I was interviewed for a just-published Knowledge@Wharton article entitled "Social Marketing: How Companies Are Generating Value from Customer Input," which provides a high-level look at some of the different ways that organizations have attempted to use social media to connect with customers over the past couple of years. Particular companies/approaches covered in the article include:
- Southwest Airlines
- Dell (including Dell IdeaStorm)
- Dove’s "Campaign for Real Beauty"
- Captain Morgan (and the fake Captain Morgan character blog)
- CareerBuilder’s "Monk-e-mail"
- SprintNextel
- Chevy Tahoe (and the Chevy Tahoe video campaign)
The article provides a nice survey of a number of well-known organizations and their social media-centered efforts to connect with customers, and wraps up with some sage advice from Paula Amunátegui Perelló, project manager for new media at General Motors Europe. Says Perelló, "It’s a slow process, not a revolution. We have to have a
discerning approach, and not just grab every new tool that comes our
way. But we recognize that social media is no longer a fad. It is a
larger evolution of society."
Exactly.
Aren’t you talking about social media marketing (networks and social media connectivity) more than you’re talking about social marketing (social change through the use of commercial marketing technique)?
Stephen, I suppose the parenthetical distinctions are correct. I wasn’t applying the label, was simply using the title that Wharton applied to the article.
Great pointer, thanks! And, yes, ditto the bingo.
One minor nit though –
I don’t think the Captain Morgan blog is “fake”, really. Characters of any sort (book, movie, magazine, marketing campaign, etc.) aren’t “fake”, they’re “fictional”. Big difference.