Experience, Social, Word of Mouth. Is it All Just Advertising?
Troy Young: Video Egg
I just wrapped up two days at the Ad Age Digital Marketing conference in NYC. This post will be short and perhaps bittersweet as I am about to jump on a delayed flight back to Chicago (translation, I’m tired).
The panel I took part in was the official “social media” discussion. It was a great conversation, and the conference itself conducted polls from the audience in real time. Here’s how usage of social networks broke down according to the attendees there:
Facebook: 39%
LinkedIn: 37%
MySpace: 12%
Other: 7%
None: 5%
Ok, now that I got a few stats and links out of the way, let me get to the good stuff. One of the panelists was Troy Young, formerly of digital agency Organic and currently CMO of Video Egg, an internet video service. Troy made some eloquent remarks during the panel but two really stuck with me for different reasons.
“I never met a marketer who didn’t like viral”
“It’s all just advertising”
Now, remember, the panel was on social media and the audience primarily marketers and Ad execs—so my gut reaction to the viral statement was an “amen”. The truth about Viral is that it’s an elusive goal and few initiatives that you think will go viral actually do. And sometimes, it’s not for the right reasons.
Now for the advertising quote—to provide a little extra context, it was made at the end of one of Troy’s statements that succinctly painted a picture of how all things social and digital are impacting marketing. But his summery of “it’s all advertising” threw me off.
“Social Media” aside, I really have to wonder if what I do is actually advertising. Having led teams on complex transactional sites and even things like ATM designs—I wonder…is that advertising? During my turn to speak on the panel, I told a very simple and true tale on my way to the conference:
Upon arriving at Midway airport and checking in on one of Southwest’s kiosks—I was taken back at how simple and good the experience was compared to others. I shared my positive interaction on the social utility known as Twitter and gave the kiosk “4 out of 5 stars” in my write up. As I landed and checked my Twitter account in additional to e-mail etc. I received a personalized note that said this:
“Thanks for flying us and the nice words about the kiosk! Enjoy NY! “
So, I’m not sure if “it’s all advertising”—not to say that advertising doesn’t encompass a lot of different things, but I don’t know if it’s that simple. My story had more to do with having a good experience and being able to share what I experienced. As we ponder these types of dynamics moving forward—it’s probably good to keep in mind that the disciplines of Design, PR, Advertising, Marketing and Technology will all play critical roles. I believe many of these roles are already blurring. And everyone wants to know the answer to this question:
“Who will lead the way”?
Would you believe I have the answer? The customer. Start by exceeding their expectations. Meet the needs they never knew they had. The rest will follow.
Last 5 posts by David Armano
- Highlights From Marketing 2.0, Paris – April 5th, 2009
- Friendship Isn’t Dead: The Strenghtening of Loose Ties. – March 19th, 2009
- Skittlemania Disrupts The Web (For A Day) – March 3rd, 2009
- Re-Thinking The Focus Group: Tropicana Design Flops – February 25th, 2009
- NBA All Star 09 – February 12th, 2009
Yup, yup, yup.
http://www.mpdailyfix.com/2007/12/design_is_the_new_advertising.html
good customer exp, whether delivered by human or device, is all it takes to delight us into becoming advocates in a world sadly lacking in said good exps. but brands will learn and then we’ll take what delights us for granted. would the cycle start over i wonder?
enjoyed your panel at the conference. to your point on customer experience and “is it all advertising”.. I don’t know if you stuck around to see Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com, speak but their entire marketing strategy is customer service. take your marketing budget, sink it into customer experience, you are creating your “brand” through that experience. someone calls with a complaint, invest money in talking with that person (not rushing them off the phone) and solving that problem (not fighting with the customer) and it’s a very “social” type of marketing, 1 on 1. I just thought that continued your panels conversation.
Is it all just advertising? If you think of everything that goes into creating a strong brand as advertising…..yes.
I don’t believe it’s all advertising, but instead it’s all marketing. For too long marketing has meant creating ads, but in reality advertising, PR, design, and even discovering customer desires on blogs all fall under the umbrella of marketing.
Isn’t it all seduction?
