For the past few weeks, I’ve been working on the launch of BlogHer’s new consumer panel, Visionaries. I’m very excited about the possibilities we have with the panel to connect the BlogHer audience with brands.
Once or twice a month, we’ll be sending panel members a survey or perhaps even an offer to try a free product. The first trial offer is in the field — sign up for Visionaries now and get a full 12-ounce bottle of Dove® Body Wash with NutriumMoisture™.
Click here to join.
BlogHer is sponsoring the West Coast leg of the book tour for Let’s Panic About Babies by Alice Bradley (“Finslippy“) and Eden Kennedy (“Fussy“). We start in Portland Oregon on April 5th, move up to Seattle on April 6th and then down to the San Francisco Bay area April 8, 9 and 10. Alice and Eden will be doing book signings and readings at independent book stores, and we’ll have no-host blogger meet-ups in nearby pubs and restaurants before and/or after the signings.
The full schedule with times and locations is here.
I’ll be joining these funny ladies in Portland, BlogHer co-founder and president, strategic alliances Jory DesJardins will be with them in Seattle and ceo/co-founder Lisa Stone will be at the Bay Area events.
Let’s Panic About Babies is a humorous look at parenthood. Because, really, if you don’t laugh, you’ll often want to cry, and laugh lines are so much more attractive than worry lines.
Every new parent has doubts about the often uncomfortable and frequently scary adventure that is parenthood. And we screw up left and right. It’s a good thing that children don’t remember much of what happens before the age of 5. It’s like a free pass on the early mistakes; you know that at least those disasters won’t contribute to your child’s eventual psychological problems. After 5 though — yeah, all your fault.
Unless you are prone to frequent psychotic episodes, these doubts will continue well into your child’s adulthood. Unfortunately most advice books tend to take a preachy tone, which only increases our doubts about our capabilities as parents.
Let’s Panic is the perfect antidote to the “What to expect” genre, and should be in every parent’s toolkit for when they run into the inevitable Sanctimommy (©Mom-101).
Will you love every joke in the book? Maybe not. Like most humor, some things will strike you funnier than others. But overall, if you get this book, you will laugh, cry and probably pee your pants. Just a little.
I’m looking forward to hearing them read from the book, and hope you can join us at one of the stops.
Not able to join us? You can of course buy a copy at your online bookseller of choice (my Amazon affiliate link). Even better, BlogHer is giving away 20 copies. Just leave a comment on the Let’s Panic tour page on BlogHer.com for a chance to win one.
—
Disclosure: I work for BlogHer, was involved in the planning of the tour and received my copy of the book from the publisher.
Cross posted to Snapshot Chronicles.
The comments, both here and on Facebook, on the previous marketing lessons posts have been terrific and chock full of examples, some of which we should strive to emulate, and others that we definitely want to avoid.
In this post I’m going to share my three picks for official sponsor companies that got it right at BlogHer ’10. These are by no means the only ones that did, but I have some specific learning points in each example.
Liberty Mutual’s Responsibility Project
I’ve been aware of the Responsibility Project since they reached out to me just before last year’s BlogHer. I don’t get many pitches and respond to even fewer but given my interest in ethics, disclosure and responsible blogging, I’m a good fit for their message of “do the right thing” and have written about the Project a few times over the past year. I was delighted when I received an invitation to its outing to Ellis Island the day before BlogHer. I’ve been to New York many times, and seen most of the main tourist attractions, but never Ellis Island. So I RSVP’d yes, and made my initial travel plans to get to NY that morning in time to join the trip. (BTW in the end, my plans changed and I went to NY on the Tuesday to film a roundtable discussion on celebrity worship, also for the Responsibility Project.) The Ellis Island trip was terrific as a sightseeing excursion and I highly recommend it. Details for organizing your own visit are on SCR.
Here’s why it worked as a blogger event.
