It's always a function of perception. What is great customer service to me may be horrors to you. What is a snow storm for me in Atlanta may seem like flurries to my friends in Boston or in Canada or in New York State.
For Max the inch of snow that fell in Atlanta yesterday seemed like a blizzard.
Lessons Learned: Don't assume that your perception about your product/service is the same as your customer's experience.
In the summer of 2006, 
Coca Cola learned a lesson that reflects it's 1970 tagline "It's The Real Thing" when EppyBird dumped a bunch of Mentos in some diet coke bottles and created a viral video that rocked the fizz off of the World's Most Valuable Brand.
Sidebar: Being Reasonable has an interesting post about the history of Coke taglines.
Coke executives saw first hand how consumers can take over the perception of a carefully crafted brand message. The Real Thing was what the consumers made it .. not the message controlled by the brand. Even a brand as powerful as Atlanta-based Coca Cola. Read more: Media Post article (free registration required)
The story's gone round and round from blog-to-blog for months. What is new is the lessons learned that Tom Daly, Coca Cola Global Interactive Marketing, shared at the Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association, AiMA, meeting last week. Congrats! to Wade Forst, Spunlogic, who chaired the event.
Tom's presentation focused on Coke's entree into consumer generated branding. His talk was especially interesting to me since we had volleyed emails last summer about the Diet Coke/Mentos buzz on the blogopshere. I encouraged him to join the conversation but seems Coke wasn't ready go that route.
Sidebar: An organization's culture is a major determining factor of when (let's not say "if") employees can actively participate. In the meantime, monitoring the discussion is the first step and Coke is doing that. But that's a post for another day.*
Tom described two video strategies. The first was "Poetry in Motion Challenge" hosted and judged by the EppyBird Guys.
The second was a winter holiday v-card (video) strategy - Holiday Wishcast - developed in conjunction with YouTube. Coke provided people with the opportunity to create viral v-cards on YouTube. Video insert options included creating your own, downloading a YouTube video or a classic Coke commercial. Max loved this CGM video where the pooch sings carols .. he joined right in .. virtual worlds and offline worlds intersecting!
People could then choose to send their cards to friends and relatives or share them with the world at Coca Cola's Wishcast site. As with text e-cards the v-cards could be customized with a personal greeting.
Marketing included traditional, interactive and blogger relations: press campaigns by YouTube and Coca-Cola, targeted search and online marketing, animated Web ads, communication to influential bloggers and podcasters. In addition Coke's presence on the v-card provided a viral reinforcement of offering.
7 Lessons Learned
Branding 2.0: The New Online Community
1. This is Complex - It’s complex and it carries risk
2. Fish Where the Fish Are - Stop trying to get them into your pool first. The prize isn’t the Prize. The Experience is the Prize
3. Users Love to Watch Our Ads - More than they hate advertising.
4. Play to the Team’s Sweet Spots - More team is easier than wrong team.
5. Leverage Search - Especially for things you just invented.
6. Understand Consumers’ Multiple Motives for Engaging - Get ok with them.
7. Let Consumers Defend You - They are more passionate and authentic anyway.
Diva Comment: Coke learned that social media / the blogosphere self corrects.
Yes, I realize there was no RSS feed. Yes, I realize that Coke did not actively participate in the conversation (see above*). Yes, I realize that for some the strategies Coca Cola implemented may seem like teeny steps, but for an organization that is known for doing things by the corporate book it is a giant leap and an entree into what may lead to other "social" aspects of social media marketing.
Yes, divas and divos, there is a difference between consumer generated content and social media. The difference between social media and consumer generated content is the integration of the people within the organization to exchange ideas with customers and other stakeholders.
Thanks to David Vanderpoel, North Highland. On Web Marketing, for provide the sides which included that above text. North Highland is the management consulting firm that assisted in the development and execution of the strategies.
Friday Fun is Diva Marketing's virtual happy hour from cosmos to Jack to lemonade. A waiting for the weekend 'playground' time to be sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just plain silly.
Friday Fun wraps up a week that began with a post, Social Media Networking, about how to make friends online and ends with the importance of Best Friends complements of Max, my Westie pup and his best friend Tab
the Cat.
Max and Tab romp and run and wrestle as seven year old Lindsay (Tag's person) tells their story. It's a feel good watch that I hope you enjoy and brings a smile to the start of a wonderful weekend.
This one is special for Max's fans .. especially Wayne Hurlburt's sweet mom in Canada, Alf Nucifora who insisted Max would be perfect for me, and Donna Lyons-Miller (GourmetStation) her husband Jeff and the Royals who take such good care of him when I'm On The Road.
Now the marketer comes out .. let's spin this with a little experiment. I don't know about you but I am really curious to understand how those little YouTube videos bubble up. Is it the number of views? The voting? I can't even pull this video up in a category search. I have not a clue how anyone found it.
Best Friends: Max The Dog and Tag The Cat Stats: 2:25p, 3/9/07 - Views: 63 Favorite: 1
Any help you can give to a viral or wom pass along to encourage people to view the video http://youtube.com/watch?v=WWT6y1K7y9A would be appreciated. Periodically I'll post updated stats. Let's make Max a featured YouTube Favorite!
business astrology for fun -
from The Astro Divas Paula Dare & Donna Page
Today Venus trines Saturn which is good for being objective and practical in business matters. This is a good week to take the opportunity to be alone and contemplate your business strategies. What are your goals? What is working and what isn’t working?
Enjoy your week. Take time out of your busy schedule to relax and smell the coffee.
