Thoughts on Thought Leadership
Posted by Matt Kucharski on August 25, 2010 at 2:45 PMHad an opportunity the other day to spend some great quality time with one of Padilla's clients exploring the dimensions and implications of thought leadership campaigns. Funny how pretty much every company wants to position itself as a thought leader, but by definition, thought leaders represent a very small portion of any industry or sector. Example: The classic is the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. While competitors focused on how their products can make women look beautiful, Dove decided to focus on how their products make women feel good about themselves.
One idea that really struck home with those of us in the room was how hard it is to be the thought leader if you're also the market share leader. Think about it -- thought leaders question the status quo. Market leaders ARE the status quo!
If you're thinking of embarking on a thought leadership campaign, here are five "M's" that you'll want to keep in mind.
Motivation -- what are the business drivers and conditions that are compelling you to need to establish a thought leadership position. Price pressure? Competitive threats? Pending regulation? Really ask yourself why thought leadership makes sense. Example: Chipotle realized that its ability to compel consumers to pay more for their food was predicated on positioning itself as a fresher alternative to other quick-serve restaurants. As a result its Food With Integrity campaign. The company even went so far as sponsoring a movie called Food, Inc., that's not all that flattering to the food industry.
Messages -- so what exactly are you going to say? Thought leaders are provocative and present points of view that are contrary to conventional wisdom. Are you prepared to say and do things differently -- and take the heat from those who disagree? Also, be judicious -- it's hard to be a thought leader on everything.
Messengers -- who are the content experts and "hood ornaments" in your organization that will act as the deliverers of the message? I'm a big fan of the "Posse" approach vs. the "Lone Ranger" approach -- nothing worse than watching your rock star thought leader walk out the door after you've spent a year building up their visibility. Oh, and be careful about over-using outside experts -- it's fine to be seen with other thought leaders, but if you cede all of the "thoughts" to them, you leave none for yourself.
Methods -- HOW are you going to communicate thought leadership? It's not just through the media -- or a blog -- or presentations -- or newsletters -- it's through whatever means possible that effectively reaches your target audiences. Hard to argue, for example, with IBM's Smarter Planet campaign as a great example of multi-channel thought leadership communications (albeit with a huge budget and clear ulterior motives).
Measurement -- what are your measures for success? It might be as specific as turning away a competive threat or successfully passing legislation. Or it might be more subjective -- obtaining broader awareness, justifying a price premium, or building credibility. Asking the question "how are judging success?" is an important first step in measurement -- maybe the most important.
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Take The Lead
Posted by Tony Morse on August 23, 2010 at 8:15 AMWhat is "The Lead?" Is it the first position (the leader)? Is it a new business opportunity (sales lead)? Is it the headline of a story?
Yes, and it's the name of our blog, offering our perspectives on integrated communications. Our contributors at Padilla share our varied experiences, insight and (self-proclaimed) leadership in communications with professionals who want to take the lead in your sector. We have covered (or will cover) most communication subjects, whether you're charged with developing and executing a social media program, managing a crisis, reaching prospective or current customers or just trying to figure out how to tell your story in a way that people will remember and take action.
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Take The Lead!
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Crisis Management Wins and Sins
Posted by Matt Kucharski on July 22, 2010 at 4:42 PMNot since 9/11 have we seen this much interest among clients and prospects in crisis preparedness and management. As a direct result of BP (Exxon owes you a big thank-you, by the way), it only seems natural that boards and senior leadership teams are asking the "what if it were us" question.
While the BP situation is in many ways unprecedented, a lot of the "lessons learned" so far are really not new at all, but simply variations on the errors and best practices that should already be in place at progressive companies.
Here's a summary of what we've been using to help educate our clients on common errors and best practices:
Oh, and by the way, here's one I saw coming a mile away -- a bumper sticker on the back of a car that said "BP -- Beyond Pathetic"
Can't think of a more poignant example of a brand irrevocably damaged by a crisis...
