Rule #2: Don't Repurpose, Reimagine. Creating multiplatform strategies that
connect with audiences where they live doesn't just mean posting television
spots on YouTube in the hopes they go viral. In a medium where the
possibilities are endless, television is the jumping off point to much more
interactive and engaging experiences. You've got to invent new ways to help
your customers make your brand their own. Case in point: HBO's Voyeur
Project.
Rule #3: Don't Just Join the Conversation -- Spark It. Out of the over
600,000 branded pages that Facebook Page Tracker monitors, a mere 57,000
have more than 1,000 "fans." Apparently, most people don't want to be
friends with a brand. If you want to be part of the conversation on social
networking sites, be the party that initiates it -- through compelling
experiences that keep customers talking. Case in point: Johnson & Johnson's
BabyCenter.
Rule #4: There's No Business Without Show Business. Your brand is a
story; tell it. Don't just sell product; sell the problem it solves, the
feeling it gives, the status it conveys, or the value it embodies. But
beware of pushing to transform your brand's website into an "entertainment
portal" simply for entertainment's sake. In the on-demand era, the best
branded entertainment experiences are P-O-S-itive -- that is: personalizable,
ownable, and sharable. Case in point: Degree antiperspirant's webisode
series "The Rookie."
Rule #5: Want Control? Give It Away. "User-generated content" (UGC) might
not be cutting edge (it's been featured on ABC-TV's America's Funniest Home
Videos for nearly twenty years), but it's a big-time buzz builder. Young
consumers, especially adolescent males, seem more than happy to create their
own video ads to upload on YouTube and email to friends. How do you give
away control while simultaneously getting what you want? Ensure rewards for
making UGC promote your brand, rather than mock or bash it. Case in point:
Doritos' $1 million contest for creating a Super Bowl commercial, which,
according to the company, generated $36 million in free publicity for the
brand before and after the big game.
Adapted from THE ON-DEMAND BRAND: 10 Rules for Digital Marketing Success
in an Anytime, Everywhere World by Rick Mathieson (AMACOM; April 2010;
$24.95 Hardcover; 978-0-8144-1572-6).
© 2010 Rick Mathieson
Author Bio
Rick Mathieson, author of The On-Demand Brand: 10 Rules for Digital
Marketing Success in an Anytime, Everywhere World, is an award-winning
writer and leading voice on marketing in the digital age. His insights have
been featured in ADWEEK, Advertising Age, Wired, Broadcasting & Cable, and
on MSNBC, CBS Radio and NPR, while his next-generation business models have
earned recognition from USA Today and Dow Jones Interactive. His first book,
Branding Unbound (AMACOM 2005) was widely praised in the business press. A
regularly featured speaker at industry events, Mathieson also serves as vice
president and creative director for Creative: Advertising & Interactive
Media, one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent advertising agencies. He lives
in San Francisco, California.
For more information, please visit
www.rickmathieson.com and
www.ondemandbrand.com , read the author's blog, become a fan on Facebook,
and follow him on Twitter!
