Marketing Social

Are you ready to start caring about sharing?

Published: 16 May 2013 by Gerard Costa

The Social Network has evolved into the Services Network – this was the revolutionary idea, based on the concept of collaborative consumption, presented by Lauren Anderson at ESADE this week.

What is collaborative consumption? All kind of economic arrangements in which participants share access to products or services, rather than having individual ownership. Think about sharing, swapping or selling second-hand goods, and that often is enabled by technology and peer communities.

Elsewhere it’s described as a paradigm shift (a term used by ESADE); a time to start caring about sharing, according to the Economist; one of the 10 Ideas that Will Change the World, for Time; or in the words of Rachel Bostman, the currency of the new economy.

At the Observatorio Consumo we spend our time analyzing insights we get from Spanish consumers. And we are seeing two groups of consumers. Firstly a niche with an advocacy attitude, they even prefer talking about peers, rather than consumers. People disposed to buy to change the world, with a buycott attitude (proactive purchasing decisions to buy products linked to specific values) that research shows never last.

The big segment are those non-activist consumers, looking for convenience, excited by becoming co-creator of services, and attracted by the concept of a sharing lifestyle. For a start, there’s Generation Y – a generation disenchanted with status conferred by ownership and purchasing power, who simply want access to and the use of products.

So who’s who in the collaborative consumption panorama?

At our event we met some local startups with interesting ideas. There is Social Eaters who are bringing strangers together over a meal – users meet online and eat offline, sharing costs in the process. Another is Trip4real which gives peers the unique chance to share a Barça match with a real supporter, full service, beers and flags included. My personal favourite was Bla Bla Car – a great idea that makes hitch-hiking look Stone Age, and uses pure emotional branding through the main benefit offered by sharing your car.

And then Lauren Anderson brought out the big guns with the idea of Services Network. And talked about TaskRabbit, a company based on the principle that you can outsource your daily chores to your neighbours, who bid for the job against its difficulty, time commitment, effort and distance. May be Lauren is right. We are beginning to see social networks evolve into service networks and the path is there for a real paradigm shift.

How about you? Are you ready to start caring about sharing?

The Revolution may not be televised – but it might be in your soda

Published: 7 May 2013 by Gerard Costa

Societal marketing is a fascinating concept: it creates value for the target audience and enhanced well-being in consumers and society as a whole, whilst remaining true to brand values and objectives. And its blend of brand, societal and consumer welfare considerations also brings learning opportunities for all those involved.

For years, the Coke brand has been leveraging values as a way of surprising – and engaging – its consumers. Coke has a mission to bring positivity and joy to people, and in so doing, to transform its brand into a symbol of sharing and social values.

Interestingly, as we enter tougher times, societal marketing strategies are getting better and better, and more sophisticated. This is true of the global marketplace and diverse sectors and segments.

Take the example of nonprofits. When NGOs put together a positioning proposal, they usually have to prioritize one stance over another: whether to play it safe and aim for likeability, or stick their necks out and adopt a strategy that involves more risks to their reputation. Relief or Advocacy. It often boils down to a choice between being reactive or proactive.

The Coke example demonstrates how a positioning strategy can do both – appeal to the masses, whilst deftly negotiating the choppy waters of negative publicity (of the tooth enamel kind). Simply using a segmentation strategy.

As an American brand, Coke knows there is a huge emphasis on giving back in US culture, but that by the same token, no one is really that interested in rocking the boat. Nonetheless, their contribution to the obesity debate, the Coming Together initiative, is galvanizing the public way more efficiently that the municipalities of New York or Cambridge, Mass.

Meanwhile, here in Spain there’s plenty of talk about changing the world. But the reality is that Spanish citizens aren’t really doing that much, not even giving back to the community.

Isn’t the time right to start doing something? To take on boards and statistics and kick start the Revolution against The Powers that Be? To put our money where our mouth is, instead of sitting back and watching whilst our colleagues overseas take the initiative?. Let’s do the revolution against Chairs and Change Statistics!.

And if it takes a soda company becoming a responsible citizen to make us see the value of adapting to a changing social contract, I for one am prepared to drink to that.

Case Studies, Private Sector | Medios Masivos, Positive Marketing, Societal Marketing Leave a comment Permalink

Why charity needs to get down to business

Published: 22 April 2013 by Gerard Costa

“Charity industry” is a concept that usually produces an awkward silence when introduced in our management program for NGO.

We introduce the concept by means of a famous quote by Bernard Koucher (cofounder of MSF): “If you want to achieve something in this area, you have to be a businessman and be sensitive to advertising and marketing … If you do not agree that the law of the market is also valid for the charity industry, you get your nowhere introduction”.

To most nonprofit managers, charity industry reads like an oxymoron; exempt as they consider themselves to be from the mundane considerations of business.

