"The internet is not TV 2.0". You gotta love Seth Godin - considered, candid and rich with insight. I found this video yesterday and thought it was worth sharing. Why? A lot of my conversations I have with other marketers follow similar themes...
- "PPC ads does not work like they used to, I can't scale it up"
- "Banner ads don't work for us at all, we don't get the clicks"
- "How do we get social media marketing right"
This video resonated with me, not just because I've learnt from Seth for over 10 years, but because he succinctly addresses the bigger problem that marketers face and then outlines the solution in only 10 minutes.
What are the take-aways?Revolutions are initially perceived impossible - Seth reminds us about Henry Ford and how the first mass production car changed the world and paved the way to a totally different landscape, in every sense. Imagine the concept of roads running everywhere with cars on it before they were invented. It would sound impossible. And, all because Henry Ford created a way to develop a vehicle with interchangeable parts.
Our revolution is the internet, but Godin insists that we are missing the point with two common thought processes:
If you do a search on a brand you'll find opinions about it, same with a book - there will be a handful or maybe hundreds of reviews. 10 years ago the info came to you from the company, now we get the truth, and often that news finds us without us requesting it via social networks. Did you imagine this 10 years ago?
It's better to bet on marketing in a new and open way in a world that's leading to open, there are no secrets anymore. Ask Rupert Murdoch.
"We have the product, now go and sell it by putting a gloss on it". You spend, you get - simple? The advertising heroes in '63 had money and a unique moment in time (the TV-industrial complex) they could buy out the marketing challenge, and as marketers Seth is saying that we're still trying to follow the same model. It was a totally different environment where the competition could be simply out-spent. Yet this linear thinking cannot work in the competitive and noisy online space. Banner ads or PPC don't scale or work in a spend-to-get way - they can though act as an amplifier for what is already working.
Nobody cares about our brands. Nobody's waiting for spam email updates or press releases. The product is the marketing, the marketing team (the story-tellers) should be in charge of product in order they can influence the making of stuff that's remarkable and so marketable.
The internet is the lever, it's the beginning not the end point. A means to connect and do business in a totally different way. It's not TV 2.0.
Watch the video and share what you think, could this approach be something you take into your organisation?
By Danyl Bosomworth
Dan helped to co-found Smart Insights in 2010 and acted as Marketing Director until leaving in November 2014 to focus on his other role as Managing Director of First 10 Digital. His experience spans brand development and digital marketing, with roles both agency and client side for nearly 20 years. Creative, passionate and focussed, his goal is on commercial success whilst increasing brand equity through effective integration and remembering that marketing is about real people. Dan's interests and recent experience span digital strategy, social media, and eCRM. You can learn more about Dan's background here Linked In.
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