What does branding mean now?

There are differences in execution when we build brand relationships with individuals versus communities. More mportantly, how do we even think about the nature of branding itself and the role it plays in designing a customer relevant, connected business. Is it realistic to design products and services for individuals not segments? What is the right level of relationship for a brand?  The demographics/psychographic level is too big, and the individual level is too small. So communities of interests and affinity are more the scale you want. Via Rawn Shaw, Forbes.

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Companies have bought in to social media and online community to the extent that they think it’s important and have put some resources into funding community management positions and tools to enable community. But there is still a lot of uncertainty about what to expect of both the roles and the tools. This framework can guide organizations in developing community management capabilities. Via The Community Roundtable’s Community Maturity Model

Companies have bought in to social media and online community to the extent that they think it’s important and have put some resources into funding community management positions and tools to enable community. But there is still a lot of uncertainty about what to expect of both the roles and the tools. This framework can guide organizations in developing community management capabilities. Via The Community Roundtable’s Community Maturity Model

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Kids prefer peers… and many adults do too

A Harvard Business Review blogger shares this great example of effective customer communication on a sensitive topic by creating a supportive, peer-based community:

Procter & Gamble’s BeingGirl community for teen and pre-teen girls, was formed initially to promote feminine hygiene products because TV and print ads made its young audience uncomfortable. P&G enlisted experts to provide content, which did little to build interest.After that misstep, P&G created forums so that girls could talk to each other about the issues and challenges of growing into young womanhood. And with that the site took off, with girls from around the world eager to get into the conversation — and with P&G able to market its products more subtly and effectively than before. Customers are often more apt to trust and be interested in information if it comes from a peer, rather than a company.

Lessons to be learned:

  • Customers know more about each other than you know about them. 
  • Customers are more credible than you are. 
  • Customers are more persuasive than you are.
  • Customers often understand buyer needs better than you do.
  • Prospects in your market would rather affiliate with their peers (your customers) than with you.
Source: blogs.hbr.org

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I stopped by the Community Leadership Summit 2010 as I was preparing for OSCON this coming week. It is an open unconference-style event, now in its second year, that’s held the weekend before OSCON. Everyone who attends is welcome to lead and contribute sessions on any topic that is relevant. In these discussion sessions the participants can interact directly, offer thoughts and experiences, and share ideas and questions. There will be another more detailed post about this event later on Radar, but if you are in Portland, Ore. this weekend you can still register for Sunday’s sessions here.

I spoke with the event organizer Jono Bacon, who works at Canonical as the Ubuntu community manager, and is author of the book “The Art of Community: Building the New Age of Participation.” Watch below as he describes how the basic principles of his book led to the creation of this event:

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