But the “b word” is the reality of the situation. In the US alone there are a whopping 1.4 million separate nonprofit entities, making up 10% of the total economy.

Nonprofit organizations are not exempt from the notion of “industry” and all its concomitant human problems: job insecurity, a bit of corruption here and there, not much transparency; not to mention a lack of clear incentives attached to operational efficiency (probably because donor euros are not regarded as investments).

As a result, the charity business is increasingly perceived as the unsavory side of humanitarian intervention.

Let’s take a tour of what’s been said about it in the last few months alone.

First there’s Arte TV’s investigation, which highlighted numerous instances of fund-raising activities that had gobbled up most of the donations – in some cases up to 100%, meaning that not a single cent arrived at its intended destination.

Then there’s Valentina Furlanetto’s book, “L’industria della Carità” which sheds light on the “hidden side” of charity: a litany of inefficiencies, delays, misuse of funds and exploitation of labor.

And there’s also With Charity for All from Ken Stern a provocative examination of this billion dollar industry; because, yes, an industry is what it is.

Let’s talk marketing.

To increase their chances of achieving stated goals, organizations should think in terms of value: value to mass media, to donators, to citizens, to volunteers, even to workers.

If they don’t, they are doomed to suffer all the usual human and organizational failures.

And to lead a new, strategic approach to market orientation, we need professional leaders, as illustrated in this brilliant (as usual) TED talk.

We’re at a crossroads. And what we need are management leaders to fully develop the charity industry. And create some meaningful standards, may be an innovative Corporate Social Responsibility approach.

Further readings, Private Sector, Social Sector | Business ethics, Corporate Social Responsability, NGO Marketing Leave a comment Permalink

Are marketers evil or craftsmen?

Published: 3 April 2013 by Gerard Costa

Teaching marketing under the learning paradigm usually brings us to the same reflection: is marketing ethical?. We used to work with the George Brenkert phrase: marketing as a technology to be employed to achieve something that is entirely in the hands of the would-be marketer.

But recently undergraduate students posit a more specific question: is marketing inherently evil?. Is marketing the hidden enemy (as shown in this video about how subliminal advertising tries to make you fat)? Or what about retail marketing as a developer of the Gruen Transfer as explained by Douglas Rushkoof: the moment when consumers enter a shopping mall and lose track of their original intentions, turned into a shopping drone by architecture, music, visuals and layout purposely designed to confuse and disorientate, and to cause individuals to spend more money

Seth Gadin has his own answer to the question: Are marketers evil?. “Based on a long career in the business, I’d have to answer “some of them” (…) It’s evil to persuade kids to start smoking, to sell a patent medicine when an effective one is available. It’s beautiful to persuade people to get a polio vaccine. Just like every powerful tool, the impact comes from the craftsman, not the tool”.

Our team at ESADE has developed a different answer; one which we have learnt from Professor April Atwood (Albers School of Business & Economics at Seattle University). We’ve decided to allow students to reach their own conclusion through an experiential learning process. We will use the model of Problem Based Service Learning, working with an agency and social cause, to allow them to decide for themselves whether marketing is a cause or contributor to social problems, or a way to address them.

They will analyze how marketing influences teenagers to drink tons of fizzy drinks or to smoke at school. They will also look at howsocial marketing gives value to the opposite point of view. And with any luck, they will decide what kind of craftsmen they want to be.

Personal, Private Sector | Business ethics, ESADE, Positive Marketing Leave a comment Permalink

Different strokes, different consumers

Published: 18 March 2013 by Gerard Costa

What is going on? Are we suffering from an economic crisis that is radiating outwards towards the world from the Mediterranean area? Or is it a case of the changing civilization, as defended by Carlos Slim?

Looking at it, changes in Europe are becoming pretty structural: the retirement age pushed back, the wasteful welfare state model swept aside, new jobs with far less pay than industrial sector wages. And what’s the impact in Spain? Today consumption has been reduced by $ 3,000 per family [from € 32,014 to € 29,813 per year).

So what are we seeing exactly? The birth of a new consumer, adapted to a New Normal economic scenario? Here are some facts to mull over: consumer values are evolving from a possession to an enjoy and experience model (Ymedia); private labels are increasingly emerging as market leaders in food&drugs categories (Nestle has launched in Europe instant noodles, individual coffee packets and Products Popularly Positioned); BCG has started to define the consumer as moving from conspicuous consumption, to a more conscientious approach to spending: consumers are choosing to spend money only on affordable indulgence; buying goods to make them -feel better, something the family will enjoy, or simply better for the environment. And finally, there’s a consolidation of collaborative consumption and flea markets, together with values such as austerity, frugality and smart shopping. The final result, according to Nielsen, is that 69% of European consumers have changed their buying habits to save cash.

