CIO Guest Blog: Disappearing Technology

At Prosperity Research and SO-U.TV, we believe it is all about YOU! Whether you own or represent a business or agency we provide services to, or are a viewer and consumer of our content, we want YOU to find US interesting.

To that goal, we have developed a simple Technology Strategy: we want to make your computer disappear!Well, not exactly disappear, but our goal is to place our content and deploy our products in a manner that is so interesting to our audience that our technology solutions virtually fade into the background.

Likewise, for our clients, our goal is to provide near term results with long term value. We do this by developing and placing interesting content where consumers are already looking for information. Our model is all about the consumer and what they find interesting.

How do we do this? Without divulging too many secrets :-] I can tell you we have integrated a combination of proprietary technology with open source and licensed tools, and by using many free consumer spaces on the internet. In addition, our multilingual and highly talented back office staff can do things on the internet I never imagined possible!

Although we are happy if you join in the tens of thousands of video views we serve per month at our recently upgraded website, http://www.so-u.tv/, we are equally happy if you were one of the 50,000+ viewers who watched us on YouTube last month. Because, “It’s not me, it’s you”, to paraphrase an old saying.

In closing, although my wife often threatens to make my computer “disappear”, it is unlikely our computers will go away any time soon. They may get lost in a sea of blackberries, ipod’s, 3G phones and some other yet to be invented apparatus but disappear? Not likely. Wherever you are, however, you can bet SO-U.TV will be there too.

Now, where are my glasses?

Push to Pull: the Art of Attraction

If the 80's and 90's were the ME generation then the 21st century definitely welcomed in the YOU generation. The Internet brought interaction and individual participation into the advertising mix in ways never before imagined. And with this came a change in the way businesses needed to communicate to their consumers.

Traditional advertising centered around a one way dialog expounding the virtues and benefits of a product. The mechanics of traditional advertising did not allow for consumer content and response. The explosion of the Internet and Social Networks made consumer comments ubiquitous and instant and the age of Engagement Marketing was born. With this came a new set of communication dynamics that turned marketing on its head.

The carrot or the stick?

It used to be said that you “drove” consumers to your website. With over 15 billion web pages published and more every day it is unlikely that a consumer spoiled for choice will be “driven” anywhere they don’t want to go. Pull then becomes the necessary action. By creating content that is engaging and relevant to the consumer a relationship of mutual benefit is created.

So what is the new formula for success?

Simply put, make sure it is all about your consumers. As a business you are only relevant if you add value to their lives. It is necessary for you to clearly communicate your understanding of their needs and lifestyle.

Follow these simple guidelines:

- Don't start with what you want to say, think about what people want to hear.
- Place the emphasis on your customers, they already know you are selling something.
- Listen! When your customers ask a question take note and respond.
- Sell the lifestyle not the product.

In any relationship each person needs to give 50%. However, when you are trying to reach and retain customers you need to give more. Every one knows basic party etiquette. Talking only about yourself is a bore.

China, on your mark, get ready, SPEND!

The China people need to spend more money!! That was the clear statement from the China government several years back. Or at least that is what I heard. For any right-minded business person this is an invitation of a life time. So we ask,

Why did the government issue this statement? Also, with sales of western products, with the exception of highend, largly falling short of expectation, what can we do different?

The answer to the first question:

• The average Chinese consumer saves 90% of their earning wage
  
• The China economy and their middle class are, arguably, the fastest growing in the world
  
• China has the largest population and by logical extention the largest potential consumer market by country
  
• The trade imbalance between China and the west is huge and unlikely to be sustainable
  
• Growing the Chinese consumer market will help in buffering against a weakening of orders from the west
  
• Spending puts more money back into the economy Well hell, spending is just so much more fun than saving!
  
  
  (This video was done by a friend of mine, Patrick Carr a film maker in Shanghai, and provides an excellent look into the emerging consumer market in China with an angle on the easier to penetrate highend brand market – please note my interview!)
  
  

Question two:

Well all of this sounds pretty easy, if the China consumer is buying then all there is to do is sell. It must be as easy as falling off a barstool. Well, many Western brands have thought that and not succeeded. The solution lies simply in having a better understanding of the Chinese consumer.

