The Internet & Marketing Communication
The Internet & Marketing Communication, Fall 2008
The Internet & Marketing Communication
About Session 7:
Please
1: Spend time on sites like e.g. Youtube, MySpace, Jaiku, Twitter, Flickr, Blufr,
Fotki, Diigo, Macaca, Syncnotes, Trooker, Zoho, Doodle, FaceBook Pandora!
2: Read the text (again): Word of mouth communication within online communities…
The Internet & Marketing Communication, Fall 2008
Course plan 3
Sessions 5 & 6
Relationship marketing, viral marketing, permission marketing, social networks… an
introduction.
The standardization > but meaningful ID
differences ID
between identities
can cause Balmer and Stephen A. Greyser
problems.
The Internet & Marketing Communication, Fall 2008
Which stakeholders affect which ID the most?
Actual ID: Internal (those who ”make” the company)
Communicated: Internal (marketing, communications)
Marketing partners (advertising agency, communications
firms )
Media (external – interpreting the company)
Conceived: All external publics
Ideal: Internal (e.g. strategic planning)
External (e.g. financial analysts, regulatory/legislative
entities)
Desired: Internal (CEO/Board)
Balmer and Stephen A. Greyser
The Internet & Marketing Communication, Fall 2008
Sony MiniDisc - 1
Campaign period: Aug. 2000 – March 2001.
Norway, DK, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic countries.
Target group 12-23, trendsetters and followers:
intelligent, demanding, don’t respond well to traditional communication, fast
moving, hard to create dialogue, experienced consumers of electronic goods,
disloyal.
The Internet & Marketing Communication, Fall 2008
Sony MiniDisc - 2
Target group knew product category, and the MP3 concept, but didn’t know
enough about SMD and the advantages.
Campaign goal: increase knowledge of target group.
Agency: use irony, humour, and the ”raw” truth.
Heart of the campaign: normanrules.com
Language: English, except print ads in the Baltic countries
The Internet & Marketing Communication, Fall 2008
Sony MiniDisc – 3
Strategy: Viral marketing.
Create exciting and involving universe,
which goes beyond telling about product.
Target group help create/develop the site.
One key to success: strong/involving
that people would help spread.
A great challenge: agency/Sony would not
have total control of message/campaign.
A great challenge: constant site innovation.
The Internet & Marketing Communication, Fall 2008
Sony MiniDisc - 4
Creative strategy:
- Messages: ”It’s cool to own a SMD” and ”You can record on a SMD.”
- Messages not communicated directly. First message
through the campaign’s tone and voice; second through Norman’s extensive use.
- Creating uncool/antihero = sympathy
- Summing up, messages communicated in an indirect way by a fictive person
The Internet & Marketing Communication, Fall 2008
Sony MiniDisc – 5
Campaign components:
- Web site
- Print ads
- Chilicard
- Radio spots and promotion material
- MTV
The Internet & Marketing Communication, Fall 2008
Sony MiniDisc – 12
So…
… why did Sony choose to create a standardized campaign?
… are we looking at an international, inter- cultural target group with similar values,
needs, wants, etc.?
… how effective is viral marketing?
… main reasons for Sony’s success?
… can the approach be used in connection with other Sony products – stereos,
television sets or mobile phones?
The Internet & Marketing Communication, Fall 2008