Maha Dhurajai, Belgium

The recent elections in Belgium have gotten the entire country talking – ironically that is what the biggest issue in Belgium is; Belgian tensions have long centered on language, but are spreading to social attitudes and spending. Dutch and French language are separate in the north and south for everything from license plates, schools, shop and road signs, to public events. Political parties are not national, but Flemish or Walloon, and north and south vote separately and the recent voting was basically two elections for one government.

The biggest winners this year were Dutch speaking Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie, or N-VA, which didn't even field candidates on its own in 2007 elections. The French-speaking Socialist Party advanced sharply over right-leaning opponents into second place; now the debate is heating up on who will be the next Prime Minister and forming a coalition government. The bet is on Elio Di Rupo, the mayor of the Walloon city of Mons, and the president of the French-speaking Socialist Party. Naturally, the thought of a Flemish nationalist party joining forces with a French speaking Socialist one, combined with the possibility of a French speaking Prime Minister has become quite a hot topic of discussion. Fuelled by the sensitivities around the North and the South, with the Dutch speaking North being more affluent economically, it has been interesting times indeed.

Things got even more exciting when Filip Dewinter, the frontman of Vlaams Belang, an extreme right wing Femish party (who incidentally changed the spelling of his name from Philippe to make it more Flemish and less “French”) tweeted “Di Rupo Premier? No way! Then I will move to Namibia …”

The Belgian “consumers” stood up and took action. Almost immediately, a Facebook page was set-up and in less than 48 hours, the group had garnered 16.000 members and the figure grew to 54.134 members. The public was urging him to keep his promise as he is known for always claiming to keep his word. Naturally, media also joined the masses and it even got attention from International media.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/19/belgian-unionists-nationalists-gay-premier

For a country that is just on the verge of embracing social media completely, this was a clear display of how an empowered public, or in this instance action consumers can truly make waves. And in this case, it was a country united – despite the sensitive issue at hand, so maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel after all?

Politics have always been delicate matter in Belgium, and this situation is definitely a significant example on the power of the people and how consumers can unite to action change.

Will Filip Dewinter move to Namibia? Maybe the Namibians will set up their own social media campaign to keep him out – with his extreme views towards immigration, it would not come as a surprise!

Nick Wolaver, United States

July 27 marks an important milestone in the global sports scene. Two years from Tuesday, the Games of the XXX^th Olympiad will officially open at London’s gleaming new Olympic Stadium.

Londoners won’t be waiting for the 27^th to celebrate as citywide “London 2012 Open Weekend 2010” events will take place for three days starting July 23. 

The late July milestone is also noteworthy to global consumer marketing, as the International Olympic Committee’s TOP sponsors – including powerhouse brands like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Panasonic and Visa – are already deeply engrossed in their pre-Games planning in anticipation of 2012 sponsorship activation in the months leading to and during London’s Games.

One recent Marketing Week report delves into the two-year Olympic planning underway at GE (disclosure: an Edelman client) and the company’s plans to engage U.K. consumers.

Almost a decade of planning goes into hosting each Olympiad, starting with a vigorous 2-3 year bid city process, followed by a seven-year cycle of planning, prep, practice and finalizing Games plans by the local organizing committee. The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG, an Edelman client) is not quite to the bell lap in its Olympic preparations.

Savvy marketers who seek to capitalize on the Olympic experience either directly or indirectly are smart to initiate the planning process as far in advance as possible, even looking at a multiple-Olympiad approach to include London as well as future host cities Sochi, Russia – the 2014 Winter Olympic site – and Rio de Janiero 2016.

The 2018 and 2020 host cities remain to be determined, yet Dow Chemical cited these two Olympic Games as part of their 10-year plan as the IOC’s newest TOP sponsor, announced July 16 in New York.

Brands need not be multi-billion-dollar corporations to create an appropriate Olympic-related campaign.

For instance, years ahead of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games, Canada’s renowned Rick Hansen Foundation realized the importance of creating a more robust online presence to showcase their global reach. The Foundation, named for and led by Canadian national hero and Paralympic gold medalist Rick Hansen, engaged Edelman to create a completely new website –infused with social media applications not previously leveraged by the Foundation – all in anticipation of a pre-Games launch in early 2010 and the organization’s 25^th Anniversary.

Even the most scrappy ambush marketing tied to the Games – such as Nike’s famous billboard series or Samsung’s successful efforts at Atlanta – are the result of months or years of advance planning. Social media considerations alone will continue to evolve with regards to Olympic engagement.

The bottom line: Like any Olympic athlete in training for their one moment in time, marketers considering engagement tied to global sports events should take a long-term planning approach to Olympic or other sponsorship engagement.

