Insights

When Time Magazine named “You” as the Person of the Year (Dec 25 2006 Double Issue), it cemented the immense power & control today’s consumer has over advertising and communications.

This phenomenon has redefined traditional marketing from “one-way” to “multi-way” communications. Consumers have always had a voice, but now they are using technology to communicate and engage with one another. This has resulted in the exponential emergence of online communities or social networks on YouTube, MySpace and Second Life.

YouTube currently delivers more than 100 million video views every day with 65,000 new videos uploaded daily (Source: Nov Press Release on www.youtube.com)
MySpace has 67 million members as of March last year ( Source: C/Net News.com)
Second Life now has 4.8 million members from around the world, with 1.6million log ins in past 60 days (Source: www.secondlife.com)

People do not simply rely on information given by advertisers, rather, they want to know what others feel about it, what their experience has been. The implication for advertisers is to leverage on this social trend to drive advocacy and whisper as part of any communication drive. Online communities, if used correctly to compliment existing communications plans, can result in tremendous payoffs for the brand through converting genuine passionate brand advocates.

Credibility is critical to ensure a real connection and trust is established between brands and consumers. Treat these sovereign citizens with respect. They know as much, if not more, than us. Their influence carries more weight.

Communities can be used to engage your customer base in a natural and familiar setting
The ease of interaction in communities allows for discussions prohibited by the barriers of traditional research
Communities can strengthen the bond between company and consumer, creating loyalty through personal investment
Communities tighten the feedback loop
Communities can be used as a "test group" to gauge new products or advertising campaign, providing a method of measurement and greater accountability to advertising investments

Advertisers like Wendy’s and Threadless have demonstrated how they have effectively used the online community and its advocates to drive a stronger brand experience.

Category	Brand	Campaign	Idea	Results
Fast Food	Wendy’s	Building a brand experience with the younger target group in a setting familiar for them, MySpace	“Smart Square” on My Space Every element from language, design, and content is tailored to appeal to this segment 2 way forum is incorporated to provide an environment for interaction	“Smart Square” had 71,233 friends registered Active forum participation & engagement from audience
Retail	Threadless.com	Empowering the target by providing them with a space for self-expression	It encourages the community to co-create a T-shirt online. Users' creations are put up for a vote, and each gets a blog for buyer feedback. Threadless will print and sell designs that get high votes.	The Chicago-based company claims in its 2006 press release to have over 300,000 users, and says it signs up another 3,000 every week.

But do tread with caution and do intensive research before plunging into the world of online communities; otherwise, you risk incurring bad publicity, resulting in detrimental impact on your brand, the total opposite of what you had set out to do.

Cases in point, Playstation and Wal-Mart received backlash when they created blogs passed off as consumers’ advocating these brands. Last Christmas, Sony's Playstation "I Want for Xmas is a PSP” blog ploy created furore amongst consumers. Walmart also stepped on toes with their blog which was artificially created by an "average American couple" traveling across the country in an RV spending each night in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

In conclusion, the world of online communities should be embraced with enthusiasm, not fear, as it can be used as another effective communication tool (if executed well) to connect with that skeptical consumer. It also provides greater accountability as it allows close monitoring and “multi-way” feedback.