Brand vs. Communications vs. Social Media Strategy
Posted May 04 in Uncategorized tagged Uncategorized
Have a look at the Adage Power 150 Blogs (well just look at the first 50 really) and what bloggers blog about in ‘marketing’. Very few blogs actually look at marketing, most instead focus on communications, with the majority focusing on social media and digital communications. I’m not sure why there is such an executional focus by bloggers. I would expect more to focus on brand and business issues – not just what cool creative they have done.
Of the top 50 I roughly counted:
- 5 had a marketing focus
- 20 had a communications focus
- 25 had a social media / digital focus
Is developing sound brand strategy is a dying art? Who out there in blogger land feels they have the credentials to blog on brand strategy? Why do the few of them who do blog get so easily seduced into putting up and commenting on ads or the latest cool thing done in social media?
Good strategy needs to be again glorified. To see what I mean check out Rory Sutherland’s excellent post here. He says in part “It’s not that planning was wrong (it was a noble ideal for sure) it just didn’t work. It simply produced a wine that required laying down for people who were planning to hold a party that night.”
Fritz Bachen is a Consumer Psychologist and Founding Partner at Naked Communications. Fritz can be seen, read or heard at; The Gruen Transfer, ABC Radio (Sunday nights), Adnews columnist, as well as The Australian, Cleo, Mumbrella, Shop Till You Drop and so on. He speaks at numerous conferences on marketing, ideas, contemporary culture, and consumer behaviour. Fritz has degress in clinical psychology and commerce (marketing). A registered psychologist and has worked in private practice, forensic settings, advertising (Saatchi & Saatchi) and marketing consultancy (Added Value). He was also state under 12 chess champion on WA, and has a board game called The Analyst selling well in the Benelux countries.
Comments
Barthox
May 4th, 2009For some reason I can’t really explain, most people (including marketeers, which is frightening) completely use the word ‘marketing’ for ‘communication’ … wuite frankly, that goes beyond me …
And since social media are THE communication media of the moment, most people focus on it …
Daniel Oyston
May 4th, 2009I agree Fritz, completely. It shits me to tears that there are so many people blogging who just stick up a piece of cool creative and tell us why they like it (and never tie it to any theory whatsoever). There are a few RSS feeds that are about to get he arse from my Google Reader because I am sick of logging in and finding 13 new posts from them every time!
It strikes me as weird that a lot of bloggers go on about how advertising is dead on mediums such as TV, Radio etc. But here is a thought, I recon I see more ads written about on blogs than I see on TV each day. Could be a conspiracy theory there …
It also does nothing to start a conversation … which, and I don’t care what some people say, starting a conversation should, in 99% of cases, be the point of blogging. Other mediums are better suited for the broadcast style some writers take.
brandcoach
May 4th, 2009I don’t think sound brand strategy development is a dying art – it has always been an art and it still is. But there’s a new generation of people with digital genes, breastfed on the web. They discovered that social media could give them a voice and, logically, they praise the hand that feeds them.
Have a look at twitter : the number of tweets about twitter is simply astonishing.
Have a look at bloggers : the number of blogs (and posts) on blogging (and other bloggers) is incredible.
I think it’s a simple psychological equation – something like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
This being said, I entirely agree with Brathox ! Of course : communications is only one P of the total marketing-game. But it’s even worse, I’m afraid. To paraphrase you : “For some reason I can’t really explain, most people (including marketeers, which is frightening) use the word ‘communication’ for ‘branding’ … Quite frankly, that goes beyond me !”
Daniel Oyston
May 4th, 2009@Brandcoach – exactly! It is only one P! Sometimes I bang on about the basic theory like this so it is nice to have some crowd support!
Tony Thomas
May 4th, 2009Hey Fritz. I think it comes back to the fact that there are so few ‘true’ marketers who are bloggers. Marketers within organizations tend to be gagged and can only comment publicly through their corporate comms depts.
Therefore the relative majority of bloggers sit within specialists communication agencies and tend to write about their specialist function rather than full marketing brand strategy.
Ben Shepherd
May 5th, 2009“Have a look at twitter : the number of tweets about twitter is simply astonishing.
Have a look at bloggers : the number of blogs (and posts) on blogging (and other bloggers) is incredible.”
That’s true … but it’s no different from politics (where most politicians spend their time talking about other politicians and political issues unrelated to the community)
I guess the similarity is both types (politicians, bloggers, twitterers) just love talking about themselves.
jemster
May 5th, 2009I agree it drives me insane with frustration.
It’s not great strategic blogs I miss (to be honest strategy in itself might be a tad dull for most) but communication blogs, marketing blogs with any kind of strategic integrity.
And even those that once had that integrity, have it no longer (adliterate et al). And do they not realise the damage they do to the industry.
Chocolate? Here’s a monkey on a drumkit. Brilliant. Didn’t sell any choccies (and let the competition clean up) but gotloadsadownlaodsinnit.
And as for t-mobile bollox….
And the reason? I guess more web pats on the digital back from other luvies.
Sorry for t he rant.
Someone, apart from Rory, a copywriter, needs to call it.
good post Fritz.
Fritz Bachen
May 6th, 2009Jemster wish your comments were first you rasie a great point. Social media types have an overly large voice in this environment therefore work gets judged loudly by people judging it – not on what it should be judged by – but by hits, views, wackiness, whatever.
Brandcoach and Barthox – most people these days leading the charge / training of branding are in ad agencies. Most of these are still very executionally led – hence the issue.
Daniel and Ben – you’re both right. But why write about the medium when there are so many other things to write about in the wide world of marketing.
Ben Shepherd
May 6th, 2009” why write about the medium when there are so many other things to write about in the wide world of marketing.”
Maybe those that do don’t have much to say about anything else.
Kate Kendall
May 17th, 2009I know I’m resurrecting an old post, but it’s struck a chord!
Generally speaking, even our local blogger-derived ‘Top Marketing blogs’ list is around 5% marketing focused, 95% social media, digital, communications, PR, advertising and media.
Where I work (Marketing magazine), we’re striving to put together a recommended list/editors’ picks for our audience for release later this year – it’s going to be a difficult task!
Fritz Bachen
May 19th, 2009Hi Kate, Glad you agree.
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