Unique – The Ellis Island venue was a nice change from the usual meet & greet cocktail party/luncheon accompanied by swag bag that we’ve come to expect from blogger events. It also fit well with the theme of responsibility, although I admit that I nearly laughed out loud in the brief luncheon presentation by Peg Zitko, VP of Public Affairs at The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation when she tied the concept of responsibility to President Reagan’s decision that the American people should be responsible for restoring the Statue and Ellis Island through private donation rather than federal subsidy. Nothing against her message about the importance of the public contributions to the restoration — that’s an important story — but responsible is not exactly how I would describe Reagan’s policies. Oh well, never mind…
The group was small, about 30 women. This made it easy to mingle and chat, and actually get to know each other. Liberty Mutual PR agency Ketchum told me they invited bloggers who they have been working with already, like me, and others who they wanted to get to know better because they thought the Responsibility Project themes would resonate for them.
Here are posts from:
The swag bag was appropriate and thoughtful — sunscreen, lipblock, bottled water, some snacks and an autographed copy of the Ellis Island cookbook written by our tour guide Tom Bernardin.
Limited lecturing – Because the trip was sightseeing, it seemed likely that the company presentations would be brief so we could enjoy the venue. They were. Senior Vice President, Communications Paul Alexander greeted us after we boarded the bus at the Hilton, said a few words and showed a brief film of clips from Responsibility Project commercials and media coverage. At lunch, we were treated to the afore mentioned brief talk from Peg Zitko and a screening of Second Line, a short film directed by and starring Danny Glover. That’s about it. Instead of bombarding us with presentations (or crafts) the Liberty Mutual and Ketchum people mingled and enjoyed the trip with us.
Executive commitment –– Major kudos to Paul Alexander who joined us for the whole trip, and managed to still look cool and crisp in his suit and tie at the end of the day, when we all looked a bit frazzled and fried. This is the kind of commitment from company executives that bloggers want to see. Not a few words and a hand wave as he or she is escorted from the room, and on to presumably more important things. I was most impressed by this, although perhaps I should have expected it. It is after all the right thing to do, and I have come to believe that Liberty Mutual walks its talk.
Procter & Gamble
I didn’t spend much time on the Expo floor. In my early career, one of my duties was tradeshow coordinator and I spent my fair share of time setting up, working and dismantling trade show booths of all sizes. As a result, I have a love-hate relationship with trade shows. I love the customer contact and the energy when you have a great conversation with a prospect or a reporter. However, the very venue reminds me of endless hours manning show booths or waiting for freight to be delivered etc etc. As a result, unless there is something I am specifically interested in, I tend to cruise through as fast as possible. In the case of cleaning products and groceries, my family will tell you straight up that I am not the buyer 🙂 so I also don’t want to waste the booth staff’s time chatting with me.
However, I was impressed by the sheer size of the P&G booth, and heard many good things about it from folks who spent some time with the P&G reps. Even if all you did was walk by, you got the idea the P&G had made a serious commitment to BlogHer.
Other things P&G did right: In addition to the show floor, it had suite space for its new brand Align. The reflexology massage was awesome! More importantly, though, it was paying attention before BlogHer. As I’ve mentioned previously, it offered (and I accepted) free samples of Align for the attendees at the pre BlogHer BBQ. That gives the brand some mindshare even before people get to the conference. Given the noise and competition for attention once BlogHer starts, this is smart marketing.
Pepsi
Pepsi had a lot of things going on during BlogHer but I’m going to single out one, because I think it is very important, not just as a marketing lesson, but as an example for anyone interested in gender equality. Or parity if you prefer.
It is a well known fact that there are not enough women elected officials in this country. Not enough women run, and of those who do, not enough win. The day before the main conference, BlogHer partnered with the White House Project to hold a workshop for women interested in running for office. NY York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand also held a brief meeting with political and NY bloggers during the conference to focus attention on women as candidates.
However, I believe our political reality won’t change, or change enough, until the business world changes. Until more women are in positions of business power and choose to use those powers for good. To make change in the world. And to support women candidates.
