Is 2011 the year of the social brand? Find out in this marketing trend overview, finishing with 7 tips for brand strategy.

1. 2011: the advent of Social Brands Brant Emery February 7, 2011 techMAP Amsterdam

2. Every once in awhileFacebook makes all 500 million of those people switch to a new layout

4. © The Oatmeal www.theoatmeal.com

5. 2010

6. Push from the top Groundswell change Cost Tech

7. So what have the Romans ever done for us? Cost Credit Crisis © Monty Python’s Life of Brian, 1979

8. Brands Smaller marketing budgets Moving away from traditional media advertising Digital – video exploded (Old Spice) Diversified budgets across specialist agencies Marketing innovation providing competitive differentiation Changing from ‘buy what we sell’ to ‘make what I want’ Consumers Tried new things, like store brands and they weren’t disappointed… Don’t want ultimate choice (the Starbucks lesson)

9. And technology… Brought us closer to each other. People sharing accessible and visible content that represented their beliefs, interests, values and experiences. We call it social media.

10. We’re moving towards Social Brands powered by…

11. ////The Truth™ Jonathan Baskin in Advertising Age states – marketers have a ‘truth gap’. Case: Domino’s Pizza Turnaround Truth is a powerful tool Requires consistency Real insight – not assumptions Test your campaign ideas Jack Nicholson, A Few Good Men, 1992

13. No resistance to naming each piece by brand and linking to online shops

14. Obvious trendsetters

15. Influential, honest and activeFacilitate their lifestyle and they will facilitate your brand! Screenshot, chictopia.com

16. /////////////////Social peer influence People's influence on each other rivals online advertising. Nielsen Online estimates advertisers created 1.974 trillion online advertising impressions, compared to the 500 billion impressions people make. People's online impressions on each other about products and services are about one fourth of online advertising impressions – but more credible!

17. ////////////////////////////Digital scarcity Elite, premium, virtual goods, digital products, promotions. Future? Groupon by location: collect the deal at the business itself, first to arrive gets the best discounts. © Mr Porter, ‘elite’ campaign example

18. //////////////////Deeper market insight

19. //////////Using statistics (correctly) Remember the difference between correlation and causality!

20. //////////Gamification Strike! www.alloptions.nl Gaming for recruitment

21. 7 BRAND THOUGHTS ON ENGAGEMENT

22. Don’t think in CHANNELS Think in CYCLES Facilitate consumers to create the social proof for your brand. Conversation.

23. Define the brand, not the message. Flexibility to communicate the brand more effectively, across media and to evolve.

24. Set clear goals and outcomes. Then iterate as you implement. A brand strategy needs clear goals, expectations and critical success factors. Not all goals need to be revenue based or short term.

25. Everything is measureable! Measurement is critical to continuous improvement and ongoing success. Define your outcomes and expectations.

26. Buying your product / service should be your customer’s first step, not their last. The purchase is just the start of your customer’s journey, so make it a good one.

27. Events rock! (aka How RedBull built a brand leader) 53% of 300 senior marketing executives say event and experience marketing still generates the biggest ROI, viral and brand engagement. (BrandWeek)

28. Generation branding Are you communicating your brand effectively to all generations of your consumers?

29. That’s it, thanks! Brant Emery rentabrant.com Twitter: @brantemery Remember, technology is moving fast, but as marketers you must not forget that your market may not be moving at the pace you think. Don’t operate on assumptions.