The question that I want to address in this post is “how can a brand utilize the viral and entertainment aspects of social apps to achieve authentic product engagement that influences consumer purchase intent, rather than settling for surface-level brand engagement?”

Last year my company, Jellybarn, participated in Nike’s FY09 marketing event at the invitation of Avenue A | Razorfish (Great Agency – Be sure to check out Jeremy Lockhorn’s articles on Click Z. He’s spot on when it comes to social media). At the event, Mike Reeder, a brilliant Account Director at Razorfish, gave a presentation on brand marketing authenticity. It was this presentation that really prompted me to start thinking beyond surface-level marketing.

What does this authenticity look like? How does a brand connect with online consumers in a true, authentic fashion in which a dialog or relationship can grow? These questions are often hard to answer, and I think it is the reason that we as a social marketing community have not moved very far beyond surface-level brand engagement. We still tend to broadcast a brand’s inner-app messaging with a simple logo or an embedded banner ad within the application. In my view, social marketing apps will reach a tipping point by the end of 2009 and become not only a staple for brands, but one of the most important ways in which marketers engage AND SELL products to consumers. But first we must become truly authentic!

Let’s look at a Jellybarn app that I feel is a first step on our journey beyond surface-level brand engagement and closer to authentic interaction with the brand’s actual products that engages and drives purchase intent. Screen shots of the app follow below.

The concept was a casual game for Nike designed to interact with customers, compel them to shop, and ultimately sell them shoes. The idea incorporated actual Nike products within the game, as well as a virtual shoe “micro-store” so that, after users interacted with the shoes authentically, they could shop for and even purchase the product. The user chose which pair they wanted their character to use. To encourage  users to interact with multiple styles, we gave each shoe different abilities and incorporated many of the benefits from the real shoes into the game.

The result was that users interacted with both the brand and the product in a way that was not broadcast, pushy or “selly.” Users do not want to be “sold,” and with this approach they enjoyed engaging with the brand and product. With this type of authentic approach, users are more inclined and even eager to share the application via the social web. Assuming the application is a viral success and includes some simple XML capabilities, the product lineup can be continually updated throughout the application’s life cycle. Lastly, with the incorporation of the micro-store there are now thousands of purchase point locations across the web where users can keep the product on top-of-mind purchase intent.

One final point worth mentioning is that the apps themselves are simply the vehicles by which these authentic interactions happen. Making money is the goal of marketing, yet much of the industry still tends to look at social apps (from a brand standpoint) as a way to “engage” consumers and build brand recognition. I think it’s time we as an industry became more accountable (brands let’s make this a New Years resolution) to tapping the real power of social apps to actually make money for the brand rather than limiting ourselves to brand recognition. Social applications hold so much more opportunity for driving purchase intent through authentic interactions than we have yet to utilize.

Let me preface this review by saying that I realize I am the nth person to comment on this book. I am also what many would consider a “practicing serial entrepreneur.” While I make no claims to be a start-up expert, I have founded four businesses in the past 10 years and have experienced everything from pitching business ideas to major brands and strategic partners to raising large sums of investor capital.  All this to say that I hope you find my review useful coming from one who has significant experience starting things.

While The Art of the Start did not (and didn’t intend to) present any new or revolutionary concepts, it did something for me that other start-up books haven’t done. Kawasaki focuses on one of the great challenges entrepreneurs face (starting something) and compiles all of the essential concepts for success in one concise, easy-to-read handbook. He not only covers the basics of business (such as how to pitch, how to hire staff, etc.), but he also addresses such ideals as character and integrity, topics that are difficult to teach but are some of the most crucial elements for success in any business environment. Many startup business books address topics such as raising capital and writing your business plan, but few zero in on the importance of human relationships and emotional intelligence in the entrepreneurial process. The problem is that, by neglecting such issues early on, we risk being too oriented on the forest to see the trees and our business and leadership suffers as a result.

I consider this book a manual for start-up success that combines the human relationship skills of Dale Carnegie (link) and the business savvy skills of Jack Welch (link) from the perspective of a guy (no pun intended – link) who might understand the entrepreneurial process better than anyone.

