Integration? Strategy? Let's Face It: Marketing Needs a New MO

We salivate over the promise and vision of Integrated Marketing yet few of us truly understand it and even establishing a common definition is a struggle.

We long for a seat at the decision-making table yet, in many organizations, Marketing has evolved into a low-stature mouthpiece and "cost center" that contributes little to the enterprise strategy and is treated as a necessary evil.

Our power is further usurped as increasingly more organizations turn over responsibility for vital functions that were once the domain of Marketing to other departments: product management, the sales pipeline, customer experience management.

Many of us are working in Marketing departments that spend most of the time fighting fires and kissing up to CEOs, for fear that our corporate survival depends on such compliant behavior.

We've often settled for reactive, chaotic, dysfunctional work environments where we operate more like order takers at McDonalds and company mouthpieces (spin doctors) than real change facilitators and difference-makers in our organizations.

How many of us are really happy in our positions today, spending precious little time on strategy and customer-facing activates, operating with few resources and facing expectations that are growing geometrically?

Let's face it: If we want to realize the vision of Integrated Marketing and Strategic Marketing, of a more collaborative and enjoyable work environment, of more stature and influence in our organizations, we need to let go of the old. Marketing needs a new MO.

And we have that new MO right in front of us, if we're not afraid to embrace it. It's called Marketing Operations.

Admired technology companies (like Adobe, Symantec and Seagate) are leveraging Marketing Operations to improve performance and demonstrate Return on Marketing as they refine their Marketing organizations using an operational focus.

Marketing Operations is an emerging discipline that increases efficiency and drives consistent results in complex Marketing organizations. It builds a foundation for excellence by reinforcing Marketing strategy with processes, technology, guidance and metrics. It creates both the infrastructure and ecosystem for individuals and teams to make informed decisions about Marketing mix investment, gain committed buy-in from stakeholders both inside and outside Marketing, collaborate synergistically across functions, optimize resources, and operate with discipline and accountability.

Organizations that embrace Marketing Operations are being viewed throughout the enterprise as profit (not cost) centers and fully accountable businesses. Marketing executives with the foresight to build a Marketing Operations function in their organizations are blessed with an operational partner, similar to the COO/CEO relationship. Directors and managers gain an invaluable resource to help them get the most out of their Marketing programs, make course corrections and learn from their experience. Even the most inexperienced professionals gain by being part of a learning-oriented environment where they develop fundamental skills to operate effectively, stay accountable, and benefit from Marketing Operations-driven improvement programs, such as new competency development.

Marketing Operations is all about a new MO for Marketing. In fact, it’s fair to say that the abbreviation for Marketing Operations (MO) is an apt descriptor of its potential impact in organizations. Marketing Operations is poised to literally change the modus operandi (MO) of Marketing.

And a new MO for Marketing in organizations is great news for all of us. We won’t be such an easy target come budget cut time. The average CMO tenure won’t continue to drop to embarrassing levels (less than 23 months at last count). Employees won’t be so motivated to jump ship, taking their valuable, but siloed, institutional knowledge with them.

So whether you’re a Marketing executive, middle manager or early-career specialist, it’s definitely in your best interest to become a passionate advocate of Marketing Operations.

Embracing Marketing Operations is a win-win for everyone, but bringing its benefits into your Marketing function is an evolutionary process. MO is both a serious commitment and a great opportunity. Like all change initiatives, it requires careful and comprehensive thought and exacting implementation. Key players in Marketing and other cross-functional organizations, such as sales and product development, need to be invited into the process early on and need to stay involved to achieve stakeholder ownership and buy-in.

The effort, however, yields impressive rewards. Marketing Operations has the power to re-position and re-energize a company’s Marketing function, moving it past stubborn barriers to unprecedented levels of performance and success. MO creates the type of Marketing organization where individuals and teams are empowered to do their best work and a culture of accountability leads to better results. This in turn raises the stature of Marketing in enterprise.

