Ms. Adverthinker

It probably goes without saying, but I love my job at Stone Ward. I must if I have been here for over 10 years, right? It is a great place to work, the culture is like family and creative work is what we do best. Who wouldn’t want to work here? Well, now is your opportunity. We are looking to hire an experienced account manager.  If you are interested, please contact me at ereeves@stoneward.com.  Here are the position details:

Stone Ward is seeking an Account Manager with 5+ years agency experience. Experience should include a demonstrated ability to think strategically about the client’s business and a demonstrated ability to direct and recognize results-oriented marketing communications that are on brand strategy.

The Account Manager will be required to provide business and marketing counsel to clients at an executive management level and oversee an associate account executive in the daily execution of client projects. The Account Manager will also oversee the client profitability and will be responsible for managing the client budget and agency revenue.  The Account Manager will report to the Director of Account Management.

Job responsibilities will include:

• Serving as an agency leader across all disciplines to lead an integrative approach to all client marketing communications.
• Acting as a leader for agency teams, creating a culture of team-level responsibility for achieving agency and client goals.
• Developing strong relationships throughout the client organization, particularly at executive management level, maintaining thorough understanding of client satisfaction and ensuring client retention.
• Maintaining a thorough understanding of client’s business, category, competitive landscape and customer base to ensure agency is proactive in delivering strategic marketing direction.
• Recognizing and contribute to creative account planning that is excellent, results-oriented and strategic.
• Providing strategic consultation about client’s business and marketing initiatives on a regular basis.
• Supervising clients budgets and billing, as well as agency profitability by client.
• Continuously seeking out education and information on communications tools, techniques and trends to apply to client’s communications initiatives.

Desired traits in an Account Manager include (in no particular order):

• Flexible
• Proactive
• Organized
• Innovative
• Cheerleader
• Collaborative
• Numbers nerd
• Detail-oriented
• Not reactionary
• Strong work ethic
• No shrinking violets
• Calm under pressure
• Know when to say “no”
• Ability deal with multiple personality styles
• Willingness to learn new things
• Willingness to take hit for team
• Good written communications skills
• Good verbal communications skills
• Producer-type personality
• Ability to defend creative
• Good time management
• Good creative instincts
• Ability for forethought
• Good negotiator
• Problem-solver
• Thought leader
• People person
• Open-minded
• Good listener
• Team player
• Multi-tasker
• Technophile
• Self-starter
• Passionate
• Confident
• Realistic
• Creative
• Diligent
• Patient
• Leader
• Coach
• Agent
• Calm
• Fair

About the Account Management department at Stone Ward:

The Account Management function at Stone Ward serves an extension of the client’s marketing department, with a specialization in creative communications and customer experience interactions. We are a partner in the client’s strategic communications planning, execution, budgeting and measurement.

One of the hot topics at South by Southwest this year was transmedia storytelling, the idea of using various channels to tell different aspects of your story. New research from the IPG Media Lab and YuMe lends further credence to the argument for use of transmedia storytelling:

“The study quantified some long-suspected but never quantified aspects of media behavior. Distraction media was ubiquitous, with 94% of TV and 73% of online video viewers using some type of companion/distraction media. While companion media included everything from laptops, video games and crossword puzzles to physical mail and musical instruments, the smartphone proved to be the true “disruptor” in regards to video attention levels. Of all of the companion media used, the smartphone accounted for 60% of TV and 46% of online video distractions.”

The article goes on to give statistics about the level of engagement with commercials and how viewers who fast forward through the DVR version actually pay more attention to the commercials than those that simply put their heads down to engage with their smart phones while the commercials continue playing. Think about the opportunities that exist for marketers using a transmedia strategy to drive the viewers to their smartphones purposely for the story and message continuation.

Back in January, we outlined predictions for the 2011 technology year that included an increase in mobile photo sharing. Half-way through the year, and we are seeing that prediction come true.

Instagram is now up to five million users and is adding about a million users a month.  According to a New York Times article this weekend, “Those who study the way people socialize online say cellphone photos are becoming an integral part of sharing and communicating.”

