My POV on where effective marketing has moved - Community-build, Curate, Captivate, Caregive. Easy to say, hard to execute.

1. The Four C’s of Better Marketing
It is likely that you feel control of your brand Are You HeAring Voices?
slipping through your fingers. Every shelf-set,
event, media story, CGC contest – every Like, In the digital age, marketing is a multi-player
blog post, Tweet, review, thumbs up (or down) conversation between Brand, Consumers,
shapes it. Gap’s logo. Pampers’ “chemical Retailers, Critics and Friends. Digital media
burn” crisis. Kevin Smith’s Twitter tirade against has rewired consumer habits – in shopping,
Southwest Airlines. Dave Carroll’s YouTube guitar socializing, and media consumption – three
song against United Airlines. The Motrin Moms. arenas essential to better marketing. It shifts the
balance of voice in marketing conversations.
Your brand is dynamic, open-sourced. (So
is your company, like it or not.) Yours is one Control of the conversation started with Brands
voice among many. Your grip has slipped. Not in the days of mass media; shifted to Retailers
to worry; it’s normal to feel anxious in times of with shopper marketing . . . and now rests in
change. Maybe it’ll pass, like indigestion. the hands of Consumers, who control when,
how and where they engage with marketing
But you are worried. You’re still accountable, messages.
even though so much is out of your hands. How
can you give up control of your brand without Take a look at all of the shifts that have taken
abandoning your business? How can you lead place and are taking place in marketing today »
your brand and business, guide it in the right
direction, but not have absolute authority?
How can you do better marketing?
Marketing: Then, Now...and Next
PAsT What’s changed: PresenT What’s changing FuTure
next:
Reach Media clutter + product Chase On-demand media Be accessible
proliferation
Promotion Focus on short-term Discounts Consumers seek Recommendations
sales credibility
Campaigns Retailers push frequency Drive periods Individualized media: a Always on
screen in every product
Single message Consumer generated Orchestrated message Personalization of media Customized message
content = more authors mix
Features & Benefits Creativity ascends Unique selling Consumers seek Offer help
proposition solutions
National Brand Mass-merchandise National retail Regional/Neighborhood Local retail and brands
thrives specialties have cachet
over homogenized retail
Brand leads marketing Retail grows, brands Channel’s lead Wireless access = Consumer leads
compete for space marketing channel agnostic marketing
shoppers
Mass Media Media multiplies, then Fragmented Media On-demand devices: Omnipresent media
divides audiences Consumers choose
what, when, where
Build the Marketing Plan Marketing menus cater Buy the marketing Consumers inundated Curate the marketing
to retailers components with information message

2. The Four C’s of Better Marketing
Now, marketers can maintain a voice 1. communiTY-build
only if they embrace the new dynamic 2. curATe
of consumer-led conversation. The best 3. cAPTiVATe
approach? A four-step process: 4. cAregiVe
This isn’t about directing the conversation,
harnessing word of mouth, courting consumers 1. COMMUNITy BUILD
of influence. (Well, maybe a little.) It’s about
assessing the Brand’s role and establishing the Take segmentation to the next level –
Brand’s voice, in support of its core community. construct user groups
The good news is, there are strong Consumer Find and align with the right user groups:
assets to help you calibrate your Brand’s balance Consumers who want and/or need your product;
of voice to do better marketing: match your geography; share your brand and
corporate values. The exercise of pinpointing
• Tech-adept and take-charge consumers that the common ground between your target
serve as critics, amplifiers, scouts consumers and your brand also helps clarify the
• Many media to engage them, all highly brand essence.
targeted, and most of it ‘free’ How best to define your target? Demographics,
• Consumer appetite for information, geography, values, life stage, needs state? That
conversation, connection depends on how you define your brand: Your
• A growing openness to participate in core meaning drives your connection point
marketing overtures that genuinely benefit and delineates your target. Segmentation is
community still important, but it’s only the first step in
community-building.
The hard news is, the paradigm shift to do
better marketing requires a new philosophy and Marketing once ran top-down: TV reached mass
framework. audiences, pushed a message, dictated desire.
Today, marketing flows bottom-up: individuals
The framework starts – and ends – with C. drive brand reputation when they discover,
And C. And C. And C. interact with, recommend the Brand. Many
individuals aggregate around shared values –
that, in turn, builds audience for the compatible
Brand.
Today – and tomorrow – the best way to engage,
build and converse with the Brand community
is local, local, local. Marketers that are tuned
into individuals and their sense of community
with each other can find profitable common
ground with the community; have a real impact