Pepsi, helmed by a woman, CEO Indra Nui, seems to be doing just that. The company took the opportunity at BlogHer to showcase some of its senior executive women. It brought a panel of senior executive women to BlogHer for a “Sofa Summit” moderated by Campbell Brown to talk about Pepsi’s forays into social media, being a senior executive, nutrition and yes, even their families. I was privileged to be invited to this breakfast session attended by about 30 women bloggers, many (but not all) of whom write about gender issues.
This is important — to see women in senior executive positions at top brands.We need more of it.
Now you may have noticed that I didnt include any of the entertainment brands in my picks. Does that mean I don’t think Ubisoft got it right with Let’s Dance 2? Of course not. The dance-offs in the booth were brilliant, and many many bloggers tremendously enjoyed this booth. It’s also a slam dunk. Nothing in marketing is ever easy, but it is a lot easier to come up with fun ways for customers to engage with entertainment brands. Fun is already the point.
It’s a whole lot harder to make insurance, soap and soda sexy. That’s why Liberty Mutual, P&G and Pepsi are my top picks.
Unrelated to BlogHer specifically, but apropos of brands getting social media engagement with their customers “right,” brands that have a track record of positive engagement with customers in other venues tend to hit more than they miss when deploying social media tools. They aren’t perfect — no one is — but they already seem to understand the importance of connecting with customers over shared values, not simply products.
—
On October 14, I will be speaking at the Pennsylvania Governor’s Conference for Women in Pittsburgh on using social media to build your brand and advance your career. Early registration price is $135 and expires Sept. 1oth. But… courtesy of the conference organizers, I have a pass to give away . Just leave a comment on this post by noon eastern time on September 14th. I’ll use a random number generator to pick a winner.
—
Disclosure: Liberty Mutual hosted us for the day, providing transportation to/from Battery Park and the Hilton, the ferry ticket and guided tour of Ellis Island and lunch, plus the afore mentioned swag bag. I also participated in the celebrity worship roundtable; my extra hotel costs for Tuesday and Wednesday nights were covered and the participants received a small honorarium for our participation. I attended Pepsi’s Sofa Summit breakfast on Saturday. P&G sent samples of Align for the attendees of the Boston pre-BlogHer BBQ at my house, and like many attendees, I received a reflexology massage at its BlogHer suite.
Elizabeth, today’s guest blogger, is probably better to known to you as Busy Mom. She has been writing about her life and family at the Busy Mom Blog since 2003. Her full-time job in healthcare also makes an occasional appearance on her blog. She likes to engage with brands that have something relevant to her life and interesting for her readers, and reviews products on Busy Mom Reviews. However, she hates bad pitches, as regular readers of Marketing Roadmaps may already know from her comments on my bad pitch posts. She lives in Nashville with her husband and three children.
Elizabeth responded to my call on Twitter for brand experiences at BlogHer, good and bad. Her e-mail had such good, specific advice for brands, I asked if I could run it as a guest post.
—
While I don’t think we’ll ever resolve when/where brands choose to have parties (I think it’s going to happen no matter what, and people need to just conduct themselves properly), I noticed a theme among the events and expo booths I visited.
This was the year of “forced engagement.”
I get it. I wouldn’t want to be in the brands’ position, with freebie grabbers and all. I think companies should get something out of our visits. I also understand my attendance was voluntary at the events and places I visited, but I just I felt like I was performing everywhere I went.
Don’t misunderstand. I have met some great people and was honored to be invited to the events I attended. They took the time to find me (for the most part) and I tried to stop by as many as I reasonably could.
The events I attended were quite lovely, but it’s as if some didn’t know if they were throwing a blogger summit, usually held over 1-2 days where I would expect to perform, or a party.
It may just be my personality, but the videos, going from station to station and the creating/making this, that and the other thing are getting a little old at something that’s supposed to be a party. What ever happened to just drinks, hors d’oeuvres, music/entertainment, conversation, a display or two and a gift bag at the end?
It’s one thing to be contracted to host or perform in some way at an event, and another to politely stop in expecting a traditional cocktail party and find yourself doing crafts and smiling for the camera at every turn.
