Marketing Roadmaps

BlogHer

Is the right person staffing your booth? Guest post by Meagan Francis (BlogHer Marketing Lessons, Part 3)

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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.

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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.

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BlogHer Marketing Lessons, Part 2: Influencer relations and #gapmagic

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Regardless of the industry segment or specific details of the campaign, the best influencer relations programs have one thing in common: the value exchange between brand and influencer is balanced. Each gives something of value to the other, both are satisfied with the exchange and nobody feels taken advantage of.

In paid media like advertising, this exchange is easy to understand. Publisher — whether online or off, broadcast or print — develops an advertising package based on audience demographics and content. Company pays an agreed-upon rate for its ad to appear within the media vehicle. Publisher gets money; advertiser gets eyeballs.

In influencer relations, the equation is a little more complex, but it’s not rocket science.

For the influencer, balanced value means that the program offers something interesting and relevant to his or her interests or activities, and the “ask” — what the brand hopes the influencer will do as a result of the offer —  is proportionate to what the influencer has or will receive from the brand. And let’s be clear — there’s always an ask, even if it’s only implied and the pitch includes the oft-repeated words, “if you choose to write about this on your blog…”

If the company asks too much of the influencers — for example, multiple posts and status updates in exchange for a few tubes of toothpaste — the value equation is unbalanced.

From the company side of the equation, the cost of the program has to be justified by the results. That means setting, and measuring, realistic objectives, and culling out programs that don’t deliver. The best way to do this is to build long term relationships with the online influencers that truly matter for your brand.

I tend to prefer simple programs aimed at small numbers of influencers so the brands can really focus on the “fit” with the influencer and add sufficient value to the pitch. Plus, we all like to feel special, and nothing says “not special” like a promotion aimed at hundreds.

One of the best influencer relations programs I’ve seen recently (and full disclosure, I was a beneficiary of it) was the Gap’s outreach prior to the 2010 BlogHer conference. The company reached out to the conference speakers, offering us a styling appointment at our local Gap where we’d get to try on the new Fall clothes.

The initial email was fairly vague; while I’m sure most of the women assumed we’d get a gift card of some sort, there was no specific dollar amount mentioned. The fun and convenience of a styling appointment at a local store, combined with the fact that many women in the BlogHer community were already acquainted with the WOM agency doing the outreach was enough. It was easy to say yes because we didn’t have to do much.

The genius of the program was its generosity. Instead of the token gift card I’m sure many (including me) expected, every speaker got a $400 clothing allowance. That’s two or three outfits, depending on what you picked.

There was no requirement to wear the clothes at the BlogHer conference, although it was clear that the brand hoped the participants would. In the document circulated to the stores (yes, I peeked — it was attached to the rack of clothes I was picking from), we were described as influential women, and the reason for the promotion our participation as speakers at the conference where our clothes would be seen by hundreds of other women.

As for results, many speakers tweeted and blogged about their experience and most wore their new Gap clothes during the conference. Quite simply, we were grateful for the generosity and it was fun sharing the experience with friends and fellow speakers. And that’s where the company gets its value in the exchange.

Smart marketing all around. Had the gift been less generous, I’m certain the activity at and around BlogHer would have been far more muted. Had the outreach numbers been smaller — only a select few top blogs versus all the speakers, regardless of size of blog or niche — the impact would have been far less. Had the outreach been focused on the top mom or style blogs that normally get such offers, it would have been just another influencer relations program. Instead, by reaching out to the small group of speakers, the Gap recognized the women for their achievements. That’s special.

No influencer relations program escapes without a few criticisms, and the Gap Magic promotion is no exception. I think there would have been less criticism if folks were more aware that BlogHer strives to have 80% new speakers every year. The speaker roster doesn’t equate to an A-list of any kind, unless smart accomplished women willing to share their knowledge and experiences with each other has become one.

If that’s the case, I call that an Amen-List, not an A-list. This year, I think there were more small, niche bloggers than ever before speaking on topics like loving your small blog and work-life balance. For some, it was their first time ever speaking at an industry conference.

The Gap Magic program was not an official BlogHer sponsor program. Had it been, perhaps there would have been more emphasis on the merit basis for the selection of participants. Attention clothing brands: something to think about for next year.

As for ROI, it’s too soon to tell, but the program must have been pretty inexpensive, given the total costs of retail marketing. According to agency Brand About Town, about 100 women participated. That’s $40,000 in clothes at retail price. Even if you add in a generous amount for overhead and agency costs beyond the wholesale cost of the clothes, it’s still far less expensive than an ad in a fashion magazine.

