The Olympic games are a tradition and for many athletes of the world, the chance to achieve greatness at the highest level possible. The London 2012 Summer Olympic Games are no exception. Of course, with worldwide attention comes well... worldwide attention. Companies spend millions and millions of dollars to put their names on anything associated with The Olympics with the goal to make an impression on peoples mind. This means placing company names next to Olympic events and commercials and even as far as paying or sponsoring athletes to talk about their product or wear their clothing. All this takes a lot of money, but it is money that companies are willing to let go of to see greater revenue in the long run, or so they think.
Marketing according to the American Marketing Association is defined as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. The reason I say that these companies are tricking themselves into believing that millions of dollars now will eventually put more money in their pockets can be traced back to the marketing definition, specifically one word, value. All the money spent might be putting their name in the consumer's mind but is it really adding value? Value can be simply defined as the worth of something. Yes, all the companies that sponsor the Olympics are getting a share of voice but it is the companies that have realized that the old ways of advertising and marketing are outdated that have the upper hand. No longer is putting your big company name and company logo next to an event enough. The consumers of today want more. They want value, a voice, and a relationship. That is where social media comes in.
Lets face it; social media has taken over our lives. Let me scratch that. Social media is our lives. So why not use it? If I asked you, who is sponsoring the 2012 London Olympics, what would you say? A lot of people wouldn't know. The reason for this is that companies haven't created that relationship, or value with the consumer. Now I'm not saying that no company has because there are a lot of smart companies out there but there are more who don't than those who do. Coke for example is active on twitter. Not only that, they know how to use twitter. In the book Unmarketing by Scott Stratten he shows you how to use twitter. I don't mean how to actually use it; I mean how to build a relationship with your customers. In the twitter world, messages are being sent everyday for the world to see and some can be about your company. They can be good or bad and the way you respond to those messages is what will determine if you will build long lasting relationships with your customers or not. The trick is to engage your customers in conversations and let them know that you are listening and giving them exactly what they need. In this manner you add value and of course a relationship.
That is what companies advertising in the 2012 London Olympics should realize. The old marketing strategies are gone. It is time to build some relationships and add value to your company. There are several way to do that, twitter is just an example. Imaging connecting to your consumers in so many ways that it is impossible to negate your existence or the fact that you have a relationship with them. This adds value.
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