Mobile Technology and Millennials

There is no doubt that technology has changed the way we communicate, behave, and learn. Higher education has seen a change in learning and teaching initiatives as well as recruitment and engagement. Most campuses are utilizing a mix of emerging media and traditional media to connect with current and prospective students. Social media has now become the norm for almost every higher education institution. There is an acceptance and understanding that institutions must have some sort of presence on the main channels (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn).

Nonetheless, there is one opportunity that is at the top of the list for higher education professionals: mobile technology. Mobile technology gives universities a chance for deeper engagement where their target audience spends a fairly significant amount of their time: smartphones. Half of all college students used mobile gear to get on the Internet every day last year, compared with 10 percent of students in 2008, according to Educause, the educational-technology consortium. Millennials are avid smartphone users who believe that technology makes their life much easier. Just yesterday, I was on the campus of Brown University at Johnny Rockets and two undergraduate students requested to speak to the manager about an on campus food ordering application. The mobile application in development will allow Brown University students place orders at on campus restaurants directly from their smartphone devices. The cross strategy opportunities are endless for all parties involved.

Industry Trends

1. Mobile Website/Mobile Application: Websites are the focal point to experience a university in a cyber world. However, universities must understand that the web experience must also be transferred to smart phone devices. This can be achieved by creating a separate site that will identify mobile browsers (some content management systems automatically detect this) or the university can create a unique mobile application.  Third party learning management systems such as Blackboard have created mobile applications that can be used in conjunction with a university’s online and on campus courses.

2. Real Time Alerts: There are a variety of channels for real time alerts to students on campus or within a specific distance. These real time alerts can be used as a safety measure during a crisis on campus or even as a method of engagement for specials, promotions, or events. SMS, RFID, and Bluetooth are a few examples of notification channels.

3. Mobile Commerce: Shopping with mobile devices is catching on in the world of mobile technology, and this includes on college campuses. University of Denver and Stanford University are two examples of universities that are embracing on campus mobile payment options for their students. For the university this will allow enhanced monitoring of your best and least performing shops on campus.

4. Branding: QR Codes are actively being used on college campuses across the nation for various purposes. For example, QR Codes can be used for on campus brand awareness initiatives, video streaming, location based discounts, and even as mobile payment option. Universities can also customize their QR Codes by shape, color, and size. Another example is Purdue University’s Studio Project that takes real time status updates to create a collaborative learning environment. Professors can adjust their course content and enhance the learning experience in the classroom.

The Benefit: Gold at Your Fingertips

Integration of mobile technology in higher education means extensive data will be transmitted in a short amount of time. Universities must now analyze the information that has been gathered to really get a deeper understanding of their target audience. The type of data collected will vary depending on the tactic used however; it can range from behavior, learning, and commerce. This can result in new recruitment initiatives and insights to better leverage technology for learning in the classroom.

I came across a statement this week that made me really begin to wonder what the big difference is between buzz, word of mouth, and viral marketing. So here it is:

Word of mouth is a decaying function. A marketer does something and a consumer tells five or ten friends. And that’s it. It amplifies the marketing action and then fades, usually quickly. A lousy flight on United Airlines is word of mouth. A great meal at Momofuku is word of mouth. Viral marketing is a compounding function. A marketer does something and then a consumer tells five or ten people. Then they tell five or ten people. And it repeats. And grows and grows. Like a virus spreading through a population. The marketer doesn’t have to actually do anything else. (They can help by making it easier for the word to spread, but in the classic examples, the marketer is out of the loop.) The Mona Lisa is an ideavirus (Seth Godin, Unleashing the IdeaVirus).

Viral marketing is the heartbeat of the IMC profession. It encompasses all of these elements and disciplines to create a synergy and ultimately results in business development. In order for content to go viral it has to be stimulating and provoke an organic action from its intended receiver.

The term viral marketing is still fairly new in the marketing field. Steve Jurvetson and Tim Draper from the venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) coined the term “viral marketing” in 1996. It came about as they were describing the marketing strategy for Hotmail’s campaign to get consumers to sign up for free email accounts.  It turned out to be pretty successful and Hotmail managed to exceed 10 million users in seven months. In comparison, radio and television took 20 and 10 years, respectively, to gain the same number of users.

In essence, the message, and the messenger are responsible for viral marketing. Therefore, your viral marketing efforts must be supported by buzz and word of mouth. If it’s memorable they’ll be back again, and again, and again. Video is an effective tactic for viral marketing. The use of video in a viral campaign increases its chances of spreading across the web by as much as 75%. This also increases your SEO pull. As you can see emerging media simply propels this experience at lightening speed.

If you have been successful in one market, there is a high probability you will be able to repeat your success in another market. But it can’t be any market – it has to be the right one where your brand will be relevant, your success model can be replicated or where you can adapt to fit local needs.

