Backchannelmedia

Marketing

By Anonymous

Companies are seeking to interact more fully with their tech- savvy target audiences by encouraging them to generate their own content about their brands online

The internet has often been hilled as the best medium for direct response, offering accountability and response rates that outstrip traditional direct marketing and DRTV lor a far smaller investment. But over the past year, in line with changing consumer behaviour online, brands have been shifting to digital as a channel for consumer and brand engagement.

Advertisers that are best known for producing cutting-edge creative and being innovation-focused have been the first to react to the changing nature of the medium. Honda is a case in point. The Japanese marque, which is renowned tor its outstanding advertising, has been making bold strides into usergenerated content by becoming the first major UK advertiser to sponsor a blog network that allows consu mers to create content and share their views about its prod nets.

The 2TalkAbout initiative has been launched to provide users with a trusted community-based environment where they can talk about brands and air their views about them. Crucially, Honda has no editorial control beyond the usual taste and decency restrictions, but responds to consumer feedback on the site through a'Honda says'section.

Natalie Kerton, vvebsite manager at Honda LIK, is keen to stress that the brand takes a reactive rather than proactive approach to the blog and says it has been important in building a lasting relationship with Honda fans online.

'We did it so anybody who wanted to comment about a Honda product had a space to do so. Initially it was set up for the launch of the latest Civic, but we are now looking at doing it lor motorcycles and power equipment as well,'she says.The site has so far received more than 2000 unsolicited comments and is proving to be a useful in for that ion channel for the brand.

Other car manufacturers are trying to engage consumers in different ways. Mazda has taken a slightly different approach, but with the same aim of creating a space online where users can meet and interact with other fans and the brand. With its interactive agency, Syzygy, Maxda wanted to tap into consumer interest in its cars online. But rather than trying to talk to this very loyal audience through regular online advertising and push marketing, the brand and agency devised a strategy to give the fans a Mazda- branded home online as a direct line to the company's car designers.

Matthew Bagwcll, executive creative director at Syzygy, says thedevelopment of the Mazda community site, which includes forums, clubs, input from the company's design experts and rich-media content, is iust the beginning of its strategy to use online as the glue for its brand engagement programme.

Mazda already holds 'driving experience' events at the Thruxton motor racing circuit on race meet days and has a consumer magazine that is currently produced in only a print format. In the future, Syzygy will be working with Mazda to cross-promote these events as part of the creation of a dedicated brand experience for consumers that can begin offline and translate onIine without any interruption.

The strategy is to create dialogue between the brand and consumers online. We can enrich offline content and make it more contextual and interactive, and through interaction with the target audience, Mazda can create more targeted brand experiences. It is much more important to help people experience the brand and its values rather than merely telling them about it,'he says.

There are inherent dangers in what both Mazda and Honda are doing. The democratising of content allows people to share in the ownership of it, but it can lead to a drop in quality. Despite this, Pieter Dorenbosch, manager, e-business customer interaction, at Mazda Europe, is positive about the changes the brand is making to its marketing strategy.

'We want to move away form the push marketing environment and put the customer in the driving seat, allowing them to communicate with Mazda on their terms. Online has become integral to our future plans because it is the best way to know the customer,' he says.

It is not only automotive brands that are looking to the consumer to lead the way. MTV is among those brands turning to their audience online to reinvent themselves, generating a deeper relationship with it s viewers.

The broadcaster is entering the tray with plans to launch an audience-controlled channel that will focus entirely on broadcasting user-generated content across TV, the internet and mobile phones.

This constitutes a step-change for MTV,but it has been looking to tap into this area for a while to reinforce its relevance to its brand-sceptical teenage target audience, with whom the company is hoping to create a new relationship.

Creative tools

Angel Ciambino, vice-president of commercial strategy and digital media at MTV Networks UK, says that the strategy is intended to transform the business to become the centre of a 'gravitational pull'for the audience.

The project will see MTV build on its existing assets, including the video-hosting site iFilm, which it bought last year tor 26m, to create branded internet and mobile services aimed at 16- to 34-year- olds. Viewers will be provided with the tools to create original content for the TV channel, rework existing programming and submit ideas for tutLIre shows.

'We want to get away from the traditional broadcaster model and provide tools for people to do their own storytelling. Hopefully we can inspire each other, but our role now is to invest so people have a place to put their stuff,' says Ciambino.

The activity will combine all the work MTV has previously done with text messaging and viewer voting and push it further to create new experiences for the user. 'We are trying to create a virtuous circle, not using channels just for content distribution, but creating immersive experiences across platforms involving the audience,'she adds.

MTV is keen to engage its target audience, which is spending more time online than watching TV via as many channels as possible - although this has its dangers, as it could affect its traditional broadcast advertising revenue.

Another increasingly popular method of engaging consumers online is through wholesale sponsorships that provide content to the target audience and involve them in a deep experience with the brand. Chewing-gum brand Wrigley recently signed a deal with Yahoo! UK & Ireland to create a branded content service within the portal's music channel - its first use of online marketing in the UK. Rather than start with banner ads or setting up a blog, Wrigley chose to use the content and audience of Yahoo! Music to engage its target audience.

The deal covers the creation of a section of the site called The Extra Venue', named after Wrigley's leading brand, that allows users to access exclusive content in a number of different segments. It also neatly dovetails with the 'Get a little closer' brand message used in the company's advertising.

