Grown Up Thinking

Much like Dave Carroll and his 2008 plea to United Airlines to fix the guitar they busted, Freya Svensson has turned to song (and YouTube) to air her concerns about customer service with a huge brand (this time, it’s Volvo).

Instead of writing an angry letter, consumers will now write scathing blogs posts. Instead of asking to speak to the manager, they’ll turn to their social networks. Thankfully, these examples show less vitriol and far more humor, but act as a definite heads up for brands to listen and respond.

Want to unlock the mysteries of marketing to today’s new moms? Mr Youth has just released Millennial Mom 101, our latest white paper which explores How Millennial Moms are Supplanting College Students as the Most Connected and Technology Dependent Population.

The paper concludes with the Millennial Mom Roadmap, 10 keys to marketing to this ever evolving consumer. Download the full white paper at MillennialMoms.com.

Glance at this year’s box office Top 5 and there is hardly a well known name, let alone a true movie star. Gone are the days where you shelled out $20MM dollars for a top star and they led you to box office glory. In fact, take a peek at this year’s Top 30 movies and see how many true stars you can name outside of Tom Hanks and perhaps Hugh Jackman. It’s not surprising that star salaries are dropping fast.

So what’s changed? Well, Twitter’s assent to mainstream for one. A movie can be chock filled with superstars but if Twitter is ablaze Friday with negative tweets about the film, a blockbuster can go up in flames in just days. Will Ferrell and Sasha Baron Cohen have seen this first hand this summer.  Likewise, films like The Hangover and District 9, which delight audiences, can quickly swell at the box office despite no notable stars. What does this mean for Hollywood? Make good films and audiences will come. Find ways to engage core fans and spread their enthusiasm through social media and that effect can be multiplied quickly.

Hollywood of course is not the only industry effected by a world that now demands instant feedback and so easily enables people to bypass mass media to disseminate and consume information. Brands face the same challenges. No longer can a big budget commercial and widespread brand awareness convert at the register. The product or service must deliver and conversing with communities most vocal and passionate must be a large piece if not the focal point of any marketing campaign.

As we’ve seen throughout history, mass adoption of new technology changes the rules. The rules are  now changing fast and no star or brand is immune.

Words, words, words. Adding value for consumers has always been an awesome thing. But an increasingly large flock of factors have nearly made it mandatory. Evolving a brand’s message and positioning is a sure sign of actively listening and relating to its customer base. And it starts by prioritizing substance over style. So let us weather the storm with a newly refreshed lexicon, shall we?

Source: PRSA

Today, the New York Times reported on what must be the dream internship for most tech-savvy college students. Pizza Hut is hiring a “Summer Twintern” to join the company in its Texas offices as the official tweeter for the brand. Intern responsibilities include attending special events & photo shoots, participating in company brainstorms, and monitoring social media in general for the brand.  The position is currently featured prominently on Pizza Hut’s home page, and is popping up all over the media.

This is an extremely smart move, and an example of how a simple idea can have a huge impact in the world of social media.  Seemingly inspired by Mentos’ 2007 Trevor the Intern campaign, Pizza Hut is turning to the millennial audience and essentially holding a casting call for the social media voice of its brand.  Instead of paying some established blogger or PR expert, Pizza Hut is wisely embracing its core consumer base and allowing them to speak for the brand on a very public level.

“They’ll be our social media journalist,” said Pizza Hut marketing VP Bob Kraut, “chronicling in 140 characters or less what’s going on at Pizza Hut.”

At Mr Youth, we constantly encourage brands to empower the consumer and let them be the authentic  voice of the brand.  It doesn’t really get much better than this.  The only downside is I’m not eligable.

Taking cues from both the Champion Hoodie Remix contest and the current trend of food personalization (including granola, chocolate and even tea), Dunkin Donuts launched a contest this week that challenges people across the country to create their own donut for the chance to win $12,000 and to get their tasty treat produced. Just more proof on how customization really is king.

We at Mr Youth have long spoken about the Demise of the Glamorized Celebrity. It is one of many reasons why we often preach focusing campaigns on creating messaging that is spread through peers vs. betting on some celebrity. While nearly all data will reinforce that peers and trusted sources are the #1 influencer in purchasing decisions, recent celebrity behavior and the 24/7 media makes celebrity endorsements an even greater risk.

The list of recent celebrity “mistakes” leaves few safe. As Chris Brown, Michael Phelps, Alex Rodriguez, Britney, Michael Vick, Kobe Bryant, Mel Gibson and many others show,  nearly anyone can fall and anything from drug use, anti-Semitism , domestic violence to dog fighting can bring a celeb (and any brands attached) down. It appears that advertisers are catching on as a recent Ad Age article cited that only 7% of the ads that aired during this year’s Grammy Awards featured celebrities, down from 13% in 2008 and 25% in 2007.

Brands will increasingly have to question whether handing over big bucks to back a celeb are worth the risk, especially when social media and technology continues to make connecting consumers through authentic and relevant sources more widespread.  So, brands who haven’t already inked deals with Tiger, Peyton or one of the few seemingly sure bets will need to determine whether to bet on their consumers or a celebrity.

Barack Obama’s presidential campaign has already showcased the power of social media and other innovative means of communication; examples not only to other politicians, but best practices for marketers as well. Obama’s brand has been built on inclusiveness, openness and one of building true passionate communities. These are some of the very same pillars we repeatedly stress to our clients on how to speak to this new generation of consumers who have grown up in a world where communication lines have been thrown wide open.

Now, Obama’s presidency seeks to redefine the communication between the President and the nation. Obama has already set up a website with a blog to update citizens on what they are working on as well as areas where people can submit their own stories and feedback to the President. Obama just recently announced that he will be giving a weekly address on YouTube as he seeks to contiue to destroy communication barriers and get people further involved in their government.

While the political ramifications of this alone are significant, imagine what this presidency will do to consumer expectations from brands. Brands are all ready rapidly finding out that word now quickly travels; both good and bad, and that fewer secrets are able to be kept with consumers. Once the nation sees a President able to share and reach out for ideas and feedback, they will demand the same from all brands.

A great site for Sprint that beautifully illustrates the Consumer 2.0 insight that bite-sized communications dominate.

Plug Into Now compiles small fragments of information onto one easily manageable page that changes dynamically and can be downloaded for use on Facebook, Myspace, and iGoogle. It’s admittedly quite mesmerizing (and the soothing voice doesn’t hurt either).

Visit Plug In Now.

A study just released today by Viacom Brand Solutions International reinforced what we at Mr. Youth have been saying for years, that:

“youth” is no longer applicable in today’s society, and marketers should target consumers based upon their engagement and participation in youth culture rather than by chronological age’

As we have been immersed in youth culture over the past 6 years, we have seen this new digitally enabled consumer graduate college and move into the workforce, yet their behavior and interests remains largely the same. As Viacom puts it:

“Even in these financially challenging times, people are trying to stay younger for longer,” said Kevin Razvi, EVP and managing director of VBSI. “ 25-to-34 year-olds are continuing to consume music, gaming and the internet and are enjoying the pursuits of their younger years while benefiting from a greater level of personal and financial freedom. We therefore need to rethink what ’youth’ actually means and how we and our partners can approach this constantly evolving group of people.”

Likewise, we have seen our experience gain increasingly more relevance as marketers struggle to reconnect with their consumers, a consumer many no longer fully grasp due to the rapid changes that have occurred over this time. If you need a quick cheat sheet to this new consumer, check out our white paper Consumer 2.0.