If there’s a problem with swag-grabbers, then maybe they need to take more time with the guest list. I’m continually amazed at some of the folks I see at every event. Clearly there is little research into online reputation by some of these companies.
One party that I thought did a good job, and full disclosure, I was paid to be a host, but was NOT involved in the planning, was the Schick Intuition Kiss and Tell party. The brand was represented through the decor, there was a brief product speech and the rest was a memorable time with fabulous entertainment, an open bar and product (the razor, not the bar) samples at the end. Follow-up engagement is a contest and a coupon on Facebook.
Hallmark and the CheeseburgHer party did a good job, too. Both were good times, but there was no doubt about the sponsors. Hallmark had a pertinent holiday theme, and you knew right away what the new McDonald’s product was, but we didn’t have to perform for them.
I’m not sure what the answer is as far as engagement in the booths goes, but clearly it’s not accosting attendees at the door and coercing them into attending a show. Note: I’ve not been to other tech conferences, this may be a “thing” I’m not aware of, but it doesn’t happen at medical conferences.
And, contrary to popular stances, I don’t think swag is the problem. Getting doo-dads and such can be fun (blasphemy! I know!) and there’s nothing wrong with it.
At a booth, I am expecting to hear what’s new with the company, try the product out if it’s brief, chat with the rep, and maybe throw a card into a fishbowl for a drawing/follow-up later, and get whatever doo dad if they have it (and I’m interested.) I’m not wild about being asked to sign up for their service on the spot (but having the option is good, I suppose) or to fill out some complicated form. I’ll spin a wheel if I must, but enough with the other games. Again, maybe just my personality.
I get that both the blogger and the brand should get something out of the interaction, and I know my presence is voluntary, but I’m just weary of performing all the time. And the feeling that they want to get as much out of us as they can is getting a little creepy.
Parties should be parties. Do something memorable, have a brand presence and follow up later.
Booths should be booths, have a small something “fun” if you must, but give me the information, let me enter your drawing or whatever by giving you my card, and personally hand me the promotional material or swag stuff.
Connect with me.
—
In my final BlogHer Marketing Lessons post, I’ll share my thoughts about some brands that I think did get it right. It’s not an all-inclusive list — there was no way any one person could experience everything going on over those four days, so please chime in with your experiences. Try to be specific in both your criticism and your kudos. This helps my readers use your opinions to improve their marketing programs — SG
Today’s guest post — the first ever — is from blogger Meagan Francis. I will still have a post about the Responsibility Project trip to Ellis Island for you, but I need to check a few facts. Just because I work over the weekend, I do not expect Liberty Mutual‘s PR agency to do so. Instead, I’m changing up the order and running Meagan’s post today.
Meagan Francis is a magazine writer, parenting author, and mom blogger. She blogs about life, motherhood, and the pursuit of happiness at The Happiest Mom, and her book The Happiest Mom: Ten Secrets To Enjoying Parenthood will be published in 2011. Some of her best friends are marketing professionals.
—
This was my fourth BlogHer conference, and overall, I had a wonderful time. This year I thought the sponsors were handled in a tasteful way and I commend BlogHer for taking feedback to heart and toning down the “over-sponsored” feel that some experienced in 2009. I think BlogHer, as an organization, did a great job this year and I don’t have any complaints with how they handled the Expo areas.
Buuut…while most of the companies I encountered seemed to have an appropriate and effective presence on the Expo floor, there were a few experiences that left me shaking my head (and running for the door). Here’s what happened:
When I approached a booth belonging to a natural baby products company, I was already in a bit of a daze. I’d just left another stall in which a young man with all the finesse of a drunken 20-year-old hoping to score on Spring Break had slap-chop-surprised me into spinning a wheel, answering questions about a product I know little about and have never used; accepting some Post-It notes as a prize, and then having my photo taken with said company’s logo–all within a minute’s time. As I collected my photo and staggered away, still not exactly sure what had just happened, he boasted to the young woman sharing his booth: “See? It’s all in the presentation.”
Uh-huh.