3. The Four C’s of Better Marketing
on shared values; and develop an authentic AcTions To consider:
voice within the community. With geographic
communities, be local to the neighborhood. • Segment: define the various constituents
With virtual communities, be local to the most who you care about (brand lovers, brand
important shared interest. evangelists, brand haters, underdeveloped
etc), and determine where they ‘live’
It’s the way to maintain a share of voice with • Eavesdrop: Talk with these communities face
consumers who tap the Decision Ecosystem – to face, through qualitative and quantitative
defined by McKinsey as “a cloud of information research, to home in on their values
from all sources, available anytime” – to choose
brands and make purchases. • Refine: Examine which community values
intersect with your Brand’s, and build
marketing strategy on that foundation
• Recruit: Engage the most active and
THe decision ecosYsTem passionate members of the community to
• Many points of influence -- referrals, past shape and share the Brand’s voice/message
experience, new news, specific solutions, • Nurture: feed your communities; ask them for
impulse input an ideas; give them insider information;
• Consumers constantly share information … treat them as your constituents. Advocates
and influence others are made, not born.
• Brands can create a ripple effect in many
circles of influence: reach many shoppers
in many directions, all at once
2. CURATe
Think of it this way – segmentation is a noun; Go beyond positioning and utilize all of your
community-building is a verb. These days, brand’s assets
it’s better to think more about the verbs than
the nouns. Manage all the brand’s assets – generated
by you and by others: social media but also
brand image, events, consumer reviews, PR,
partnerships, display and design, plus consumer-
generated mash ups, tributes and parodies.
Your brand may have rich history, bring some
of it back. Packaging. Patents. Famous users.
An impressive production facility. An articulate
CEO. Be thorough in tracking down all of the
assets.
Curators (from the Latin curare, “to care”) find
the best, most useful and compelling elements
and then makes connections between them –
organizing and presenting a collection in a way
that brings new understanding, new value to
their audience.

4. The Four C’s of Better Marketing
It’s a museum-worthy, strategic approach that And remember, your brand isn’t a product; it’s a
goes beyond “content curation” (an exercise in mission statement. There’s a lot to curate if you
collecting, editing and repeating positive social think in the broadest scope.
media). This is the renaissance of “marcom”,
marketing communications. Marcom used to • P&G: “Touching lives, improving life.”
be viewed as a staff or support role. But as • WalMart: “Save people money so they can
the brand curators, the marcom team has an live better.”
important job in organizing the brand’s assets in
order to bring new value to their audience. • Nike: “Bring inspiration and innovation to
every athlete in the world.”
Build the brand’s assets for the benefit of the • Facebook: “Give people the power to
community. Track, evaluate, and share useful share and make the world more open and
parts of the brand conversation with the wider connected.”
community. Help your audience save time;
• Starbucks: “Inspire and nurture the human
provide context for your community; add value.
spirit - one person, one cup, and one
Reinforce shared values with current consumers;
neighborhood at a time.”
reach new users; build credibility of your brand’s
voice; fortify brand equity. • McDonald’s: “Be our customers’ favorite place
and way to eat.”
AcTions To consider:
museum-QuAliTY
brAnd curATion • Summarize: Capture your Brand’s mission
in a single, action-oriented statement. Let it
• NikeBetterWorld.com
be the description of your brand’s ‘museum
• Amazon.com
exhibit’, and refer to it often to guide strategy
• American Express OPEN and execution.
• Best Buy displays, ads, partnerships • Enlist advocates: Within your organization,
• Penzey’s Spices catalog with and your community. Sadly, over two-thirds
customer recipes of employees either do not understand or
are not committed to their brand (CMAT
• Domino’s Makeover
Study). In consumer-led marketing, it’s
crucial that everyone affiliated with the
Sometimes Curators do best by admitting Brand can respond quickly, intelligently and
they’re wrong. Remember Domino’s Makeover? wholeheartedly to consumers. Take the time
Domino’s admitted its pizza tasted bad, changed to teach the Brand mission internally
the recipe … and asked consumers to weigh in. • Centralize assets: Maintain an up-to-date
Same-store sales rose 14% in the first quarter. database of all Brand assets generated by
Forgiveness is a great way to build community you and others. Think of it as a stylebook on
because it’s a sign of an authentic relationship. steroids
Domino’s advanced the conversation through
its community: It recruited “Taste Bud Bounty
Hunters,” who wrote up a list of friends that
hadn’t yet tried the new pizza; the one to
convert the most “taste buds” earned a year’s
worth of pizza. Domino’s ran radio ads and
airplane banners personalized by name: “John
Anderson, try Domino’s new pizza.”