“Professor Sundar said people once tended to take photos on special occasions, like birthdays and vacations, then post a big batch on services like Picasa and Flickr and share a link with friends. But with the introduction of smartphones with improved cameras, coupled with the rise of services like Facebook and Twitter, people are more accustomed to constantly documenting moments and sharing throughout the day.”

And brands are starting to experiment and use the tools available to engage their customers with photography.

“Brands like Oscar de la Renta, Brisk Iced Tea, Kate Spade, Starbucks and Red Bull are also on the service. Cecilia Liu, digital marketing manager at Kate Spade, said the company added Instagram to its social media lineup this year. She said it was appealing because the company could mix in a little more personality and behind-the-scenes glimpses than it would on Facebook and Twitter.”

Starbucks was one of the first brands to sign on to Instagram.  Now, when you search the Starbucks tag on Instagram, over 10,000 photo hits come up.

“We’ve been using Instagram for a couple of months and think it’s a fun, different way to share photos of what’s going on behind the scenes,” says Product Manager Brad Nelson. “We’ve also found a lot of people already sharing Starbucks photos, so it’s been a joy to look through those.”

As people are using mobile photography and sharing to these sites to document their lives, what are they taking the most photos of? Food, of course.

And, to find all of this great photography online, last week, Twitter introduced a new version of its search that incorporates photos and videos.

Brands that are figuring out how to incorporate photography sharing into their engagement strategies are connecting with their consumers on a more intimate level.

Last year was one of significant growth for Foursquare: 3400% growth in 2010, according to the site.  Foursquare has released an infographic with some interesting facts.  Thinking about Foursquare from a branding and business-building perspective, these are a few of my favorite data points shared by Foursquare:

Knowing when a consumer is more or less likely to check-in and share their location with friends and followers can give a business the opportunity to offer special deals during slower time periods to try to drive traffic.

This graphic tells me when to stay home!

Clever.  Consumers love clever.  Brands should think about the unique qualities of their brands and leverage the data to make the consumer smile in appreciation.  Then, check-in because they want to be part of the inner circle offered by the brand.

The year 2010 proved that location sharing was relevant to the social consumer.  Foursquare has by far dominated that scene.  Some of the questions in 2011 will be:

• Can Foursquare maintain its dominance or will Facebook’s massive user base switch to using Facebook Places?  There is something appealing about the game aspect of Foursquare that encourages participation more than Facebook Places; but being able to tag friends with you gives Facebook an edge.
• Will brands figure out how to really use location sharing in ways that benefit consumers and get them talking?  Big brands like Starbucks have used it and small yet savvy independents have used it.  But what about those mid-size challenger brands that are trying to stand out?
• Will we see the apps for location sharing get more robust?  Some allow photos, some don’t; some allow tagging friends, others don’t.  What about multiple photo uploads to one check-in?  Or user rankings or reviews for each location?  How about options to leave feedback for the business versus posting it publicly to the check-in?  Will we see video sharing options built in?  Might we see some personal analytics tools for “defining” the user type?  How about varied privacy settings a la Facebook so that family can see all posts, certain friends can see limited posts, others can see more, etc.?

During the last few weeks of 2010, there were several studies released that revealed social media use by demographics.  As businesses continue integrating social media more into their communications executions, this information is valuable looking toward 2011 plans.  Here is a recap of stats from across the web; look for some more detailed thoughts on leveraging these findings in communications strategies in the coming weeks.

Twitter

In 2010, Twitter increased by more than 100 million users, bringing the total users to 175 million.  Eight percent of the American adults who use the Internet are Twitter users.

And these users are influential, with 16%  having more than 100 followers.  Of those queried, 62% said they post updates related to their work life, activities or interests, with 12% doing so on a daily basis.  Twitter users are nearly equally divided between those who check the site on a daily basis (or multiple times per day) and those who check the site infrequently or never. Just over one-third of Twitter users (36%) check for material posted by others on a daily basis or multiple times per day — this is roughly comparable with the two in five (41%) who say they check the site less than every few weeks, or never do so at all. The remaining one-quarter of users say they check the site for updates a few days each week or every few weeks.

