Target Misses the Mark with Back to School Ads

by ciaran on September 1, 2009 · 5 comments

I’m a big fan of Target, in general. But their latest ad campaign, aimed at back to school shopping moms (that would be me) has me driving around the Target lot aimlessly, looking for someplace else to shop. I’m thinking maybe we could get pencils at the supermarket instead? It’s so depressing, I want to skip the Target run entirely and go directly to CVS. Screw the school supplies. I’ve got to pick up some anti-depressants!

In brief this commercial shows a dutiful and slightly Stepford-like long suffering mom “Julie” who loves Target and does what teacher says for her kids.  Julie is going through all the motions of sending her young son off to school. We see her lovingly making him a nice lunch, writing him a special note. The son meanwhile wipes his ass with the note  pawns off the note on his next unsuspecting victim, some girl who’s heart he will break as surely as his mom’s. Mom’s efforts to make her son a nice lunch (it gets traded), keep her house orderly (he cruises his bike through the house) etc are all met with complete and utter disrespect from the “Ha ha ha, kids today, aren’t they cute!?” scamp and she never kicks the brat’s ass stops smiling that beautific prozac smile, even as she mechanically makes another sandwich. 

Target you kind of creeped me out on this one. I’m ok with thinking my kids still like me. At least a little. Even if you’re so sure they don’t. Was that commercial aimed at the kids perhaps? Because last time I checked, they don’t drive. Or pay at checkout. And guess what? They hated the commercial too. Good thing. Or I’d have to kick their asses.

The motto is “Expect More, Pay Less” but I am not buying it. Far as I can tell this mom is expecting less, at least from her relationships.

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No Room for Competitors on the Social Media Brandwagon?

by ciaran on June 24, 2009 · 5 comments

Want to know a key difference between old school marketers and new social media marketers?  Consider their agendas and how they view the competition when planning events.

Old school marketers approach events in a territorial fashion. Virtual events are no exception. They want to own it. If you are hosting an online or live event with Old School Marketers, there will be a clause in the contract that there will be no discussion about brand x, brand y or brand z. It’s all about control in their case, maintaining control of the message, directing the message. You will likely be asked to exclude competitors from the event as sponsors.

Not so with the new school social media marketers. They are more likely to host an online “discussion” in which they welcome comparison to their competitors products and group information sharing. Occasionally they won’t even object to competitors being present at the same event, exclusivity being secondary to the general discussion.

I cannot proclaim one way or the other most effective. With age comes wisdom but rigidity can also be stifling. Careful attention must be paid to your goals and your audience to turn a successful marketing campaign into a successful social media campaign.

As a rule of thumb:

Traditional Marketing

  • controls the message
  • has a concrete goal of spreading a specific message to a specific audience
  • does not invite comparison or discussion, seeks to offer brand specific education
  • fuels brand recognition and familiarity

Social Media Marketing

  • welcomes feedback on the campaign message
  • has a specific audience in mind, but welcomes those who are not in the target group as well
  • invites comparison, discussion and a chance for consumers to gather information/research general topic
  • fuels consumer loyalty and word of mouth marketing efforts

It’s important to understand the difference in approach between traditional marketing and social media, and how this affects your own brand marketing efforts. Know your comfort level when it comes to comparison with your competitors and approach your social media efforts with your eyes open, and expectations realistic. Some things don’t translate well: Old School Marketing efforts conducted in a social media forum where participants are expecting discussion, comparison and information sharing, will come across as controlling, in authentic and info-mercial esque. This can backfire and leave a bad impression on your potential customers.

On the other hand, a lack of focus with your social media efforts can also backfire, and fail to make your product memorable to potential consumers. Worst case scenario; it can help to promote the competition. Bottom line: when approaching an online campaign, set clear goals about your messaging, and guidelines for interaction and comparison.  Choose your strategies wisely. An educated plan for making your brand (positively)memorable and making the most of the media chosen,  is essential for embarking on any marketing adventure.

