18/09/2009IPA Social: Principle Five - Marketing with people not to people

For the last 30 yrs or so, brilliantly controlled brand management was the perfect approach for persuading a mass market of credulous consumers who eagerly put their faith in brands.

But things have changed. The brands who will thrive most successfully in the new age of communications realise that marketing is no longer something that you do TO people, it’s something that you do WITH people.

People aren’t receptacles waiting eagerly for your advertising message. They’re savvy and value their time. Why should they allow a brand into their world unless they feel the brand values them? From involving people in an entertaining brand experience, to inviting participation in creating what the brand does & the products and services it offers, to simply listening to people when they have something to say — being interested is as important as being interesting.

And this can take numerous forms — there’s no one size fits all. Orange’s Playballoonacy rewarded participation on numerous levels — for some it was the chance to win the grand prize, for others the reward was simply the fun of playing an entertaining game, whilst for others it was getting enough points to beat their mates, or the opportunity to drive additional traffic to their blogs. Walkers ‘Do Us a Flavour’ campaign demonstrated how interactive and involving communication can live and breathe even within the most seemingly traditional campaigns. Whilst Dell Ideastorm and MyStarbucksIdea both put listening to people at the very heart of their communication — they flip the funnel, putting the user at the centre, rather than the brand.

Ultimately, social marketing extends beyond campaigns. It can and should be a core part of how brands behave. It’s every interaction people have with your brand — and involving people should be something you do all year round.

Because, after all, we need to remember that the most powerful marketing of all is what people say about your brand to others. If you can create opportunities to involve people in your brand communication, and deliver an enriching and rewarding brand interaction, people might just talk about it positively to their friends. It’s not just that marketing is something you do with people - if you do it right, people become your marketing.