BRANDING, SOCIAL MEDIA, (and learning to

lose control)hub berkeley talk 9/10/09 - nathaniel whittemore / nathaniel@assetmap.com

This presentation is about:

...your brand in a new world

...the internet and social media

...losing control

...and getting more of what you need

What is a brand?

“A “brand” is an emotional aftertaste conjured up by but not necessarily dependent upon a series of experiences.”

-Zefrank

(key: it’s all about feeling)

Brand is...

the emotions you associate with something

the emotion that is in general associated with something (i.e. for it to be ‘the brand’ more than you has to feel it)

Example: Walmart

In the modern world, brand is more important

than ever.

(why?)

Why is brand so important?

increased choice

i.e. --------------->

fractured broadcast platforms

i.e. --------------->

KEY POINT:Nonprofits and for profits are in the same boat.

There are more product options than ever before, and it’s increasingly easy to find and buy them.

There are more options for donating, volunteering, and getting involved than ever before, and it’s increasingly easy to find and join them

Media + Brand

The four revolutions of

media1. Printed Word (books)

2. Conversational

media (Telephone)

3. Recorded Media (records)

4. Broadcast Media (radio/tv)

What they shared?“There is a curious asymmetry. The media that

are good at creating conversations are no good at creating groups. The media that are good at

creating groups are no good at creating conversations.”

-Clay Shirky

i.e. ONE to ONE (or) ONE to MANY

The shift

the internet is “many to many”

to quote Shirky again:

“Media is increasingly less just a source of information and increasingly more a site of coordination.”

What does this mean for brands?

Brands are potentially more viral than ever (every one is potentially a distributor)

Brands are more vulnerable than ever (critics can assemble like never before)

Brands are less in the control of the central entity than ever before (it’s all about what people are saying about you, not what you’re saying about yourself)

Case Studies

Virality: TED

Destruction: Rockstar

Out of control: Fiji

Positively Lost Control: FORGE

Virality: TEDTED is a conference for big brains

Extremely elite

Hyper intellectual

any yet.....wildly popular (100+ million video views)

uh, what?

are we still in america?

Vulnerability: RockstarSued Change.org + threatened others for connecting anti-gay statements of Michael Savage to Rockstar

The response: attack us, we’ll kill your brand

Rockstar drops suit, gets proactive

Rockstar publicly affirms commitment to LGBT rights, and pledges to donate $100,000 to LGBT organizations.

Loss of Control: FijiFiji water sold a picture of “green” that didn’t jive with reality

factory runs on diesel

shipping horrible for environment

no explicit philanthropic commitment

profits complicit with autocratic government

threatens critical reportersFiji has become persona non grata in a huge number of the circles it specifically tried to brand to.

Loss of Control: FORGE

Kjerstin Erickson switched models and ran out of money

Decided to blog about her mistakes

Story picked up and used to generate action around her

Brand reality recap

Brands are potentially more viral than ever (every one is potentially a distributor)

Brands are more vulnerable than ever (critics can assemble like never before)

Brands are less in the control of the central entity than ever before (it’s all about what people are saying about you, not what you’re saying about yourself)

Social media

What is “social media”

Social media refers to a new generation of internet communication that is all about sharing horizontally.

Web 1.0 was all about better information

Web 2.0 is all about sharing

Web 3.0 is converting online energy to offline community and action

Web 1.0DIGITIZING INFORMATION

Small number of people publishing (still hard to publish content)

No interaction

Web 2.0Easier to publish rich content (blogs, videos, photo)

Easier to connect, communicate, collaborate (social networks, wikis, twitter)

Relationships changing from hierarchical to symmetrical

Implications for nonprofits

Traditional Fundraising and Communication

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising and Communication

(look familiar? remember this graphic from the branding section?)

It’s all about the value you provide?

Give them something to talk about

Give them something to do

Give them something to come back to

How do you provide value?

What’s the role of social media?

Give them something to talk about (the conversation happens on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs)

Give them something to do (the commitment to action happens on Change.org, Causes, GlobalGiving)

Give them something to come back to (your presence across platforms weaves the web of places through which your people engage)

Case Studies

Give em something to talk about: charity:water

Give em something to do: Kiva

Give em something to come back to: Change.org

charity:water

Incredibly compelling media

compelling because you become part of the story

compelling because it looks up not down

compelling because it’s connected to INTERESTING action opportunities

Kiva.orgMicro-loans to developing world entrepreneurs

Opening the right of credit

Fast loan fulfillment

Ability to reloan

Not a charitable giftKEY LESSON: Platforms for action are not the same as reasons for action.

Change.orgStarted as a “social network for social change” and quickly hit a plateau

Switched to a content driven strategy and launched up to a million uniques

Started connecting content with action

Success include: Rockstar, Diners Club International, Tim Hortons, Immigration)

Connecting it backEach of these three companies is working to establish their brand by:

providing a consistent experience to engender a positive emotional aftertaste

using distribution networks like facebook and twitter to get more people to participate in that emotional response

Connecting the latent energy of that emotional experience to real opportunities for action

Bonus tip: Great Music

A vastly under discussed element of brand is music as a part of media.

See: Girl Effect, Invisible Children, Carrot Mob, charity:water