Photo via London 2012/LOCOG

Photograph: Emilio Morenatti/APAna Herrero, Spain

Spain became red. Red like the Spanish flag, like the color of millions of hearts beating as one as a their dreams turned into reality. Red like the color of passion, courage, initiative and friendship.

Finally, Spain fulfilled the so-long awaited dream of becoming champions of the World. The best team of the best country made this possible through team work, creativity and passion. Yesterday, everybody in Spain felt the relevance of such values as the players were saluting all the fans in Madrid. Of course, the celebration lasted more than three hours and allowed the team to show the World cup to its country.

It doesn’t matter if you love football or if you are supporting Real Madrid or F.C. Barcelona. It doesn’t matter if you are from Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla or País Vasco... The good thing, the important thing is how a country becomes just one. SPAIN, one, big, winner, joined... I am very happy of being part of this historic moment for this country and, overall I am very proud of being Spanish.

Regarding consumerism in Spain, a survey by the Holland bank ABN Amro called “Soccernomics 2010” says that the impact of winning the World Cup among the country economy will be the growth of about 0.7% of the GDP.  Spanish politicians say this issue has helped to recover the optimism and trust again in the government and the things they are doing. What is true is that the winning euphoria became a pike in the economy the last days. The industries that has experimented the growth most has been food & beverage (quick services restaurants – BK, Telepizza, etc.- snacks, beverages...)

Read the full survey here.

CAMPEONES, CAMPEONES....

Stephanie Schulman

Former Friends star Lisa Kudrow sums it up best when she recently said, “it makes me cringe that despicable has become the biggest craze in entertainment." And she’s not talking about the fact that a Friends reunion still isn’t in the works. She’s talking about the latest and greatest out of New Jersey –MTV’s Jersey Shore cast. With personalities like Snookie and “the situation” getting paid thousands of dollars for guest appearances how do we go about steering our clients towards a new class of influencers that bring a truly different shift in perception to the table?

And speaking of tables who would have thought an outraged NJ housewife’s famous table flip would have caused so much hype? I’ve been involved with many programs focused on moms but do we need to be giving some thought to taking our mom target to the next level –housewives? When the Real Housewives of New Jersey show on Bravo debuted, I was interested to see how people’s perceptions of being from NJ would evolve. Growing up in NJ myself (for those of you who really know me fairly close to where they filmed the show J) I wouldn’t say I can relate to the NJ housewives cast; yet the housewife phenomenon is one that companies are trying to relate to more and more.

Kodak brought on New York Housewife Jill Zarin as a spokesperson for Kodak Gallery. Rationale for bringing her on probably seemed like a no brainer to Kodak ---she appeals to moms, she has a good reputation (no skeletons thus far), the housewives show on Bravo is huge so that means great publicity for Kodak, right? Well, not exactly. On a recent episode of Season 2 of The Real Housewives of New York, Jill is criticized by fellow housewife Ramona for working with Kodak at a Kodak-sponsored party. Points that Kodak would do anything to avoid were thrown out by Ramona in her quest to question Jill’s decision to work with a company that has “falling stocks” and is “a little antiquated.”

This example is one of many that prove we need to keep thinking ---does a product’s moment of fame outweigh the risks?  If you’re doing your job right, you’re taking any potential risks into account before signing onto a product placement opportunity or brand ambassador. But as Kodak would now agree, risk free might not exist anymore – often because of reasons that aren’t always in someone’s control (I think you all know who I’m talking about here).  

At the end of the day would you call Mike, “the situation,” a good brand ambassador? Probably not. But do our clients want to be in on the Jersey Shore situation? Surprisingly so. I was in a brainstorm with one of our more conservative brands and the excitement was incredible when the idea of seeing “the situation” with their  product came from the head client herself. A tactic we’d be hesitant to recommend was now the hero idea out of the brainstorm.

Some clients may want to look into the idea of product placement to get in on the action vs. engaging a brand ambassador, especially as paid spokespeople are getting harder and harder to book.  So when we all starting 2011 planning for our clients let’s keep in mind what will put your brand in a situation for the best. Keep an open mind and let’s face it, despicable may not be such a bad thing.

Courtney McCraw

Last Spring, I bought a house because of a blog. The blog to blame is Catskill Farms; the author, a builder named Chuck. And the very sweet (albeit slightly expensive) story started like this:

If I had my way, I’d move far, far away

Where the roads will only fit one car

Air so clean you can see real far

From the top of a little hill in the country…

I wasn’t in the market for a house at all, but apparently was very much in the market for an escape. I had punched in ‘Catskills + getaway’ only to have Google surface Sullivan County’s best kept secret. The Catskill Farms site and owner’s blog were peddling “good homes with soul”—designs true to turn-of-the-century regional architecture with wood-burning fireplaces, wide plank floors and huge porches.

