A recent TechCrunch post reflected on the reasons Facebook and MySpace have failed to emotionally connect with Japanese users, commenting:

Mixi, the country’s biggest social network, positioned itself as a tool for communicating at a distance through diaries and communities to meet like-minded members. It doesn’t primarily exist to make new friends (poking is restricted) or as a platform for public self-presentation.

A perfect example of a cultural misconception: Mark Zuckerberg recently said in Tokyo one of Facebook’s unique selling points is the usage of real names and photos in profiles. This may be true but it’s exactly what Japanese web users usually try to avoid.

Whether or not TechCrunch’s observations are correct, it is a fact that all too often a company cobbles together a brand positioning statement based on superficial or incorrect perceptions of their target audience, whether the users are global or local. The company’s tribal knowledge, assumptions and incomplete or poorly executed research masquerade as insight. This makes it unlikely they will be able to establish a framework on which to emotionally connect with their target audience.

I can’t help you with the first two requirements. But I can suggest some questions that will help you understand your target user’s cultural, emotional and attitudinal perspectives regarding the category and category brands. Keep in mind that you may need to utilize indirect, as well as direct, questioning techniques since the target audience may be unable or unwilling to express their perspectives.

• Identify the lifestyle motivators behind your users’ decisions to help you understand the role your brand can play in their lives, i.e., why do they choose to live where they live? Why did they choose the type of car they drive? Why do they dress the way they do? Try to ascertain what drives their decisions…status, self-expression, security, etc.?
• How do your users wish to be perceived by others? Which brands assist them in attaining the image they seek?
• What are the emotional drivers that influence the target’s use of brands in your category? If your brand is a line of baking mixes, for example, determine what emotions motivate target users to bake. Is it love for their family, self-expression, etc.? What emotional benefits are most important to them? Do any of the category brands deliver the emotional benefits they’re seeking? If so, how?
• What are the specific features and functional benefits that ensure emotional satisfaction with the brand? How well do brands in the category, including yours, deliver these features and functional benefits?
• Also ask users what they dislike about brands in the category and what emotional needs are unmet so that you can understand how well your brand resolves their issues.
• What proof do users need to trust your brand will deliver what it says it will deliver?

One critical result of a well-defined target audience is understanding the emotional benefits that are important to target users and how your brand delivers on these emotional benefits. This does not preclude the importance of identifying demographic, geographic and technographic attributes. But keep in mind that you don’t want to amass a laundry list of information.

Ask questions that reveal opportunities to emotionally connect with your users and you’ll be well on your way to developing a richly compelling and successful brand.

See also:
brand – what is it?
positioning statement
point of difference
pain point
target audience
frame of reference
reason to believe
brand essence
portfolio architecture
commoditization

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I sure hope the folks at “Cuil” (pronounced “Cool”) have thick skin. The search engine upstart debuted on Monday to mostly scornful reviews which had to be a little bit of surprise. They must have wondered where all the folks were that had been clamoring for a Google killer.

Cuil says they index 120 billion Web pages (Google says they’re still bigger,) 3x more than any other search engine. And privacy advocates will be pleased that Cuil doesn’t retain personal user information. They’re definitely worth a look. http://www.Cuil.com.
Source: Cuil/PRNewswire

Oh, and each episode will include a segment highlighting Ocean Trust, an award-winning ocean conservation foundation that builds science, conservation and industry partnerships for the sustainability of the oceans and provides a link to sustainable fisheries, wildlife and the environment. Nice, integrated green strategy that goes way beyond the predictable. Green or not, who wouldn’t want to tune in?
Image credits: Jason Mraz talks about his career and life on the road during the taping of Bonefish Grill's "Notes from the Road,
Denver. (PRNewsFoto/Bonefish Grill)
Bonefish Grill logo. (PRNewsFoto/Bonefish Grill)
Source: Bonefish Grill/PRNewswire)

Alas, things aren’t  looking quite as sunshiney for other restaurant brands as food and labor costs, bloated market share, high gas prices and anemic consumer spending kick Metromedia to the curb. The company has filed for Chapter 7 and shut down 50 or so Steak and Ale restuarants and 150  Bennigan’s. About 138 domestic and international franchisee-owned restaurants will remain open, and the closures don’t affect Ponderosa and Bonanza restaurants which operate under a different company.
Sources: Wall Street Journal, 7/29/08, (May require Subscription), Bennigan's Franchising Company, L.P.; Steak & Ale Franchising Company, L.P./PRNewswire

Oh please---another brand goes [yawn] green. But wait…it’s not what you think: Researcher comScore is planting $1 million+ trees in developing nations retain Internet users in its global panel. Anything’s better than the “and you’ll be entered into a drawing to win” spiel that many online research companies use to try to draw you in.
comScore Press Release 7/29/08

More bad news from Starbucks. The company is  cutting 1,000 jobs in addition to the 600 store closures announced earlier this month in what AdAge says insiders are calling a “bloodbath.”
AdAge, 7/29/08

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Matt is a guy who quit his job to travel around the world with some friends. During one trip a buddy suggested videotaping Matt ‘dancing’ in different locales along the way. The result was a hugely popular viral video.  Along the way he picked up Stride Gum as a sponsor. Visit www.wherethehellismatt.com to see his videos, outtakes, his bio and comments from folks around the world.

Matures were known as the “Greatest Generation”; will Boomers (those adults turning 44-62 this year) become known as the Gloomiest?

