Archive for the ‘marketing channels’ Category

We left off last time having defined a conceptual approach to channel architecture with an example of a new type of soap – “Greensoap” which has three unique advantages: it sends fewer harmful chemicals into the water supply, it doesn’t get mushy when stored, and it is 50% cheaper than other leading brands.  How do we leverage a social media channel architecture for this product launch?

Following the model (and in fact basic marketing 101), we first need to know what audiences we are targeting.  In this case there are three which can be defined based on attitudes and behaviors:

• Green Consumers.  Green consumers most important attitude is that they believe the environment must be protected, that current economics doesn’t measure the “true cost” of products, and that if the true cost were available we would see that dumping chemicals into the environment (and later having to remediate) is more expensive than just selling a green product in the first place.   They are split evenly between men and women, predominantly 18 – 35, and average income of $45,000/year.  Their behaviors: they tend to shop at smaller stores with a focus on environmental sensitivity, they are relatively price insensitive up to a 20% price increase over non-green products, and they tend to be vocal in online communities around green issues.
• Vacation Travelers.  These folks tend to bring soap rather than use what is in the hotel room because their stays are longer and they travel with their families of 2.2 kids (whereas business travelers stay short periods, want to travel as light as possible, and so use in-room soap provided by the hotel).  This audience is mainly women 30 – 50 and is concerned with minimizing the burdens of “household  care” – meaning keeping a clean house, clean kids, and organized environment.  75% have a job, are incredibly time constrained and stressed.  They tend to shop at one store, usually a major grocery chain outlet between work and home.  If a product makes their life one iota easier, they will consider it.  They are highly swayed by friends and family validation that a product meets its promises.  Once they try a product, they are incredibly loyal up to a price premium of 25% over their current brand.
• The Thrifty Shopper.   This buyer always worries about money and saving it is their first priority.  Split equally between men and women, the demographic is flat across all age groups, with a slight peak within 60+ years groups due to their fixed incomes (+ life experience during Depression and WWII).  This buyer shops in big box stores and low-cost chain grocery stores like Safeway and Savemart.  No product loyalty whatsoever – they’ll switch brands for as little as a 5 cent savings. 

The next step in the model is to figure out what kinds of media these audiences use and where they are likely to be on the web.  Figure 1 shows the mapping of audience to media, platform, and social media sites.  The sites listed are intended to be category “examples” – meaning that they are only one potential site that could be used.  For example, in column 2, cafemom indicates women-focused social media networks. 

 Figure 1
Mapping Prospective Audiences to Social Media Channel Categories

The third step is to define our messages to each audience (if we haven’t already done so).  For purposes of this example, we’re going to keep this to one message per consumer segment:

• Green Consumers: Greensoap leaves you AND the world a cleaner place.
• Vacation Travelers: Greensoap keeps your family clean and your life simple.
• The Thrifty Shopper: Greensoap keeps you clean and green at 50% of the cost of other soap.

In the next post we’ll put together the campaigns and then show how we apply them to the various media channels.  Stay tuned.

I am often doing social media projects for clients.  As part of that, I have to figure out how to make the most impact for limited dollars.  But that is no different than what I normally do for any other marketing program.

In fact, that’s the point – social media, while it has different dynamics, is fundamentally no different than other marketing programs.  You have a set of audiences you wish to reach.  Audiences should (but often aren’t) defined by attitudinal and behavioral traits.  You have a set of messages to deliver.  You have a set of media you can produce in.  And you have the communication channels to distribute that message (Figure 1). 

Figure 1 – How Audience, Messages, and Content Impact the Selection of Social Media Channels

The goal is to get 6-10 impressions on the same audience through various channels within a specified period of time.  Research shows that it takes 6-10 impressions for the average consumer to begin to  ”notice” a message through today’s incredible media clutter, so that has to be the minimum target.  That number, of course, can be delivered through other than online means (radio, tv, print, billboards), but given how easy it is to deliver messages online, it is worth trying to reach that number of channels online and then consider anything offline as an added benefit (or for those advertisers who use more traditional media, vice-versa).  And let’s be clear,  6-10 impressions gets you noticed, but doesn’t necessarily get recognition or retention of the message.  That can take hundreds of impressions – so it pays to use online as a vehicle to extend the brand and message reach, since it is easy to get into numerous channels.

How do you do this?  The approach is to match your audience with media type and channels.  In some cases an audience is reading- or text-oriented.  In others, they like audio; others video.  Most will be focused on multiple media options, with one as a preferred mode.  Thus, you need to chose the right sites within a hierarchy of media for the audiences you want to reach (Figure 2).

Figure 2 – Example of a Media-Segmented Social Media Channel Architeecture

So let’s take an example.  You are going to create a campaign around a new brand of soap.  Three things make this soap different.  First, it is “green” – meaning it provably has a reduced impact on chemicals that go down the drainpipe and into the water system.  Second, it comes with a built-in case for travelling that is water tight but to which the soap doesn’t stick or get mushy (I wish).  Third, it is half the price of products that don’t have these features.   The soap will be sold directly from your website, from online retailers, in grocery stores, in drug stores, and in big box retailers like Target and Walmart.

We will continue the example tomorrow.  Hopefully the suspense of the case study will get your attention through the media clutter and we’ll get you back.