Marketing Throughthe Tsunami Lens
The dynamic, always-on nature of the blogosphere quickly gravitates to unmet needs. That's the heart of effective marketing.
The dynamic, always-on nature of the blogosphere quickly gravitates to unmet needs. That's the heart of effective marketing.
I’m so blogged out these days, sometimes I can’t see straight. Over the past year, I’ve authored or created over a dozen blogs, delivered a dozen or so Webinars on blogging, attended two highly intimidating blog conferences, answered an unstoppable number of blog creation questions from clients, and helped launch a blog portal that analyzes over 4 million blog posts a day.
Sometimes, I find myself stepping back and saying, “Dude, do you really get blogs, or are you just another impostor?” Every time I blink, another blog trick, tool, ad gizmo, or blog “world theory” emerges. How do I make sense of it all?
Enter Sundar Kadayam, my company’s CTO. Sundar is a data-mining guru and one of the core architects of our blog portal. Late one night, an email showed up in my inbox that had absolutely nothing to do with selling product, driving revenue, or hitting the numbers with our board. It had to do with the recent, horrific tsunami.
Say what?
In a powerful burst of passionate reflection, Sundar shared some thoughts on the December 2004 tsunami, specifically, on the important, mission-critical role blogs played. I read his note with almost embarrassed humility. It dawned on me this “tech guy” knew far more about communication and marketing than Mr. Marketing himself.
Blogs played a critical role in communicating about the tsunami, far more significant than Dan Rather’s scrutiny, Wonkette’s gossip, Matt Drudge’s scoops, or the recent blog “toe-dipping” of GM’s CEO. With almost natural instinct and unaided serendipity, bloggers brought voice, texture, passion, relevance, and immediacy to this tragedy. The work continues, albeit far below the radar of those removed from Southern Asia. Sundar and his team transformed that memo into a wonderful showcase of tsunami insights. Today, I’ll highlight a few communication points from his spot-on memo:
Key takeaway: Our world is becoming more transparent, and the blog-enabled “Web recorder” is archiving real-time consumer/citizen experiences and narratives. This includes experiences with products and services.
Key takeaway: We live in a rich-media, consumer-controlled surveillance culture. Rich media is changing the game. The same factors that historically made TV so persuasive and emotionally engaging are the core building blocks of the blogosphere.
Key takeaway: The dynamic, always-on nature of the blogosphere quickly gravitates to unmet needs. That’s at the heart of effective marketing.
Key takeaway: The Web accelerates our thinking about global communication. We must think more broadly about the power of global influencers. When we launch new products, for instance, global influencers matter.
Key takeaway: Blogs are more than billboards or diaries. They’re a foundation for real-time collaboration — a better, faster, cheaper organizing platform and principle.
Key takeaway: Bloggers hold us accountable. If we make promises or commitments, they’ll monitor our progress. If we fall short of expectations, they’ll out us. Bloggers are de facto copy cops.
I close with personal thanks to many of my office colleagues, some of whom I gloss over in my frenetic day-to-day tasks. I’m a marketer in theory. But in so many respects, the engineers and technologists in our office, many of whom have family and friends in the affected areas, turned out to be the real marketing experts in the context of understanding this horrible crisis.
For that, I’m grateful. I hope the viral effect of my own message enlightens others.