We’re already seeing surprising trends in the growing South&Central America area, reported by Trendwatching. Latin America is witnessing the emergence of empowered consumers in every dimension: economic, technological, social and political. Consumers are optimistic about the future and about their ability to define it, and they see rampant materialism as something unsatisfactory. And selfish. Economic growth that does not map to societal values is something that remains uneven and uncertain. And consumers look for brands that don’t ignore social inequality: check out significant cases analyzed by trendwatching: Satisfeito, La Fábrica del Taco, or Techo.

Opposite paths, consumers running pretty much in the same direction.

Case Studies, Further readings, Private Sector, Social Sector | cause marketing, NGO Marketing, Positive Marketing Leave a comment Permalink

Nation Branding: Problem or Solution?

Published: 25 February 2013 by Gerard Costa

Simon Anholt coined the term “nation branding” in 1996. Since then, he has also persistently warned of the dangerous myth surrounding this concept. A nation can’t be managed as a product, Countries are so complex, rich and diverse, that any would- be manager would suffer an absolute lack of control. Brand managers are better off limiting themselves to helping the world to understand the real, complex, rich, diverse nature of their people and landscapes.

Spain dreams of strengthening its brand. A stronger brand will help the economy and reduce unemployment – so the thinking goes. And so we see the retailers telling us “we only sell made in Spain products”, hoping that patriotic consumers will put their money where their mouth is. Multinational mass market companies pronouncing that Hero jams, Renault cars or Balay appliances are made in Spain (a message that only ever gets broadcast locally). And then there are the “me too “companies attacking leaders like Zara or Mango for eschewing the Made in Spain line.

Anholt warns of an absolute lack of control that Brand managers have over countries, as well as a lack of common goals. And in a nutshell, this is the problem we have in Spain. The Spanish government has named a High Commissioner – the Alto Comisionado – to manage the brand Spain. It’s an impressive-sounding title. However behind it there is the usual cronyism – a reward for faithful party service. The post itself is a part time position with no retribution, and the challenge of dealing with a brand where no less than four ministries and 20 institutions are competent. The latest decision from this brand manager has been to criticize autonomous regions such as Catalunya for developing their own brands, describing these efforts as squandering resources.

Nation branding, as outlined by Anholt, should follow Socrates’ advice “the way to achieve a better reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” How a country is perceived depends on too many uncontrollable factors for it to be meangingfully managed.

Case Studies, Collaborations, Further readings, Public Sector | marketing politico, Positive Marketing, Research Leave a comment Permalink

NGO&Corporations: Let’s Talk Collabo-ration!

Published: 14 February 2013 by Gerard Costa

This week we are hosting a fascinating academic session as part of our Leadership and Social Innovation in the NGOs Programme. A key area of focus is collaboration with corporations – critical at a time when public sector funding represents up to 80% of NGO income in Spain; and nearly 30% of the NGO have floundered in the last few years.

So let’s look for the Big Fish to paraphrase Bono (U2) who founded the Red Project. As he eloquently put it: “Let’s surf on the back of the wake of these companies. And, I tell you, it won’t be long before our surfboard is moving at its own speed, on its own wave.” Later on, let’s give them a kick in the ass.

Collaboration is a complex matter. Academic research has coined concepts such as “new logic of management emerging” (Crozier, 1997), and spawned talk of “broadening the business model concept to incorporate cross-sector collaborations (….) which can be mutually reinforcing” (Dahan et al, 2010).

But the market orientation concept helps us with a new framework: collaboration means being willing to modify my goals in order to achieve my mission. Collaboration is an area between Me and You, where we can talk about Us. And collaboration leads us to coopetition – a neologism that splices competitive cooperation – and collabo-ration – to stress the rationality of the process.

Can you think of an example of collaboration in this sphere? Mine would be the collaboration between Coca Cola and Cruz Roja, both finding the way to talk about us. A rare and precious marketing jewel.

Collaborations, Personal, Private Sector, Social Sector | Collaborative Marketing, ESADE, NGO Marketing Leave a comment Permalink

Please, don’t come, you won’t like it here

Published: 1 February 2013 by Gerard Costa

Explicar el cómo y porqué del Demarketing es a veces difícil .. hasta que aparecen los casos. El Gobierno de UK está inmerso en una campaña de demarketing para reducir la inmigración a partir del 2014 de ciudadanos rumanos y búlgaros (por el momento, publicity, relaciones públicas, relaciones con mass media): un marketing de “trash its own image”, de “anti-nation branding”, “that the streets here are not paved with gold” . Incluso The Guardian ha propuesto que los ciudadanos propongan la creatividad de la campaña publicitaria. Los atributos, disuasorios: llueve, los derechos en sanidad o vivienda social pueden denegarse, hay poco trabajo, sobran bishops, y además nada comparable a los Cárpatos o el Mar Negro….

