Hugh over at Gapingvoid has an awesome idea (so what if it isn’t really a new one). He has solicited and compiled a group of Manifestos on a range of topics, but all of them have that Cluetrain, Web 2.0, New Marketing feel to them. They are all supposed to stick to 500 words or less, I think some of the earlier ones haven’t, but why be a stickler.

There is something about a manifesto that immediately elevates it above mere “blog post”.

My favourite bit so far is from Seth Godin:

6. The internet doesn’t forget. And sooner or later, the internet finds out.

Here is my Marketing Mini-Manifesto, not sure if he will publish it, so I will anyway

1. All ad agencies and marketers pay lip service to putting the customer first, but in reality, we put the client first because the client pays the bills. The one holding the purse strings gets their needs met.

2. The client has money to pay marketers for two reasons, their shareholder’s investment and their continued customer’s patronage.

3. The true currency of success in marketing is not money, but the attention and subsequent action of the audience to the communications.

4. The audience is besieged by so many channels and media options that through sheer choice alone (if not the actual technology) all media content is now essentially “on demand”.

5. The advertising industry has been largely based upon an interuptive model that worked in a time when product information was scarce and communication was available only to those with deep pockets. Now information is plentiful and everyone in the room has access to the megaphone.

6. The audience has always been cynical of marketing efforts, but have only recently had the tools available to quickly and efficiently circumvent interuptive models (i.e. banner-blocking software (net without ads), Tivos/PVRs (TV without ads), YouTube (video without a TV or ads), Podcasts (audio without radio or ads).

7. For the early adopters, the best content from any media gets posted on to the web pre-reviewed and rated and with all ads stripped out ready for download and burning on DVD for watching anytime. Entire seasons of the most popular shows are available with no advertising. While this is not legal, it is essentially impossible to stop.

8. Marketers need to earn the attention that is paid to communications. Word of mouth conversations are inherently more believable than advertising claims, because they come from a known bias and do not present the illusion of objectivity.

9. Marketers must listen to and engage with the audience on their terms, recognizing that they do not necessarily benefit from the message, unless they have chosen to listen.

10. The client is not the one who pays. The client is the one who pays attention.

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Posted in Advertising Attention Opinion Social Media Web 2.0 by dwalker No Comments Yet