Bzzkill....
Hard to believe, but I'm rapidly approaching my 10th year in online advertising (with a gap here and there during the crash). It's interesting to observe how the industry has evolved, or not in some cases. I find myself reacting much in the same way I did when I first heard about Web Services which appeared to me to be warmed over CORBA, at least from a philosophical standpoint. Much of the current messaging in online marketing is centered around concepts first developed circa 1996: one-to-one marketing, audience development, optimization, etc. We certainly have learned from our mistakes during the first go around and a conscious effort to distance ourselves from the sins of our past (you won't find many companies actually using the term "one-to-one"). One model that seems to have some traction now is the notion of social commerce. Way back when, one of my companies, Cybernautics, used to infiltrate news groups, in which commercial advertising was verboten. The trust of the unsuspecting participants secured, our operative would begin to make casual reference to a product or service, sharing all of the wonderful things that had happened to her life since being blessed with this gift (most of our agents were women). On some levels, it's like the Oakland Police infiltrating a peaceful anti-war group, but the model worked surprisingly well for some time. Eventually, the practice became widespread and ineffective, followed by the death of news groups in favor of boards and blogs.
That's why I was intrigued when I came across an article in OMMA about a new company called BzzAgent. The promise of BzzAgent is that they have taken "word of mouth" marketing legit. The difficult equation to solve in these models is how to compensate the participants. Not enough incentive, and participation will suffer, too much incentive and you encourage people to game the system, marketing everything they can for pure personal gain. BzzAgent has developed a points system. New BzzAgents must complete a series of surveys usually oriented toward various vertical markets. The agent earns points for each survey completed. BzzAgent uses the results of these surveys to create an agent profile which is used to match potential marketers with campaigns. I signed up as an agent because I was interested to see just how well BzzAgent has executed on its model. I dutifully answered all of the surveys, truthfully by the way and eventually, I was invited to join a campaign. The campaign I joined was for a line of male skin care products. After opting in, I received a welcome email and was informed that my BzzKit would be arriving at my house soon. When the kit arrived, it contained materials about the products, the campaign, and general information about how to be a good BzzAgent. Also included were 1 each of the product, along with 7 or 8 samples and a bunch of coupons, presumably to give to your friends as part of your Bzz activity. The BzzManual goes on at some length on the topic of honesty, encouraging the agent to express only genuine feelings and information regarding the product in question. So far, sounds good.
The first day, I used both products, an exfoliating facial scrub and an aftershave. The scrub was ok, but a little on the coarse side for me. The consistency of the aftershave was pleasant enough, but the scent was a bit on the "old" side for me. Yeah, ok, fair enough, I'm 40, but I'm a dedicated Zihr user and I prefer a more subtle aroma from my products. My immediate reaction to the test product was Aqua Velvet or Old Spice. That's not to say it's a replica (or that bad) but in terms of a "feel", that's what I got. I'm thinking that the makers of this product might be interested in that feedback. After all, I was selected for the campaign, so I must fit the profile of the target demographic. Upon logging into the BzzAgent system, I am unable to find any way to report "buzz" to the client. All buzz activities are related to outbound marketing. I can't imagine that BzzAgent would actually like me to promote my first impressions of the product to my friends and colleagues, but would want to provide this direct feedback to their client. I sent a mail to the omnipresent "Jono", the generic BzzCoordinator alias to inquire as to how to handle my dilemma. The responses I received (I tried more than once) were completely generic, disconnected, and uninterested. I was directed to the BzzAgent bootcamp, the focus of which is to train BzzAgents in the use of language and strategy in promoting product. Finally, there was no answer to my question. BzzAgent has no mechanism for providing feedback directly to their clients, unless it serves to enhance the position of BzzAgent as a marketing agency. Subsequently, I stopped actively participating in the campaign as I was left with no alternative other than the one "discouraged" by BzzAgent, the disingenuous and shameless promotion of the product for the purpose of gaining points for myself. Even more disappointing, what BzzAgent does do is use the channel often for direct marketing to the supposed agents. I received, during the campaign, many messages encouraging me to visit the clients website, to register for discounts, to purchase additional product not provided as part of the campaign. Ultimately the motivations and practices of BzzAgent have been revealed to be nothing more than what we did in the late 90's warmed over and wrapped in a thick coating of BS.
The Web 2.0. It's not quite here just yet.