5. The Four C’s of Better Marketing
3. CAPTIVATe
Move beyond ‘activation’ and really offer What you want is content that pulls people in,
irresistibility that appeals to your communities in the most
relevant way, delivered with resonance. Pull your
Grab your community. Be insightful and communities in rather than pushing your brand
authentic in communicating with members. out.
Provide relevance and value: information,
experiences, entertainment, connections with One way to pull people in and be captivating
like-minded others, opportunities to engage is through a compelling brand storyline. A
deeper in the community. be A cATAlYsT. brand story creates the scope of what your
Brand stands for, and dictates why the brand is
Consider Stouffer’s “Let’s Fix Dinner” campaign. captivating:
The Nestle brand promotes family dinner as a
way to help kids navigate the hazards of growing
up – bullying, drugs, eating disorders. The
besT brAnd sTories
strategy is based on research that shows that
kids in families that routinely eat dinner together • Wonder: National Geographic, Kodak
are less likely to drink, smoke or use drugs. • Exploration: Avatar, IBM, Lego
• Love: see Kevin Robert’s book, Lovemarks
The marketplace is right: In a poor economy,
consumers eat at home more, and busy families • Redemption: Chrysler (“Imported from
are likely to buy more frozen food. But the Detroit”)
community mood is right, too: Parents want to
• The Struggle for Freedom: MTV, Nike
raise healthy, confident kids, and bonding over
dinner is an easy step. • Control: American Express, Verizon, eBay
• Heroism: US Army, Playstation
The campaign launched with a challenge to
• Rebellion Against Authority: Harley-
families: Let’s serve 1 million meals at the family
Davidson, Mountain Dew
table. Stouffer’s partnered with the National
Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse • Joy/Happiness: Coca Cola
(CASA) at Columbia University; created a • Justice: The Innocence Project
Website with activities, conversation-starters,
• Caring/Giving: State Farm, Johnson
family activities; recruited 15 leading mommy
& Johnson
bloggers for a roundtable panel to tackle the
barriers on families eating together. Stouffer’s • Awakening: GE Ecomagination
Dinner Club, a points program, lets members • Trust: Michelin
redeem points for family-friendly goodies (DVDs,
• Fulfillment: Gillette’s ‘The Best a Man Can
song downloads, movie tickets, photos, lunch
Get’, Mercedes
bags) or donate points to Habitat for Humanity.
“We are passionate about promoting the • The Real Truth: Dove
power of the dinner table to create short- and • Friendship: Budweiser, M&M’s, Starbucks
long-term benefits for families,” said Stouffer’s
• Discovery: Trader Joe’s
marketing director Brett White.