The book’s chapters are as follows:

1. “Starting”
2. Positioning
3. Pitching (great information)
4. Business Plan (great information)
5. “Bootstrapping”
6. Recruiting (great chapter)
7. Finding investors
8. Partnerships
9. Branding
10. Rainmaking
11. Being a good person, or a “Mensch”

Key excerpts from the book

• “There are few tasks that face an entrepreneur that are more enjoyable than recruiting employees to a hot start-up.”
• “Organizations are successful because of good implementation, not good business plans.”
• “If you don’t terminate people who aren’t working out, you increase the probability of having to lay off people who are.”
• “Like the Holy Grail, the business plan remains largely unattainable and mythological.”
• “If you ever want to understand what God thinks of money, look at who He gives it to.”

These points make it crystal clear that Guy Kawasaki gets it. Each idea is one that I have learned through first hand experience over the years and is the reason the book resonates with me so much. I plan to continually revisit and review this book as an integral part of my business library. You should have it as well (most of you probably do).

DDay Rating – 5 out of 5 stars (for nailing all the topics that matter when starting anything)

Last week my company held it’s kick-off meeting for the 2009 season and one of our big topics was innovating our capabilities. Processes, standardization, skills, tools, etc. are necessary if we are to outpace our competition. A few days after our meeting I came across an article from Strategy+Business that discussed the topic in depth (see article here or click here for PDF). To me there are so many reasons that focusing on your capabilities-driven strategy is far more important than focusing on better improving your product to the nth degree (most companies that are built and run by “technician minded” people tend to focus on continually improving the product vs. delivering the product, thus their companies tend to remain a “ma and pa” shop.)

Let me give you an example of capabilities-driven strategy from a great book (E-myth Revisited) that sums it up so well. “Most of us could build a better hamburger than McDonalds, but  few (if any) of us could build a better system for delivering those hamburgers than McDonald’s.”

McDonald’s capabilities and skills in process, marketing, standardization and so forth are what makes it such an efficient company. A better capabilities strategy is also why so many companies thrive and others don’t. If a company can outpace its competition through greater understanding and clarity of their capabilities-driven strategies then they are likely to be able to thrive even in a tough economy!

Have a peak at the article, it’s a great resource for learning and improving your capabilities-driven strategies and getting a jump on outpacing your competition in 2009.

Have you ever wondered where you are as a company with your business plan?

Having a plan and working that plan is in my opinion the cornerstone of a building a good company, yet a good plan is often the most overlooked area in a business. The task of creating a business plan can be daunting and as such often creates a case of paralysis for most Entrepreneurs. Having a solid plan that communicates your vision and value proposition gives you the capstone for all other areas of the business, such as finding the right team or raising capitol. To help with the often burdensome task of executing a plan and break it down to it’s simplest form so it can be executed there is a service called planHQ that will help you achieve your business plan.

For those who are familiar with Basecamp this service will be very familiar to you and your team.

We have used basecamp for quite some time and we love it for our projects, but when it came to our business plan there was always a disconnect for executing the strategy. Who wants to read a lengthly business plan word document anyway? Let alone try to keep a team on track using the document. PlanHQ allows you to write clear summaries of your strategy, create goals and assign tasks to those goals. Teams are now able to execute and take ownership more effectively towards the outcome of the companies vision.

Unless your raising money or communicating to your BOD (board of directors) you should not need to a huge document anyway. What you need is a clear internal strategy plan that covers the basic three elements of a business plan.

1. Value Proposition (Great idea that will help our clients more affordably and effectively do a job they are trying to get done.)
2. Profit Formula (A formula that allows you to keep costs minimal and margins at a maximum) 
3. Business Systems (Standardization for the our habitual ways of getting things done) 

Now a business plan strategy will cover more detail than the above three points, but if you have those covered you have a great start. Once you get your plan outlined start adding it to planHQ, you will see progress take hold. Nothing motivates a team better than effective progress.

Visit – PlanHQ

This new growth and influence of the social space is 180 degrees from the last campaign of bush/kerry just 4 years ago. One thing is for sure, because sites like YouTube and Myspace are flattening the world and making communication and reach to millions as simple as a click away…the days of youth not being involved in political issues are a thing of the past. The Internet is a new paradigm ahead for all future politicians and will now be the primary vehicle for them to reach a mass audience (youth audience) in hopes becoming the next president. In the future those politicians who do not effectively utilize the Internet as a platform, will surely be left behind.