Thanks for this recap, but as a young professionnal, you are not helping me define my job : digital marketing, digital planner, digital experience designer, digital anthropologist ?
.
I’m going back to college until it is settled
Ok no, lets invent mixed fields (isnt “blurred” a little pejorative ?).
You are truly inspiring, thanks you.
Thanks for the great comments!
Toad, I prefer thinking that “experience” is the new advertising. Design plays a role. For example, a well designed product or service tjat leads to positive interactions and good experiences. Ultimately that drives a relationship with brands and preference. But hey, still glad you are writing posts like that.
David, brands that suffer from delivering poor experiences will need to do more traditional advertising. But maybe they’ll come around…
Ben, I did see the Tony and liked that talk very much. it was refreshing.
Mac, yes much of this can be rolled up into marketing ehich is broader than advertising. But not all of it.
Steve, seduction and lust are fleeting and non-sustainable. No, it’s about long term relationships with brands that we love. Imperfections and all.
Thibaut, sorry.
David: I very much like how you’ve summed the whole thing up as “experience” — mostly because that’s how the customer will likely internalize what we call a brand relationship.
And though I was writing off the top of my head with my question about seduction, the more I think about it the more I believe it’s valid.
It wasn’t meant in a sordid sense. And it’s not about brevity; I fully agree with you about longevity being crucial.
Being 10 years married, it is no longer obligatory for me to seduce my wife. But you know what? Predicting and attending to her needs unquestionably improves the quality of the relationship.
She’s heard me snore, seen me in sweatpants and inhaled me at my worst. And still she sticks around. Call me capricious (or a slut) but if a brand let itself go around me I would be gone.
(On principle, I have even deliberately avoided products because I thought their advertising was rubbish. If they can’t get that right why should I trust the product?)
My money goes where I can get the best experience from it; I’m not so willing to tolerate imperfections. I expect my products and services to always be on their best behaviour. These days, we all don’t have to go far for a whole lot of other choices.
Steve,
“My money goes where I can get the best experience from it; I’m not so willing to tolerate imperfections. I expect my products and services to always be on their best behaviour.”
That’s a good point. Relationships based on the quality of behavior a the experiences that come from it. Now we’re getting somewhere.
David,
I agree with Mac. I isn’t all advertising but it is all marketing and communications. And that’s a good thing. But whether or not we are talking business or personal interaction, at the end of the day, everything was say and do is both marketing and communications.
The “it’s all advertising” statement from Tony Young certainly got my attention, too. I don’t agree, and am in the same camp as several others that commented. Where I might differ is that I don’t feel it is all marketing, either. Some parts of marbut with social media we are clearly entering new territory of engagement and authenticity (per your Southwest/Twitter experience). I believe that this is why marketing and advertising traditionalists are in struggle mode right now, and that PR firms seem to be the vanguard of the successful integration of social media. It’s not about message. It’s about communication.
Lewis,
Is Amazon.com marketing or is it their service?
As a marketing professor who is relatively new to social media (better late than never!) I find this discussion very interesting. I agree that many people either have lost sight of what marketing is or really never knew in the first place. One of the first things I do in MBA classes is ask the participants what marketing is and I always get the usual responses – “advertising” or “sales.” Few if any get the fact that marketing truly begins with determining consumer needs and wants and developing products or services that will lead to mutually satisfying exchange relationships. I believe this is where social media can and will ultimately play the largest role, that being a way for firms to truly engage in conversations with customers to determine what type of experiences they want. It will be incumbent on organizations to be able and willing to move past the traditional reliance on market segments to recognize the vast differences that exist among consumers. I believe this will eventually lead to a move beyond brands as being the focal point of these relationships. For example, the movie and music industries have for a long time been star-driven but with the ability for those types of media to be disseminated among so many people it will become less about who it is and more about what it is (or at least that is my dream). In other words, I’m less concerned that the music is being made by a band which has strong brand equity and more that it is something I want to hear. The same will be true of products and services that will become demanded because those in my social network who I trust have recommended them.
“In other words, I’m less concerned that the music is being made by a band which has strong brand equity and more that it is something I want to hear. The same will be true of products and services that will become demanded because those in my social network who I trust have recommended them.”