Chuck, a New York City expat who escaped to the Catskills in search of the good life, was religious in his blogging. He opined on the simple life, his ruminations interspersed with snapshots of wife Lisa, baby Lucas and Black Labrador Jake on lazy country Sundays—and, of course, countless photos of charming, vintage-meets-modern cottages that I could call my very own.

I read the blog daily, as Chuck spun stories of how a Catskills cottage would change my life: badminton tourneys with my Catskill Farms neighbors (never mind my lack of hand-eye coordination!); a Farmer’s Market with local, farm-fresh goods (I don’t cook!); tractor parades (hillbilly chic!); David Cross was also a homeowner (I was destined to be friends with Tobias Funke!)—I had to have this house.

Chuck was part showman, and part salesman, but mostly, he was a storyteller. He was authentic, relatable and witty (best when he blogged post-Scotch on Saturday evenings). With each post, Chuck penned chapters of a life, or at least a lifestyle, that I envisioned for myself. Through his blog, he brought to life a real estate offering through anecdotes and images that together comprised not a portrait of a piece of property, but rather an entire existence.

Yes, I bought a house based on a blog. It was a damn good story, I swear.

At the heart of our business we too are storytellers, commissioned to craft narratives on behalf of brands and businesses to engage and inspire consumers.

Our modern age has given rise to countless vehicles through which to tell our stories – from big budget branded entertainment platforms to mini tales told in tweets. Lured by the influence and reach of channels, it’s easy to focus solely on pulling the levers—guided by the desire to create and distribute content, any content—and in doing so, sacrifice the story itself.

Chuck’s blog reminds me of the importance of voice and narrative – authenticity, honesty, and sometimes a dash of bravado. Let us continue to challenge ourselves to be so original and bold in our storytelling, that it becomes the means to action. Every brand has a story – how will you tell it?  

Larry Koffler

Now that the worst of what has been officially entered into the AP stylebook as the "Great Recession" is in the rear view mirror, is it safe for marketers to resume pre-downturn programming? What if anything has changed?

Judging by recent headlines (and a couple of short targeted shopping excursions in London and New York), it's clear that consumer spending is coming back and a sustainable recovery is underway. While many marketers seem to counting on consumer mindsets and spending habits snapping back to the good old days of two years ago, history and several initial trend lines suggest a more fundamental resetting of consumer behavior – one where control will play a central role.  

After the Great Depression, the economy experienced one of the greatest growth spurts in U.S. history when the GDP nearly doubled in size between 1940 and 1945. And yet, the experience of living through the Depression impacted consumer behavior for decades to come. My grandmother, who always likes to talk, still rushes me off the phone to save on the phone bill, even after a review of rollover minutes. Aluminum foil is often reused - why waste?

While what we just experienced was not on the same scale as the Great Depression, it has been the longest recession on record, the unemployment rate has been the highest since the early 80s and despite the rally since last March, we haven't seen so much of our wealth evaporate since the 30s. It was enough to give us pause, shake our confidence (consumer confidence had hit an all-time low) and to have a more than fleeting impact on how and why we consume.  

We're already seeing short term impacts which include a sharp rise in our household savings rate, which had been declining since 1975 through multiple recessions and corrections, as well as a boost for house brands. According to a recent NPD study, house brands make up 24% of all food and beverages served in U.S. homes, up from 18% in 1999. Once a staple of lower-income households, they now enjoy roughly equal penetration among demographic segments. In IRI’s December 2009 Economic Survey, 54% of consumers indicated they were purchasing store brand products more often and 82% of those said they will continue to do so.

The longer term impacts are more subtle. Consumers across demographic, psychographic and commongraphics are, to varying degrees, recalibrating what constitutes value and importantly, how individual purchases can help them take control of what matters. In-control consumption does not necessarily mean buying less –  it means we’re buying differently. The decision-making process is shifting as we’re look for ways to reclaim control of our finances, environment and future.

Maslow 2.0

The fundamentals of Abraham Maslow’s theory on the “hierarchy of needs” created shortly after the Great Depression  provide a helpful lens through which to look at the current consumer reprioritization exercise.

As you might remember from Psych 101, the base level of the pyramid is associated with physiological and safety needs, while the upper levels are associated with social/belongingness, esteem and self-actualization needs.  According to Maslow, the higher needs in this hierarchy only come into focus when the lower needs in the pyramid are satisfied, so consumers worried about their job security may not be as concerned with self actualizing. When brand marketers are thinking about differentiators and “reasons to believe”, functional and emotional needs should be at the core of the answer. While the base level of needs e.g. breathing, will clearly never go out of style, it’s interesting to see how some of our necessities have shifted over time.

