At the end of June I am speaking at DNA://09 Digital Now Australia a confernece with presenting partner agencies G2, TNS, GroupM and Google to explore how digital is morphing the traditional disciplines of PR, Media targeting, Research and Creative and forcing marketers to reconsider the real meaning of integrated marketing.

The idea for this conference was suggested by research guru, Jonathon Sinton, at Research International (now TNS) who had recently completed a landmark study called Digital Asia, across a bunch of Asian countries, including Australia.  The study is one of the most detailed and insightful maps of consumer behaviour online that I have ever seen – it is consumer focused, not technology focused and will help marketers create more effective, impactful digital strategies.

The challenge we have put to ourselves was to take this consumer insight/understanding and filter it through the lense of our respective marketing expertises and identify what the most practical and usual actions are for marketers right now: hence digital NOW australia!

Looking forward to seeing you there.  Please feel free to post any questions and I will aim to address them in my paper, if i can!

I first read the Cluetrain Manifesto about 10 years ago, when I was living in Tokyo, and running a digital agency that created humble Web 1.0 websites.  This was a long time BG (Before Google), BFB (Before Face Book) and BT (Before Twitter).  Re-reading it today, in preparation for an up coming speaking engagement, I was spell-bound by how prescient much of the Cluetrain still is.  I highly recommend it to you if you have never read it.

Markets Are Conversations

The manifesto was written in 1999 by Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger. It is a set of 95 theses organised and put forward as a manifesto, or call to action, for all businesses operating within what is suggested to be (at that time) a newly-connected marketplace (the Internet).

A powerful global conversation has begun. Through the Internet, people are discovering and inventing new ways to share relevant knowledge with blinding speed. As a direct result, markets are getting smarter—and getting smarter faster than most companies.

The ideas put forward within the manifesto aim to examine the impact of the Internet on both markets (consumers) and organisations. In addition, as both consumers and organisations are able to utilise the Internet to establish a previously unavailable level of communication both within and between these two groups, the manifesto suggests that the changes that will be required from organisations as they respond to the new marketplace environment.

Here are a few of my “favourite” picks.  Seriously, these sound like an instruction manual for Social Media, long before such a thing even existed:

• Conversations among human beings sound human.  They are conducted in a human voice.
• Markets are getting smarter, more informed, more organised.  Participation in a networked market changes people fundamentally.
• People in a networked market have figured out that they get far better information and support from one another than from vendors.
• There are no secrets.  The networked market knows more than companies do about their own products.  And whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone.
• What’s happening to markets is also happening among employees.  A metaphysical construct called “The Company” is the only thing standing between the two.
• Companies can now communicate with their markets directly.  If they blow it, it could be their last chance.
• Companies need to lighten up and take themselves less seriously.  They need to get a sense of humour.
• Getting a sense of humour does not mean putting some jokes on the corporate website.  Rather, it requires big values, a little humility, straight talk, and a genuine point of view.
• Smart companies will get out of the way and help the inevitable to happen sooner.

Have a look at it.  I would love to hear your thoughts…….

Opportunities are at an all-time high, but the question is how companies will pursue those opportunities. Cutting back and hunkering down may get you through the short-term crisis but will not position you to be a leader in the future. That’s why you need a mindset that says: “I’m not just going to survive—I’m going to thrive.” Obviously, you must be realistic about what you need to do to survive in the short term, but the trick is to do those things in a way that moves your strategy forward.

Key points from the article include:

• Companies that survive the financial crisis by identifying and exploiting innovation will serve as economic growth engines in the future—and will be the industry leaders of tomorrow.
• This is a time of unprecedented opportunity to rethink offerings, markets, business processes, and organizational structure—and to improve them to achieve growth.
• Success will depend on leaders who are able to stabilize the company as they identify and exploit opportunities, find new market niches, create innovative new offerings, and restructure and reposition.

Blender Clip 1 – Have we Lost all Trust?

Indira Naidoo and Paul Taaffe discuss the loss of trust rising from the financial crisis, and talk through how this loss of trust goes beyond the financial sector and now contaminates all businesses. Will Australian citizens demand higher levels of transparency and accountability as a result

Blender Clip 2 – How will we Raise Money?

