RENEGADE THINKING from the CEO of Renegade, the social media & marketing consultancy that helps clients make more out of less by transforming communications into "Marketing as Service."
Marketing for Good
Social Media

Insights into CMO’s and Social Media

05/4/11

Probably nobody in the world talks to more CMO’s than Pete Krainik, founder of The CMO Club.  I caught up with Pete last week after The CMO Club Summit in New York City and asked him for the inside scoop on CMO’s and social media.  Here’s our Q&A:

DN: There was a lot of conversation at The CMO Club Summit about social media.  Why do you think this is the case?
CMOs care about customer engagement and having a reason and vehicle for listening, having a conversation, and sharing their Brands.  Social media is simply the best way, for many brands to do this.  Every Brand has different products/services and customers so the conversation’s centered on new and game changing ideas they can build on for their industry, customer base and products.

The other big reason is about marketing mix optimization.  Every dollar and resource focused correctly is worth significantly more than before. More targets, more marketing vehicles results in more interest in getting it right.

DN: Do you expect this conversation to grow over the next 12 months or are CMOs approaching Social Media fatigue?
The conversation will grow but move from social media to social marketing and social branding.   I’ve noticed within The CMO CLUB that more and more 1-1 conversations with CMOs to think through synergies for sharing resources together.  Moving from company specific apps, communities, programs to a community of Brands approach.  Very interesting times ahead.

DN: The CMO’s at the event seemed to be at various stages of the adoption curve when it comes to social media, why do you think that is the case?
A number of reasons.  For larger, more technical B2B Brands, a smaller number of customers are leveraging social media so the call to action and priority is different than for B2C Retailers and CPG companies.  Also some companies focus on innovation leadership while others are fast followers, etc.  Finally global companies have issues of rollout and priority by region, product lines, etc.

DN: What role does social media play in the marketing of the CMO club?
Given the club is an exclusive “heads of marketing only” community with the mission of facilitating the world’s best CMO conversations, Social media has been the single more important vehicle for the growth of membership. Two out of every 3 new members in the club come from referrals and recommendations from heads of marketing in the club.

We not only use social media for communicating new posts and events from members, but the members only site itself is a community site vs. website. Everything from member blog posts, member Q/A, New CMO jobs on the market, vendor rating programs, plus content in the CMO CLUB Thought Leadership Library is contributed from members.  Social media is used to share member insights, build subgroups of interests, and listen to members.

Our weekly poll question of members has gone from 75 to 150 members per week responding, then sharing and discussing results. The value of the club is to help CMOs connect with peers, share insights, and stay sharp and competitive as heads of marketing.  Social media and our social community platform is the catalyst to make it happen.

DN: Pete closed by noting that the October 2011 CMO Club Summit in Los Angeles will have a large section focused on “CMO worthy” innovations in social media.

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Marketing for Good

Entrepreneur Interview: Ashok Kamal, Bennu

12/12/10

This is the transcript from my interview with Ashok Kamal, founder of Bennu, a start-up dedicated to making new products out of the stuff you throw away.  This is the first in a series of interviews I conducted for a FastCompany.com post on entrepreneurship that will go live later this week.  I also have Ashok to thank for the pearl metaphor I’m using for my larger story with his comment, “bu diamonds and pearls are made under pressure, and so are great businesses.”

Where did the idea for your business come from?

Like any good business, the idea behind Bennu was born out of a problem. The difference with Bennu and other social enterprises is that our problem affects society as a whole, not just individuals. We wanted to address the obscene amount of garbage being dumped into landfills. Therefore, we started Bennu to make products out of recycled materials, both solving a practical consumer need and protecting the environment for all of us.

Why are you doing this?  I mean why not just get a job at a fast growing company and stop killing yourself;-)

To me, entrepreneurship is another word for freedom. Freedom to live your values, freedom to work with people you care about, and freedom to innovate. Once you’ve experienced the freedom of running your own business, conventional employment feels like a prison sentence.

What does success look like for you personally and for your company?

When your lifestyle revolves around your business, the line between personal and professional success is blurred. In the short- and medium-term, my success entails creating a stable enterprise that delights both employees and customers. Bennu’s mission is greening the standard for a new lifestyle so our goal is also to influence peoples’ behavior by promoting sustainability. Over the long-term, I hope the business will outgrow its founders and operate as a well-oiled machine.  At that point, personal success would mean being in a position to help aspiring entrepreneurs to achieve their dreams.