Have you been caught in the chasm between new and traditional marketing? How has this affected your campaigns?

I’m Ciaran Blumenfeld. I’m a  writer, entrenpreneur and consultant. I specialize in creative, relevant strategies for successful social media campaigns. Need help with your brand’s messaging? Want to brainstorm a way to make a big impression on your consumers at your next event or come up with a campaign that will resonate? Drop me a line.

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Mixed Messages: Surprise Yourself, not Your Customers

by ciaran on June 9, 2009 · 2 comments

You think you know everything about yourself. You go along happily with your assumptions until one day something snaps. You realize that Chinese food is not your favorite after all. Or that your hand eye coordination is not so bad, actually. People change over time, but so do impressions, including  impressions of ourselves. Perhaps this is because many of our self impressions come from outside input. They are ingrained and we take them on as our own. We don’t question them. We walk around telling people our favorite color is blue because we once said that. When we were four. And it stuck. Messages are a powerful thing.

I’ve come to terms with a couple of surprising revelations about myself recently. I realized I am a homebody. I probably always have been. As a child I wanted every playdate to be at my house, on my turf. And I still prefer to do the entertaining. I get tense about travel. But I’ve always also been labeled a party girl and a wanderer. Surprise! Apparently I’m a homebody who likes to push her comfort zone. Equally surprising is the realization that I am an optimist. I’m easily upset by the world’s foibles, and always assumed this meant that I was a pessimist. I’ve even been accused of being a pessimist due to my many (usually short-lived!) rants. But I now believe the opposite is true. My disappointments stem from the fact that I continually expect the best of people and life, something I hope never changes. I get over it fast and go back to expecting the best. In other words – I’m an optimist! Great news!

Being a mystery wrapped up in a conundrum, inside of an enigma is part and parcel with the human condition. We constantly seek to define and redefine ourselves. This process should not, however, be a part of your product or service’s messaging. It’s difficult enough to embrace new messages about ourselves, even when the new message comes from within and we know ourselves well.  Self examination comes naturally. Product message examination does not come naturally. It takes time and multiple exposures to embrace a new idea about a product. Constant mixed messages are the death of any marketing message or ad campaign, and likely to lead to complete rejection of the product for lack of understanding what it is really about. Consumers are faced with enough confusion and choices. Don’t expect them to decide your message for you.

If there is one thing I would advise people to do with their branding and marketing messages, it’s get the story straight, right from the start. It’s fine to have a surprising message, but not when the surprise is that you send mixed signals. Revel in your own complexity. But keep your professional story as simple and clear as possible.

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Going to BlogHer? Join me at the SocialLuxe Lounge!

by ciaran on June 8, 2009 · 0 comments

socialluxe-invite

Are you going to BlogHer 09? If so I hope I’ll get a chance to meet you at the SocialLuxe Lounge. I’m thrilled to be hosting this party with five other fabulous women: check out their SocialLuxe Lounge hostess profiles!

We’ve put a lot of time and thought into this party. We love and respect the brilliant bloggers around us so much. To us they are the new celebrities. Which is why our party theme is: Pamper, Primp, Polish, Party! We’ve created our own award series and will be honoring bloggers chosen by you and our VIP panel, with a BlogLuxe award.

I hope that you will take a minute to vote for your favorite blogs. If you’re going to be in Chicago for BlogHer 09, I can’t wait to meet you! RSVP today!

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Keeping up with the Jessicas

by ciaran on May 28, 2009 · 9 comments

Forget about keeping up with the Joneses.  If you’re keeping score of who’s who and what’s what in Social Media, you may have no idea who the hell the Joneses even are/were. But there is a great chance you’ve heard of the Jessicas. If the Joneses are noted for their conspicuous consumption, the Jessicas are noted for their conspicuous presence. Here there and everywhere you look, you will find these women. Their wealth is most evident in their followings, their “reach”, their google ranks and the fact that Nielsen’s has ranked both Jessica Smith and Jessica Gottlieb as power moms. 

