DaveFleet.com offers a great blog post called Don’t “Message” Me.
The main idea of the post ties into the increasing push for corporate transparency; people are no longer sated by a soundbite, or a tagline.
Consumers no longer want to be told, “Just do it.” We want to be shown why we should “just do it,” and what the benefit will be–to us, to our communities, to our businesses, to our way of life.
The taglines work best when there’s substance to support them.  You can’t just “message” the consumer. You have to give them a whole website in which to explore your brand.
Talk to your audience; don’t market to them.
People (especially in the Gen-X & Gen-Y demographics–and almost universally among the Millenials) demand companies not only set up a corporate website or blog, but scrutinize those sites and blogs for personal connections rather than additional marketing speak.
As blogger Lance Winslow put it, “[L]oyal brand consumers do appreciate the blogs, as they talk to them and not market at them.” (from Automotive Digital Marketing, Dec. 2008)
An article entitled “Advertising in the Age of Distrust” notes that the plethora of media sources offer a multitude of opportunities for communication, but that those opportunities must be used selectively.
Emphasizing the “Don’t Message Me” consumer demand, the Age of Distrust article offers four pointers to companies wanting to communicate effectively:
- Consistently communicate. People do business with companies and people they trust. Start-and-stop communication efforts undermine that trust.
- Choose a credible medium. The article correctly points out that teens view text messaging as a viable and credible form of communication; more mature consumers do not. Similarly, a corporate Myspace page is likely to receive ridicule unless your audience is musicians or teens; but a corporate Twitter account can be a powerful way to connect with the audience in a very personal way (unless you spam the hell out of them, in which case, you’ll get thrown back to the ridicule pool). See Zappos, Comcast, and Starbucks for examples of good corporate online interaction… I refuse to link to the spam-a-licious bad examples.
- Now is the time to do something new. Lots of folks pointed to the Obama campaign as working this angle with aplomb. I agree. The idea of an “online campaign” was new. The notion of a grass roots effort receiving its supporting base from microchips and TXTs sounded improbable. But there was a crowd out there, hungry for that kind of interaction. Hungry for someone to acknowledge them as a viable resource and an audience deserving of attention. Obama’s campaign jumped right in–and received tremendous support from a key demographic as a result.
- Watch the tone. This tip most closely echoes the “don’t message me” line. You can’t just bellar at your consumer and trust that they will obey (unless the consumer is whatever target market that keeps Billy Mays on TV, and I don’t even pretend to understand their demographic). And if you are going to strong-arm the consumer, you better have the cajones to cop to it. (ShamWow and their “I know I’m a sleaze and it’s okay because the product is just that good” spokesman Vince nailed this.)
I watch the evolution of corporate communication with fascination. And, despite my rampant cynicism, with hope that consumers will continue demanding transparency and real communication, rather than taglines and marketing slogans… and that the Corporateers will have no choice but to comply.
A girl can dream.
Apropos of absolutely nothing in this post, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MUMS!!!
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I’m Marissa, can-do-ologist, perpetual Curious George, and daily adventurer. 
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