Preferred medium

Toby Baker, UK & Ireland marketing director for The Wrigley Company, says the brand opted for such an immersive experience as its first foray into online because of a realisation that the company needed to take a completely fresh approach to get its message across to its audience.Our core audience knows nothing of a time when the internet didn't exist,'he says.'Music, film and gaming are their three main areas ol interest, and through this deal we are using music as a conduit to connect with them.'

Baker says Wrigley is using the initiative to cut through the clutter of mainstream advertising to reach its audience in its preferred environment, giving consumers the content they want. This is a major strategy shift for Wrigley, which is aiming to use the medium to promote all its main brands, including Juicy Fruit and Hubba Bubba bubble gum. 'The internet is a great way to connect with people of all ages and the powerful part of the medium is that people will tell us immediately if they like what we are doing,' he adds.

Mark Chippendale, outgoing vice-president of Yahoo! Sales Europe, says sponsorships can have a powerful effect, but their success relies on marrying up the right content with the right brand to create depth rather than breadth, so the brand develops a relationship with the user rather than merely spreading the word. 'The depth of the engagement is key,' he says. 'Consumers who go to a music site are more passionate about it than people listening on the radio - if you associate your brand with that, you kind of borrow from it. If you get it right, both brands borrow [positiveassociationsl from each other.'

With key consumer segments now spending significant amounts of time online, it is not surprising that brands are looking to the internet as a channel to develop their relationship with their target audiences. Going beyond linear advertising has its pitfalls, but the rewards are potentially massive, especially if consumers feel they are getting something back in return for their time or interest.

The biggest challenge facing marketers launching their brands into the online arena is to continue to develop their engagement techniques in orderto stay ahead of the fast-evolvin\g consumption habits of the wired audience.

Case study Mazda

Mazda's MX-5 roadster, which was launched in 1989, attracts a large and loyal following, with unofficial owners' clubs springing up all around the world and online. The car manufacturer wanted to find a method of harnessing the power of these unofficial clubs to generate even greater brand engagement with their members.

Mazda recognised that many owners follow the evolution of the model and many go on to upgrade. The marque already had a well- received quarterly customer title. Mazda Magazine, and wanted to build a community website (www.mx-5.com) as a means of further cultivating the relationship between the brand and its customers.

Existing alongside the unofficial owners' clubs, the MX-5 website was to be grown to encompass more interactive elements such as allowing questions to be emailed to specialists at Mazda, offering a forum to allow interaction between community members, and hosting a news and features section providing the latest gossip.

The community site and forum was expanded in March 2005 and relaunched in November, and Mazda invested in the services of a dedicated communities editor employed by its interactive agency, Syzygy. Her brief was to build the quality of the offering and the quantity of subscribers. Syzygy started by increasing the frequency of updates and actively monitoring the forum.

Since November 2005, the number of unique visitors to the site has increased by 150%, community membership is now growing at 10% a month and the number and length of forum postings have increased to a corresponding degree.

Mazda intends to further develop its MX-5 site during the course of this year, and is considering initiating an equivalent community for RX-8 drivers. The MX-5 site will offer more exclusive content from Mazda and host more user-generated content. It may also offer users a personalised interface.

The car manufacturer has recognised the potential for using the site to filter feedback to aid its research and development process, and even surveys members of the community for their opinions on product innovations or forthcoming marketing material. Mazda also intends to use the site to weave online and other channels together to give people a better experience of the brand and its values.

Mazda: community benefits consumers and brand alike

'It is much more important to help people experience the brand and its values rather than merely telling them about it'

Matthew Bagwell

Syzygy

Case study AOL

At the start of this year, AOL, best known in the past for its bland, unchallenging brand advertising, embarked on a major change in ad strategy with the launch of its aol.co.uk/discuss brand platform.

The platform, which was devised by brand director Tim Ryan and brand strategy agency Branded, is intended to give consumers their chance to have their say on how the internet has affected their lives - and help AOL shape the future of its offering. To kick off the campaign, AOL ran two hard-hitting TV ads. created by Grey London, asking the question 'Is the internet a good or a bad thing?' One ad illustrated good aspects of the internet, such as the availability of information on medical treatments, while the second ad showed the bad aspects, such as the fact that terror groups around the world use the internet to recruit.

The work is intended to be much more than just an ad campaign. At its heart is the aol.co.uk/discuss microsite. where the public is invited to debate the good and bad aspects of the internet, as well as read essays about key internet issues written by figures including Alastair Campbell and Mariella Frostrup.

Since January, more than 600.000 people have visited the microsite and over 4000 have registered to take part in the debates. Some of the hottest topics discussed so far have been the impact of the internet on children's education and the effect it has had on dating.

AOL: invited consumers to discuss merits of the internet

MTV: creating tools and channels to help viewers generate content

Wrigley: developed a branded content service within Yahoo! Music

Interaction online

Pros

* Online involves consumers in an immersive experience

* It establishes the brand in an environment that is valuable to the consumer

* It can become part of the consumer's life, so they spend more time interacting with it

* It creates a valuable relationship between the consumer and the brand

* It communicates on what the consumer feels is their terms, making it powerful

Cons

* If carried out incorrectly, it can damage the brand

* It is harder to plan and execute than traditional online advertising

* It is a lasting commitment, not a short-term tactic. Results take time

* Some forms give the brand less control than traditional online advertising

* There are fewer agencies and media owners than for traditional online ads

Copyright Haymarket Business Publications Ltd. Jul 5, 2006

(c) 2006 Marketing. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.