A must FEED for Digital Marketing Professionals

I try to keep up with State of the Nation readings from the likes of hard-core research firms like Forrester as well as Digital agencies like CM, Blast and Razorfish.

I just finished digesting the new FEED Razorfish Digital Brand Experience Report for 2009. According to Guy Kawasaki it's a "... must-read if you’re interested in social media and marketing" and I would tend to agree.

Although the sample size is relatively small (n=1000), I like the way they've selected it - by talking only to what they call 'connected consumers'. They all have broadband, spend online, visit social websites, and are consumers and creators of User-Generated Content. This makes sense since these are the people we're trying to engage with. And, I buy how they extrapolate their results to the population at large by using relevant proxies.

Some highlights:

• 57% have actively customized their homepage
• 84% rely on the web to get their news
• 76% watch video, 73% use social networking, 62% listen to music online
• 56% have smartphones

More importantly:

• 26% have followed a brand on Twitter
• 40% have 'friended' a brand on Facebook
• 77% have watched a commercial online
• 73% have posted a product or brand review
• 52% have blogged about their brand experience

All of this sums to the fact that "those brand marketers still neglecting (or underestimating) digital, it's as if they've shown up to a cocktail party in sweatpants" - a staggering 97% of those surveyed report that a digital brand experience has influenced whether or not they actually hand over the cash.

In essence, 'connected consumers' are interacting with brands, just in a different way. And, those interactions actually create new customers. Finally, the digital experience can make or break a brand.

Worth the read.