How long have you been at it and where do things stand right now?

My partners and I began working on Bennu during our first year of business school in the fall of 2009. We entered and won the Baruch College & Merrill Lynch Invitational business plan competition and officially incorporated in July 2009. We continued to develop Bennu during our second year of business school and committed ourselves full-time to the venture upon graduation in June 2010. Currently, Bennu is a fully operational, revenue-generating company and we are focused on establishing our brand, designing products and creating marketing programs.

Other than money, what are the biggest barriers to your success right now?

Business is about seeing around corners. As a socially responsible company, Bennu caters to the green consumer segment, which is growing rapidly but still represents a fraction of the mainstream market. At present, the volatile demand for green products is a threat to our business, especially since sustainability adds cost. We’re betting on a green tidal wave that changes consumer preferences such that corporate social responsibility is the expectation, not the exception. The risk we assume is that we’re peering too far around the corner, waiting for a paradigm shift that may or may not occur. 

Describe some of the highs you’ve experienced thus far:

As student entrepreneurs who made the leap from classroom to market, a definite highlight was being selected to compete in the 2010 Rice Business Plan Competition in Houston, TX. The event is considered the most prestigious student business competition in the world and participating validated our concept and potential. Additionally, making our first sale was a thrill. The idea becomes viable when a customer agrees to pay for it, suddenly making the business real. As a corollary, it was equally fulfilling to successfully deliver our first order. When customers are consistently made happy, it signals not only the start of a business, but also its likelihood to thrive.

And what are the low points?

Running a startup involves constant troubleshooting. From supply chain disruptions, to managing cash flow, to technical glitches — almost every problem could spell the end of the business because there is little room for error. While no single crisis stands out in my mind, the persistent challenge to withstand shocks and survive can be stressful. Entrepreneurship is an emotional roller-coaster and some days the low points compound. But diamonds and pearls are made under pressure, and so are great businesses.

Where has the money come from to get you this far?

Bennu was awarded $40,000 in seed money by winning the 2009 Baruch College & Merrill Lynch Invitational business plan competition. This capital injection allowed us to start up and earn revenue, and also compelled us to put skin in the game and invest in ourselves. 

How hard has it been to raise money?

Bennu is a bootstrapped startup by design. Rather than exhaust resources chasing money for an unproven business, we decided to operate lean and focus on proving our concept. Raising external capital to support an unconventional business model in a down economy would have been extremely difficult. Now that we have an emerging brand, company infrastructure and base of customers, we hope that growth capital will be more accessible than if we had fundraised out of the gates.

Looking back, what would you do differently?

Bennu took too long to evolve. We launched by selling customized backpacks made from recycled plastic bottles. While these Greenpacks have been successful, they don’t suggest the growth of a successful company. A singular product focus is risky and nothing is safely protected from imitation. By listening to both our champions and critics, we realized that our core competency was developing marketing programs for recycled products, which could include but were not limited to children’s backpacks. Our business model became an integrated product development and marketing company focused on the recycled market.  We can help larger companies deal with their waste by offering structured corporate social responsibility solutions based on our diverse products and marketing programs.

Looking back, did you think it was going to be this hard?

When you feel fear, you can either run from it or confront it. Obviously, an entrepreneur is someone who faces fear head on. The psychological leap forward is scary and nothing can prepare you ahead of time. Accepting that all responsibility falls on your shoulders and there is no safety net is something you can only digest in real-time. However, the anxiety becomes overshadowed by the excitement of positively impacting the world and achieving your dreams.

How much money do you need to raise now to get you to the next stage?

In order to scale up and accelerate growth, we will be looking to raise at least $800,000 by the summer of 2011.

If your friend was about to start a business, what advice would you give them?

First, I’d subject the person to a psychological examination to ensure that they are just crazy enough to start a business. Assuming they aren’t either too sane or too crazy, I’d advise them to become consumer-facing as quickly as possible. Regardless of the idea on paper, the ultimate success lies in the hands of the buyer. The most important feedback, especially at the outset, is also likely to come from consumers, so it makes sense to prototype and test before investing unnecessary resources in a dud. Lastly, I’d remind my friend that passion should be at the center of the business. It’s the driver that will get the person through setbacks and make the victories more meaningful.

