REICH COMMUNICATIONS

Engagement... again

I wrote about engagement a few weeks ago.  I said it's becoming overused, to the point where it may be losing its meaning.

So here I go, writing again about the e-word. This time, I'm prompted by ad guru Erwin Ephron, who writes about engagement in this week's Mediaweek.  Aside from not meaning much, he writes, it does make for good copy.  A search of ad trades showed 2,748 articles written about engagement. (I wonder if that includes mine?)

Ephron complains that engagement has been abused, being stretched to be considered a tool like targeting, reach or frequency.  "It has become the bumper sticker for any new measurement pretending to provide advantage," Ephron says.

I think engagement is a result -- one to be desired, but a result, not a tool.  Maybe the ad folks will eventually come up with a way to measure it, so Magazine A can tell advertisers it "engages" more readers than Magazine B.  But the marketers, if they're doing their job well, will know when something has "engaged" their customers.

Everybody's talkin'

Everybody's talking about it.  Conversation.

Business Week covers it this week, in a piece written by David Armano. It's the frequent subject of Valeria Maltoni's aptly-named popular blog Conversation Agent.  And it's the subject of an ambitious online collaboration called "The Conversation Age" that's being organized by Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton, with input from 100 bloggers. (See more about it in the footnote below.)

In the 1980s and 90s, "dialogue" was a popular word in business.  It got to be so overused that it became a verb, as in "Let's dialogue about it." Businesses often said they wanted a dialogue with their customers.  But the venues for those dialogues were too often heavily controlled (news conferences, focus groups), slanted (focus groups) or one-way communications that eroded any real value for either party as a true sharing of information or ideas.

With the advent of the internet, email and, most recently, blogging and other social media, it has become more feasible for business to engage in a true conversation, defined by Webster as an informal talk or discussion.

Companies now have the opportunity to converse with their customers, gaining valuable feedback on products and customer service, and gathering input to help shape future marketing plans.  But it can only happen if business breaks down the barrier that often inhibits the two-way communication that is conversation. 

    *  Companies must learn to really listen. 

    *  They must treat their customers with the respect and attention that allows and encourages true conversation.

If not, the so-called conversation will really be just another form of one-way communication.  Those businesses who fail to use the new media venues to create true conversation with customers will miss out on the benefits of a major marketing breakthrough.  In missing that opportunity, they risk being left in the dust.

Join "The Conversation Age," an e-book featuring submissions from 100 bloggers, all addressing the subject of "conversation" from different perspectives.  In the spirit of community, proceeds from the sale of the book wiill go to Variety International, a charity dedicated to helping children around the globe.  For more info, visit Drew or Gavin.

Bloggers love to share -- but what happens when it's for commercial gain?

In my two months of blogging so far, one of the most encouraging things I've seen is how sharing and supportive bloggers are.  They're eager to help others get noticed and read by tipping, links and kind references.  There seems to be very little ego in the marketing blogosphere.

So it doesn't surprise me that Drew McLellan, on getting his 1,000th comment at Drew's Marketing Minute, invited the author of that comment to write a guest post.  What a wonderful and generous way to mark a milestone.  And how fortunate for me that the 1,000th comment happened to be mine.

Sharing information, ideas and credit for those ideas is a major reason so many of us become active bloggers.  But what do you do when someone asks you to share information when it's for their commercial gain?


Blogs are becoming recognized by marketers as an important form of social media that can influence and motivate consumers that marketers want to reach.  Public relations and advertising agencies are starting to reach out and pitch bloggers, in hopes of gaining positive write-ups about their clients' products and services.

In the past several days I was on the receiving end of my first two pitches from PR people.  Each represented a different end of the spectrum of professionalism.

I explain more, with examples of how to and how not to pitch bloggers, in my guest post at Drew's Marketing Minute.  Come on over to Drew's and check it out...

 

An ad campaign wins awards... but does it work?

I'm a newspaper junkie.  I've written a few times here about the problems newspapers are facing, with supposedly declining readership and genuine loss of ad revenues.

So I read with interest Mark Goren's post at Transmission Marketing, where he reports on the Montreal Gazette's new ad campaign winning honors at the annual Marketing Magazine Awards. 

Mark correctly asks a key question: Did this award-winning campaign sell any more newspapers?

Ironically, the answer is a resounding "No."  In fact, the Gazette's readership declined by 10% last year.

The awards committee obviously thought the Gazette's ads were great. But if they didn't do they job they were designed to do -- sell newspapers -- how can they be considered award-worthy?  Yes, it's nice to recognize a well-produced commercial, or a good musical bed, or a clever headline.  But shouldn't effectiveness be a consideration when determining what ads get honored?  How do you give awards to a campaign that has failed?

Mark offers three good ideas for how the ad budget could have been spent to sell more papers.  His ideas could apply not only to The Montreal Gazette, but to just about any newspaper.

1) Hire young talent with a passion for the city.  It's about content, after all.  Most of us now get our news virtually as it happens from news radio, TV and online.  Good writers who speak to the readership can give their take on the news, offer deeper insight, and make us think. Wouldn't it be nice to have water-cooler buzz about a newspaper columnist's words, rather than about the latest exploits of trash celebrities? 

2) Go online.  We've talked about this before. Even we newspaper junkies have to admit that future growth for papers is online. Put good content online and they'll come.  Why not try creating a reverse flow?  Have the online paper point to a more detailed story or related info in the print edition?  It might stimulate newsstand sales.  Worth a try?

3) Open the archives, Mark suggests.  The New York Times sells some of its classic newspix.  The archives can be a treasure trove to draw readers, and it can also be an added revenue stream.   Some advertisers might want to associate their name or products with the material in the archives.

Any other ideas to help newspapers grow their readership, whether in print or online?   

A friend in need

One of our dear friends is hurting and needs our love.

CK lost her Mom early Sunday morning.  It was a sudden thing Friday night and Christina had to rush down to Alabama early Saturday morning in hopes of seeing her one last time.

She's very close with her Mom.  They'd speak almost every day.

It's never easy to let go of someone you love, at any age.  I know.  I lost my father almost nine years ago, and I still think of him every single day.  When I do, I smile as I remember so many good times.  But it's a smile tinged with sadness.

It will take some time, but I know CK will eventually be able to think of her Mom and smile and feel secure knowing that her southern Momma's love is still alive.

The outpouring of love she'll be getting from her online friends will help get her through the rough road ahead.  CK is always one to give of herself, as you all know.  Now it's our time to give some back to her.

                                                     With love.