A couple of month's ago, bald brother (and fellow crayonista), Greg Verdino and I took the stage at the iMedia Financial Summit in NYC. Our pitch (for the uninformed; our pitch was part of an agency shoot out, in which two agencies pitched for a mock piece of business. The case study at hand was, at its core an exercise in crisis communications management; centered around the acquisition of a local bank, by a much larger bank ) was, on the surface, something along the lines of a "customer bill of rights". For those that were really paying attention, our pitch was more than just gimmicky, vacuous marketing speak. Our pitch was about more than just marketing; it was a pitch for organizational change.
Sure, we could have pitched a catchy tag line with all the bells and whistles of a blown out, above the line ad campaign--but our core strategy had a lot more than taglines, widgets, gadgets, banners, buttons, apps and flash microsites (not that we would ever pitch a flash microsite--yes, I have a problem with them...always!). Our core strategy was to listen to the needs of consumers--in their own words, and then amplify and empower these consumers in order to allow them to collaborate with the brand. It is becoming increasing obvious that when brands and consumers co-create, on a level playing field, great things can happen!
Oddly enough, ING just launched a new campaign entitled, "We, The Savers". It has all the trappings of a modern social media/interactive marketing campaign, however for the life of me, I cannot understand how this campaign passed a few basic tests before it went live:
The bottom line is, we are at a time when we need valuable, utility based marketing in order to make the most of our marketing dollars. When the belt buckle gets tight, the powers that be will look for ROI and true proof points that marketing dollars are being spent intelligently--and I just do not see it here.
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Sure, we could have pitched a catchy tag line with all the bells and whistles of a blown out, above the line ad campaign--but our core strategy had a lot more than taglines, widgets, gadgets, banners, buttons, apps and flash microsites (not that we would ever pitch a flash microsite--yes, I have a problem with them...always!). Our core strategy was to listen to the needs of consumers--in their own words, and then amplify and empower these consumers in order to allow them to collaborate with the brand. It is becoming increasing obvious that when brands and consumers co-create, on a level playing field, great things can happen!
Oddly enough, ING just launched a new campaign entitled, "We, The Savers". It has all the trappings of a modern social media/interactive marketing campaign, however for the life of me, I cannot understand how this campaign passed a few basic tests before it went live:
- WIIFM (what's in it for me)
- The campaign wants you to sign a declaration of things that YOU will do--not ING. Maybe I am missing something here, but if this is a social campaign, where is the dialogue. If I go ahead and sign this thing, how does ING intend to continue the conversation.
- In essence what ING is saying is, sign this thing and expand our marketing effort--no thank you! I can be fiscally responsible on my own.
- One of the points in the declaration is about being heard by our government--ING, if I sign this, will you help my voice become amplified? Are you prepared to send a lobbyist to congress on behalf of this document?
- Does This Site Even Exist?
- In a world where you are how yo are found, a flash microsite that is invisible to search engines is as good as non-existent. Sure, a ton of money will be poured into TV and out of home, but when was the last time you actually took note of a marketing URL, and then proceeded to go to it?
- Most consumers don't want to be blatantly marketed to, without any value being offered. URL call out's from traditional media work, but I would love to see what the direct traffic is to this site (e.g. how many people get there from traditional media)
- This is not an interactive campaign in my eyes, it is a traditional one
- In a world where you are how yo are found, a flash microsite that is invisible to search engines is as good as non-existent. Sure, a ton of money will be poured into TV and out of home, but when was the last time you actually took note of a marketing URL, and then proceeded to go to it?
The bottom line is, we are at a time when we need valuable, utility based marketing in order to make the most of our marketing dollars. When the belt buckle gets tight, the powers that be will look for ROI and true proof points that marketing dollars are being spent intelligently--and I just do not see it here.
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