At this point, I had one goal: to get the hell off the BlogHer Expo floor. Free samples, coupons, and chats with company reps can be fantastic and fun, but my experience with this guy had sent me running for the door…if I could just find it. On my way out, though, I decided to make one more stop at this booth. I use natural and organic products whenever possible, and with five kids I figured it was a company I’d like to know a little more about.
I approached the booth, which was staffed by a man and a woman—the “pitch” man and a female pediatrician acting as a spokesperson. There were already two women standing in front of the man, who was giving a presentation of the company’s uncommonly strong baby wipes.
“See?” he said, pulling hard on both sides. “It doesn’t come apart when you wipe.” He forcefully shoved a finger through the wipe, and it tore slightly. “I worked out today, or else I’d never have been able to rip it.”
The women responded with enthusiastic murmurs. “Oh, my husband would love this,” one exclaimed. “He always hates changing poopy diapers because the wipes fall apart.”
“Me, too!” agreed the pitch man. “That doesn’t happen with these, though. There’s no seepage, either.” They continued to chat, extolling the virtues of the nearly indestructible butt-wipers, for a few more minutes. Finally, he handed the women a package of wipes and they walked away.
I stood there for a few more minutes, examining a product label, but still very much at the booth…maybe two feet away from the man.
“Did you really work out this morning?” asked the female rep.
“No,” snorted the man. “I don’t even have kids. I’ve never changed a diaper in my life, and I never will.”
He began to yammer on about his father and how his father had never changed a diaper, and his girlfriend hopes to have kids one day and he plans on carrying on the family tradition of men never changing diapers but he isn’t sure his girlfriend will go for it, and the whole time I’m thinking, “Um, hey, dude. I’m STILL RIGHT HERE.”
After I walked away from the booth—and made a beeline for the exit—I thought a lot more about the experience. I wasn’t angry, or offended, exactly. Hey, the rep had probably been trained in exactly what to do and say, and it wouldn’t be the first time I’d been underestimated by some smarmy young fella.
But I was amazed that companies had really put these people in charge of representing their brand—in some cases, maybe as a first impression—to thousands of potential consumers…and that they’d chosen such a corny way to do it, too. Instead of setting up a situation in which I could have a real conversation about the product with somebody educated enough to give me the scoop, I played a silly game at one booth, and got a tutorial on baby wipes with somebody who’s never used one at another.
In the case of the spin-the-wheel game: I’ve been doing that at the county fair for decades, and it wasn’t any more impressive then than it is now. A coupon for a product I don’t know or care anything about? Some Post-Its? Is there any proof that this kind of marketing actually works? I know that a coupon for a product I’ve never used—with no other context or education about the product–is not likely to make me try it. And when you’re being showered with coupons from every company at the expo, it’s certainly not enough to convince me to blog about it, either.
And at the natural baby products booth…the guy they hired to run the booth doesn’t even have kids? Has no real-life experience with the product? And is kind of a jackass, to boot?
I’m certainly not going to boycott either of these products. I don’t think any less of them then I did before. But I’m also not any more likely to buy them, which you would think would kind of be the point of renting the space and hiring the help in the first place. Last I knew there were 2,400 attendees at BlogHer. Most of them blog, some on small platforms, some with audiences of hundreds of thousands. Beyond that, there’s Twitter, Facebook, PTA, and the bleachers at the local soccer game. Women talk about the products we use and love, and not just on the Internet, either.
Can you say “wasted opportunity”?
It seems to me that they’d have been better off hiring a parent (maybe even a parent blogger?), or an existing, enthusiastic customer to run the booth. Instead of games and trickery, why not just have a conversation? Let me taste or smell or touch the product, or try the service. I don’t need more samples to take home, and for God’s sake, I don’t need a 50-cents-off coupon. Just teach me a little. Tell me why I should try it when I get home.
Many of the companies on the BlogHer expo floor did a great job of this. But there were a few major, obnoxious flops. And the unfortunate thing for all those companies that got it right? The bad eggs sent me—and I’m sure not just me—running for the door.
And I didn’t return.
