Product Displacements

As consumers we are constantly trying to avoid the latest pitch and ad pushed at us by marketers. However, I know that as people we are curious to find out what's going on, we want to be up to date on gadgets, and learn about the best deals in town. Some consumers may want to get involved at creation level, many prefer to "test" an idea first hand before embracing a product or service.

As marketers we're trying to figure out where social media fits in with the goals and ROI of the businesses we serve, and the needs and wants of our customers. There may be a great use for a product and service, yet that market may go untapped because we're not in the right places and thus in front of the right people.

As self publishers we face a mash up of both situations -- we want to be in the known, yet detest the blanket pitches and press releases we get every day; we realize that the answer may not always be social media, no matter what the question is. And we would love to enter conversations with other like minded professionals to build on ideas and join interesting projects. The whole reason why many of us are up late at night to do this is because we're absolutely passionate about exploring where this conversation is going.

These are exciting times. Times when we might be surprised at the ingenuity and freshness generated by all these forces working in collaboration with each other.

Joel Topcik coined a new term for a form of product integration that NBC's Heroes is testing -- he called it product displacement. Wouldn't you want to know what happed to a whole shipment of iPods?

Toyota's latest commercial is not going to be broadcast on TV, it will be at an Xbox console near you. This is the first Xbox game created by an advertiser to be distributed over Xbox Live. According to  Louise Story, The New York Times, advertisers are increasingly buying product placement space within games rather than creating their own. The numbers of spend on video games advertising in the United States will reach $502 million othis year, up from $346 million last year, according to eMarketer, a research firm.

And Verizon powers yet another departure from TV successful "remake" programs dubbed My Home 2.0 with its FiOS. Check out their press page to see an example of how you might execute release information for social media. If you blog or podcast in the Philadelphia area and would like to learn more, there is a block party this coming Saturday October 13. New media maven C.C. Chapman tipped me on this one on behalf of his client.

However you feel about any of this, one thing is for sure, companies are learning that they cannot order people to collaborate anymore. Customer service is the new marketing, collaboration happens by inspiration.

[image courtesy of Pier Luca Santoro who just launched a collaborative project for marketers in Italy -- Agora'] 

Comments

[Carolyn Ann]

Have you read "SuperCrunchers"? It's about measuring that confluence and, to a certain extent, predicting it.

I do wonder if the confluence will go the way the marketers want it to (in their favor; that is, they control much of the conversation), or to the consumer. That is, the comparisons with competing products is as energetic as the marketers' desire for their own products.

I have a feeling that it will go to the marketers: for the simple reason that they'll manage to gain experience in the (subtle?) manipulation of the conversation. Microsoft and Sony were both caught trying to manipulate the "conversation" (re Xbox and PS2 games) not that long ago. While some consumers will develop the ability to rebuff these oh-so-subtle overtures, not everyone will. And therein lies the danger: we'll be told that some new product will make all well with the world. There's a backlash waiting to happen in that little scenario!

Don't mind me. I'm going to bury my head back back into my Shakespeare. ("As you like it", one of his 'clever' comedies. :-) )

Carolyn Ann

[Valeria Maltoni]

SuperCrunchers sounds intriguing. Here's the Amazon URL for those so inclined http://www.amazon.com/Super-Crunchers-Thinking-Numbers-Smart/dp/0553805401

I might indeed check it out! Well, there is the power of intention at work. Marketers certainly spend a lot more time focusing on ways to get people excited about their products and services -- or they should as per job description ;-)

I could not sell something I don't believe in and have had to check my internal compass when selecting a job opportunity.

If you're ever looking for a marketing job, I'd consider you -- the future is for those who get the nuances and can still preserve a healthy dose of skepticism (= require the official version to explain itself). That might be material for another post. Thank you for providing the inspiration.

[Carolyn Ann]

Sorry: that was supposed to be "cleverer comedies". These nails! And that impossibly cute bundle of fur named after the British Admiral: Horatio. :-)

(That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it! :-) )

Carolyn Ann

[Carolyn Ann]

Why, thank you, Valeria! Two compliments in one evening. :-) I'll be happy for a week!

We must have been typing at the same time; I notice the timestamps are only a couple of minutes apart.

Carolyn Ann