Simply put there is no China consumer and therein lies the problem! The China consumer has not had access to consumer goods or freedom to enjoy lifestyle and luxury products. Therefore the problem lies in knowing how, what and why to buy rather than to buy or not.

There is a significant opportunity to provide guidance to the emerging China consumer on shopping behaviour. Providing the confidence to spend their money and showing them how it will enhance their lives is an important first step to energising the China consumer.

The Farmer's Tale

Complexity in simplicity, it is amazing how efficiently everything works around us. I find great satisfaction in the natural order of things. Like water finding its natural level, social networks have become the great leveller of hype and propaganda driven by PR and Marketing firms. This large statement is deserving of explanation. Simply put, for as long as can be remembered advertisers have, with great determination, attempted to sway public opinion. This was done with significant success largely due to a monopoly on the channels of communication. That is, all major methods of communicating on a mass scale where controlled by those that could afford it. E.g. newspapers, television, radio and film. Internet revolution! Social Networks come alive! Consumers direct the brand! The rules have changed forever. In the following diagram I will outline in simple terms the new path for business ideas to grow in Social Network spaces.









1. The seed – businesses today have a great opportunity to provide input into the social network spaces. With resources and reach that are beyond most individuals there is a social obligation to foster ideas and provide content for discussion.
2. Fertile soil – when placing content it is important to locate it in areas where it has a chance to take hold. With the ease of finding information and well developed social networks around topics there is little sense in putting all things everywhere. That is, be selective where you seed your information. Placing information in inappropriate places makes it at best irrelevant and possibly seen as spam.
3. Nurture – good content delivered honestly and consistently will allow the conversation to take hold and build an audience that is interested and engaged.
4. Growth – an engaged audience that has good quality content will nurture it. Through word of mouth and adding their own content they can turn a small seed of an idea into an apple orchard of knowledge.
5. Harvest the rewards – Good work delivers good rewards. A properly managed campaign provides benefits to everyone. Consumers are rewarded with an opportunity to add value through their participation and. Businesses benefit by gaining valuable consumer feedback, loyalty and, hopefully, increased revenue.

In the coming weeks this space will provide a deeper understanding on this shift from business driven to consumer driven and how this impacts the way the two interact and respond to each other.

Online Ad Spending Increases With User Confidence

There is an avalanche of studies showing a significant migration of advertising and marketing budgets toward online spending. This is on the heels of increasing consumer confidence in online channels for doing brand research and making purchases. Information found online is quickly becoming the preferred choice for consumers to formulate brand decisions. The below articles are compelling evidence that a dramatic shift is happening and critical mass has been achieved to keep the momentum.

fhhi-europe-internet-trust-safety.jpg via kwout

Video, Social Networking to Fuel Sixfold Increase in Global IP Traffic by 2012 via kwout

Interactive Media Advertising Growth on Major Upswing via kwout

Top 100 Advertisers Shifted $1 Billion To the Web Last Year At The Expense Of TV And Newspapers via kwout

If You Don’t Know The Answer, Ask Yourself

When you go to buy a new toy or plan a holiday where do you go for trusted advice? Well if you are like most people you spend some time on line doing some research, but you most likely ask a friend for recommendations. If this is the case, you are in good company.

A Neilson study showed that the top 3 sources for getting recommendations are:

78% from other consumers (friends)
63% newspaper articles
61% from consumers online they don’t know

The least trusted methods are:

34% search engine ads
26% banner ads on websites
18% text messages on mobile phones

So why are internet marketers continuing to push search engines, banner ads and text messages? The answer is simple, they will sell what they know, and not necessarily what is best. For too long, advertisers have delivered messages in one direction. Imagine trying to ask your TV a question?

Well, the internet is a social/ democratic medium. It is the first time in the history of mankind that everyone can contribute, comment and share ideas as a collective whole. When it is possible to have immediate access to personal endorsements or criticisms why look at advertisement?

We learn very early that advertising exists for 2 reasons:

1 it pays for the free stuff we get to watch
2 businesses have to convince us to buy stuff

So if you are a business and are wondering how to reach your online consumers, ask your self a simple question “what would I do”?

Advertising and marketing will be with us for a long time, but hopefully, online marketers will wake up and realise that the virtual world is a very different place.