I spoke with a friend in the advertising industry about "blogs and wikis" and his comment was something like: '... a few customers once in a while ask us to write content for blogs when they need a message and they ask them to "write content" ... but, doing blogs is a lot of work and it's expensive... ' In general the "established media" world sees the Internet as a "new media" - most think of it as not really ready for "prime time". To some extent they are right, print, electronic and even direct marketing is still running at full steam... and a train moving in its tracks at full steam is hard to stop and harder to turn.
I have been looking at blogs and wikis for examples of serious and useful marketing work. At this point I am not looking for a pattern or a "method" from anyone out there, I think it's too early for that kind of information to be readily available. But, there are many examples of people who do not see the "blogs and wikis" as "new media". Why do I think that "new media" is not a useful model for what people think the Internet can do? Because this seems like a what had happened in the past, the history of distant past and more recent history. It seems to me that most people who are not using the Internet as a primary form of marketing are not going to see the value in the "new media" until its too late (for them). So these people are not the ones to look for guidance. But for people who either can't afford "old media", or are starting to market a new product or with a new effort, it makes sense to start with the Internet. That is why I am looking at the blogs, wikis, newletters and quick edit pages (i.e. google pages, myspace, etc). The idea is to see how essentially direct marketing is used by marketing managers DIRECTLY. I think that we can find good examples so this is going to be my effort in the next few weeks. (I am looking for equivalent of "direct" marketing but other forms of marketing is also OK) If you have any examples or comments, please write to me. THANKS !
Let's get to the next part, learning from history and seeing how the big guys used similar situations to create big products. To look at historical examples, I chose to look at an older shift in technology and marketing (40 - 50 years); I became aware of just now, the story of Playboy. Now, some of you will not like this example, but it will quickly illustrate my point. Hugh Hefner started Playboy as a fluke, not exactly sure that it would work and what it would turn out to be. There were all kind of objectionable remarks about the "new venture". Some said that Playboy will not be able to find girls to pose, that did not turned out to be a problem at all. Anyway, let's move beyond the Playboy "idea" - what Hugh Hefner did with magazines at the time is what the Internet is doing to "media". Hugh Hefner figured out that magazines is not a new way to get the "message" out, but a whole new way to get a "new message" out. Actually he created a new "product". The magazine was not a "shrunk" book or an monthly update in a specific area, it WAS THE PRODUCT. As magazines became cheaper to print and mail, as the acceptance of more risque content and as men demanded or 'accepted' more sexy and personal content. In hindsight this is easy to analyze, but I believe the the Playboy story is not about planning and "designing" as much as a gut feeling - jump into the waters without thinking too much. In today's more accepted Internet "self publishing" world, we have a very similar situation.
I hope that the Playboy example was not too vague or controversial, specially if you are offended by Hefner's content. But it's a lesson well learned. Next time I will write about Blogger.com and a few other more 'recent' examples. Using technology, shift in opinions or social norms and economic / product capability. I look at successful products and services because they usually have a good lesson to teach. I think that as we go about using current technologies in a changing environment learning from others is one way to think creatively. Also, it's a way of keeping a better perspective. It's always crucial to make sure we do not miss an opportunity to go after a market or capture a better competitive position. More about this aspect of newsletter/blog/wiki/web marketing in the coming stories.
