Web 2.0 Evangelism in South Africa
Web 2.0 evangelism was advanced in Africa upon the occasion of the first Africa Experiential Marketing Summit, fronted by futurist and brand wizard, Martin Lindstrom. The over riding theme that Lindstrom expounded - joined also by the Disney Institute’s Sara Jones and Liz Bigham - was the necessity of recognizing the inexorable shift in power from the brand to the consumer.
Below are a few key excepts taken from Louise Marsland’s full report on Biz.Communities.com.
“There is now a Japanese store concept called RanQueen, where each product on the shelf changes constantly - due to its online shopping portal where consumers vote for their favourite products with their cash - and the bricks and mortar shop reflects those choices.
“All the brands I work with globally have big brand manuals,” said Lindstrom. But no brand manual has prepared brands for what is taking place online …The power has moved away from the brand to the consumer, Lindstrom emphasises. The consumer became the broadcaster when the power of social media (all the interactive tools that allow you to connect any which way with friends and anyone else globally) became the communication of choice for millions of consumers globally”
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“The marketing landscape has changed forever, Lindstrom emphasises. We have gone from the Traditional media: TV, radio, print, cinema, outdoor – to ONLINE MEDIA: blogs, chat rooms, SMS, games, ITV, PSPs - and still further to Wireless Media options: podcasting, iChat, brand tagging , video blogging, contextual branding, tribe support, viral programs…the next generation of consumers can interact with the people they trust the most to influence their brand and purchase decisions: their friends, families, peer groups … (i.e., their communities on the various blog sites they interact with, and online networks, like Friendster, LinkedIn and others).”
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“And here’s a new word for every marketing director, brand manager and creative to learn: “Advertainment” which Lindstrom says is mixing editorial with commercial content. There are no lines anymore, which make life more difficult for editorial purists, editors and journalists, but as Lindstrom says, the young generation is able to filter it.”
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“To conclude, Lindstrom quoted from Benjamin Franklin, who even 100 years ago, captured the essence of what makes something memorable - the key to experiential marketing: “Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I might remember. Involve me and I’ll understand”.
Lindstrum makes the entire presentation available as a free download on his site.
Tags: brand-marketing, ichat, linkedin, martin_lindstrom, media_options, podcasting, rss-marketing, viral_programs, web-2.0