Some of the groups who are notable for their relatively high levels of Twitter use include:

• Young adults: Internet users ages 18-29 are significantly more likely to use Twitter than are older adults.
• African-Americans and Latinos: Minority internet users are more than twice as likely to use Twitter as are white internet users.
• Urbanites: Urban residents are roughly twice as likely to use Twitter as rural dwellers.

Women and the college-educated are also slightly more likely than average to use the service.

Additionally, these new Twitter users are more comfortable sharing their personal information and show evidence of comfort with their online presence: were much more likely to provide a bio (69%), detailed name (73%), location (82%) and website URL (44%) as part of their public profiles. All of those percentages are more than double what they were in 2009. Also noteworthy is that 22.5% of users are responsible for 90% of all tweets.

Before getting too excited about Twitter stats, keep in mind that email use is still 38% greater than Twitter use.

Sources: Mashable, Pew Research

Facebook

Overall, 50% of all 500+ million Facebook users log on to Facebook in any given day.  Drilling down a bit, 81% of upscale Gen Yers (average age 27) use Facebook every day, nearly twice the number who watch TV or read newspaper content.

The average user has 130 friends and is connected to 80 pages, groups, and events.

Of the Gen Y users, 63% use social media to engage with brands and more than 50% say that Facebook, blogs and brand videos affect their opinions about products.  In fact, 44% of overall shares occurred through Facebook in 2010, up 33% from last year. That number does not include shares done via Facebook’s “Like” button, which means the actual, universal percentage of shares through Facebook is likely higher.  And, Facebook users are updating their status millions of times per day.

What are their sentiments when Facebook users are posting all those status updates?  Facebook did some analysis on their own users and Facebook’s data team found:

• A positive correlation between friend count and second person pronouns, total word count, communication, religion, swear words and sex.
• A negative correlation between friend count and past and present tense verbs, family and emotions.
• The time of day impacts word choice. Not only do Facebook’s users tend to talk about sleeping the most at around 4 a.m. ET, but they tend to talk about their work right before they head into the office.
• Positive and negative emotions are also affected by the time of day; Negative emotions tend to peak at around 1 a.m. ET, while positive emotions tend to peak at about 7 a.m. ET. More importantly, negative emotions tend to increase as the day progresses at the expense of positive emotions.

And, by the way, if Facebook was a country it would be the third-largest in the world.

Sources: Mashable, Mashable, Mashable, Problogger

Blogging

When it comes to blogging, as only half as many online teens blog compared to 2006, while users ages 18 to 33 also blog less than before. Blogging did see a slight uptick among older generations (ages 33 and up), but still accounts for a relatively small number of total users.  However, as of December, 2010 there are over 32 million WordPress publishers; someone is still blogging!

Sources: Mashable, Problogger

Online, in General

The Milliennials – those ages 18 to 33 – are more likely to engage in many online activities than older generations, namely social networking, using online classifieds, instant messaging, playing online games, listening to music, participating in virtual worlds and reading blogs.  Users ages 34 to 45, or the Gen X, however, are more likely than Millennials to visit government websites or get their financial information online.

Regardless of what they are doing there, Americans are increasingly spending more time on the Internet.  In fact, Americans are now spending as much time using the Internet as they are watching television, and the amount of time people spend on the Internet has increased 121 percent over the last five year.

Sources: Mashable, New York Times

Thank you to Roby Brock of Talk Business for the invitation to talk about building trust in this information age on his program. Check out the Talk Business site and watch the interview here:

Here are my full thoughts on the topic:

In the online space, we can find almost everything about almost anyone or anything. We are truly living in an information age. We are sharing information about ourselves, we are seeking information about others and from others. Everyone is doing it: consumers, businesses, and organizations. And they are doing it using social tools that allow for instant updates, instant sharing and easy searching. With all this information available, how do consumers know whom to trust? Do they trust the consumer reviews, or the expert analysis? Do they trust their individual friends or large organizations for information?

