Comments on: Dow’s Brand-building Campaign – Needs more Cowbell

By: Angelo Fernando

Angelo Fernando — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 14:21:47 +0000

Thanks, Eric. If I may chime in at this late stage let me just say this. I happen to work in Marketing, and I see the conflict on a day-to-day basis –control vs no control, tell them vs engage them. I am a huge fan of social media and incorporate it into all my Marcom plans, but in the end it’s not all about the technology, it’s about the social part.

By: Eric Eggertson

Eric Eggertson — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 16:27:51 +0000

I think there are ways of allowing some degree of moderation of submitted items that can help a company get over its fear of chaos. Just as long as the imposed controls are made clear from the beginning, so it’s not a surprise to someone that certain items don’t float to the top.

That being said, if the company’s whole attitude is defensive, it’s not going to work. Controls should be in place to prevent abuse, not to sanitize the thing completely. People recognize when the corporation is weeding out all but positive comments, etc., and it totally undercuts the positive vibes from involving people.

By: Geoff Livingston

Geoff Livingston — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 05:14:51 +0000

Absolutely, the face of campaigns, etc. I’ve done a few of these myself. Traditionally — at least in my experience — it’s been pretty controlled by the marketing team. And in most cases when we’ve recommended such options, the company usually cuts the employee/customer driven aspect of campaigns first.

So, in my mind, companies can’t afford to just dismiss these parts of a campaign anymore, and they should be social media driven. Then there’s the control thing. If a co. still wants to control, then social media won’t work.

By: Eric Eggertson

Eric Eggertson — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 03:34:14 +0000

Thanks, Geoff.

It’s not like employee or customer involvement in a campaign is a revolutionary new concept. I’ve seen lots of campaigns where employees do something imaginative to add some punch to a corporate initiative.

By: Geoff Livingston

Geoff Livingston — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 02:51:11 +0000

I feel we are at a stage as communicators that we must offer our clients/companies this option if we are really doing our job. It shouldn’t replace other marketing tactics, but social media has to be included as part of the mix.

Social media alternatives provide a great way to build a better relationship with our communities of interest. Why wouldn’t you want more participation from your communities? Ignoring that possible outcome in an overall integrated communications campaign represents a strategic failure in my mind.

Another $0.02 delivered, my man!