareness and do lead me to research a product which I may not have known about it. In all, I would say the celebrity endorsement does not influence whether I buy the product.

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  5. Being authentic is a must for continued success on the web. One can be non responsive and ignore customer conversation from a campaign a few times, but once credibility is lost, it is very difficult to gain back. If the customer feels the feedback or campaign is a waste of time, they will become negative and dismiss the effort and potentially the brand. Authentic response is a must on the web.

    Most anyone especially celebrities and young people will endorse just about anything for a price.

    Case in Point - http://consumerist.com/2010/09/kfc-pays-college-girls-to-advertise-double-down-on-their-butts.html

    This can be a great tool if you know your customer base is influenced by the endorser. Many fans will try anything their favorite celebrity suggests or advertise. Payment is fine for the endorsement as long as it is authentic.

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  6. Authenticity is important! Instead of something being endorsed by a particular celebrity, I'd rather look at the ratings from regular customers. It seems fake to me when celebrities continually throw out a product for you to see. It's different if it is their product specifically - such as a fragrance by JLo or Paris Hilton, they are endorsing their own products. I find that "normal" customers can hype a product that actually works, and do it well via something such as Amazon or Yahoo shopping.

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  7. I agree with Michele, however, I can see that if you have the right focus, younger teens, it could be very effective. For the most part, I think adults will see though it and realize the celebrity is getting paid to tweet. However if they also provide their followers with something of substance, like how to improve your golf swing or links to other interesting sites, it could be a success.

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  8. (expanded from my other blog)

    I also think credibility is more important than star power. At least in situations where a product or brand is very targeted for a specific market.

    Perhaps with a younger audience, pop star power may be a much more powerful tool. But as we get older and more independent, we are desensitized to all of the typical media saturation, and we become much more immune and oblivious to it in our day to day lives. In other cases we become critical of it, and are actually turned off or annoyed by these types of ad placements and obvious endorsements.

    Finding a way to be impact-full while also being more savvy and natural is the key. Paying keen attention to the eccentricities of the various markets and art form or medium, as well as finding a way to connect on their level is the key. Instead of marketing to a larger popular group or market, more targeted efforts and precision are needed.

    This is where I believe social media really gives a concrete grasp of different cultural and social groups and the things and concepts that they value in relation to the the standard pop culture. It really depends on the brand and product being marketed, and they target audience they wish to appeal to.

    When a leader or innovator (person or group) in one of these groups embraces something it will be much more readily accepted by other similar people with these tastes. It comes down to creditability and "street cred." Expertise in a ideal or concept. Much like a digital hipster movement...

    It has to mean something for them to personally for a brand to have any relevance in their world. With the large amount of things to buy or do and ideas and brands that we are bombarded with on a daily basis, we go crazy or become "overloaded" if we don't learn to filter and skip over those things that we don't find important. In this way, an ad can be completely wasted. What good is a viewer, if that person does not remember or come away from the ad with something tangible, or at least somewhat long lasting? You want them to connect at a personal level, and come away from that experience moved, educated or stimulated. they should also remember the brand and connect that brand in their mind to some feeling and idea.

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