MR. BUMPP

No, not Mr. Hargreaves.

Doug came up with an easy to remember model (slide 8) for Social Web adoption. To quote: "Thanks, made it up. Mnemonic helps me when presenting!"

This is my Interpretation of BUMPP, but I welcome comments from Doug and others:

1. Brand: Does your brand lend itself to the Social Web channel? On a practical level, have you secured your Social Web assets - Twitter, vanity Facebook name, etc.?
2. Understand: Do you have a strategy around what you would like to accomplish? In other words, have you done a POST analysis?
   
3. Monitor: Before jumping in head first, understand where you are in the Social Media continuum - have you 'listened' to your audience?
   
4. Policy: Does your organization have a plan and processes in place on how to employ this channel? Where I work, we have a number of people that can blog and Tweet on behalf of the company, but we have policies in place about what we can and cannot speak to.
   
5. Participate: Once you have 1 - 4 in place, it's time to get in the game. Jeremiah Owyang speaks of 5 types of models for how to engage employees within the organization. I'd say we're a blend of #4 and #5 - where everyone is encouraged to participate but only some are permitted to use 'official' channels.

On the subject of Branding

An interesting dialogue recently where I work about Branding. Our CCO and his team walked us through a client-tested framework that works elegantly. There are many thoughts and models on this subject, including one of my 'personal' favourites. What was interesting about the methodology presented was its simplicity and 'hook'. It breaks down like this:








Branding is important:

• It's difficult to control Brand image, particularly in the age of Social Web. As Blast Radius said last year: "...it means customers are listening to each other, not you."
• And, if you don't work to define your Brand, your competitors will do it for you

Branding is like a 'Fingerprint':

The analogy is that there are few types of Fingerprint variables, but when combined together give Fingerprints - like Brands - a unique identity. An identity, both as an enterprise and in the 'minds and hearts' of consumers.

Brand Fingerprint Analysis:

1. Logic: This speaks to the product's features, benefits and physicality. What does the product do, and how can we sell it? This is defined by the company itself.
   
2. Personality: This speaks to how those features and benefits are communicated to the consumer. How does the company (and their agency) tell a story?
3. Emotion: This is the kicker. How do your customers 'feel' about your Brand? Who are they? This you cannot control. They either trust you, or they don't. For online in particular, user interviews and Persona creation are critical.
   

All of this analysis comes from internal stakeholder interviews - from the Boardroom down - by asking a simple question: "What does 'Brand X' mean to you?". At the same time, market research is required with users/customers.

The Payoff: When complete, we arrive at both an internal and external 'MindMap' of the Brand as well as practical things like a messaging hierarchy (right message, right audience, right time), Branding guidelines, and finally, tactical execution. By tactics, we mean logo, tags, payoffs, etc.

The point of all of this is that the Brand starts from what the company does and what it projects itself to be. Ultimately however, the Brand is not 'you'. Your brand is your customers 'gut feel' and what they think about you.

'Internet and Strategy' for CMA Calgary

I was fortunate enough to guest lecture at Doug's course on E-marketing here in #yyc:

Thanks to Doug and the group for the discussion. Thanks as well to Greg for slide 17.

Twitter Turkey Coma

Finally, a little 'me' time to reflect. I've been sadly absent in the blogosphere and on Twitter of late. I blame work. I've been very busy doing actual client work > getting to know a new client, dealing with internecine squabbling, training up new people, etc.

As a result, what was once a strategic and creative outlet and a way to increase my knowledge base by following and listening to really smart people, has recently become an unwanted distraction. Heck, I just turned on TweetDeck 10 minutes ago!

In addition to the information overload, there is a bit of a 'crise de coeur' thing going on. When I read and try to digest what 'Social Business experts' such as Dachis and Altimeter are saying and doing, I suffer from both envy and performance anxiety - not a good combination.

As we approach Canadian Thanksgiving, I resolve to:

1. Delegate and concentrate on the strategic aspects of my work
2. Re-evaluate and pare down on the list of people I follow based on the quality, creativity and depth of the content they deliver.
3. Write down good ideas when they come to me and then commit to publishing them.

Easier said than done, to be sure. Am I really going to un-follow Sarah Silverman or ShitmyDadSays?....