Do you see yourself as a serial entrepreneur or is this your one big idea?

I see the entrepreneurial lifestyle as a chronic disease, and I consider myself hopelessly afflicted.

Someone said that “any idiot can learn from his/her own mistakes, it takes a genius to learn from the mistakes of others” — what lessons do you wish you’d learned from others?

I think you can avoid a lot of unnecessary mistakes by establishing an advisory board from the outset. It’s easy to neglect this task in favor of immediate concerns, but once we recruited seasoned and candid advisors, Bennu became much more efficient and productive.

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Marketing for Good

8 Questions for Aspiring Leaders

08/18/10

Six years ago Scott Harrison wouldn’t know a Bayaka from a bialy. He was a nightclub impresario helping to sell $16 cocktails to a cool crowd of Millennials while showing off his sponsored Rolex. Now Scott heads charity: water, a non-profit organization he founded that has delivered clean drinking water to over 1 million people in its first four years and aspires to help 100 million in the next ten years. How this happened is a story of personal transformation and exemplary entrepreneurship, offering up 8 questions for any aspiring leader to consider right now without fail.

1. Is this what you really want to be doing?

If you have to think about this question, then you probably know the answer is no. Discovery one’s calling is often a journey upon which only the bold embark. Finding his nightclub gig wanting, Scott Harrison began his journey as a volunteer photojournalist in Liberia and for two years took “pictures of the some of the sickest people in the world, who were getting treated by volunteer doctors.” Added Harrison, “So coming back off that experience, I was 30, pretty ambitious and bold, deciding I wanted to reinvent charity.” Explaining his need to start fresh, Harrison offered, “I didn’t think I could work within the system and make the impact I wanted to make.”

2. Are you providing a clear vision?

The vision thing seems so obvious that it’s simply overlooked by aspiring leaders, the way the rest of us simply take clean water for granted. For Harrison, the vision involved creating a new kind of transparent charity that puts 100% of public donations to work, in this case delivering clean water to those who don’t have it. Noted Harrison, “Its not guilt based, this is all about presenting people with an amazing opportunity to serve people who need your help.” The opportunity will require raising a whopping two billion U.S. dollars in the next ten years, “a crazy growth rate of 63%” that even Harrison admits is unprecedented. Crazy or not, Harrison’s vision is as clear as a mountain stream.

3. Can you reduce your business to a simple story?

A crystal clear elevator pitch is often discussed but rarely realized by even the best of entrepreneurs. Most organizations, especially non-profits have a tendency to “lead with complexity,” noted Harrison. So charity: water keeps it very simple, “If you give money, we can bring clean water to a community,” offered the succinct Harrison. Supported with visual storytelling that engages on a visceral level, “as you get interested with a simple story we then let you discover the complexity as your interest level increases,” Harrison explained. This progressive approach has helped charity: water attract thousands of donors from sophisticated millionaires to 10-year olds, all with a shared understanding.

4. Do you know your weaknesses?

Successful entrepreneurs are rarely geniuses; in fact many think of themselves as being too naïve to realize why their idea won’t succeed so they just plough ahead. Naïve or not, they must have a keen understanding of their weaknesses and Harrison is no exception. When explaining why hire #2 was a water projects person and #3 an art director, Harrison revealed, “I’m not an executer and I’m a terrible designer.” With these two critical positions in place, Harrison was able build both his brand and his family, as hire #3 Vik also became his wife. Four years into it, Harrison now laments little with the exception of bringing in systems late–systems that could help him manage hundreds of thousands of donors and related CRM activities.

5. Do you aspire to create an epic brand?

If you are too busy trying to make sales to think about your brand, think again. Perhaps the most instructive of all Harrison’s initial goals was his desire to build a brand, something many non-profits considered to be a dirty word. As he put it, “to solve a problem as big as the water crisis, we would need to create an epic brand.” Modeling brands like Apple and Nike, brands that sold “gazillions of product to people, charity: water would be selling gazillions of dollars of clean water and hope,” Harrison explained. To achieve epic status, charity: water put special emphasis on emotional storytelling via high quality photography, beautifully produced videos, and a gorgeous Web site that is easy to navigate, all produced without a marketing budget.