On principle, with BlogHer, I tend to prefer the programs of official conference sponsors because the sponsor fees offset registration costs for the attendees. In my next post, I’ll talk about the sightseeing trip to Ellis Island that sponsor Liberty Mutual’s Responsibility Project did the day before the conference started. Preview: it rocked!

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Marketing Lessons from BlogHer, Part One

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Image by sgetgood via Flickr

I will have more personal commentary about BlogHer — including how I see the community evolving —  on Snapshot Chronicles sometime over the weekend. Here on Marketing Roadmaps,  I am going to explore what brands can learn from BlogHer 2010.

In this post and the one that follows, I’ll share my perspective based on what I experienced: the good, the bad and the ugly.  Over the weekend,  I am privileged to have guest posts from Meagan Francis from The Happiest Mom and Elizabeth, the one only and original Busy Mom, with some advice for marketers on how to reach them effectively.

If you have thoughts for marketers/about marketing to bloggers that don’t quite fit your blog, I am more than happy to host you here. Email me at sgetgood (at) getgood (dot) com. My only request is that you provide specifics so that marketers who are interested in getting it right when engaging with customers in social media  can learn from your thoughts and experiences. The marketers who aren’t interested in doing it right don’t read this blog so don’t worry about them. If you’d rather write it on your blog, send me the link and I’ll include it in a round-up.

First, some general observations about the good. As I noted in my pre-BlogHer post, only official BlogHer events and sponsors had space at the Hilton. This worked like a charm on the most important level — people who weren’t attending the  special, invite only events from non-sponsors didn’t have them thrust in their face at every turn. And the official sponsors got their due.

The downside, of course, was that numerous off-site events pulled people away from the Hilton and the conference sessions far more than I would like. I don’t have a problem with extra events scheduled the day before or after the conference, or the evenings. That is typical for any conference, and shows that BlogHer has truly grown up to be a major player in the blogging world.

However, I do not think it’s smart to hold your off-site events  during the conference sessions.  Especially the keynote sessions. In particular, an offsite Scholastic brand event held Saturday morning at the same time as the four international scholarship recipients, some of whom were at personal risk for speaking, shared their stories with the BlogHer audience, did not go over well with many in the community.

This is the ugly, and here are some of the comments from Twitter  about it:

@lauriewrites (Laurie White) tweets:  @Cecilyk @sgetgood I’ll never touch a Scholastic product again, as a teacher or an auntie. Schedule stuff during conference, offsite? Nope.

@zchamu (Shannon McCarney): @sgetgood scholastic woulda scored far more points by sponsoring the int’l scholarship session than by holding a rival party, no question

Shannon also wrote a beautiful post about all that BlogHer 10 meant to her, and while there was far more good than ugly, there were some strong words about holding events that conflict with the conference schedule:

“I’ve come away from BlogHer 2010 with a lot.  I’ve come away angry as hell at a corporation for having such disrespect as to hold gatherings to shill their wares to bloggers while women in another building were literally risking their lives to tell those bloggers how their words were changing the world. “

Go read her post. Read the comments too. I’ll wait.

The lesson for marketers – check the schedule before you schedule your event.

There really wasn’t a lot of bad in terms of marketing this year. The new personal sponsorship guidelines meant you weren’t accosted by someone thrusting a sample in your face at every turn.

However, watching the Twitter stream and reading the post-BlogHer reports I can’t help thinking , it’s too much. There’s just so much going on across a 3-4 day span that I’m afraid it starts to become a blur.

I understand the opportunistic strategy of scheduling events when  your target market is already gathered,  so you don’t have to pay for travel. But how much information can humans really absorb? How much marketing budget was squandered last week throwing big events that are a blur the week (if not the day) after?

I think  a lot. An awful lot.

My advice is to think carefully about what you want to achieve at a conference like BlogHer. Start with the official sponsorship opportunities. If one of those fits your objectives, you are supporting the organization as well as your own objectives, and that’s a dual win.

Then think about what your audience really needs. Is it one more party that they have to squeeze in or is a free limo service to the airport on arrival and departure day more meaningful? Or perhaps a smaller sightseeing event that really gives people an opportunity to speak with each other? How can you broaden your reach — beyond who you already know —  to new influencers that you’ll want to know.

In my next post, I’ll cover two influencer relations campaigns that I think hit the mark: Gap’s #gapmagic outreach to BlogHer speakers and the trip to Ellis Island sponsored by Liberty Mutual’s Responsibility Project. Full disclosure: I participated in both, and have known the PR people for both Gap and Liberty Mutual for more than a year.

That’s why I opened the emails. But not why I think the programs worked.