Why do Jessica Smith and Jessica Gottlieb fascinate and intrigue so many people? And what do they have in common? They are each like celebrities in twitter circles, entities unto themselves and oft attacked. Each of them has endured a barrage of criticism in the last year, from detractors, from fans and even from each other. And yet they emerge, with grace, and apparently, respect for one another. 

I can’t tell you exactly what it is about these two women that has me tuning in for more. I can only speak in character  abstractions. Courage, confidence, chutzpah, wisdom, acumen, connectedness, boundless energy. These are the qualities that everyone scrambles for.  It’s the essence of their Jonesian/Jessica-esque sheen.  It’s not easy keeping up with the Jessicas. Love them or hate them, you have to acknowledge them. And try and keep up, if you can.

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Social Media is Not My Mother Tongue

by ciaran on May 18, 2009 · 3 comments

Social media lingo got your tongue in a twist? Half Starbucks speak and half techie talk, it’s definitely a romance language. But not one that always make sense. Even to those who speak the most fluently. Keeping up with social media speak can be a full time job. It’s an evolving language. There’s not even a sound for a  # hashtag (perhaps we should adopt tongue clicks for this and smooch sounds for upbeat emoticons)

Certain words have been extra well used in the Social mediasphere of late. My ears prick up when this happens. I try and catch how they are being said, used, and/or misused. My three current favorites are:

authentic
organic
transparent

The first two, I’m hearing a lot from PR firms and marketing departments. The third from skittish (perhaps rightfully so) bloggers and legal departments They are often used in a sequence together like this:

“Hi there Momfluential! We’re looking for an authentic post, something organic? Totally transparent?”

Confused? Let me tranlate:

“We want you to rave about how much you love our junk. But don’t hit them head on. Just sort of slip it into your story. On the side. You have to sound like you mean it, and also could you please find a way to tell people that you got it for “free” without sounding like an infomercial? So we don’t all get sued?”

It’s a tall order for most bloggers to fill. Which is why we need lingo. Lingo insulates us from saying the silly thing we really mean. We want you to pull a rabbit out of your butt here! No wonder so many bloggers are being criticized as inauthentic, and their posts scrutinized for secret sponsors. No wonder we’re pulling out our hair and labeling each other as Blog Whores. We’re all missing the point here. The point being relevance.

Authentic, organic and transparent alone, though well intentioned, are an unpalatable soup without the essential ingredient of relevance.

Relevant is not something that can be forced. Without it your reputation as a blogger or a manufacturer will quickly become tarnished and your authenticity questioned. An irrelevant product slipped into a personal anecdote is about as organic as a twinkie at a farmer’s market. No one is fooled.

Brands and bloggers looking for success in Social Media need to start with the main ingredient. How is their product relevant to the consumer they are trying to reach. How does it make their lives more meaningful, more manageable, more memorable? This is not something that can be dictated with a one size fits all slogan. Social media is all about trust, and finding your niche.

Authentic organic posts with a side of transparency? The modern equivalent of a decaf no foam venti sugar free vanilla mocha soy latte. All lingo, no buzz.

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Too Much of a Good Ning? The Strip Mall Effect

by ciaran on March 30, 2009 · 0 comments

No, I don’t hate Ning. Or strip malls even. I’ve even been known to pop over to ours and get my nails done, pick up the dry cleaning and buy last minute party supplies at the party chain store.

But I don’t really hang out there with my friends.

When Ning first showed up on the scene, it was a lot like when our community finally got a grocery store, Hairmasters, Starbucks and gas station. Elated. We finally had somewhere to go! Shyly we ventured out to get coffee hoping to to make friends and make this town our own.

But before the paint had even dried we started to notice something. Our little So Cal town? Looked a hell of a lot like the one our cousins in Northern Va. call home. Down to the same couch and artwork at Starbucks. The Hairmasters Salon was identical to the one two towns over. It was the old “there’s no there there” problem. Strip malls strip communities of their individuality.