Paul Taaffe and Robert Gottliebsen walk through the picture of the banking system and the implications of foreign banks withdrawing from Australia. With so much pressure on the domestic banks as a result, how can companies raise the money they need? Companies will need to rethink their communication strategies as they turn to alternative sources for their funding.

Blender Clip 3 – Changing our Strategies

Paul Taaffe and Indira Naidoo talk through the strategies companies will need to embrace to improve their communications. With transparency and authenticity at front of mind, companies will need to find new ways to communicate with their widening number of stakeholders and the general public.

Blender Clip 4 – Clearer, Stronger Communications

Paul Taaffe states that governments and companies will need to communicate clearer and stronger than ever before. With people connected globally through the internet and other means, if companies don’t shape the agenda they can, then they risk having their agenda shaped by others. What does this mean for marketers now?

Seems like Microsoft, in the US, has finally found a positioning to take on Apple’s cool-factor and knock people out of the reality distortion field that envelops that brand.  Microsoft is aiming squarely at people’s wallets and budgets: as the cheap yet powerful alternative in the downturn.  Don’t get me wrong, I am a big Mac fan and I love my iPhone, but for many people on a budget paying for style is simply wasting money, and that is what Microsoft is tapping into.

In their latest ad, a cute girl sets out to buy a laptop with a large screen for under $1,000. Checking out an Apple store, she storms out in frustration, saying “I’m just not cool enough to be a Mac person!”

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer thinks the downturn will signal an upturn for Microsoft:

“The economy is helpful,” Ballmer said recently in New York. “Paying an extra $500 for a computer with a[n Apple] logo on it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense in this economy.”

And guess what – it’s working.  Over at the Microsoft Watch blog, Joe Wilcox crunches recent computer sales numbers from NPD and sees:

    Windows sales in Feb are up 22% y/y, with revenue up 1.4%. 
    Apple Mac sales are down 16.7% y/y, with revenue down 23.3%

Not sure what the figures are like in Australia, but I would hope the folks over at Apple are rethinking a Mac’s price/value equation and asking themselves whether focusing on their Green credentials is the right message in this environment.  Could Apple have missed the mark?  If so it would be the first time in years.  It will be interesting to see how the new guard at Apple deal with this new market trend, especially now Steve Jobs is not at the helm.  

The article confirms several themes that we have discussed at both recent Blenders:  Firstly the trend towards thrift will not disappear after the downturn and there will be a fundamental change in consumer psychology.

The trend towards thrift will not disappear when the economy picks up. For one thing, those banks left standing after the bust will be far more parsimonious with consumer credit. For another, many people will still be intent on rebuilding their nest-eggs, which is reflected in sharply rising rates of saving. Sociologists also detect a distinct change in people’s behaviour. Until the downturn, folk had come to assume that “affluence” was the norm, even if they had to go deeply into debt to pay for gadgets and baubles. Now many people no longer seem consumed by the desire to consume; instead, they are planning to live within their means, and there has been a backlash against bling.

Secondly, there has been a collapse of trust towards companies and brands, with a lasting impact being that companies will have to be more transparent.

Past downturns have also stoked anti-business feeling, which dissipated as growth returned. But the sheer scale of the failings that have come to light recently mean that suspicion and wariness will not vanish so easily this time around. In response, firms will need to be even more transparent in their dealings with customers, who will punish them severely if they fail to keep their promises. 

Finally as we discussed extensively at the first Blender Session, the downturn will also accelerate the use of social media as both a way to empower consumers, but also as a powerful new marketing channel for brands:

Social media make it harder for brands to pull the wool over consumers’ eyes, but they also offer canny companies a powerful new channel through which to promote their wares and test new products and pricing strategies.

I think Klaus Schwab the Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum clearly captures this challenge in this preface to the 2009 report of this years forum in Davos:

“….Restoring trust and confidence will require an honest and deep review of our underlying values and ethics. Business needs to look deeply at their systems of remuneration and governance. Industry leaders, policy-makers and regulators, as well as consumers all have to consider the damage wrought by excessive greed. In today’s highly interdependent world, the pursuit of short-term gain is not a sufficient driver of optimal decision-making. The systemic and intergenerational impact of our actions now are more important than they have ever been before – our ethics, as well as our governance institutions and regulatory systems, must somehow reflect this new reality. The 39th Annual Meeting was just the beginning of the search for new solutions – the real work starts now.”