Leveraging the discipline and rewards of an MO approach places Marketing in the perfect position to influence strategic decisions and help increase corporate revenue, decrease costs, and sustain high levels of customer and employee satisfaction. Bottom line, embracing MO should be a no-brainer for every Marketing professional, from the most senior Marketing executive to the new junior staffer. If your organization has not yet embraced MO, you have the opportunity to seize leadership, increasing your value to your organization. If your organization is already leveraging MO, you can work to ensure its continued success. Either way, Marketing Operations enables you to help yourself.

A Manifesto for Microsponsorships

There is a gap in online marketing today. Despite the rising budgets being allocated to online advertising, the distribution of this money is not equal. Even as thousands of new blogs and social networks are created, the vast majority of online as spending is still going to only the largest portal sites or search engines. Of course, there is a vast traffic difference between Yahoo and a small blog - however the theory of the Long Tail shows us that there are plenty of reasons to think outside the portal (or search engine) when buying advertising online. For example, it is generally accepted that word of mouth marketing can be successful even if a person tells just 3 people about a product or service because the interaction is personal, direct and comes from a trusted source. That interaction is worth far more to an advertiser than millions of empty impressions. Yet buying word of mouth rather than impressions on the Internet is an impossible task. Microsponsorship is about making this possible.

Before I get to explaining how microsponsorship would work, consider the following trends and facts about the state of marketing and the Internet today:

1. Everyone is becoming a content publisher as technology makes publishing content online easier and easier
2. The vast majority of the online advertising dollars today go to only the largest sites or networks
3. Most online advertisers have little incentive or no process for advertising directly on small sites
4. Brands struggle to find influential brand ambassadors and the right ways to "activate" them online
5. People have products and services they love and are usually eager to tell others about it

Social media amplifies individual voices and helps them be heard far beyond the close circles of friends and family. This is the truth that has led to the current popularity of consumer generated advertising. The problem is, you can't always identify brand affinity easily. For example, I write a marketing blog, but have never had cause to write about my Vornado desk fan (which I love). As a result, Vornado has no idea I am a brand enthusiast, yet how many of my readers are people who sit at desks and might take action on purchasing a desk fan of their own if given a strong, personal, authentic recommendation? More than a few, I imagine. This is the type of missed opportunity common in online marketing today. Instead, ads are placed based on industry category (ie - consumer tech ads on a gadget blog) or inconsistent keyword algorithms (ie - text ads for "Spicy Spam Kabobs" when you visit your spam mailbox folder on Gmail). What most marketers need is a way to get authentic word of mouth endorsements for products and services from influential sites and individuals. This brings me to microsponsorships.

Imagine if any blog or any social network, no matter how small, could sell a sponsorship of their site to the right brand - one they believe in? Site sponsorships are like sponsorships of an event, they signify support and are based on relevance. They are usually limited in number. Most importantly, they are persistent. You could argue that any site can sell a sponsorship - but the problem, as highlighted earlier, is that for most advertisers the challenge is finding the right sites to select to sponsor. Added to that is the mistaken idea that online "sponsorship" simply means putting your logo in the corner or sidebar of a site. Microsponsorships are based on endorsements and choice, and therefore would include an inherent recommendation and far more value for advertisers. You might have noticed that this idea is influenced by Muhammad Yunus' Nobel Prize winning theory of microcredit. His idea that there was a market need for small loans that was underserved by the existing financial institutions of the world led to the creation of microfinance. Similarly, online marketers need a way to more authentically engage influential brand ambassadors on a micro level. Microsponsorships can do that.