I am now experiencing the online version on this phenomenon with the mushroomlike growth of Ning communities. One after another they are popping up. With irritating similarity. There are times when I forget which site I am actually on. Different sites, same themes and structure, and often the same people. We’re like me and my desperate neighbors. Clearly we want to hang out. But once we realize our digs have no charm, no uniqueness, we move on. I’ve even made up a name for my frustration with this. I call it Annoyning.

At the same time I see why this is happening. It’s just so *easy* to get your community up and running with the Ning platform. It’s too tempting. Gone are the days when you had to hire someone to build a costly custom community that took months to get up and running. You can get your community up in under an hour with Ning. It’s instant gratification. And for some sites, it’s enough. They can build a thriving community on the Ning platform. Some small niche groups are making happy hermit-crab like moves from forums/boards to Ning as well. But for others? Is all this Ning-ing too much of a good thing?

I’ll be interested to see what happens to Ning communities in the coming year. I predict that the ease of building communities will lead to a plethora of them and a backlash that is not at all dissimilar to the backlash against strip malls.

It’s tricky biz. We can’t all be Old Town Pasadena. But where would you rather hang out? Pasadena or somewhere between the Generic Dry Cleaners, Karate Place and KFC?

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Instant Momification

by ciaran on March 18, 2009 · 5 comments

Moms are not only taking over the internet, they are taking over the dictionary. Lately I’ve been seeing so many mommified words being bandied about that I thought I’d start keeping an informal dictionary. Got a new one for me? Leave a comment and I will add it!

Momarazzi – the legion of moms taking pictures at every school event
Momtourage – you and your backup
Mompreneur – mommy with a biz
Momfluential – Hey! That’s Me!
Momnesia – I forget what this one was
Mamanista – fashionable mama
Momedy – mom comedy
Momentum – when a bunch of moms get going…
Momnicient – moms who know it all
Momumentary – a film about moms
Momversation – converstation between moms
Momcierge – mom who makes dinner reservations
Sanctimommy – mommmy with a stick up her butt who never gives her kids junk food
Mommified – being utterly wrapped up in mom culture
Mominee – the poor sucker who was nominated to collect $ for the class party
Mominate/tion – the process by which the poor sucker was elected
Momsense – something only a mother would understand
Momtastical – things a mom makes or says
Momakin – a woman who wears a bathing suit within a month of birthing
Momtini – martini with a pacifier in it, drunk during a playdate
Momkini – bikini with a kinder cut, tankini
Momnificent – her royal momness
Mamalicious – haute mommy, yummy mummy
Mamaste – yoga mommy
Momnipotent – because mom said so
Mompetition – my kid’s in the 99% ile. And yours?
Momocrat ™ – Demo moms
Momjeans – the 80′s called and wants their high rise back
Momisode – your own mommy reality show
Mamarama – too many moms at mommy and me
Mamapalooza – too many moms at drunco bunco

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Start Up Princess Academy

by admin on February 14, 2009 · 1 comment

Yesterday I attended Startup Princess Academy, where I had the great honor of presenting a talk about pitching to bloggers and site owners. I was blown away by all the information shared by the other speakers. Maria Andros spoke about the power of video marketing, Serena Erlich shared the latest and greatest social media tools, Geneva Wasserman and Kristin Kliese talked about the importance of branding, Alexis Neely offerred up her inspirational story of her own business experience and Barbie Davalos and Karie Reynolds of Grand Ave Baby gave some invaluable tips on how to make the most of your PR campaign – what to do after you get press.

I’m always in a daze for a few days after a conference like this. My brain needs time to process all the info overload. I’m so energized and excited to put all the tactical, practical tips I’ve learned into practice. It really was a wonderful conference, there was so much nuts and bolts and how to info. I’m so glad!

I wanted to share my own powerpoint presentation here, for those who wanted to review it. We were going pretty fast! Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or ask a question!

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