Whom to trust, as it turns out, is a bit of a moving target. Every year, Edelman conducts a trust survey.  In recent years, with the rise of social media and online reviewing systems, this trust survey has indicated that the public is more inclined to trust “people like me” over corporate entities. However, the economic recession has led consumers to become cynical (more so than they were already), leading to a swing in who and how they trust: (1) the public now wants to hear from credentialed experts and (2) corporate trust and transparency are now just as important as the quality of products and services from that company. Today’s consumers are more skeptical, savvy and sophisticated when it comes to online information.

Facing this modern consumer is daunting to businesses vying for the trust of their audiences: “Though it’s easier than ever to reach your customers, it’s less likely that they’ll listen. Today, the most valuable online currency isn’t the dollar, but trust itself.” (Trust Agents, 2009) So, how does a business work to build that trust and become a favored brand? Here are some starting steps for establishing trustworthiness:

• Be transparent. The online world is defined by the availability of information. To make that information available is to be transparent. Consumers rile at even thought that information they seek is unavailable to them for any reason. And, if a company or organization isn’t providing the information about themselves, someone else (a less trustworthy source) will do it for them and may communicate inaccurate information. Put it all out there.
• Be responsive. When consumers pose a question or express a concern, do not sit on the response in an effort at contemplation or corporate review “up-the-ladder.” Delayed responses only create more frustration among consumers and speculation as to the extent of a problem with the organization. Respond quickly, even if only to acknowledge receipt of the question or concern and promise a timely answer upon further research, if necessary.
• Ask for feedback. And share that feedback. And share the organization’s responses to that feedback. This will give consumers the views of other consumers “like them” and further demonstrate the transparency and responsiveness of the organization.
• Call on experts. Balance the information and perspectives provided directly from the organization and from consumer feedback with expert opinions and advice. These third-party insights will round out the perspectives consumers seek when information-gathering.
• Give them some face time. Use video to communicate the message. “People communicate as much, if not more, with how an idea is conveyed, than with what it said. Shifty eyes and raised shoulders can reveal anxiety; intonation can convey passion. The more non-substantive information the medium can convey, the more data a listener has to decide how trustworthy the speaker is.”

Executing all of these steps at once may not be feasible for a business just starting to engage with their online audience. It is okay to start out with one or two of these methods, then open up into full-on transparency as trust is established. As an example, one of our clients at Stone Ward recently decided to take the plunge into social media using a promotion as its diving board, but they weren’t quite ready for a full-time presence in the space. To introduce this new face to its audience, we created a microsite with a distinct URL separate from the home/traditional site. The idea was that this site would eventually become the community hub and live on past the promotion, but the promotion (sweepstakes) would help draw the initial audience to engage with the brand. Being new to the social media space, the client didn’t have the resources to manage a completely open site and respond as quickly or as completely as necessary to build trust. Given that issue, the site launched with a combination of pre-set content and consumer-contributed content, and allowed for question submissions to an expert. The pre-set content was a bank of “tips” that could be commented on by users, and encouraged user-submitted tips. New tips automatically generated a Twitter post and a Facebook post. The consumer-contributed content was a community forum where users could submit questions and get responses from other users. The “ask the expert” questions were posted with the expert responses for others to view. Additional engagement elements included a daily poll and music playlists that tied into the brand and promotion concept. Starting out with elements that didn’t require daily maintenance and monitoring allowed this brand to introduce themselves to the space, start building relationships and start establishing a basis for trust without risking alienation with an unavoidable misstep due to resource limitation. As a result, the site has lived on past the promotion end and the brand now has a manageable engagement tool that can be built upon when they are ready.

The bottom line: Provide honest and complete information to consumers and their trust will follow. Understand that making information available is necessary for social bonding and while it may feel like putting that information online makes an organization vulnerable to attack, there is a need to reveal that vulnerability to ultimately build trust and relationships. And, if you are not ready for the all the steps to building trust, start out small and build from there.