For instance, the Pew Research Center recently found that from the early 1970s to 2006, the proportion of Americans who considered air conditioning or dishwashers a “necessity” rose steadily, but in 2009 it dropped sharply. On the flip side, you can only imagine what the numbers would be for broadband internet access and iPhones  (and in my case Honest Tea and New Balance running shoes). Even the young Alaskan couple who moved “off the grid” to a Mongolian Yurt in the coastal town of Seldovia with no running water, shower, bath or a working toilet, has broadband.

The fundamental reset is in how consumers are thinking about what they can control at each point in the pyramid and how they are thinking about “spending." Our goodpurpose study found that 83 percent of people are willing to change consumption habits if it can help make the world a better place to live, illustrating the trend away from traditional status markers like big houses and toward identification with social purpose brands.

American Express is doing a good job of adapting to the new consumer mindset by offering features that help cardholders control spending, for example by allowing consumers to pay for groceries with reward points and imposing spending limits on kids with supplemental cards. In addition, they just announced the return of the Members Project – designed to “empower everyone to take small steps to make a big difference” via a partnership with TakePart, a content-driven social action network. The aim of the Members Project is to provide tools and resources to support causes people care about on the higher end of the pyramid – and empower more people to be successful at making a difference. 

The Brita FilterForGood program (client) is another good example - combining savings associated with the most basic of all needs, clean drinking water, with the desire to preserve the planet. The program has empowered consumers, saved more than 180 million bottles and driven double-digit growth for Brita. In both cases, a critical first step towards action is understanding one’s ability to have an impact.

The question we should be asking ourselves as we dive in with post Great Recession programming in the new age of public engagement: how do we help our clients empower their stakeholders to take control of key needs in the hierarchy - to help them feel secure, express themselves, take action, drive sales and in some cases make the world a better place.

Blair Garson, United States

Recently, we have talked about shifting from circulation to reverberation.  Being successful in terms of circulation is a simple concept. Get coverage in a national magazine which has a circulation of let’s say 3 million readers. Multiply that by 4 (industry standard, of course) to get your 12 million glorious media impressions. Normally that would be a huge success but with the ever-changing media landscape, simply placing our product isn’t enough anymore. We need to hear the echoes of that placement.

So how do we entice consumers to be vocal about our clients and share our messages? I’ve pondered this for awhile, checked Facebook status updates, tweets and blogs and noticed people seem to speak up when there’s an opportunity to shine the spotlight on them, even if only for a moment.

A couple months ago, I logged onto to Facebook and saw a recurring theme among my friends’ status updates. They were calling out colors – blue, black, nude, teal, red, paisley. Perplexed, I did a quick Google search and learned that in an effort to raise awareness for breast cancer, women were invited to post their bra color in their Facebook status. No organization or brand was attached to this effort and no one really knows where it originated. It is difficult to measure if this little viral “flash” raised awareness for breast cancer, but it did get a ton of people talking and participating in one unified conversation...about the color of their undergarments.

Approximately a month later, I signed onto to Facebook again and noticed I had somehow become “friends” with Sarah Jessica Parker and Bradley Cooper overnight. Soon after, and much to my disappointment, I realized it was just the latest Facebook trend – Celebrity Doppelganger Week. The concept was to replace your profile picture with a celebrity who you think you resemble.

Over the next several days, more and more profile pictures began changing. The conversation moved from Facebook, to the blogosphere, to lunch conversations at the office (you know who you are!) and even into mainstream media (Time Huffington Post, ABC News, Daily News, etc). 

With little encouragement, these two Facebook trends caught fire. It seems to me that their popularity stemmed from the narcissism of consumers and their desire for attention. So how can we use this to our advantage and promote our brands?

I recently saw a campaign for Pantene that is centered on finding the world’s first reality hair star.  The brand plans to put their products to the test in what they’re calling the “first reality hair advertisement.” While it remains to be seen if this new campaign will be a success, I think it’s a step in an interesting direction.  Instead of calling on an expert or celebrity to promote their brand, Pantene is shining the spotlight directly on the consumer making their thoughts, opinions, and experience with the product paramount.

Consumers like a small dose of attention and are eager to be at the center of the conversation. So instead of using them solely as a vehicle to push out our messages, maybe it’s time we advise our clients to shift the focus of their campaigns and make them more about the consumers. If we give them the soapbox to stand on, maybe just maybe, we’ll hear echoes.