The first step is to fully understand who you are selling to, and locate this audience in another market. Say you are selling a product to Hispanics, identify where the largest concentrations of Hispanics in the US are located. The second step is to dissect this potential market and get to know every aspect of it. Conducting an in depth competitive analysis is imperative, as well as understanding details about the market’s demographics, trends, current affairs and every aspect that can affect your brand, directly or indirectly. Perhaps your audience is there, but your product won’t be relevant to their local needs.

As mentioned, a competitive analysis can be a good indicator of a good opportunity. The best way to benefit from a competitive analysis is to not only look at what your competition is doing, but also, to observe what they have done, how they have been successful or how they haven’t. Why? Lessons learned can be incredibly valuable, so leverage someone else’s experiences to benefit your own efforts.

And look forward. How might the environment be changing in a way that accommodates – or not – your brand? Is there the potential and should you start planting seeds now, or will the environment change in a way that your brand will be obsolete in a few years?

The key is to be relevant at the right time just like Amazon is with its online community. You know your brand, and you know your audience. So you already have the tools to understand what can make you successful. Just make sure to look outside of your backyard. You often need to remember your roots to be able to grow and thrive.

Surprised? Outraged? We were too.

That’s why, in partnership with the Department of Public Health’s Massachusetts Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program (MTCP), we recently launched the OPPOSE campaign to educate adults about the industry’s new tactics and prompt local action.

As part of this statewide initiative, we created an online community (oppose.ning.com) to bring concerned adults and key stakeholders together on the issue of protecting our kids from these underhanded tactics. In addition to a paid media buy, we also created an interactive exhibit, Big Tobacco’s Carnival of Tricks, and we’re traveling to malls across the state to raise awareness of the sneaky tobacco industry tactics and what adults can do to protect their kids.

So far, we’ve had two successful events at the Burlington and Northshore malls and we’re looking forward to continuing this road show in other communities, including:

June 4th 11-3PM: Solomon Pond Mall in Marlboro, MA
June 11th 11-3PM: Southshore Plaza in Braintree, MA
June 18th 11-3PM: Holyoke Mall in Holyoke, MA
June 25th 11-3PM: Holyoke Mall in Holyoke, MA

To learn more, please visit oppose.ning.com and stop by Big Tobacco’s Carnival of Tricks if we’re in your area!

Today’s realities of record unemployment, job insecurity and home foreclosures, make the task of earning consumers’ trust even more challenging.  Consumers are paying closer attention to HOW they are spending their money and WHO is receiving it.

Creating a strategy focused on fostering trust can help you find your business on the receiving end of these transactions. There are a number of components that go into a winning trust strategy, including:

1.) Really get to know your consumer

Age, income, geography, education, ethnicity are all great starts, but you can go much deeper than that.  Consider where they come from (culture, values), their reality today (priorities and fears) and where they want to be tomorrow (hopes and dreams). These insights enable you to develop branding and promotional strategies that connect with your audience in a more meaningful way – make them feel like you “get them” and then in return, you deserve their business.

2.) Define the consumer experience

Once you’ve defined who your consumer is, you should now set your sights on defining their experience with your business. Your consumer experience is the sum totality of all interactions with your business at every touch point – your visual identity, website, social media strategy, customer service practices, sales, etc. Developing a consistent, positive experience that consumers grow to expect and love from you is the key to earning their trust and loyalty. Borders, who was recently ranked number one on Forbes’ “Best Customer Experience” list, is an example of how good customer experience can lead to higher sales and ultimately brand loyalty. Borders.com, for instance, has linked its online retail sales to a site that gives information on events that incites customers who do not buy online, to visit the store for a poetry reading and purchase items then. Whatever the overall strategy may be it clearly pays to provide great customer service.

3.) Leverage word-of-mouth

When you create a great consumer experience, people take notice and talk about it. We know that the average consumer will share positive brand experiences with approximately ten people. Today, word-of-mouth is more powerful than ever. Consumers are not only talking about their experiences, they are also taking their opinions to Facebook, blogs and Twitter. It’s important for you to be present on these social media channels in an effort to cultivate positive conversations about your brand and mitigate the negative.  For instance, monitor your company’s name on Twitter. If you come across a negative comment, apologize and within reason, do what you can to make the situation better.  This will certainly impress the individual you’re tweeting with as well as his/her network of followers. A company that utilizes this insight very well is Comcast, or as known in the twitter world, “ComcastCares.” Frank Eliason, Comcast’s ‘Twitter Man’, has successfully created a greater consumer experience thanks to the fact of back and forth discussions regarding Comcast’s services as well as stressing the importance of building customer trust through social networking.