On Day 2 of SXSW Interactive in Austin, one of the sessions included “How to Create a Viral Video.” This was a panel discussion that included Director of Film and Video at TED, User Experience Manager at YouTube and OK Go band member. This was definitely a team of people who know a bit about the magic of online video.

Jokingly, they started the session by informing us that in order for a video to be successful virally all that was needed were boobs and kittens. It garnered a laugh, but is not necessarily untrue; there are thousands of examples of these successes.

But boobs and kittens won’t work for everyone. The panel had several useful tips for video success:

• Think about he way the video will be seen. If your end use is on the Internet, keep in mind that it will be viewed small. Use tight shots and close-ups so the viewer can actually see what is going on.
• Think about what you would want to watch. There needs to be an element of wonder and surprise. It is all about the reveal.
• Think about your end audience. Would they want to be impressed with a high production value or do they want to identify with the video and think they could do something like that. The production values of successful videos vary; it all depends on what your viewers want.
• Think about creating a smile. Content that goes viral is typically very positive. The negative videos don’t get shared as often. If you want to be a viral success, don’t be a Debbie Downer.
• Think about building a subscriber database before you have the content ready to share. Interact with this database and build your own community. It is not about creating content and hoping people will come.
• Think about how your community can interact with the video. Make people want to be involved with the video by encouraging and embracing shoot-offs, parodies and satires. All of these assist in the infectiousness of your original video.
• Think about engaging with your commenters. Don’t be the distant, anonymous creator. Foster and encourage the discussion.
• Think about aggregating great content that is already out there. You don’t have to create original content to bring people to your site; curate the great content that is already out there.

Small businesses are finally starting to figure out how to make social media work them.  Take Sprinkles, for example.  They were recently highlighted in this LA Times article for their smart use of Facebook:

“Each day on the website, Sprinkles announces a secret word, such as ‘ganache,’ or ‘bunny,’ or ‘tropical,’ or ‘love,’ and the first 25 or 50 people to show up at any of its five stores and whisper that word get a free cupcake.

“‘On Facebook, we can ask our customers what’s the next location they want,’ Nelson said. ‘What do they think of our next flavor? It’s an amazing way to communicate with our fans.’”

This is exactly how small businesses (or even businesses in general) should be using the social media channels: (1) not just pushing information out to their fans or followers, but providing them with a benefit for “friending” or following them, (2) engaging them in dialogue and asking for their opinions, and (3) giving them a reason to come back to your page again and again (or keeping them from “hiding” your brand’s updates from their news feeds.

Social media channels allow small businesses, that can’t afford a website or advertising to drive customers to a website, the opportunity to set up their own space in an existing community.  Increasingly, consumers are searching out their favorite brands on Facebook and businesses that are not there are missing the chance to connect with people (and all their friends).

One local small businesses that is using social media well is The House (on Facebook with just over 1300 fans) and @TheHouseBar (on Twitter with 136 followers).  The House uses these channels to update fans/followers on changes to the menu/hours, scheduled events and when they reopened after some remodeling invited just its Facebook fans to check it out the day before the official reopening.  I don’t think that The House even has an official website: on its Facebook page, the Twitter page is listed as its web address and on its Twitter page, the Facebook page is listed as its web address.

I am sure there are several other local small businesses using social media in a smart way; please send me any examples and I will post them.

Thank you, @DanaDB, for the LA Times article link.

Love this “Know Your Girls” video. Thank you, Yoplait.

Dell decided to target women with a section within their website dedicated to their computer needs: Della.  When the site originally launched, according to this NY Times blog entry, it “featured tech ‘tips’ that recommended calorie counting, finding recipes and watching cooking videos as ways for women to get the most from a laptop.”  Wow, did they look up female stereotypes and plug in everything that fell into that category?  I am surprised that a brand as large (and as experienced with customer service issues) as Dell can make a gaffe like this when targeting women.  To think that women only need a computer for diet tips and recipes is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard.  Women revolted:

“But the approach may have done more harm than good: A backlash erupted online, as both women and men described the Web site as ‘ridiculous,’ ‘gimmicky’ and, as one disgruntled Facebook member wrote on Dell’s Facebook page, ‘Lamest move ever!’