6. The Four C’s of Better Marketing
AcTions To consider:
4. CAReGIVe
• Craft your story: write a screenplay for your
brand, beyond the positioning. Develop the To paraphrase, ‘Ask not what your target
storyline, the plot, the players. audience can do for you, but what you can do
• Translate intention into action: Execute the for your communities”
Brand storyline in the marketplace – at retail,
at home, in public gathering places (online Pay attention to your communities. Be helpful,
and off). Give your audience a platform to act be active and involved, know what’s going on;
on their intentions for the community, too know what matters. Know what resonates with
members of your community. Be responsive.
• Provide experiences: Local events bring like-
Be in on the values; be in on the jokes. Offer a
minded individuals together, with the Brand
hand, a suggestion, a friendly tip.
as host
• Translate activation into captivation: look Look at Jamba Juice, the leader in the
at your marketing plan and eliminate all multimillion-dollar fruit smoothie business.
elements and activities that are not truly Jamba suddenly found itself pitted against
captivating to your communities. Or, take all McDonald’s with its big-ticket launch of McCafe
of the activation elements and upgrade them smoothies. What does David do when Goliath
to be captivating. sets up a smoothie blender?
• Act, evaluate, repeat: Get candid feedback,
take it to heart, and get back out there with a Jamba couldn’t match McDonald’s ad budget. Its
responsive, authentic voice message had to build its own momentum.
So Jamba produced an ad parody so hilariously
sarcastic that folks just had to pass it on.
Cheeseburger Chill seemed as real as any SNL
commercial. Were cheeseburger smoothies for
real? Viewers went to cheeseburgerchill.com
to find out and got coupons for real Jamba
smoothies. Viral seeding, Facebook, search
marketing, Twitter, blogger outreach and e-mail
blasts spread the word.
People loved being in on the joke. Jamba’s
viral video popped up everywhere, picking
up $11 million in free media, nearly half a
million viewers, and 807,000 Facebook fans.
Franchisees loved it. Jamba reinforced its own
healthy lifestyle positioning (and its sense of
humor), and kept sales steady as Goliath
came in.

7. The Four C’s of Better Marketing
Look at Zappos – a company that really cares. AcTions To consider:
And Amazon – they go out of their way to be
helpful. Yes, this is customer service. And it’s • Ask: What does your community want to
also the best kind of marketing. Because it’s accomplish, and how can your Brand help?
helpful. As mentioned earlier, don’t push your
• Stick around: Authentic commitment wins
brand, pull your community.
respect. Aim for mutual loyalty
This isn’t altruism, because being altruistic raises • Surprise people: When you know your
suspicions and raises questions about motive audience well, you can give them what they
and sincerity. But it isn’t brand selfishness either, want before they know they want it
trying to push messages and transactions. It’s
really enlightened self-interest: When the brand
does the right thing, people take note and
are more likely to be loyal. And, it’s just good
business.
Everything is rated these days, and everyone is
a rater. The world is Zagat-ized. Where do you
want your brand to be ranked?Pepsi Refresh is
working hard on this. So is Liberty Mutual and
its “Responsibility Project,” and U.S. Cellular
and its “Belief Project.” These aren’t just cause-
marketing efforts; they go deeper into the brand
ethos, and show that the company really is trying
to be helpful and supportive of its community.

8. CONCLUSION
It’s the role of marketing now to take cues from consumers. Do it well, and don’t
apologize for it. Being “responsive” doesn’t mean playing defense – it means being
ready, anytime, with the information, offers, and action that consumers seek. Build
communities. Curate your brand’s assets. Captivate them with relevance. Care
about them and help them.
You cAn do beTTer THAn segmenTATion...
go For communiTY building
do beTTer THAn PosiTioning...curATe
do beTTer THAn AcTiVATion...cAPTiVATe
do beTTer THAn being A cAreTAker...be A cAregiVer
I welcome your thoughts and ideas and questions, anytime, in any of the multiplicity
of communication vehicles!
Jim Holbrook
jim@dobettermarketing.com
jim@neighboragency.com
twitter: @jimholbrook
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