There’s something very powerful about someone we know and trust recommending a brand. There’s also something very powerful about someone we look up to (celebrities, community leaders and other public figures), declaring public support for your product or service. Identifying influencers from your target audience and earning their trust so they will endorse your brand is an effective way to build brand loyalty.

4.) Communicate in-context

Sometimes it makes perfect sense to create a high profile TV spot to promote your business and sometimes it does not. Consider the time and place when consumers will be most receptive to the message, and then determine the most appropriate media channel for disseminating it. There’s a lot of clutter out there in the marketplace and consumers will appreciate your tact in speaking to them when they’re primed to receive the message. If you’re a financial services company targeting small business owners, I may not notice your billboard driving down the highway on my way to work; however, I may take notice of your online banner on a trade website I read every morning at the office.  Being more precise in your targeting not only earns the good graces of your audience, but also will save you money in the long run.

Leveraging these insights for a winning trust strategy will help your business be on its way to cultivating trust and retaining loyal customers. The bonus? These will also be essential in piquing the interest of new consumers and expanding your market base.

When we want to move people, we are more likely to use words.

Of course, we can all think of numbers that resonate emotionally. Dates, for example. 1984. 1776. 9/11. These are numbers that remind us of shared experiences and require no additional information to be meaningful. Their impact can be powerful enough to make it difficult to use them in a different context. Try to read 911 as anything but a tragic event in American history.  And it’s not just dates: people strive to be #1, avoid the13th floor of buildings, and so on.

Even without the benefit of culture or shared experience, numbers can be used to provoke emotional responses. During the run up to the election, we heard politician after politician talking about the economy using figures that stirred both fear and righteous anger. Charities and social movements often feature statistics in their messaging front and center – though often with photos designed to “humanize” the numbers.

By themselves, numbers are empty of meaning. Given context, however, they can be truly evocative.  That’s what makes them such powerful tools for branding. Properly delivered, the right number can serve as a vessel for meaningful communication. An organization or movement can “own” a number in a way may be difficult or impossible with an existing term or concept. Think 501 Jeans, 747 jetliner, 60 Minutes.  It’s a counterintuitive approach that can yield original and effective results.

At ARGUS, we’ve had the opportunity to use numbers to help our clients develop memorable brands. 1for3 is a non-profit organization that works to provide access to clean water in developing countries. The numbers speak to an unambiguous benefit: buying a single steel water bottle will save three lives. Focused on numbers, rather than platitudes, the brand speaks to a clarity of mission and an essential transparency, which in turn inspires confidence on potential contributors. Going beyond the name and logo, ARGUS found a way to carry the theme into the transactions themselves: you don’t simply buy water bottles, you save a specific number of lives with your contribution.

The84 is a youth-led social movement to positively change teen’s attitudes towards tobacco.  The name “84” came from primary research conducted by ARGUS that discovered that 84% of Massachusetts teens choose not to smoke. By crafting a strategy around a number (rather than a typical “cool” name), ARGUS helped to brand a movement that engaged in an honest dialog with its audience even as it reminded non-smoking teens of their majority power in the community. Since its public launch in August 2007, the website has had over half a million visitors, with a more than a third of users logging in from outside the State of Massachusetts.

Both 1for3 and the84 succeed in part because of the way the brands leverage powerful statistics to deliver a message without artifice or sentimentality. We live in a skeptical age; brands centered around numbers may have an easier time breaking through the din to reach audiences that are wary of marketing and advertising. In any event, numbers provide an interesting and potentially rich avenue for brand development – a road less traveled, as it were.

Products bought at Target stores affect everyday living for those who value style. But can they cater to the purely cost-conscious consumer too - without hurting their brand?

ThinkInsight

As sales slip and the economy is in a cash crunch, Target is looking to pump up their bottom line by temporarily stocking more generic “warehouse club-like” bulk product offerings. Coming from a brand that prides themselves on stylish yet affordable furnishings and clothing, this may just dilute the “specialness” of the brand altogether by dumbing it down to a Sam’s Club or Costco level.

At its core, Target’s success stemmed from appealing to a segment of consumers who were looking for discount shopping that was hip and cool, yet completely affordable. They accomplished this not only through their marketing efforts, but throughout their in-store retail experience as well. The merchandise itself was consistently stylish (usually created by high-end designers), allowing it to appeal to a more youthful audience; thus, infiltrating the world of high fashion. So to hype that Target is now selling generic items goes completely against the grain of the original branding that set them apart.

Though the target end date for this promotion, called the Great Save Event, was February 21^st, they are still continuing this online. This tactic remains somewhat removed from their core operations, which is a good thing. Devoting more space and attention to the Costco-model would certainly interfere with the core values that make Target such an exceptional brand.