According to a report by the Pew Social & Demographic Trends Project, America’s Baby Boomers give lower ratings to their quality of life than other generations; to worry that income won’t keep up with inflation, and to believe that it is harder to get ahead now than it was 10 years ago. For example, when asked, “In the next year, how likely is it?”, 55% of Boomers said it is likely that their income won’t keep up with the cost of living, versus 44% of 18-42 year olds, and 43% of adults 63+.

Source:
“Baby Boomers: The Gloomiest Generation” - Pew Social & Demographic Trends Project, 6/25/08

Also see:
"Baby Boomers: From the Age of Aquarius to the Age of Responsibility," Pew Research Center, 12/8/05
"Social Inequalities in Happiness in the United States, 1972 to 2004: An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis," American Sociological Review, Vol. 73, No. 2, 4/2008
"Inside the Middle Class: Bad Times Hit the Good Life," Pew Research Center, 4/9/2008

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Twitter, for the uninitiated, is a  social networking and micro blogging service utilizing instant messaging, SMS or a web interface that encourages users to share their answers to the question, “What are you doing right now?” Think IM on steroids.

But while there are those who are compelled to twitter minutiae (just like the ‘real’ world) there are others who are using Twitter to share ideas and pass along news and information. USA Today reports that Twitter has been used to communicate news in emergencies and natural disasters, and that brands, such as Comcast and Zappos, are utilizing Twitter to establish a dialogue with customers.

So is twittering a good idea for your brand? Take a look to see how Comcast customer service manager Frank Eliason interacts with other Twitterers online and utilize Twitter Search to learn what Twitters are twittering about your brand. Before you dive in, spend some time on the site first, to make sure you understand Twitter culture. And remember that communication on Twitter, just like any successful conversation, is based on authenticity and trust.

If you’re not used to twittering your way through the day it might seem odd…at first. But in time you may wonder how you (and your brand) did without it.

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A creation of The Electric Sheep Company, WebFlock is an application for private-labeled, Web-based virtual experiences. It provides a visually immersive environment for social interaction, media consumption and game play, including 3D avatars, chat, games, and videos from YouTube.

Custom environments within WebFlock will offer brands “better ways to provide meaningful and fun brand experiences that improve both the quantity and quality of engagement points. Brands can create their own ‘experiences’ but be warned, they’re pricey.

Sources:
More Browser-Based Virtual Worlds: The Electric Sheep Company Releases WebFlock, Washington Post, 7/17/08
The Electric Sheep Company Website

Got Milk and Cookes?
I know, everyone’s sick of the eternal riffs on the “Got Milk?” line, but hey, I’m easily entertained. Anyway, take a look at how Oreos used a glassed-in elevator shaft and an elevator to reinforce the milk-dunking equity of Oreos cookies. Yummily brilliant. Source: Beyond Madison Avenue

Some consumers are using Chock full o'Nuts coffee cans as burial urns for loved ones.  Apparently they've been inspired by the recent Warner Bros. movie, "The Bucket List" about two terminally ill men, played by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson who go on a road trip to do the things they've always wanted to do before they 'kick the bucket.' After their deaths, two  Chock full o'Nuts coffee cans were used as burial urns.

Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA (MZB), manufacturer of Chock full o' Nuts coffee, reports that when an Ontario, Canada woman was unable to purchase Chock full o' Nuts coffee in her area, she asked the company for help. "My husband has terminal colon cancer,” she explained. “We went to see the movie 'The Bucket List'...my husband was deeply impacted by the end of the movie, so much that he said that's what I want at my funeral ...a Chock full o' Nuts coffee can for my ashes to be placed in."

Noting that “Inspiration can be found in the most unlikely of places,” the company has established http://www.chockfullonuts.com/stories/ where people can read and share stories of how they’ve memorialized their loved ones.” Besides, Chock full o’Nuts for years has been known as “The Heavenly Coffee.”

Image Credit: Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA /Newscom

Benefits include “tapping into new talent, helping design products and services, providing customer support and, most importantly, building the brand with the customer.” But the true value of online communities has yet to be realized.

In spite of this challenge, 35% of companies surveyed said they have seen an increase in word-of-mouth for their brands, 28% have seen their overall brand awareness increase and 24% say they’ve seen increased loyalty and quicker adoption of outside ideas.  According to survey respondents, the community features that most contribute to community effectiveness are:

-- Ability for community members to connect with like minded people: 53 %
-- Ability for members to help others: 43%
-- Community focus around a hot topic or issue: 41%

Conversely, poorly managed online communities are a critical barrier to their effectiveness. Forty-five percent of respondents recognize that finding enough time to manage the community is one of the biggest obstacles to making communities work. Survey respondents also see facilitation (25%) and quality of the community manager (34 %) as two features that greatly impact the community's effectiveness, making it critical for companies to devote the necessary resources to this important role.

A leading technology company is also using communities as a means of
customer support by monitoring communities as an early warning system for
product issues that can be expected to hit the help desk and prepares to
respond accordingly.

"Communities provide insight into new features and opportunities, identify customer needs, and enable open innovation," added Moran. "By participating in these communities and facilitating a bi-directional
conversation, companies can help engage top prospects and influence
purchase decisions."

The rich interaction and knowledge sharing typical within communities also allows for talent development and retention within organizations. Social media tools offer unparalleled visibility into employee sentiment
and expertise, thereby helping organizations to better leverage and develop
their talent.

The survey measured the responses of over 140 companies, including Fortune 100 organizations, which have created and maintain online communities today. Participating companies include leading computer manufacturers, software, insurance, online auction, media companies, hotel chains, and start ups. The communities ranged from fewer than 100 members to more than 10,000 members.

Source: Deloitte