Ik beken : de laatste zoveel weken heb ik mezelf nogal in het onderwerp van de 'social media' verdiept. Ik ben ook maar een mens. Een mens die graag (en veel) leest over de stand der dingen inzake marketing, strategie, merk- of bedrijfsbeleid en aanverwante poëzie. Vooral m'n online bronnen hebben het vandaag dan met luide stem over de revolutionaire sociale media. En hoe ze de wereld diepgaand en definitief veranderen. Dus wou ik er meer over weten, het beter begrijpen - en vond ik het ook nuttig om u daarover te onderhouden in een aantal recentere posts.
Maar waar een hype is, is altijd een tegenbeweging - meestal gedreven door schokschouderende 'laggards'. Maar soms ook door mensen die al voorbij de hype zijn en terug de contouren beginnen te zien van een realiteit die in al de mist was verdwenen.
Zo iemand is The Ad Contrarian. Iemand die bvb. dit als een van z'n motto's neerschrijft :
The Ad Contrarian is de naam van een boek en een weblog van Bob Hoffman (gepokt en gemazeld in de reclame : CEO van Hoffman/Lewis advertising in San Francisco, vroeger o.a. CEO van MOJO). Zijn blog veegt met veel humor de vloer aan met buzz, bullshit en andere brol in de sector. En als overtuigd dwarsligger moet nu vooral de social media hype het ontgelden.
Een recent artikeltje van hem neemt niemand minder dan Jeff Jarvis op de korrel. Jeff is nochtans niet van de minste : hij is joernalist, professor, auteur van het boek 'What Would Google Do?' en bezieler van BuzzMachine, een erg invloedrijke blog in de mediawereld. Ik mag 'm graag lezen !
In "It's a wonderful world" hakt Hoffman in op deze quote van Jarvis "Advertising is a failure. When you don't have that good relationship, then you have to advertise - tell people something" (zie filmpje hier - of in de blogpost van Bob Hoffman)
Maar laat ik u niet langer ophouden...
You didn't know that? Where have you been?
It's obvious. They have to advertise. Advertising is what you have to do when you're failing.
This is because the internet has created a new species of human being. And these new human beings live in a wonderful world in which they have relationships with all the companies that make the products they use.
And the only time companies need to advertise to these people is when that relationship is broken and failing.
You see, these new humans don't buy things for practical reasons -- like, it works better, or it's cheaper, or it looks nicer. It's all about the relationship.
These new humans want a direct relationship with their peanut butter maker and their muffler manufacturer. They want a relationship with the company that makes their socks and their chairs. And their pickles, and their half-and-half, and their mayonnaise, and their cookies, and their tires, and their chewing gum, and their toothbrush, and their umbrella, and their dishwasher, and their napkins, and their toaster, and their gasoline, and their horseradish, and their dental floss, and their paper towels, and their golf balls, and their shoes, and their pillows, and their pencils, and their deodorant, and their books, and their nail clippers, and their furniture polish, and their frozen chicken strips, and their lamps, and their potting soil, and their bathing suits, and their glasses, and their clocks, and their fungicide, and their dishes, and their cat food, and their sun block, and their cookie dough, and their motor oil, and their light bulbs, and their burglar alarm, and their ironing board, and their fire insurance, and their coffee filters, and their pillow cases, and their allergy pills, and their mouthwash, and their vacuum cleaner bags, and their shower curtains...
So you needn't bother telling them that your product works better, or is cheaper, or looks nicer. That's just a sign of failure. It's just a sign that your relationship is failing.
These new humans live in a wonderful world. It's a world in which their minds are free to evaluate the relationships they have with all these companies. They don't have to worry about their jobs, or their children, or how they're going to pay the mortgage.
They don't need to wash their bath tubs, or have mammograms, or go to work, or apply for loans, or bail their kids out of juvenile hall, or fold the laundry, or take their parents to the doctor, or vacuum, or make dinner.
They have all the time in the world to develop direct relationships with companies. And then, when they're finished building these relationships, they go on line to social media and have conversations with and about these companies.
It's a wonderful world.
Someday I'd like to visit it.
NB : u volgt BrandDigest toch ook af en toe ? U vindt er uittreksels uit de meest lezenswaardige artikels die ik op het net vond. En wees gerust, ze gaan meestal niet over 'social media'...!