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Collective Intellect

social media analytics, predictive marketing intelligence, real-time actionable insights

The Year the Consumer DiedDecember 31 2008

With the economy officially in a recession since December of 2007 and the last two quarters characterized by marked declines in consumption, can we declare 2008 the Year the Consumer Died?Of course, the literal death of consumerism is not what we’re referring to here but rather a convenient, and catchy, way to re-introduce the “prosumer” as the 2009 Web2.0 (3.0?) version of the online consumer.

Prosumer is a term that has been covered extensively with various meanings.In this post, it is a marketing term that reflects the collaborative and interactive relationship between the consumer and the producer of goods and services he or she is interested in.This definition, as near as I can tell, has two “historical” nods:

-Alvin Toffler coined the term in The Third Waveto refer to consumers that play a direct part in the “mass customization” that would occur with “one-to-one” marketing made manifest by eliminating the middlemen (�

Reach versus Engagement, part II (full post)December 18 2008

Two terms reside at the center of the ongoing quest for measurable metrics and estimating the return on marketing investment within the social media arena – reach and engagement.The former is a measurement relic of traditional advertising effectiveness such as TV or radio spots while the latter is the latest buzzword (pun intended) for discussing the efficacy of social media marketing efforts.At the heart of any discussion of reach and engagement is the ongoing challenge of informed media planning across channels.At the end of the day, planners seek understanding of the return they are getting across channels and, with the explosion of alternative online and mobile channels, this task has become exponentially difficult.

Offering up a high-level, opinionated, and non-technical discussion of these two concepts is the subject of this post.Are they two sides of the same theoretical coin or polar opposites?As with many things, the answer to this question lies somewhere in between.

Reach

Reach can be generally thought of as the number of people who are exposed to advertising or brand messaging.The pure reach numbers resulting from Dr. Pepper’s offer of a free can of soda if Guns n’ Roses were able t

PR Newser Interview with Curtis HouglandDecember 15 2008

Curtis has been around the social media and public relations worlds for longer than practically anyone else I know of (except perhaps Chris Brogan). He talks about twitter, word of mouth, and measurement as they relate to public relations. Thanks for the mention Curtis!

What do clients want more/less of, given the current economic conditions?

Clients want more data-driven PR. They are requesting campaigns with greater transparency and measurability. Understandably, companies are less likely to embrace innovation without understanding the tangible return. This is good news for social media, which is far more measurable than traditional PR.

Link to Article

social media predictions from jason fallsDecember 15 2008

Came across this post this morning from Jason Falls.  It’s a collaborative piece predicting what may go down in social media next year.  These are from some of the most active thought leaders in social media.  Interesting to see the different perspectives and general impression that social media still has a ways to go in terms of being fully integrated into the mainstream, especially w.r.t. dollars spent AND that there exists a major opportunity in the midst of the current economic climate.

Reach versus Engagement, Part OneDecember 4 2008

Two terms reside at the center of the ongoing quest for measurable metrics and estimating ROI within the social media arena – reach and engagement.“Reach” is a measurement relic of traditional advertising effectiveness such as TV or radio spots. “Engagement” is the latest buzzword (pun intended) for discussing the efficacy of social media marketing efforts.At the heart of any discussion of reach and engagement is the ongoing challenge of informed media planning across channels.At the end of the day, planners seek understanding of the return they are getting across channels. With the explosion alternative online and mobile channels, this task has become exponentially difficult.

Offering up a high-level, opinionated, and non-technical discussion of these two concepts is the subject of this post.Are they two sides of the same theoretical coin or polar opposites?As with many things, the answer to this question lies somewhere in between.

Part One will discuss Reach; Part Two will focus on Engagement.

Reach

Reach can be generally described as the number of people who are exposed to advertising or brand messaging.The pure reach numbers resulting from Dr. Pepper’s offer of a free can of soda if Guns n’ Rose