Las razones son evidentes: la previsión en el año 2004 de inmigrantes de Polonia fue de 20.000, y finalmente fueron casi 2 millones y según la BBC hoy el polaco es el segundo idioma de las islas, por delante del galés; la previsión oficiosa de la inmigración desde Rumanía y Bulgaria (el Gobierno prefiere no dar cifras) hoy son unos 250.000 en cinco años…. o sea que aplicando la desviación habida quizá llegarán a 25 millones (más no podrán porqué el total de la población son 29 millones).

¿Funciona realmente el Demarketing, podrán desanimar la demanda de emigración a UK?. También se habla de efectos contraproducentes con una campaña de estas características, y quizá como siempre el error en marketing esté en la falta de empatía y de comprensión de qué valoran, de hablarles de “salarios y servicios sociales bajos” o de recordarles lo bonitos que son los Cárpatos a la población de dos países en la cola de la UE, con un salario mediano real de unos 400€ al mes. La misma falta de comprensión del consumidor que llevó a UK a no entender la campaña de Eurostar en Bruselas en el 2007 para atraer turistas belgas a London: el marketing y el demarketing exigen comprensión real de la percepción de los stakeholders, aceptar que los estereotipos y percepciones son más valorados que la realidad.

Case Studies, Public Sector | Demarketing, marketing politico, Publicidad, Research Leave a comment Permalink

Political consumerism, confianza y desconfianza

Published: 13 January 2013 by Gerard Costa

Una de las formas apasionantes del marketing en su dimensión social es el denominado political consumerism: “the use of market action as an arena for politics, and consumer choice as a political tool”, como define Michelle Michelleti en el libro Politics, Products and Markets. Bajo este epígrafe, que recoge diferentes formas de activismo consumista existentes desde hace años, se pueden investigar todos los comportamientos del ciudadano como consumidor que con su compra intenta apoyar o castigar ciertos comportamientos sociales de las empresas; y por ende todas las actividades de marketing que deciden crear un valor vinculado a este deseo del consumidor de realizar boycotts o buycotts.

España ha sido en los últimos años un laboratorio único en el uso del political consumerism en su dimensión de compre usted a aquellos que están por crear confianza en el país, y destacamos varios ejemplos fascinantes de marketing:

- estoloaareglamosentretodos.org. Un proyecto del 2009 innovador, confuso, fracasado. Una narrativa que habla de un profesional del marketing jaime que con su esposa Susana deciden darle una vuelta a la situación de desanimo del país. Lo presentan a las Cámaras de Comercio, quienes logran la unánime adscripción de varias grandes compañías españolas (Banco de Santander, Telefónica), y generan la Fundación Confianza. Con una dotación de 30.000€ se plantea como objetivos: mejorar la imagen de España, estimular la mejora de la competitividad de las empresas, estimular la mejora de la competitividad de las empresas y de la economía españolas, promover el desarrollo económico y social de España y mejorar la percepción de España como marca. Proyecto confuso, desarraigado, apoyado de modo sorpendente por diversas personalidades, y atacado y desarmado por el PP que sospechó de que había demasiado political consumerism por el PSOE. Agencia de publicidad McCann Erickson

- el curriculum de todos. Campaña publicitaria de Campofrío en diciembre 2012 basada en: ”Lo mejor que puedes hacer cuando estás desanimado es mirar lo que has conseguido, porque ya lo hiciste”. Porqué como defiende la responsable creativa de la campaña “es inadmisible que hace 10 años se hablara del milagro español, y ahora nos saquen en la prensa internacional comiendo del cubo de basura”. Agencia McCann. Spot analizado un blog como “todos estos elementos hacen de esta campaña uno de los productos propagandísticos que mejor sintetiza la visión de la realidad que el establishment corporativo español quiere vendernos desde el inicio de esta crisis económica y constitucional. Uno que asume además las críticas de la indignación popular, pero para neutralizarla”.

- la confianza une a un país, nunca dejaremos de confiar en el futuro, el país está lleno de personas y proyectos en los que se puede confiar. Última campaña del Banco de Santander, agencia esta vez TBWA. Una campaña que parece estar sufriendo en las redes sociales, aunque estas seguramente no representan a su target objetivo

Ejemplos de como mezclar política, productos y mercados; y como generar confianza, o desconfianza

Case Studies, Private Sector, Public Sector | Corporate Social Responsability, marketing politico, Societal Marketing Leave a comment Permalink

Marketing & Society by Gerard Costa

Are you ready to start caring about sharing?

The Revolution may not be televised – but it might be in your soda

Are marketers evil or craftsmen?

Different strokes, different consumers

Nation Branding: Problem or Solution?

NGO&Corporations: Let’s Talk Collabo-ration!

Please, don’t come, you won’t like it here

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