The resounding blowback prompted the company to amend the Web site, along with a note that stated, ‘Some of you have read this article over the last several days & will notice a few modifications. You spoke, we listened. Thank you for your ongoing feedback.’”

I didn’t see the site when it originally launched, but I think that it does a nice job of selling the product features and benefits now, without being too girly.  By far, the smartest thing included on the site is a section on giving.  With the purchase of Promise Pink netbook or PC, Dell gives a portion of the proceeds to the Komen Foundation.  And, there is information on how to recycle old/unwanted technology.   I can’t put my fingers on the statistic right now, but I have seen statistics that brands willing to give money/goods for products purchased are more likely to get a woman’s money.

Dell saved themselves by listening to consumer feedback and immediately making changes to the site.  They deserve kudos for that.  But really, they shouldn’t have made such a mistake with the site launch.

For those who still want to argue against the influence of women on the future and their impact online, check this out :

“…42 million women in the United States (roughly 53% of the 79 million adult women in the United States who use the Internet) participate in social media at least weekly. As they spend more time with social media, women are spending correspondingly less time with traditional media: 39% less on newspapers, 36% less time reading magazines, and 30% less time watching TV.” (source)

…

“The women who post to blogs are the most actively engaged. They spend the most time online. Over 80% also participate in social networks like Facebook, and over one third of bloggers also participate in Twitter. But more to the point, those who blog are more likely to be tech savvy, on the leading edge of trends, and invest time searching for new products online.” (source)

These stats are the result of a survey conducted by Blogher in March 2009.  We already know that more women are online than men.  And now we know how engaged they are in the online space and how influential they can be on each other: women reported that they are significantly more likely to make a purchase decision based on customer experiences reported on blogs.  They are relying on blogs for information on politics and news, technology/gadgets, cars and business/career/personal finance.  They are relying on their social networks for social activism, sex/relationship/dating, entertainment and shopping.

Any marketer targeting women should be leveraging the influence of blogs and social networks to communicate brand and product messages, as well as news and information.

• Provide a forum for these women to speak to each other and to you about the brand/products/news.
• Communicate back and worth with these women.
• Reach out to them in their world.  Show that you are paying attention and that you care what they have to say.  Ask for their opinions.
• Monitor what they are saying and address issues and concerns.  Or reward them if they are brand ambassadors.

An interesting video about the ways marketing has changed.

The talk about Twitter right now is abundant.  It seems that it has finally reached the masses and people (and companies) are starting to get more interested in it.  The Wall Street Journal has even written about it.  I signed up for Twitter about a year ago and write my own tweets pretty intermittently – some days I am very active, other days nothing (you can see my latest Twitter posts in the right-hand column on this blog).  However, I keep Twhirl open on my desktop every day and track many people and news organizations.  I am addicted to getting that feed directly to my desktop all day long.

It is an interesting social phenomenon: humans have always been curious about other people’s lives and thoughts, and now people actually want to openly share their lives and have found a way to deliver those straight to your desktop or cell phone instantly.  I am amazed at how open our lives have become, including mine.  I have always been a private person, but now I am sharing everything online and am having fun doing it.  Part of me feels like I have to do it out of fairness: I love reading everyone’s else’s information and I feel too voyeuristic if I am not sharing my own.

(If you love reading about people’s lives and don’t mind feeling voyeuristic, check out PostSecrets: “an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard.”  I am also addicted to this site.  Some of the secrets are funny, some are scary and many are sad.  I think this site has a interesting way of making people feel not so alone in the world.  It is also a cool mash-up of traditional communication (mail) with online communication (blog).  It reminds me of a more anonymous Twitter.)

For now, Twitter seems to be best for communicating up-to-the-second news updates and keeping up with your friends.  I am interested to see how companies will use it to communicate with their customers and if customers will actually “follow” companies through Twitter.  How Twitter will be used as a direct marketing tool has not fully been determined yet.  Marketers can (and should) be using Twitter to better understand their customers and their perceptions of brands/companies; we should think of it as an online focus group.  Through the Twitter search feature, we can plug in company names and see what people are saying about us and our clients.

