Time 22:14

How do big corporate brands implement social media? One answer is, they don’t, their customers do it for them. That’s one way, others include:

1. Providing social tools – Facebook applications or widgets
2. Cause collaboration – Supporting in dollars and actions a cause involving company and customers
3. Being one of many in a non-branded social space – jumping onto Twitter as a company or a rep of a company with full weight of delivering actions on behalf of the company
4. Customer collaboration – customers that support company goals work in conjunction with social network in completely transparent way to share ideas for greater good

In this podcast, Mike Donnelly, the director of worldwide interactive marketing for Coca-Cola, shares his experience with social media and one of the world’s most recognized brands.

Even though social media is new, the conversation reveals that the historic core brand personality remains as the foundation of participation in this case. Coke is a social brand, remember this early seventies commercial, at a time of domestic and world transformation, the common denominator in this ad was sharing.

The act of being social for Coke is also a one-to-one relationship, here with Mean Joe Greene and a little fan.

Fast Forward to Today

Being social in a world of immediate access to information, the ability for anyone to produce & consume multimedia, and the unbound energy of ideas means the relationship is multilateral. Your brand is company to individual, individual to company, and individual to individual, oh yeah with the rest of the world having access to just about all of it. That last part is what makes it dynamic for Coke. I mean after all, how many beverage companies would want customers spraying their product into the sky instead of drinking it. Now that’s classic, as done by Eepy Bird

Coca-cola also provides social tools to use like its Facebook application called Coke Tags. It’s an interesting use of technology that allows the interests that an individual places inside the tag to be shared with that individuals friends. So a Bluegrass Band James Reams & The Barnstormers can get some name recognition inside a Coke Tag, go figure,

What way do you think your company can be social? Call in your comments and questions to 206-600-6887 and we’ll get them on the next show.

Places I am Hanging Out

Luncheon Discussion – A Different Perspective, business fundamentals of social media, October 27 (Speaking)

Mississippi Hospital Association, November 6 (Speaking)

Society for New Communications Research Symposium November 14, Cambridge, MA (speaking)

And if you are in Minnesota online at the Social Media Club Minnesota

Time 18:34

Marketers can no longer hide in an ivory tower from the conversations that are taking place among consumers, investors, customers and all of the publics in which companies operate, according to author Joseph Jaffe, our guest on this episode of the Marketing Edge.

Jaffe is in Minnesota to speak at the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association meeting at the Fine Line tonight, Monday, April 14. This is part of the Conversations About the Future of Advertising series hosted by Tim Brunelle. (Tim set up a Twitter profile for Q&A for tonight’s event. Connect with CATFOA and send in your questions.)

We get into the issue of marketers creating a metrics hell. During Web 1.0 days, advertisers and marketers relied on the unprecedented metrics of click-thoughs, page views, time spent on site, and unique visitors. This gave them comfort and reduced the risk with senior management.

Building a relationship is much less predictable and measurable. Why? Because it’s a relationship; it’s an investment in the individual, not a neatly packaged recipe for making cookies.

Do you believe that the lack of predictable metrics and results are holding back marketers from adopting social media?

We touch on the advantages of American Airlines launching its blog, AAconversation.

We have a little fun with author Geoff Livingston for using Jaffe’s Twitter icon, but a tip of the hat to Livingston for donating to charity using Jaffe’s name, in a way. This started at Blogger Social last week.

Jaffe wrote “Join the Conversation” and “Life After the 30-second Spot”. His popular blog and podcast are Jaffe Juice and Across the Sound.

Joseph Jaffe and I will be among the speakers at the NewComm Forum, sponsored by the Society for New Communications Research, April 22-25 in Sonoma, CA. Marketing Edge listeners: E-mail me for your discount code before registering.

Time 18:33

There is a new medium to report about in this podcast, I’ll call the integrated channel. As the consumers of information fragment their consumption across a variety of media, so too has sophisticated media properties built new outlets for focused topics.

In this podcast we feature a website that illustrates an Integrated Channel, it is www.UnderstandingCancer.tv It is a production of Supportive Oncology Services and Multiplicity Media . What makes this different is it has a clear single focus (in this case cancer), it incorporates expert advice about a complex topic, it has multimedia formats of text, audio, and video, it includes a television channel for greater mainstream distribution (ION television network), and aspects of social media.

Understanding Cancer, the television show will debut on March 9th at 5:30 pm Eastern on the ION television network The website provides a holistic approach for the patient and their families who are facing cancer treatment. That spectrum of coverage also leads to more opportunities for marketers to embrace, not advertise to, but embrace those turning to this website for information and comfort.

In this podcast you’ll hear Liz Conway of Supportive Oncology Services the research entity which reviews the medical information on Understanding Cancer TV and Terry Merrill Wilcox, the producer whose outstanding video packages deliver the information and emotion about a subject many will agree is difficult to discuss.

You can see more about Understanding Cancer TV on MySpace

And Facebook I Support Understanding Cancer TV

More Healthcare and Social Media

Social media is coming to healthcare. Many hospitals and other healthcare providers have ducked the notion of social media, blogs or otherwise, while the rest of the healthcare system is pushing for consumer choice. This has lead to websites like www.healthcarescoop.com and www.carol.com which look more like people commenting on a hotel stay or buying a big screen TV.

A site like Understanding Cancer TV is a way to participate in social media in a non-invasive way. There is no doubt a number of events are making healthcare a more social purchase and experience. The issue for many providers will be how they handle their social presence on the web.

Social Media Conference Deep Dive

NewComm Forum – Society for New Communications Research conference, www.newcommforum.com/2008/ This is an excellent conference to get to the details of how social media and new communications will impact your profession and company or organization. Set in Sonoma County, CA April 22-25 at the The Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel & Spa, there will be lively panel exchanges, provocative presentations, and most importantly plenty of 1-on-1 opportunities to bring home concrete information upon which to make decisions on how to interpret social media.

Podcast Timeline

0:00 – 2:00 – Book giveaway with Paul Gillin The New Influencers and preview of Society for New Communications Research conference.

2:00 – 3:00 New book giveaway contest for March The Age of Engage by Denise Shiffman

3:00 – 6:00 Set up about Integrated Channel concept and a frame of reference for this podcast, while it covers Understanding Cancer, the concepts of the Integrated Channel can apply to many other topics beyond healthcare.

6:00 – 17:00 Interviews with Liz Conway and Terry Merrill Wilcox

If you are interested in attending and would like to save $100 send me an email at marketingedge@providentpartners.net for a listeners’ code.

The Society of New Communications Research named its 2008 fellows today, and I’m lucky enough and honored to be one of them.

The SNCR fellows are a thoughtful group of men and women passionate about how societies communicate. A tremendous amount of research is being generated by the members of SNCR, which is helping business and political leaders grasp social media’s unique characteristics.

I look forward to working with my colleagues at SNCR as social media is used by more individuals for personal and professional reasons. I’m also looking forward to seeing many of you (SNCR colleagues, my blog readers and plenty of other smart people) at the 2008 New Comm Forum; I’m speaking in the “strategies for PR & corporate communications” track.