Biz Blog Profile Series: Fresh Perspectives - Cheskin
04/26/2005
Biz Blog Profile is a behind the scene look at how corporations, non profits and higher education institutions are using blogs to support their marketing goals.
Cheskin is an international strategic marketing research firm that embraced blogging before blogging was "cool." Way back in 2003, before Mark Edeleman and Bob Lutz hit the CEO blog scene, Christopher Ireland and Darrel Rhea were blogging at Cheskin's blog Fresh Perspectives.
Fresh Prospectives is a muli author blog that reflects the views of 25 diverse staff members including designers, strategists, marketers, researchers and Jennifer Gray, who holds an especially intriguing title - VP of Experience. Cheskin's blog is a great example of how a large service marketing firm (from a traditionally conservative industry - marketing research) can leverage blogs. Sidebar: Thanks Jennifer for your help with this case!
Biz Blog Profile: Fresh Perspectives
About Cheskin
Cheskin is a consumer strategy firm
with a history in marketing and design research. Our core belief is that
authenticity, meaning and relevance inspire trust resulting in lasting customer
relationships. This philosophy has been the basis of our work for many of the
Fortune 500 companies, across a wide range of
industries.
Why Cheskin Is Blogging via Fresh Perspectives
We first heard of blogging at
the 2003 TED conference. It was new
and we like new. We blog because it’s the most immediate way to show Cheskin is
the sum of its parts – our employees. We put a ton of energy into building
eclectic and seasoned teams to answer a variety of client needs. Blogging
amplifies voices that typically are silent on a corporate website. It also
sparks internal and external debate and thought – a cornerstone of the Cheskin
culture.
How Blogs Fit Into Cheskin's Marketing Strategies
It’s a part of the strategy. Some of
our bloggers have a loyal following, but blogs usually have a narrow target
audience. It has, however, become a surprisingly effective way to market
Cheskin. Blogs provide
an unvarnished cultural immersion for candidates and
clients.
Selling-in To Management
Our then-ceo, Christopher Ireland, liked the idea and challenged our then-marketing director, Denise Klarguist to make it happen. Calling on a few Cheskin friends, like Stuart Henshall, to get the ball rolling, we published our first blog within six weeks of first hearing about blogs.
How Cheskin is Marketing the Fresh Perspective Blog
We aren’t. It’s on our website. We
highlight it on our front page. We link to it in our email signature
lines. We talk about
it. Other than that, it’s become a very active ‘passive’ marketing strategy. We
do very little to market our blog, but increasingly, our blog is marketing
Cheskin.
Lessons Learned
The technology and design interface
matter, so spend time on it. Designate a blog champion or a
blog-spotter. When you hear something good, make a habit of saying, ‘blog that’.
Encourage the good bloggers – applaud them and send good blog ‘fodder’ their
way.
Keep an eye on your blogs. A naively
written blog or a fringe point of view can create problems. Don’t censor, but do
pay attention. Podcasting and project-based blogs
for project teams are what we’re looking into now. Christopher Ireland, Cheskin Principal, On Blogging It's refreshing to point my clients in the direction of our blogs for frank and up-to-date information on topics of interest. While blogs can occasionallly be off-mark or not exactly what I would say, it's great to see a group of people thinking, exploring and having the guts to share that with the outside world.
Future
Direction