A new Twitter project that I love is My First Tweet.  This was created by Noah Brier of Brand Tags-fame (I am jealous of his ingenuity when it comes to things like this).  My First Tweet is a database of people’s first words on Twitter.  He calls it “an anthropological dig on Twitter.”  Love this.

For those in Arkansas: Thank you to Lance Turner of Arkansas Business for the shout out on his blog as a local Twitter-er.  Check out what Lance says about Twitter here.  Blake Rutherford also recently wrote about his use of Twitter: see his comments at Blake’s Think Tank and follow Blake’s political commentary on Twitter.

You can follow me on Twitter here.

My dog Betty is the center of my world.  To me, she is a person–she has all the personality of a human, she is the size of a human (96 pounds) and she talks to me.  And, yes, I talk to her.  We have a relationship.  Last week I had a conversation with a client over lunch about the love we have for our dogs and their importance in our lives.  She told me a story about taking her dog to the Baskin-Robbins drive through to a cup of vanilla ice cream as a treat.  The dog knows the words “ice cream” and will behave if promised ice cream.  The dog recognizes the drive through and the girls who work the drive through recognize her.  I love this story and can picture the dog’s excitement as she is presented with her “treat” and gets brain freeze shortly thereafter.  Wouldn’t it be great if Baskin-Robbins included a menu item specifically for dogs?  I have actually heard of one of our local frozen treat shops doing such a thing.

It makes sense for brands to cater to dogs and their owners: there are between 40-50 million dog owners in the United States.  Ad Age is thinking the same thing:

“The pet market, I don’t need to tell you, is huge. Pet lovers will lavish more than $43 billion on their animal companions this year. Such devotion leads me to believe that non-pet marketers who can figure out a way to tap into all that pampering (The Wall Street Journal reported that formerly “bare bones” kennels have transformed themselves into posh daycare services that offer doggie massages and other amenities) will earn the undying loyalty of pet owners.”

The article goes on to suggest that fast food restaurants, like McDonald’s should offer “doggie meals”:

“McDonald’s already offers the Happy Meal for kids, so why not bring out the Doggie Meal for dogs (or, as Merrilee suggested, the Yappy Meal)? It would consist of a small water bottle, a plastic bowl, a snack portion of dog food (or a meal portion if you’re on a long trip) plus a stuffed toy with the McDonald’s logo. And if the McDog idea caught on and the dog-lover market proved to be as responsive as I think would, the bigger McDonald’s outlets, those with play areas for kids, could also provide play areas for dogs.”

Brilliant.

As I am reading my latest issue of Wired, I learned the name of condition that I was already familiar with:

Homophily – the human tendency to seek out information that supports preexisting assumptions.

And, according to Wired, the internet “magnifies this echo-chamber effect.”  So, whether your beliefs are right or wrong, you can find a web resource that supports your beliefs and validates whatever argument you are having.

Makes sense.  This “condition” aligns with “niching” trend that is facilitated by the internet.  With a sense of individualism, people are making choices based on their own needs rather than following the masses around them.  To quote the book Microtrends,

“No matter how offbeat their choices, they can now find 100,000 people or more who share their taste for deep fried yak on a stick.

…the Internet has made it so easy to link people together.  In the past, it was almost impossible to market to small groups who were spread around the county. Now it’s a virtual piece of cake to find 1 million people who want to try your grapefruit diet, or who can’t get their kids to sleep at night.

With the rise in freedom of choice has come a rise in individuality.  And with the rise of individuality has come a rise in the power of choice.  The more choices people have, the more they segregate themselves into smaller and smaller niches in society.”

As marketers, this trend presents both a challenge and an opportunity.  The challenge is reaching broad audiences with our messages.  But the opportunity is that our dollars can be more efficiently spent targeting just those consumers likely to connect with our messages.