Piaras Kelly PR - Public Relations in Ireland

Hugh MacLeod has been talking a lot recently about the social object and why it is the future of marketing. For those of you who do not read Hugh’s site, here the key point:

The Social Object, in a nutshell, is the reason two people are talking to each other, as opposed to talking to somebody else. Human beings are social animals. We like to socialize. But if think about it, there needs to be a reason for it to happen in the first place. That reason, that “node” in the social network, is what we call the Social Object.

Hugh goes onto to talk about word-of-mouth and the relationship between products/services and consumers:

She’ll only talk about it if it serves as a Social Object. A “hook” to move the conversation along. A hook she can use it as a way to relate to her fellow human beings.

So hurrah if you work for a big brand and it’s going to be a tough slog if you work for Brand X:

Obviously, if your product is more conversation-worthy, like a Mercedes or an iPod, your job will be easier. Nice work if you can get it.

But let’s face it, average people are never going to sit down and have a deep and meaningful conversation about Brand X. But hey, maybe over coffee, a couple of little soon-forgotten sentences from somebody like Pam, is enough to make the sale.

Or is it?

As Hugh points out Brand X needs to provide hooks to move the conversation along. Traditional advertising isn’t always enough to do that anymore, but it does still happen.

So what can today’s marketers do? For starters they can try to create hooks by tapping into the pack instinct as outlined by John Grant in the ‘New Marketing Manifesto‘:

In the past, this drive found expression in the real communities people were part of – the extended family and village or neighbourhood or the firm which gave you a job for life. Now people are more uprooted. Social, geographical and work mobility are a central of most people’s lives. Sociologists say that in this sense we are all homeless because we have no fixed point as our emotional origin. This creates a hunger for communities we can belong to.

If Nike as a brand was grounded in local community sports clubs and activities people would have had to give up exercise and friends to leave it behind, rather than just giving up on a badge. Communities of interest make brands less disposable. The old marketing relied on identifying passive target audiences whose only connection with the brand and each other was purchasing. New marketing aims to form a much more active and bonded community of interest.

Again you could go back to Hugh’s point and say this is all well and good if you work for Nike, but what about poor old Brand X?

Two examples to show that Brand X can create hooks.

My first example is one of the trends identified in the nfpSynergy report on the 21st century donor (please download it if you haven’t read it already) - intertwining giving and living:

We want people to give without realising they are doing so, so that their donations form part of their everyday life, moving unnoticed from them to the charity. And much of the evidence is that the most successful fundraising takes place when giving
and living are melded seamlessly together.

…

Cancer Research UK’s Race For Life now has over 700,000 people taking part each year. The Flora London Marathon has 35,000 runners and is at least five times over-subscribed. The MoonWalk persuades thousands of people each year to walk through
the night to raise money for breast cancer care. Twenty five people take two weeks off work to walk to Machu Picchu in Peru to raise money for a disability charity. These are but a few of the highly successful fundraising events where the difference
between giving and living is wafer-thin.

Do people do these activities purely out of an altruistic desire to raise money for charities? No. They do them because they are a great social activity. Runners describe the incredible sense of camaraderie before and during a running event. People meet and make friends for life at challenge events. The best fundraising events allow people to do things which hover between giving and living. They would not do them if they were just social activities and they would not do them if they were just fundraising activities.

Again you could say that charities are an exception, here’s a straight forward commercial example from Ireland - the Barrys Tea book club. As the site says:

What could be better than taking time to read a good book and enjoy a relaxing cup of Barry’s Tea with friends - and combining the two we’ve created our very own Barry’s Tea Book Club. It’s a great way to get to know people as well as books - and a great excuse for taking time out over a pot of Barry’s Tea.

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