SxSWi Panel on Brand Manners

No need to check the schedule, SxSWi did not select our panel this time around. But the topic is about to tip. The idea for the panel was that brands need to start behaving themselves, just like the rest of us. Now that the relationship between brand and customer has been turned inside out, there’s no other choice.

But what is the new social contract?

Are you glad to have certain brands in your life? I think we can all identify with a story or two from brands that hit our sweet spot and why. And conversely, are the brands that are in your life happy to be there? This might indeed be quite interesting to explore.

The Top Ten Questions This Panel Would have Addressed Are:

1. Are brands true members of society?
2. Do/can the rules of society apply to brands?
3. Is there a universal set of rules for brands to follow?
4. What are the consequences for ignoring or breaking the rules?
5. Would this theoretical rule book constitute a new model for brands to follow?
6. Can we as citizens use these rules to hold back the encroachment of intrusive marketing?
7. What are the rewards for brands that “behave”.
8. Is it every brand for itself, and to hell with the rules?
9. How far can the rules apply, beyond digital marketing, to the entire behavior of brands?
10. Who will win? The rude or the polite?

What's interesting is that just last week, when I published the post on the new Forrester report on sponsored conversations, several people reached out to me to discuss the matter in more depth. And we also had a pretty good discussion on the same post at Social Media Today.

If you ever doubted that the same content in different contexts would fare differently, go ahead and read the comments here and there.

I also wrote a follow up post on brand behavior in social media. In the closing of that post, I stated: 2009 is the year when this conversation becomes mainstream, I promise. Trust is based upon behavior, and so is reputation - and they are both the new currency for brands.

Well, I don't know about you. I will be at SxSWi and have been known to be pretty good at moderating and facilitating conversations (I'm better in person, you'll need to trust me on that). If this interests you, and you want to gather a panel of participants at a local coffee shop, this may be a good starting point for a discussion.

Let me throw in one more question for good measure. I think many marketers (Ok, people like me) are prepared to engage in real -- two-way -- brand communication. But are the brands ready? In other words, what happens to the business behind the brand?

Comments

[Bruce Christensen]

Valeria, There are brands that have demonstrated that they need me as much as I need them. Over the course of many interactions we have worked out a mutually beneficial partnership. Some of these brands I want to be a part of my social society. I will allow a few mistakes as they feel their way into these new online conversations.
The beauty of social media is that I can have a voice to gently or forcefully get them on the right track if I want. If they learn to listen and behave, I have no problem with them feeding me useful purchasing choices through this media.
Some brands I trust to do the right thing, online and off.

[Tom O'Brien]

Valeria:

I think the 10 questions above are critical. In my personal world, and my professional work, my basic advice is to first understand the community motivations (of the place you or the brand wants to participate) and then let these community motivations be the filter for your actions.

Brands need to act as people (well, really through people) and participate in the community in ways that serve community motivations. People are mostly not talking about you (brand) or for you (brand) so pay attention to what they care about first.

Be open, honest, human and helpful and people will like and reward you!

Tom O'Brien
MotiveQuest LLC

[Carolyn Ann]

1. Are brands true members of society? -- No. A brand is an abstract concept.

2. Do/can the rules of society apply to brands? -- No. But rules do apply to those operating on behalf of a brand

3. Is there a universal set of rules for brands to follow? -- Oddly, yes. They're too complex to summarize quickly, but basically amount to "fair and ethical"

4. What are the consequences for ignoring or breaking the rules? -- Being defined as an extremist, petty or capricious

5. Would this theoretical rule book constitute a new model for brands to follow? -- That's way too complex a question!

6. Can we as citizens use these rules to hold back the encroachment of intrusive marketing? -- Yes. Otherwise legislation will define the rules. Actually, it's a mix of behaving and legislation enforcing behavior. The difficulty comes in defining where responsibility lies

7. What are the rewards for brands that “behave”. -- Not having a bad or poor reputation! Nothing else

8. Is it every brand for itself, and to hell with the rules? -- Entering the arena of politics, here. Some think so (hard line conservatives, for instance), others do not (the rest of us.) Ayn Rand meets the real world, perhaps?

9. How far can the rules apply, beyond digital marketing, to the entire behavior of brands? -- The entire behavior

10. Who will win? The rude or the polite?
-- That's way too complex a question! It's also probably impossible to answer, because it depends on unknowable context. Rude is not likely to curry favor, however

"Do not call" legislation comes to mind: business repeatedly failed to play nice, and as a result got stuck with draconian rules. Another, more complex example is what is happening on Wall St, but that's too complex to summarize.

Enjoy SxSW!

Carolyn Ann

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Bruce - it is quite funny how all of a sudden we speak about brands as if they were people, isn't it? I agree with you, and will be posting something this week that speaks to that. There are trade offs, always.

@Tom - I must have heard you in as I was writing my customer conversation post this week. Understand the community motivations is a good way to show you're listening.

@Carolyn Ann - I like very much how you conclude your thoughts here. Businesses that forget to play nice get reigned in by fed up consumers who now totally refuse to see and think about the brand(s). Thank you - I am enjoying SxSW. There's too much happening t summarize even in a couple of posts. I like to take in the information and digest it before I can make sense of how it layers on the current context in which we're playing.