Stay tuned. More tomorrow.

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Reviews of Professional Blogging For Dummies

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I’m back from BlogHer, with a lovely case of laryngitis from speaking just about 4 days straight with so many interesting, talented and successful women and men.

Coming attractions on the blogs:

  • Here on Marketing Roadmaps, I’ll have a brief report on BlogHer  along with a case study of Gap’s pre-conference blogger outreach campaign #gapmagic.
  • Over on Snapshot Chronicles, I’ll continue my thoughts on the evolution of the BlogHer community.
  • On my Roadtrip travel blog, I’ll share my impressions and photos from the trip on Thursday to Ellis Island sponsored by Liberty Mutual‘s Responsibility Project. Plus pictures from my visit to the Central Park Zoo to see the new snow leopard exhibit, sponsored entirely by me.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a couple reviews of Professional Blogging For Dummies.

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Rambling down my road: random-ish thoughts on blogger relations and expertise

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For the past few months, I’ve been head down working on Professional Blogging For Dummies, and there just hasn’t been a lot of time to write blog posts. A few things were just too important to let slide, like the FTC/Ann Taylor Loft story, but for the most part I’ve had to let many juicy stories go.

Like the pitch for an FDA approved douche sent to bloggers of both genders. Or the one for a snake repellent sent to mom bloggers in Manhattan. Seriously, outside of the zoo, how often do you see a snake of the reptilian variety in New York City?

Then there are the brand ambassador programs that seem to be multiplying like rabbits. For example, the Sears Outlet brand ambassador program with the laundry list of requirements for the bloggers but zero compensation.

Somehow, we’ve lost the distinction between public relations, which relies on a compelling story to “earn” the placement in the media outlet (hence the term “earned media,” more about that below), and promotion, which is a sales-related activity closely related to advertising. Many blogger programs are really about promotion, but they offer little or no compensation to the bloggers for what is essentially advertising space. Read Liz Gumbinner’s posts for more on this: Nothing is free, except it seems, a mommyblogger and In defense of PR.

And then there was last week’s dust-up between a blogger who took umbrage at, and posted about, a specific pitch, and a pretty strong response from the mentioned agency. I haven’t looked at the specifics of the post or program in question, but my immediate reaction reading the agency’s post was a certain amount of amazement that the author didn’t seem  realize that the very questions she was raising in her post have been circling around the blogosphere for years. Read Julie Pippert’s The elephant in the room? Not so much for more about this specific post and its aftermath.

Earned media is a dinosaur
I participated in my first conference panel on blogger relations at BlogHer Business in 2007. More than 3 years later, I often feel like we haven’t moved forward at all. We’re still arguing about the same things — Are the pitches good, targeted and relevant? Are bloggers journalists? And so on. Blah Blah Blah.

This discussion is old and tired, and it’s not going anywhere except down a rathole. We need to move on. As Julie (@jpippert)  and I discussed on Twitter after I read her post, earned media is a dinosaur. We need a new model.

One that understands that the blogger is also a customer, not just a reporter. That the old forms of engagement don’t work anymore. And that both sides — PR and bloggers — need to look at the relationship through a new lens. Companies and their PR agents aren’t doing bloggers “a favor” by including them in their programs. There’s an expected business benefit. And bloggers aren’t entitled to anything. If you want to participate in blogger relations or advertising programs, you’ve got to build a compelling blog that attracts an audience that the companies and advertisers want to reach.

The successful approach for reaching out to bloggers integrates public relations and advertising to achieve marketing objectives. If the story is compelling, PR outreach. If the company wants to control a message, advertising.

This flies in the face of the typical corporate organization and certainly agency alignments, and absolutely requires a change in the way we look at our marketing task. I’ve been writing about this changing model for some time now, and will continue to write about it here and at Shamable.com.

Expertise

True expertise is less about knowing how to do something than understanding why you’re doing it. Always start by asking Why? Then worry about How?  Check out Toby Bloomberg’s e-book Social Media Marketing GPS for advice from 40 social media experts that truly understand the why and the how. I was doubly privileged with regard to this book — I was one of the people Toby interviewed on Twitter for the book and I was in Atlanta the day she launched, so I got to celebrate with her in person.

Also on my radar screen (and bound to be the topics of upcoming posts): more on measurement, including some thoughts on the importance of sentiment, and another look at Facebook after the privacy dilemmas of the past month. What are the implication for marketers and consumers?

Finally, thank you to the folks at Ignite Social Media for including Marketing Roadmaps (and me) on their list of 50 Women Bloggers You Should Be Reading. I’m not a terrific fan of lists, but feel privileged to be included in this company.

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