April 19, 2007, 12:46 am : Article for China’s MODERN Advertising Magazine

I wrote this article recently for China’s MODERN Magazine (thanks for the opportunity, Mr Chen). Enjoy.

Turning Brands into Networks of Content

More and more people know how to make and distribute their own creations. Now we are surrounded with a kind of static produced by consumers as a result of the literally millions of images, movies, songs, reviews, posts, instant messages, ring tones, blog pages and avatars that are beamed at us from every screen and speaker. This static threatens to overwhelm the advertising messages we create – our audience is taking control of how our brands are represented.

We must respond to this new challenge. Either we can get in the way, get out of the way or make those consumers our partners.

Partnering with consumers is the first step in turning your brand into a network of fans.

Trust
Our audience is very smart, sometimes smarter than the people creating the ads that invite them in. People are beginning to know the difference between ideas that bring them closer to the brands that they love and advertising posing as fake content. In order to involve people with a brand and to get them to contribute to the channel you are building around the brand, you need to be truthful early in your exchanges with the audience. Everyone likes to share an experience that makes them feel an emotional connection. Making someone feel moved to respond or getting someone to smile are part of what makes my job so fulfilling. The consumer relationship is damaged when you trick someone while they are making an emotional connection and sharing their ideas (and time) with your idea or brand. Recently “flogs” (fake blogs) have done damage to brands like Wal-mart and McDonald’s, causing criticism in the mainstream media and blogs around the world.

Creating trust is the second step in turning your brand into a network of content.

Safety
We must make sure that consumers understand that they are in a safe environment while they are creating content and sharing with the brand. Everyone worries about whether their personal information is safe while they are on the web or using their mobile phone. Be clear about what you are doing with information you are gathering. You want people to know that every channel they encounter with your brand is a safe place to share ideas and information. Lincoln Mercury created a web site where people could share their dreams, connecting with others who shared the same ideas and values. Members of the site can read encouraging stories and will soon be able to post content showing how they have made their dreams come true. Consumers will only engage with at such a personal level if they believe that they are among friends who will do them no harm.

Making consumers feel safe is the third step towards turning your brand into a network of fans.

Rewards
There are two ways to reward your audience: with great benefits and great ideas – the best brand networks do both. Keeping people interested calls for a constant flow of stimulation and reasons to keep coming back, so that consumers will share more and keenly collaborate to create more and more content. Creating partnerships with other brands that share your audience allows the total audience to grow. Do this by providing prizes of goods or services from brands they already love. A roster of partners that is continually changing keeps your brand’s network of content fresh and interesting. Sites like MyNuMo, Revver and Break.com allow users to make money by creating and sharing content for computers and mobile phones. YouTube has also announced that they will create a revenue-sharing programme to support the creativity of the YouTube audience. Coke Rewards gives points to members with every product purchased and Coke customers can purchase prizes from partner sites using your points. This has made a strong reward system for a well-loved brand. The success of the Coke Rewards programme has ensured that it is now being rolled out over other Coca-Cola brands.

The fourth step in building a network of fans is by rewarding consumers for engaging with your brand.

Why would my brand need to have a network?
Web 2.0 has completely changed the world for most brands and their advertising agencies, especially those developing social networks where people can closely interact with brands. By placing more and more control with consumers, brands have a new opportunity to develop a deep, on-going relationship with their audiences. Nokia’s Music Recommenders is an example of a brand using networks of content to demonstrate both their product (a music capable phone) and their understanding of their audience (we can help you find the music you like). Branded MySpace pages can also create huge buzz without huge expense. Wendy’s Hamburgers and Toyota Yaris have each had about 90,000 ‘friends’ interact, share and create content with the brands. In both cases, the content and reward fit well with the audience and the environment.

Much is written about advertising-culture disruptions like YouTube, Google, MySpace and SecondLife, changing our relationship with our audience. Even so, the idea of changing from pushing content to pulling and sharing content is still new and untried for most brands and their agencies.

In order to fully understand what happens when you release control of a brand’s identity and engage consumers, you must carefully consider how you will begin this new relationship between brand and audience. A simple process to follow is the 3C’s: Create, Connect, Control. These are the three basic questions underpinning Web 2.0.

• Can your audience be creative with your brand?
• Can they connect with a community or service?
• Are they in control of the experience?

Ask yourself these questions when you are evaluating a networking idea for your client and then find media partners or providers who can make sure that your idea fits the audience you want to connect to your brand and to help build your client’s network. Putting power into the hands of the audience can be frightening, but when done properly this creates a powerful relationship based on trust, safety and rewards.

In the new world of too much content, providing a smart, inclusive experience makes all the difference between just some more static and a fantastic consumer experience.