6. Have you figured out how to scale your business?

A lot of entrepreneurs never build a structure that scales, preferring the hands on approach that keeps them at the center of the action. But for Harrison solving the problem of scale was essential to his vision, “We can only do this by getting millions of people involved through the inevitable math of networks.” This is why Harrison and his team created mycharitywater.org and launched it in beta September 2009. In 11 months, more than 2,800 people have started personal campaigns to celebrate their birthdays, mountain climbs or Mohawk shavings and helped raise nearly $3 million. Noted Harrison, with people raising an average of a thousand dollars per personal campaign, “We only need two million birthdays in a decade to get to our ten year, two billion dollar goal.” And while Harrison says “only” without hesitation, keep in mind he’s gotten this far with less than 25 staffers!

7. Do you have a strategy for each social media channel?

Without a lot of serious strategic forethought, most businesses have jumped into various social media channels with little regard for the roles each might play in their business growth. Admits Harrison, charity: water wasn’t much different jumping into Twitter at the outset, becoming the first non-profit to have over one million followers. “Twitter is great for awareness and getting people to watch a video but outside of benefiting from the amazing Twestival (charitywater.org/twestival), we haven’t tried to raise money with it,” explained Harrison. “Facebook traffic [to their Web site] stays a little longer, engages a little differently, so there’s a big focus now for us to build that community,” Harrison added. With 56,000 fans now, charity: water hopes to grow its fan base to over one million, perhaps by integrating Facebook Connect into mycharitywater.org in some manner. (To become a fan, click here.)

bayaka8. Who the heck are the Bayaka and how can I help?

Most entrepreneurs understand the role of passion in motivating internal staff and external stakeholders. Scott Harrison’s current passion is the Bayaka people in the Central African Republic (see the video). Explained Harrison, “They’re hunter-gatherers, but the logging industry has forced them into the villages where they’re being treated like slaves and denied access to clean water.” With the goal of drilling fresh water wells for all 16,000 Bayaka and another 70,000 other Central Africans this September, charity: water needs to raise $1.7 million. And here’s how you, my thoughtful reader, can help. You can join my campaign with the goal of attracting 16,000 $20 gifts, one for each Bayaka (if Scott can be ambitious, so can I!). Because charity: water tracks where each donation goes, you’ll be able to see with complete transparency your donation in action. As Harrison concluded, “This isn’t our story, it’s your story, it’s everyone else’s story.”  (Note: this article first appeared on FastCompany.com)

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Marketing as Service
Marketing for Good

Pepsi Refresh Serves All

03/18/10

What I love about the concept of Marketing as Service is that when done correctly it is a win win all the way around.  The consumer wins because they get something of real value and the marketer wins because they get something of real value too, not the least of which is a meaningful consumer interaction.  Done correctly, marketing as service can increase loyalty, attract new customers, generate favorable PR and even increase your fanbase on Facebook.

Which brings me to Pepsi’s Refresh Project.  If you haven’t seen it yet, stop reading this and click here.  In their words, “Pepsi is giving away millions of dollars  to fund great ideas.” Here’s a quick recap from MediaPost:

PepsiCo introduced the Pepsi Refresh Project to a large audience during the Super Bowl. The yearlong project, whose mission is to fund entrepreneurial projects with “a positive impact,” encourages fans to submit ideas — as well as vote online to decide who will be monthly winners of multiple grants ranging from $5K to $250K apiece.

At first you might ask what does saving the world have to do with Pepsi but the simple answer is in the program tagline, “every Pepsi refreshes the world.”  The reality is that Pepsi is finding a deeper way to connect with its youthful target, a target that is indeed keen on saving the world or at least making sure that young artists find an audience or that an eco-friendly play gets produced in NYC. If the target believes Pepsi actually cares, Pepsi moves from soda to soul mate.  The project has been gaining momentum over the last several months according to MediaPost:

Using no broadcast media to publicize the contest in December, Pepsi closed the submission period for ideas in 72 hours. Then the company added a little media to the mix in February and closed submissions within 24 hours. By March, as the project became more well-known, Pepsi closed submissions in less than 12 hours. There have been millions of votes, more than a billion media impressions and hundreds of thousands of new Facebook Fans.

This program is worth studying in further detail for its state-of-the-are use of social media, crowd sourcing and good old CSR (corporate social responsibility.)  But alas, I can’t do that for you right this second as I need to take a Pepsi break.

