Having spent the last 17 years using direct mail as a renewal and acquisition strategy, with acquisition rates as high as 7% at one point and renewal rates well over 30%, I’ve learned a thing or two about relevancy.

My brand experience comes with an exponent. I’ve worked with clients such as Nestle, Coca Cola, GMAC and Procter & Gamble. I like to tell myself I’ve have a bit of brand perspective. Truth is, I have enough perspective to give me a birds eye view.

Makes me wonder, why are these well “funded” national brands struggling to be relevant?

Sure, these brands are doing better than most, but is there really any doubt that they could do so much better?

Take Disney – wouldn’t a “How to Look Like A Princess For a Day” video series be incredibly interesting and perfectly relevant to their core audience?

Check out this user generated video on youtube with almost 800,000 views!

CINDERELLA: Disney Princess Inspired Makeup Tutorial Icy Blue False Lashes

How hard would it be to hire this user, xsparkage, or outsource a professional to create a fun series like this, except with links to the actual makeup, dress up clothes, accessories, etc?

Hats off to Betty Crocker who  has started to do this with their series of “How to Make A Cake,” which I think is perfectly genius.

Apparently I’m not alone, so do nearly 80,000 other people whenever a new cake gets uploaded to youtube!

How To Make An Inchworm Bug Cake and Bug Cupcakes

Pretty easy to imagine quite a few cake mixes leaving the shelves because of this series, right?

What about the auto industry?

There are quite a few top videos around cars. Just two minutes on YouTube and I was able to find user generated videos that pulling in 100,000 to 12 MILLION views.

Do you believe General Motors could reposition their brand as more cutting edge and consumer friendly simply by using one of their models to conduct any one of the following experiments?

And don’t you think they could take a wild leap from the stodgy and traditional brand box by doing some event based PR/Marketing that showcases local dealerships doing live demonstrations of similar “experiments.”

Bring in your trade in worth $2,000.00 or less and we’ll give it a makeover you’ll never forget!

Wouldn’t that improve customer experience since one of the negative aspects to buying a new car is trading in your old one that’s worth a handful of dollars more than nothing?

Have fun with it, get people engaged…the dealers could even take a video of it and submit it on the customer’s behalf. The top video views gets a new car.

Statistics easily suggest if they downright prove it – these strategies are worth testing

As reported by King Fish Media in their 2009 Survey on Marketing, Media and Measurement:

• 86% of respondents’ companies are currently creating or plan to create original content for their customers and prospects in the coming year.
• 81% believe that brands and companies can create content that is as engaging and informative as content created by media companies.
• 74% feel that original content and media are most effective for generating marketing ROI.
• 70% are spending more today to reach customers and prospects directly with branded content than they did three years ago.

REV Tip of the Day

Take calculated risks that are entertaining and at times invoke a Visceral response.  People take action most when their emotions are engaged!

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According to emarketer’s recent October 2009 report titled Social Commerce on Faceboook, Twitter and Retail sites, 92% of consumers consider “recommendations from people I know” as a trusted media source.  Right now it seems to be a number the brands are trying to hang their hats onto, but is it for the right reasons?

First of all, with any statistic you must understand the context.  So what does 92% really mean? If you look at it a little closer, you’ll notice that 92% of people trust recommendations from other consumers they know and even trust opinions posted by unknown consumers MORE than ads on TV, on the radio, in magazines and newspapers.

So my next question, is why?

Is it that we really trust our friends more than say a trusted, educated, informed, objective news source such as the WSJ?  Or is that we no longer trust the objectivity of the medium?  Shouldn’t the real question be about why our confidence in other mediums has been reduced to such an all time low that to put it bluntly, one shit pile smells better than another?

Unfortunately our crazy Aunt Susan and depressed sister Sue aren’t any smarter than they were 2 years ago, so why the increase in trust?  I’d like to start the discussion that perhaps there isn’t an actual increase in trust of friends, but actually a decline in the trust of media.  The veil has been lifted with the advent of technology, and quite frankly, I think the wizard isn’t as smart as we’d been “sold”.

But then again, neither is our social circle, right?  How many people really walk around talking about how smart and brilliant their friends and family are?  For example, my brother takes risks I’d never take.  My sister wouldn’t take half the risks that I take.  And my cousin?  I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. I even have friends who I love dearly, but the minute they start selling something to me, I tune out.

Yet I do like information.  Quick and easy answers.  Love it.  So it truly comes down to a specific algorithm of quantity and quality, in my opinion.

Take Amazon.  If you find a product you like with a rating of 5 stars and 16 ratings, is it better than a product with 4 stars and 3000 ratings?  Hard to tell.  You probably have to look a little deeper.  Perhaps you go to price point to decide.  Are there only 16 ratings because that version costs 5 times as much so not as many people could afford it?  Or are there less ratings because the product is awful and they could only get 16 of their employees to “stretch the truth”?

The truth is, there are so many more factors than just the rating or recommendation itself.  The ones I trust the most are the ones that tell me what is wrong with a product and what is good about it.  That feels objective to me.  Again, personal preference is the wild card that is very difficult to quantify and can only really be deciphered after significant engagement metrics.  However, it’s the quirks of the consumer that is every brand’s sweet spot because it’s hard to measure, but once you do, it’s invaluable as it plays a huge part when it comes to making decisions to purchase.

What it truly comes down to is that consumers are demanding real access to real time stats from potentially real people that they actually trust.  That’s powerful support for any brand.  Yet, as long as the product (or medium) is of high quality and maintains transparency, then the brand (or medium) can be trusted…no matter what their friends tell them.

In fact, many brand advocates are built due to opposition.  The more someone hates you, the more the others love you; make them love you or hate you, but never leave them indifferent.

Remember: your job as a brand is to create outstanding products, that at a minimum meet a need and at best fulfill a want (more on this later).  But you must clearly say what you do and do what you say, period.  Then you as the brand will become the “friend” and people will trust you.

Bottom line?  No one likes to be sold.  Ever.  For any reason.  An agenda inspired opinion is revolting to most.  People want transparency in their lives.  I believe that integrity still counts for something.  Aren’t most people just looking for the facts so they can decide for themselves?

It comes down to quality choices.  Very few people have the time to become an expert on every topic they have to make decisions around.  Most just want the right information at the right time from people who know what they are talking about, so a better decision can be made.

REV it up tip of the day:  Be Remarkable, Focus on Engagement to Go Viral.

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