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On May 22, 2008 AMA Oregon welcomed Andy Sernovitz, author of Word of Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking. Sernovitz is a charismatic evangelist sharing unusually useful ideas for smart marketers. He espouses, “Advertising is the cost of being boring.” His sermon rallies around the notion that companies that make us happy win our respect, our recommendation and a lifetime of endorsement. He encourages a marketing mission to transform your audience into evangelists for your brand, your cause, and your stuff by putting into action the following five Ts: - Talkers: Who Will Tell Their Friends About You?
- Topics: What Will They Talk About?
- Tools: How Can You Help the Message Travel?
- Taking Part: When Should You Join the Conversation?
- Tracking: What Are People Saying About You?
Sernovitz’s manifesto is deeply rooted in the portability of content and developing what he cleverly refers to as “stealables: create stuff to be stolen.” People will take it and stick it in their blogs, powerpoints or share in email. And really, the success of one of the most notable social networks in all the land, YouTube, is in part due to the portability of content. YouTube is a wonderful example of a network creating stealables, allowing users to embed favorite vids on blogs and other major social networking platforms. Creating sticky content gives your talkers something to share with their friends, reinforcing their sense of belonging and strengthening the community orbiting around your shtick: be it a product or a cause or a brand. In an era when marketing has become religion, phrases such as “brand evangelist” and “church marketing” are being gobbled up like post-sermon pastries. Advertising aims to create a religious experience: engaging community, building trust, spreading a message. I find it all a smidge frightening. While I am fascinated by cyber-culture and find myself ensconced in several online communities, sharing content and engaging in several online conversations, I am not quite ready to pass the collection plate on behalf of big industry. I celebrate the conversations happening online and encourage anyone looking to share their wares online, be they products & services, a creative endeavor or a cause, to participate or peril but hey, let’s ease up on the hyperbolic marketing language. Just because I choose to email my friends a video about shoes doesn’t mean I will self-emolliate in the name of the Liam Show no matter how much they make me laugh. I’m down with creating portable talk points and feathering the fires of promotion, but I caution those entering the viral multi-media arena with an end-game to blatantly hype a brand, turning their audience into message-bleating sheep. Perhaps I am a bit naïve, but I still believe in the separation of church and advertising.
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