The real question is, how can the industry meet this need and allow brands to buy these microsponsorships, as well as make it easy for individual content creators to sell microsponsorships to the brands they believe in? One potential answer lies in the creation of www.microsponsorships.com. Microsponsorships.com could be a directory where:

1. Every blog or social network can register their site to sell microsponsorships
2. Sites select brands or products they believe in, and define the type of sponsorship
3. Automated algorithms would be used to generate "influence ratings" (using a similar model to Todd And's Power 150 List)
4. Online advertisers and media planners register on the site to get access to see brand affinities and select sites to sponsor.
5. Site owners would get a proposal from brands and decide to accept or decline.
6. Microsponsorships would be brokered across hundreds or even thousands of smaller sites, effectively augmenting any online advertising buy
7. Once accepted, sites would fulfill on the agreed components of the microsponsorship and provide reporting
8. Online advertisers could use metrics reported, or real metrics from the landing page URL provided in order to measure performance

This is only one model for bringing microsponsorships to life, and there are bound to be others. This is an idea that represents a shift in how we think about advertising online and how the importance of having smarter techniques to find and collaborate with brand evangelists online will be the key to getting a value out of online ad spending far beyond just impressions or clicks.

Notes: Rohit Bhargava is VP of Interactive Marketing at the 360 Digital Influence team in Ogilvy Public Relations and author of the popular marketing blog, Influential Interactive Marketing. He has also registered the Microsponsorships.com domain name mentioned in this manifesto, but the idea for the site is currently only a theory.

To read more comments and discussion on this idea, VISIT THE CROSS-POSTED VERSION OF THIS ENTRY ON INFLUENTIAL INTERACTIVE MARKETING >>

What is marketing anyway?

It isn’t rocket science. It’s marketing. What we do is pretty straightforward; we create and distribute messages to get people’s attention so we can convince them to buy more of our stuff. That's not to say the implementation of specific tactics, or the analytics behind a new campaign aren't complicated - they certainly are. But our general approach to "marketing" doesn't have to be.

In the real world, you can have a great strategy, a message that customers care about, fantastic creative ideas and a website that brings tears to your eyes…but if no one hears you then none of it matters. In other words, you need to be heard, otherwise what’s the point? This is especially true for emerging businesses. You know the kind, start-ups that are ready to take off, small businesses on the brink of making it big or divisions of large corporations with a point to prove.

In his book, The Practice of Management, Peter Drucker wrote that "Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two--and only two--basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business."

The American Marketing Association defines marketing as "an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders".

In today's overly messaged marketing landscape, a more pragmatic answer to the question seems like the right way to go. I define marketing as the way messages about your company, product or service are created and communicated with your customers in order to elicit a positive response. In other words, marketing is the way we create and distribute messages to get people’s attention so we can convince them to buy more of our stuff. (Yes, I did just repeat myself because I think this is really important).

The response can be a decision to purchase from your company, to refer a friend or colleague, or to learn more about your offerings. In any case, these positive responses engage the customer so that you can build a relationship that will ultimately lead to an increase in sales. After all, isn’t that the point?

lifefilter: Advertising is the Commodity

lifefilter: Advertising is the Commodity

The Power of Social Genes

Your Health answer is out there and now there is an easy way to find it
(UC Berkeley undergraduate perspective)

Despite a wealth of available health experience data there is not a real-time way of integrating this for personal users so that they could use health experiences from a large population base to predict the outcomes of life style and health care intervention changes.

MyProfile.com social health site would allow users to post confidential health profiles about their health history that could be compared and contrasted with the total MyProfile.com database confidentially. Personalized reports would be generated that outline a range of relevant health indicators, interventions and life style changes and the experiences with them from the MyProfile.com aggregate database. Example – “Anyone have information on the benefit of changing to a vegetarian diet when suffering from seasonal allergies?”

MyProfile.com will create and advertise a social website communicating the easy and free access to confidential aggregate users health data. It will provide a range of examples that prospective users could identify with. MyProfile.com will examine potential shared interest sites that could link to MyProfile.com. It will reach out to potential advertisers of health care products that could be tastefully placed on the MyProfile.com site. It will appropriately communicate confidential user testimonials that would resonate with site visitors and encourage adoption. MyProfile.com would be a “sticky” site where users would come back again and again to communicate with users groups who are collectively sharing their ongoing health experiences. My Profile.com would consider a second tier site that is a subscription model that provides more personal intervention with health care advisors – nutritionists, physical therapists, etc.

MyProfile.com would have a secure identifier block such that only the blinded profile information is available for sharing. A unique logon name and password is needed and only a code number is used within the site for identification. MyProfile.com would not endorse or recommend any particular products, services or interventions but allow users to make their own decisions based on the strength and proof of the aggregate users experiences.

