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John Grant: “The Green Marketing Manifesto”

joern — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:33:52 +0000

Ever felt a slightly uneasy with marketing claiming for sustainability? Well, there might be an answer: John Grant explores marketing strategies that not merely pretend to be responsible for economic reasons but that are based on a sincere belief to do good. His recently launched book “The Green Marketing Manifesto” seems to be a true source for inspiration on how companies might find an approach on CSR that actually affects business strategies. John Grant offers extensive case studies on companies such as Marks&Spencer or Toyota showing a corporate behaviour that not only positively supports public image but also drives economic growth.

A nice lesson on authenticity as well as on consistency in your strategies and a slap in the face for companies that still don’t get it by considering CSR a purely image-related marketing tool.

Brand sects

joern — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 15:15:06 +0000

Just found this on some webpage.

I always thought that any more Apple addiction than at UdK Berlin is hardly possible, but this proves me wrong. The Missouri School of Journalism is almost Windows-free territory, which they underline on their website:

Students are encouraged to acquire wireless laptop technology from Apple, which the School has designated as its preferred provider, but students also will have a choice of a Windows-based alternative. Last year, 99.5 percent of incoming students chose the Apple option.

Watch out Mr. Gates, the intellectuals are up to something.

Charles Leadbeater: “We think – Why mass creativity is the next big thing”

joern — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 11:23:28 +0000

Charles Leadbeater just finished a user-edited book on collaboration. A comment on our increasingly participatory culture that presents a historical overview about co-innovation and shows countless examples. Leadbeater tries to develop underlying principles that foster user participation.

Have a look at the full draft on his website: PDF or read a short abstract from the Guardian: Welcome to We-Think or the Times: Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

Charles Leadbeater: “The rise of the amateur professional”

joern — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 10:12:14 +0000

A speech on co-creation and collaborative innovation: Charles Leadbeater describes the rise of the so-called ProAms, who are highly passionate about a certain product, brand or more generally a certain cultural niche.

Rough master thesis sketch: “Collaborative Marketing”

joern — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 09:41:56 +0000

Advertising and marketing is under fire: Targeting consumers has become increasingly difficult as an easily available over supply of media entertainment provokes avoidance of advertising content. Traditional advertising and thus traditional communication models focus on the transmission of a message to group of consumers ultimately addressing only the brand’s needs: an unbalance value exchange is occurring. Marketing communication only relying on push strategies meets customer defiance, as they are increasingly reluctant to spend valuable time and attention on dealing with marketing messages. Furthermore fragmented consumer groups are hard to pin down to some kind of common denominator which is badly needed to come up with a key message, to lay out a media plan and to develop consistent strategies.

In the course of my master thesis I will call the described status quo into question, arguing for a different stake at advertising communication. Considering that our society is increasingly linked and networking has become a common phenomenon one can conclude that collective intelligence and collaboration as illustrated by Wikipedia’s success are also applicable to brand building. Countless blogs and online communities professed with brands denote the consumer’s enthusiasm for participation. At the same time the consumer has become a powerful player in this whole new ball game. I would like to explore how companies can productively use the consume’s definitional power on brands. How can consumers and companies collaborate on brand meanings and how can advertising transform closed branding systems into open source networks? How is co-creation and co-innovation applicable to branding and advertising?

Anyone with interest and/or expertise gladly invited to join me on my quest. Just drop me a comment and I get back to you.

Co-Creating documents with Google-Apps

joern — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 11:17:10 +0000

A nice piece on how sharing documents with Google Apps enables collaboration. I particularly like the animation: It’s such a likeable low-fi approach for a computer company.