Attending an iMedia Brand Summit a year into the big economic downturn has been very enlightening so far (and we're only at the beginning of this event, so I'm really looking forward to what else is in store). Unlike the other 2 Brand Summits that happened since last fall, where frankly, I think we marketers were all trying to get our bearings and snap out of the shell shock, with a year under our belts we can look back and see some interesting "evolutionary" developments. Here's what I took away from the Marketers Only Meeting…
On the Social Media front -- while I sat with fellow marketers, who range from beginners to experts in social media, something struck me mid-morning. The stormy nature of the economy is exacerbating an already-turbulent paradigm shift in the way we have come to live and communicate. With a downturn the likes that most of us have never seen before and the complete game-changer that is Social Media hitting us like a proverbial "ton of bricks" both happening at the same time…we're all being stretched so far that it feels like we're experiencing "accelerated evolution" (thus my reference to the Darwinism of Marketing). It's well beyond being pushed outside our comfort zones –... Read more
Archive for Hilary Weber 
Going to New Heights to Get the Low Down: June iMedia Brand Summit
OK, I can't resist plays on words like that. But here we are in Colorado Springs, at 6000 feet, and I can tell you it's not just the altitude that feels different. Things have evolved in lots of ways since February. Here's my take on what's going on…
For one thing, the mood has changed, and so has the level of interactions. There are less brand marketers here, but I some ways it makes it possible to have meaningful conversations with more of our peers, and that's a big plus (and we got to go back to doing introductions in the Sunday Marketers Only meeting – another plus). The mood in February was very intense, and looking back I think it was at least partly due to "we don't know how bad this (economic situation) is going to get". By now most of us have come to grips with what is happening, at least in our own industries, and the feeling is more like "OK, let's buckle down and do what we have to do", a "Rosie-the-Riveter" sort of feeling, I guess. It's not easy, the road ahead – at least for quite a few of us. A few lucky brands... Read more
The Three S's of the February 2009 iMedia Brand Summit
This is my 6th or 7th Brand Summit (I’ve lost count). But considering that I’m no newbie at this event, I feel safe in saying that this event has a distinctly different flavor than the past summits, at least so far. Judging from the tone of Sunday’s Marketers Only Meeting and Monday’s presentations, I’m seeing three themes emerging:
- Slenderizing
- Strategizing
- Synergizing
The “Slenderizing” applies to people’s budgets and teams – budget cuts and layoffs are happening all around, so brand marketers are definitely are being required to do more with less. Some of the solutions that I’ve heard in this include merging and consolidating departments and teams, making use of interns (some marketers even have interns paying them to do the work instead of the other way around!), and reducing the number of agency partners to get better efficiencies and economies of scale. From what we’ve heard coming from the research experts, we’ll be “slenderizing” for quite some time, and it won’t be easy on any of us.
“Strategizing” – with a strong emphasis on prioritization – is now more front and center than ever before, even for companies that never had such alignment across departments or at higher levels in their... Read more
How is being a good marketer in a recession like being a good friend?
No, it's not an old-fashioned riddle -- it's really quite straightforward. If we are now connecting one-to-one with our existing and potential customers, maybe we need to think about treating them how we treat our friends. Allow me to illustrate... Let's say you have a friend who is really worried about the current economic climate (who isn’t?) – they want reassurance, they need help finding the best deals, and they just want to know that you'll be there for them, on their terms, without “hovering”. So, how can we befriend our customers in these challenging times?
If they need reassurance, now is a great time to consider beefing up your company’s content about how stable your business is, the quality/durability of your products and services, and your privacy statement, satisfaction guarantees and return policies, if they are customer-friendly. And, if it’s relevant and true, emphasize how your company’s products or services can lessen the economic strain on the customer (let’s face it, some can make this claim more legitimately than others). Starting a corporate blog about a recession-relevant topic relating to your company or industry is another idea to consider – but make sure it’s robust content that customers really... Read more