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Cruising Toward Social Media Success with a Customer Advocacy Program
Posted by Michelle (Haschka) Wright on July 15, 2010 at 10:38 AM
I had the opportunity to sail on the inaugural cruise of the NCL Epic last week with a travel agent friend. (The ship's first sailing is reserved for travel agents and their guests, who all travel free). It's a smart influencer relations and awareness building strategy - wine and dine the people that are going to sell your stuff. Show them first-hand what a wonderful experience they'll be selling their customers.
Before we set sail, I overheard someone mention they were planning on meeting up with some Twitter friends. Ever the curious social media nerd, I logged in on my phone and discovered someone set up a hashtag for the ship and was organizing a Tweet-up on board. People were tweeting about the meeting, taking photos and making general observations and conversation about the ship.
The fact that people are making the effort to form communities in this way fascinates me, but it also got me thinking about what Norwegian Cruise Line could be doing to engage with these folks and tap into their excitement about the brand. They're basically being handed a plate full of social-media savvy influencers eager to talk about them in a positive light. It doesn't get much better than that!
How would we advise our clients to get started? We'd recommend they tune in via social media monitoring and identify the people talking about NCL. Then they could sponsor the planned tweet-up and create a social media ambassador club (with a cute name, of course ... The Social Skippers, Cruise Crew, NCL Socialites, etc) for attendees to join. While cruising, offer this group some exclusive perks that will encourage them to share information about the ship after they've landed. From there, elevate their experience and help them get social:
- Give club members a badge to add to their name tag so they can identify each other throughout the trip.
- Reserve special tables in the dining rooms/bars so the group has a place to congregate.
- Offer member giveaway drawings such as a Flip video camera or digital camera to record their trip.
- Provide behind-the-scenes access to cruise ship amenities (interviews and photo opps with ship entertainment and cruise staff, room tours, etc).
- Organize a photo scavenger hunt that requires people to explore the ship and take photos along the way.
By incorporating social media into a pretty traditional influencer program NCL could take its game to a whole new level.
What else would you suggest they do?
Photo credit Ell Brown
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How LeBron James Twissed* His Fans... And How Businesses Can Do Better
Posted by Stephanie Woodstrom on July 14, 2010 at 6:26 AM*An admittedly lame attempt at creating a Twitter term. In case it wasn't clear (which is likely), I was going for "Twitter Dissed."
I'm not much of an NBA fan, so I don't really care which jersey LeBron James will wear next season. But like so many others, I waited anxiously to see what would happen on July 8. Not on ESPN, however. On Twitter.
James created Twitter handle @kingjames just two days before his overhyped much-anticipated "Decision." Though I wasn't watching myself, I'm told that he gained some 300,000 followers in one day. With that sort of momentum, one would think James' PR team would jump on the opportunity to engage the fans who were eagerly looking to be engaged.
Yet on the night of the Decision, no tweets. Just a wasted opportunity.
LeBron James fans did what almost any company wishes their customers would do - they congregated in one place and tuned in to hear what he had to say. And he left them hanging.
And worse yet, he didn't deliver on a promise. Just a few hours before the "Decision," King James tweeted: "Good Morning! It's your chance to ask me a question about my decision, use #lebrondecision to submit and I'll answer them tonight."
Many tweets were posted using the designated hashtag, but King James' camp never responded. His next tweet didn't come until the next day when fans finally received the following: "What's up yall. Just landed in my new home. Thanks to all the fans and Miami organization who greeted me. The Road to History starts now!"
By then, old news.
When fans (or customers, as the case may be) meet you in a social media space, don't leave them hanging. Engage them. They appreciate the feeling that they are somehow part of your decisions and activities. And the interaction can lead to invaluable opportunities to hear what customer think, answer questions, fix problems, and change negative opinions.
Padilla's client, Rockwell Automation, is a great example of successfully executing a new Twitter handle. The company wanted to better reach manufacturers and trade media unable to attend its annual Automation Fair event in 2009 due to tightened travel budgets. Rockwell Automation created a Twitter handle for the event to increase the real-time coverage of the event. In the months before the event, the marketing and public relations team developed a detailed execution plan, and commissioned a team to see it through. By the end of the week-long event, the Twitter handle had 122 followers, and achieved nearly 1,000 click-throughs on posted links.
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