This is the topic of our second Blender – which is this afternoon!  I am really looking forward to some juicy debate and insight from our panelists.  Check back next week for the video highlights!

At this Blender,  we will talking about how this crisis can and in some cases already has impacted on the reputation of the business and the confidence of consumers in Australia. Importantly our expert panel will be discussing how business needs to adapt its processes and governance in order to survive.

To what extent is this not only a financial crisis, but also a communication crisis? Have events over the past six months highlighted a market of corporate excess fuelled by the search for greater ’shareholder value’ and stellar performance? What happened to the ’solid performer’?  Have companies lost the reputation war with stakeholders and what does the Australian community now view as ‘value’?

We have some great panelists

• Robert Gottliebsen – Commentator, businessspectator.com.au
• Indira Naidoo – Consumer & Environment Consultant
• Paul Taaffe – Chairman & CEO, Hill & Knowlton Inc

I will report back on the conversation next week and we will have video highlights of the session, if you are unable to make it.  But we still have a few places left so if you are keen to come please let me know.

If you have any questions you would like me to ask the panelists specifically, please post a question here and I will add them to the audience’s on the day.

1. Are managing your budget tightly? – Are you backing your winners?:  There will obviously be huge pressure on you to cut back your spend – especially from your CFO and CEO as they seek to save costs.  With the right business case you may actually have an argument to increase the support behind your brands – particularly if you get your value proposition right and your brand is strong.  There are plenty of case studies of brands increasing investment during a recession and growing their business and share.  But lets be realistic, in the majority of cases the CFO will come around several times during the year, cap in hand, asking you to “ring-fence” funds or hand them back.  How do you decide where to invest?  In addition to the ROI analysis you will already by doing on all your campaigns (right?) my recommendation would be to spend where you are winning.  Look at your portfolio or products and brands and increase investment behind the things you know are working. Quickly cut your loses on the losers and focus your energy and budget on your most profitable products in the segments you are winning in.  This is not the time to be backing your no. 3 or 4. brands.

2. Are you staying close to your influencers?:  During a recession PR is very important both for your company reputation and also as a cost effective way to reach consumers.  There is a whole blog post from the Blender on the rise and role of social media, but the bottom line is you need to focus on your influencers, whether they be traditional media (I include online versions of offline media as traditional media) or bloggers, or social network groups.  By winning over your influencers, you can reach whole communities at relatively low cost.  Remember in the digital age the voice of one customer can quickly become the voice of a million.

3. Are You Winning at the First Moment of Truth?: P&G CEO AG Laffley said very succinctly: “In a more recessionary type of environment, more decisions are made in the store, so we have to be competitive in the store”.   Really there is not much more to say – if you aren’t winning in store, you are not winning.  You don’t want to be one of those brands that people say “oh yeah, I LOVE that brand, but i didn’t buy it!”.   At the recent WPP Retail forum in sydney David Roth from The Store said “your brand needs to convey its value proposition within 5 secs from 5 metres away!”  He calls this the 5×5 model.

4. Are you flexible & nimble?: Whatever happens and whatever comes your way over the next 12-24 months, one thing is really important – stay on your toes and be prepared to act quickly.  Don’t stick your head in the sand and pull the proverbial doona up over your head.  Although you need to still have an idea of your long term plans, what is crucial in this environment is that you are managing your business quarter by quarter and month by month – be prepared to change your plans and work closely with your suppliers and customers to ensure that you are responding to their needs as well.  Where you want to be at the end of the this? When the upturn occurs?  Use this vision as your brand’s strategic North Star – but how you get there needs to managed on a day to day basis.  This is not the time to set and forget!

5. Are you engaging & delighting your customers? This may sound like a no brainer.  But in all the stress to get your pricing, distribution, retail and promotional strategies right don’t forget one thing that will probably above all else ensure you stay on top of the shopping list:  Engage and delight your customers.  People still want to be entertained, they still want to be rewarded and they still want to feel special.  In fact probably more so in these times, the brands that show empathy and surprise their customers with small or big moments of joy, escapism, luxuary, pampering are the brands that will definitely still still be here after all the other dinosaurs are long gone.