Amanda Coffee
amandacoffee@berkeley.edu

How Do You Show Up As A Marketer?

Relax and breathe. No need to feel defensive. It isn’t a trick question.
But it can be a revealing one.

If you’re not sure, ask someone: a colleague, a partner, or a co-worker. Meanwhile, I’ll share my answer with you. Then please post your thoughts and stories here.
Our marketing moments of Zen.

I was actually asked this question recently in a Mastermind discussion. And honestly, I don’t know how I would have responded 15 years ago. But now with plenty of history and well, a few gray hairs, it took me only moments to explain.

In fact, the answer hit me point blank at the end of an AMA Professional Chapters Council (PCC) meeting a couple of years ago. During my 3-year PCC term, I got to know very well a great group of 9 volunteers, personally and professionally -- including Tracy Sullivan, past president of the Austin chapter. At the close of our last meeting the year Tracy served as PCC president, she ceremoniously gave each council member a distinctive gift with a special meaning. Some were serious, some were funny. But every token unquestionably captured the essence of each council member.

When my time came, Tracy handed me a beautifully wrapped package that I almost didn’t want to tear open. Inside was one of those great beefy-cotton T-shirts, in navy blue, with writing on the front in big white letters: “Why Are We Doing This?”

Around the table everyone nodded, some laughed, and several shouted in agreement. Then in all seriousness and much affection Tracy pronounced, “Cynthia, this is the one phrase I will always think of when I think of you. And I will always be grateful that you were here to keep us on track by continually reminding us to be conscious.”

Moments like these don’t just fly by without a pause to reflect. Later I thought about not only the past 3 years, but the years before and since. It became clear that one way I show up is “Always Searching.” It really bugs me in any situation to not see the big picture or if something just doesn’t make sense. After all, the big picture provides the context to determine the true value of our marketing efforts, yes?

I find that if we keep asking the question, “Why are we doing this?” -- openly and honestly -- the answers get better and better! Perhaps this could be a way to begin meeting the challenge that Linda Popky declared in her post, “Where is the Marketing Leadership?” As the answer to each question enlarges the context, our shared purpose can become more meaningful and our actions more precise.

The question continues to work for me. Now when I show up wearing my shirt, usually at the gym, it never fails to spark a conversation. And a conversation is a great way to start.

Where is the Marketing Leadership?

We sit here in Silicon Valley in the hotbed of innovation and technology. The same fertile environment that in previous years spawned Fairchild semiconductors, Sun workstations and the Netscape browser has in its most recent incarnation given us iPods, Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Second Life, among others.

New markets and technologies create new marketing possibilities: viral and word of mouth marketing, banner ads and adwords, online communities and mass collaboration.

In terms of new marketing vehicles and innovative ways to apply marketing, compared to many parts of the US and the world, we in Silicon Valley are in no small measure leaders. But when it comes to looking at marketing as a science, a discipline, and a profession, where are we? When it comes time to train and develop marketing professionals at all stages of their careers, where are we? When the questions of corporate and social responsibility or ethics arise, where are we?

Many of us as individuals or in specific organizations are addressing some of these points on a day-to-day basis. What is not yet happening is the consolidation of our individual efforts into a collective, unified force that can drive positive change in the marketing and business community on a macro level. We are still driven by technology and reactive rather than proactive. New technologies appear first, marketing comes along as an afterthought and adapts to the new world.

We are not yet driving the process of setting goals and standards for marketing as a profession. We are not yet demonstrating to the world what it takes to be marketing leaders in the 21^st century—the skills, the acumen, the responsibility.

I believe we have not only a vested interest in this effort, but a natural responsibility to be the drivers and the leaders. In Silicon Valley, we understand the power of the network, the promise of social networking, the potential of mass collaboration. We reinvent the world almost on a daily basis. We are at the bleeding edge of new marketing innovation. Now we need to take our rightful place as leaders of the marketing profession as well.