Hard to believe, but I'm rapidly approaching my 10th year in online advertising (with a gap here and there during the crash). It's interesting to observe how the industry has evolved, or not in some cases. I find myself reacting much in the same way I did when I first heard about Web Services which appeared to me to be warmed over CORBA, at least from a philosophical standpoint. Much of the current messaging in online marketing is centered around concepts first developed circa 1996: one-to-one marketing, audience development, optimization, etc. We certainly have learned from our mistakes during the first go around and a conscious effort to distance ourselves from the sins of our past (you won't find many companies actually using the term "one-to-one"). One model that seems to have some traction now is the notion of social commerce. Way back when, one of my companies, Cybernautics, used to infiltrate news groups, in which commercial advertising was verboten. The trust of the unsuspecting participants secured, our operative would begin to make casual reference to a product or service, sharing all of the wonderful things that had happened to her life since being blessed with this gift (most of our agents were women). On some levels, it's like the Oakland Police infiltrating a peaceful anti-war group, but the model worked surprisingly well for some time. Eventually, the practice became widespread and ineffective, followed by the death of news groups in favor of boards and blogs.
That's why I was intrigued when I came across an article in OMMA about a new company called BzzAgent. The promise of BzzAgent is that they have taken "word of mouth" marketing legit. The difficult equation to solve in these models is how to compensate the participants. Not enough incentive, and participation will suffer, too much incentive and you encourage people to game the system, marketing everything they can for pure personal gain. BzzAgent has developed a points system. New BzzAgents must complete a series of surveys usually oriented toward various vertical markets. The agent earns points for each survey completed. BzzAgent uses the results of these surveys to create an agent profile which is used to match potential marketers with campaigns. I signed up as an agent because I was interested to see just how well BzzAgent has executed on its model. I dutifully answered all of the surveys, truthfully by the way and eventually, I was invited to join a campaign. The campaign I joined was for a line of male skin care products. After opting in, I received a welcome email and was informed that my BzzKit would be arriving at my house soon. When the kit arrived, it contained materials about the products, the campaign, and general information about how to be a good BzzAgent. Also included were 1 each of the product, along with 7 or 8 samples and a bunch of coupons, presumably to give to your friends as part of your Bzz activity. The BzzManual goes on at some length on the topic of honesty, encouraging the agent to express only genuine feelings and information regarding the product in question. So far, sounds good.
The first day, I used both products, an exfoliating facial scrub and an aftershave. The scrub was ok, but a little on the coarse side for me. The consistency of the aftershave was pleasant enough, but the scent was a bit on the "old" side for me. Yeah, ok, fair enough, I'm 40, but I'm a dedicated Zihr user and I prefer a more subtle aroma from my products. My immediate reaction to the test product was Aqua Velvet or Old Spice. That's not to say it's a replica (or that bad) but in terms of a "feel", that's what I got. I'm thinking that the makers of this product might be interested in that feedback. After all, I was selected for the campaign, so I must fit the profile of the target demographic. Upon logging into the BzzAgent system, I am unable to find any way to report "buzz" to the client. All buzz activities are related to outbound marketing. I can't imagine that BzzAgent would actually like me to promote my first impressions of the product to my friends and colleagues, but would want to provide this direct feedback to their client. I sent a mail to the omnipresent "Jono", the generic BzzCoordinator alias to inquire as to how to handle my dilemma. The responses I received (I tried more than once) were completely generic, disconnected, and uninterested. I was directed to the BzzAgent bootcamp, the focus of which is to train BzzAgents in the use of language and strategy in promoting product. Finally, there was no answer to my question. BzzAgent has no mechanism for providing feedback directly to their clients, unless it serves to enhance the position of BzzAgent as a marketing agency. Subsequently, I stopped actively participating in the campaign as I was left with no alternative other than the one "discouraged" by BzzAgent, the disingenuous and shameless promotion of the product for the purpose of gaining points for myself. Even more disappointing, what BzzAgent does do is use the channel often for direct marketing to the supposed agents. I received, during the campaign, many messages encouraging me to visit the clients website, to register for discounts, to purchase additional product not provided as part of the campaign. Ultimately the motivations and practices of BzzAgent have been revealed to be nothing more than what we did in the late 90's warmed over and wrapped in a thick coating of BS.
The Web 2.0. It's not quite here just yet.
posted by Jaybeau at
9:26 AM
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