Dow’s Brand-building Campaign - Needs more Cowbell
Are we getting to the point where it’s impossible to roll out a communications strategy without including a blog, podcast, digg-like voting, or some other inclusive, interactive approach?
Angelo Fernando looks at the elegance and impact of the Dow human element campaign, and suggests it would have been even better with the involvement of Dow employees.
Such an approach would have involved a lot of faith in the kinds of stories and images employees would have come up with, and might have been harder to weave into a mosaic of related stories that emphasize the human aspect of a multinational chemical company. Perhaps it would have been amazing. Just as likely, it would have been a boring flop.
But Angelo’s right. The beauty of the agency-produced campaign comes with a certain emotional detachment that works against the attempt to humanize the issues Dow deals with.
This is becoming the equivalent of “I think it needs more cowbell.” Will every campain now be criticized for its lack of engagement and involvement of employees, customers, or the public?
The Dow campaign was being featured at a session of the IABC international conference in New Orleans this week. Check out the podcast and some bloggers’ posts.
I don’t think everything has to have a social media component to be successful. But are we missing out on some opportunities for engagement and involvement if we don’t at least pose the question, “does this need more cowbell?”
What do you think?
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Tags: iabc, iabc conference, dow, branding, image, employee engagement, involvement, campaigns, corporate, business, human element
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POSTED IN: Audiences, Communication Tactics, Conferences and Webinars, Employee Communications, Marketing, PR Tools, Social Media
5 opinions for Dow’s Brand-building Campaign - Needs more Cowbell
Geoff Livingston
Jun 30, 2007 at 8:51 pm
I feel we are at a stage as communicators that we must offer our clients/companies this option if we are really doing our job. It shouldn’t replace other marketing tactics, but social media has to be included as part of the mix.
Social media alternatives provide a great way to build a better relationship with our communities of interest. Why wouldn’t you want more participation from your communities? Ignoring that possible outcome in an overall integrated communications campaign represents a strategic failure in my mind.
Another $0.02 delivered, my man!
Eric Eggertson
Jun 30, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Thanks, Geoff.
It’s not like employee or customer involvement in a campaign is a revolutionary new concept. I’ve seen lots of campaigns where employees do something imaginative to add some punch to a corporate initiative.
Geoff Livingston
Jun 30, 2007 at 11:14 pm
Absolutely, the face of campaigns, etc. I’ve done a few of these myself. Traditionally — at least in my experience — it’s been pretty controlled by the marketing team. And in most cases when we’ve recommended such options, the company usually cuts the employee/customer driven aspect of campaigns first.
So, in my mind, companies can’t afford to just dismiss these parts of a campaign anymore, and they should be social media driven. Then there’s the control thing. If a co. still wants to control, then social media won’t work.
Eric Eggertson
Jul 1, 2007 at 10:27 am
I think there are ways of allowing some degree of moderation of submitted items that can help a company get over its fear of chaos. Just as long as the imposed controls are made clear from the beginning, so it’s not a surprise to someone that certain items don’t float to the top.
That being said, if the company’s whole attitude is defensive, it’s not going to work. Controls should be in place to prevent abuse, not to sanitize the thing completely. People recognize when the corporation is weeding out all but positive comments, etc., and it totally undercuts the positive vibes from involving people.
Angelo Fernando
Aug 11, 2007 at 8:21 am
Thanks, Eric. If I may chime in at this late stage let me just say this. I happen to work in Marketing, and I see the conflict on a day-to-day basis –control vs no control, tell them vs engage them. I am a huge fan of social media and incorporate it into all my Marcom plans, but in the end it’s not all about the technology, it’s about the social part.
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