[mini]marketing

This summary of an article from the December issue of the Journal of Advertising Research (good luck finding the issue online because I couldn’t) says that common word-of-mouth advertising by regular folks is more powerful than “key influencers.” Which is to say that sucking up to A-list bloggers may not be all that it’s cracked up to be. It seems like it’s bad day for celebrity endorsements.

James Coyle, assistant professor of marketing at Miami University’s Farmer School of Business, Elizabeth Lightfoot of CNET Networks, and Ted Smith and Amy Scott of MedTrackAlert conducted the study by surveying website visitors, conducting in-depth reviews, and analyzing website usage patterns. Said Coyle:

“We find that trying to track down key influencers, people who have extremely large social networks, is typically unnecessary and, more importantly, can actually limit a campaign or advertisement’s viral potential. Instead, marketers need to realize that the majority of their audience, not just the well-connected few, is eager and willing to pass along well-designed and relevant messages.”

I agree. I think that most key influencers are pompous, insecure jerks who take themselves way too seriously. And I say this knowing that you can rightfully accuse me of being one of them. The marketing lesson is this: Create something great, sow fields (not window boxes), “let a hundred flowers blossom,” and pray that “regular folks” will spread the word.

Non so se, nei quasi quattro anni di [mini]marketing, abbia mai quotato un intero post, ma è così bello vedere qualcuno che ti legge nel pensiero e lo scrive pure al posto tuo. Capisco che rinunciare alla comoda teoria degli influencer, all'uso dei testimonial/endorser, alla scorciatoia degli inviti alla A-list dei blogger è difficile e oneroso, e richiede di riconsiderare di nuovo da capo schemi appena sedimentati nel mondo del "viral industriale", ma forse davvero dovremmo buttare davvero una volta per tutte il cuore (e il budget) oltre l'ostacolo.

PS: E qualcuno dovrebbe smetterla di mandare segnalazioni di video virali ai soliti venti blogger che considera - a torto - 'influenti', o infilarsi in ogni gruppo di Facebook solo per scrivere sul tuo superwall la sua ultima campagna 'virale'.