Tom,
for someone who says they are new to the space, you are a fast learner!
Good stuff. Thanks for the comment. The entertainment analogy is right on too.
David,
IMHO if one stands in the shoes of the client and the consumer, we would not be siloed and there would be a different type of integrated marketing mix that included design PR, advertising, marketing, technology and more. The mix would generate messaging and experiences that would engage through numerous media channels that included TV, Print, etc and social networks/communities. If the customer was leading the way(which I agree is where we are going), would any of our current day silo’s be in a position to be discussing who leads?
Definitions play a big part in what we do and how we are defined. Creating great experiences IS Marketing – and for me that is not just about the experience related to the messaging. Product design is a major part of that experience.
I would contend that Amazon.com’s service is a part of their marketing strategy. Your SouthWest Airlines example is huge – Marketing? PR? Advertising? Which is it? What would South West Airlines say? What would the media spend have been to get your message in front of those same marketers and agency folks, and your twitter and blog followers? I bet that even if they had 2 people in their marketing or PR department following Twitter and blogs full-time, their fully loaded salaries would have been a fraction of what it would have cost to buy the media and creative to get to the same audiences.
Toad’s post re design was great. Design needs to permeate the entire chain – from product design, to marcoms, to marketer engaged WoM. And that raises the stakes for the product itself. Good products make for better product experiences and together or separately, those make powerful marcom messages and experiences possible. “…brands that suffer from delivering poor experiences will need to do more traditional advertising.” Didn’t someone once say, “Good advertising can’t save a bad product?”
For Marcoms, it means designing experiences on many more levels and being involved in product design as well – as you are. You are so right about the customer being the answer. The silo approach has got many companies and industries into heaps of trouble. And while silo’s are busy duking it out – consumers are going elsewhere and generating their own ads or content.
Gary,
Good points. Design, Marketing Engineering, Technology, Advertising, all part of a bigger ecosystem which consumers don’t nessicarily separate. I made that very point on my panel when the “who should lead” question comes up.
We’re tripping over ourselves trying to answer that question when in reaality, customers could care less about it. They want what matters to them—which is where we all need to start.
PS, download and read this if you haven’t already.
http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2006/04/experience_desi.html
[...] idea and how Experience Design can create memories. And, as David Armano points out in his latest Critical Mass Blog post, many of us have to come to understand that customers should be at the center of our attention: [...]
I think it’s all part of the overall brand strategy: Service, Relationships, Connections, Interactions.
Most brands define themselves in a vacuum and don’t allow people in. People first, brand second.
Your post inspired me to talk about not designing Stepford Wives experiences
http://tinyurl.com/2tews6
OK David, when are you going to become a profesional conference goer and corespondent? Following you on Twitter is like listening to a sports color commentator. When is one of the major publications going to pay for you to Tweet on their site? Would you do it?
Jon,
Well, thankfully many of these activities are part of my Job though I also have the bread and butter responsibilities too. But thankfully I’m given some freedoms and when Invited to go to a conference, I try to add as much value as I can, even for the people who can’t be there. And I can’t help that my personality comes through for better or worse—but hey, that’s me.
Glad you enjoyed. I learned a lot being in that environment.
Conversation Agency, good points on the overall brand strategy. Love the Stepford wifes analogy.
[...] to the point that in the changing world of marketing is customer service the new advertising? As illuminated by David Armano at the Ad Age, Digital Marketing Conference. And to this wonderful story of how Virgin went many [...]
[...] just read David Armano’s post “Experience, Social, Word of Mouth. Is it All Just Advertising?” on the “Experience Matters” blog. Once again, an excellent post, but this time I was [...]
[...] Experience, Social, Word of Mouth. Is it All Just Advertising? at Experience Matters Nice story from Armano about his experience with Southwest – and a nice Twitter surprise. Is it all advertising? (tags: DavidArmano, ExperienceMatters, logicandemotion, Advertising, People,) [...]
I always thought PR and Advertising are Marketing, and not some independent disciplines, but part of the big whole that we call Marketing.