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Marketing as Service
Marketing for Good

A Good Sign

02/17/10

The fun part of tracking examples of Marketing as Service is that you never know when and where you might find one.  A recent exploration of various websites for imported alcohol brands yielded an interesting example from the Dominican Republic courtesy of Brugal Rum.  Creating road signposts where none stood before, Brugal provided a meaningful service that proved so popular it became a national phenomenon.  Here’s the story as reported on Brugal’s website:

Some time ago road signs in the Dominican Republic were scarce. In the beginning of the 1970s, Brugal voluntarily offered to improve the situation and, in accordance with the local government, began to post signs in the form of the company’s crest that would identify the cities, towns, beaches and points of interest in the entire country.

It made us proud that this initiative ended up being very popular, and soon those same towns and cities began requesting these signs from Brugal. Today the tradition continues and the demand is so high that Brugal created a special workshop specializing in the production and maintenance of these signs.

The signs are like the traffic ones, nearly 3m high. And since this action by Brugal was not motivated by any publicity goals but rather a desire to help the people of our country, we don’t know the exact number of signs we have but surely it’s more than 4000.

Like many of the best examples of Marketing as Service, this one started with the brand’s desire to provide a service that would be of benefit to its target.  Of course, they also ended up with thousands of very inexpensive reminders of the brand and made the brand an even more integral part of  Dominican life.  Whether you see this as crafty marketing, “enlightened self-interest,” or just plain CSR, it’s a good sign from any angle.

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Marketing for Good

Marketing as Service Serves Alcohol Brands

12/8/09

While touting Marketing as Service relentlessly over the past few years, I’m also keenly aware that this approach may not be right for every brand or category. One category that I had my doubts about is Spirits. Relying heavily on visual brand statements in print and outdoor, it was unclear to me if a more service-oriented approach could drive people to drink. Well, I’m happy to report that a pitcher full of new campaigns have convinced me that Marketing as Service pours it on here too.

DonQ, a rum brand, recently launched a clever web campaign that answers some of the “tougher” questions men face today like how often to call their mothers and how quickly after the break-up can you ask a buddy’s ex out. The answers are provided by a large panel of ladies who’s responses can be segmented by age, relationship status, region, education, personal style and even “socialization.” According to a report by MediaPost, the campaign is designed to “engage men where they live these days — online and on their mobile phones.”

Word-of-mouth for the service — and further engagement with the brand — is being built via social media, including Facebook and Twitter and newer comers such as Foursquare, Tumblr, BuzzFeed, Nerve, Mixologist, HappyHoured and The Deck Network.

Given that the liquor category tends to be heavily reliant on on-site promotions and sampling and “one-way” advertising, there was “a clear space” for DonQ to enter with a service-oriented marketing perspective, adds Clay Parker Jones of New York-based digital strategy firm Undercurrent, who is the lead strategist on the project.

I’m also a fan of The Glenlivet Whisky Season Open and its smart sponsorship of the World Golf Tour program. Transporting me to the virtual dunes of St. Andrews, The Glenlivet introduced me to a highly engaging online golf game that is both challenging and addictive. Though I didn’t take the time to perfect my virtual swing, you can tell by the Leader Board that thousands have, no doubt many of them ending their round with a proper toast to their host, The Glenlivet.

Jack Daniel’s created an interesting “toast” application in celebration of the founders September birthday. Over 6,000 toasts were sent and this effort helped the brand attract over 370,000 fans on Facebook! Here’s a brief overview from MediaPost:

The “Give A Toast” application analyzes a user’s Facebook friend list, uses their profiles to automatically screen out any friends under 21, and identifies friends to toast based on their profile information or activities on the network. The user’s friends are ranked into seven categories based on their data: social friend, photogenic friend, musical friend, mysterious friend, all-around friend, active friend or interesting friend.

The app does all of the work for the user: No need to answer questions or manually select friends to send toasts to. The toast and the Jack Daniel’s cocktail selected by the user are posted on friends’ Facebook walls. The app also identifies those friends who have September birthdays, and encourages users to toast them.

I have lots more examples but will have to save them a later post.  In the meantime, cheers to the brands who DO something for their target versus those who just SAY something.  As the old sage advised, “actions speak louder than words.”

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