As I mentioned in a previous blog, I had a chance to speak at the Blogging for Business Conference in Salt Lake City today (and no, I am not tooting my own horn, well, maybe I am). At risk of being a name dropper, for the second time in less than a month, I had the chance to hear Christopher Barger, the Director of Global Communications Technology for GM, speak as the keynote the conference.
I was again impressed with how some of the bigger brands, like GM, are embracing the changing nature of marketing by not only hiring someone like Chris, but giving him enough leash to do what he needs to do. According to Chris, there are still some big challenges working within corporate America, but when GM not only has major executives blogging, but has executives from their Hummer division sitting down for candid conversations with green bloggers, you know the landscape has changed.
I was equally impressed with Jake McKee, who used to be the Global Community Development Director for Lego. His entire speech was about the Lego MINDSTORMS product and the project to lunch a new MINDSTORMS unit. They went out to the community and recruited 4 influencers to participate in the product design process. Once the product was launched, the results were absolutely amazing. There was an existing community in place and Lego finally included them in the brand. The co-creation process drove instant adoption. (By the way, Jake is now on his own and can be found at www.communityguy.com.)
It finally hit me today that big brands are finally starting to get it. GM and Lego are only a few of the corporate behemoths that are starting to experiment with community involvement and social media. A friend of mine, Tac Anderson, is trying to change HP from the inside out. The great thing about it is these brands have the budget to experiment with different ideas and tactics. Social media has always been known as the great equalizer and now big brands are turning the tables by learning how to compete in this new environment.
Not to be outdone, Jason Brown of Brown Lures gave a great presentation how a small start up is taking on the retail distribution cesspool by using social media to generate passion among fishing hobbyists. They are now able to leverage their fan base to drive retail shops clamoring to their door in order to carry their products.
The message came across loud and clear, no matter the business you are in, you need to be involved in social media and you need to develop a model of engagement rather than interruption.
What examples of brands big and small have you seen embracing social media?
June 6, 2008 at 10:08 pm bcritchfield
Recently, I was asked to speak at a conference in Salt Lake City on June 6th called the Blogging For Business Conference. Now I must be honest, I had never heard of it before, but as I found out more about the conference, I became impressed. You can find out more about the speakers and details here and you can visit the main website at www.bforbconference.com.
I have long admired GM for their leadership in blogging and social media. I have used them as a case study on multiple occasions. The B4B conference is lucky enough to have Christopher Barger, GM’s Director of Social Media keynote the conference. There are also sessions on SEO, Building Customer Evangelists, and my session on how the consumer revolution is driving transparency in marketing.
While blogging has taken off as a consumer journaling tool, it appears to still be in the early adopter phase when it comes to businesses adopting blogging as a marketing tool. I think there is some great content in this conference to showcase the value of blogging in a business environment.
If you are in the area, stop by and attend the conference. If you are not in the area, there is always that whole telepathy thing. Also, I will post a blog afterwards with some of my thoughts and observations. Feel free to keep checking the conference website as well.
May 15, 2008 at 7:00 pm bcritchfield
