Blog 16: PETA Scores High Marks for Relationship Cultivation on Facebook

Waters, et. al. (2009) state that for non-profits, “solely having a profile (on social networking sites) will not itself increase awareness or trigger an influx of participation. Instead careful planning and research will benefit nonprofits as they attempt to develop social networking relationships with their stakeholders” p.102). People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is one organization that has done its research and effectively used Facebook to engage audiences world-wide and build relationships with them. A whopping 503,674 fans – that’s PETA’s fan base on Facebook!

Waters, et. al. (2009) recommend three strategies that organizations can employ for online relationship cultivation. These are in bold.

PETA:
(1) Mostly practices organizational disclosure. On its Facebook page, the non-profit has listed its mission statement, programs, year of founding and a link to its website. It could have also included a logo and a list of administrators of its Facebook profile. But I would give it 9 out of 10 marks for organizational disclosure.

(2) Believes in information dissemination. The non-profit’s Facebook page contains links to 844 notes, 24 photo albums, 1,268 fan photos, 158 videos, and 77 fan videos. The non-profit could have also provided links to news items, press releases, campaign summaries and audio files. Overall, I would give it a good 8 out of 10 marks for information dissemination.

(3) Encourages audience involvement. On PETA’s Facebook page, you can easily become its fan, follow it on Twitter, or sign up for PETA E-News and special announcements. The non-profit also has a notes page and an events calendar. PETA could do better by providing a phone number and email address of a named organizational representative, list current volunteer opportunities and state how people can make charitable donations. 8 out of 10 marks for a reasonably good effort to encourage audience involvement.

Overall, PETA has done an excellent job in keeping its Facebook profile updated, relevant, interactive and transparent. The non-profit recognizes the value of social networking sites to enhance public image, garner support for its causes and cultivate relationships with its stakeholders.

Tomorrow, 15 March 2010 is the International Day of Action for Seals! PETA has scored high marks on relationship cultivation with its publics. Why not show them your support and join the online rally. There are already 21,905 confirmed guests. So, how do you think organizations like PETA can improve their efforts to reach out effectively to their stakeholders. What have they done right, what have they done wrong and what can they do better? : )

Blog 15: From Asia to Europe: Mobile Marketing Rocks!

During my trip to India last summer, I discovered the pervasiveness of mobile marketing in that part of the world. My aunt’s cell phone was inundated with messages from the major brands to the local vegetable seller down the street who sent messages like “Fresh cauliflower today for 40 rupees per kilogram!”

Barwise & Strong (2002) and Waters (2010) acknowledge that text messaging and mobile marketing are cost-efficient, quick, reliable, enable mass reach, and are more developed in the Asian and European markets.

From a Small Family Business in Asia to a Large Franchise in Europe:
McDonalds (Europe) understands customer needs and has effectively leveraged mobile technologies to create mobile messages and offers to (1) attract customers to try their new M burger and (2) generate buzz and goodwill towards the brand.

(1)Using Mobile Technology to Launch New Product
McDonalds (France) rolled out the M Burger through the innovative use of mobile advertising. The fast food giant ran animated banner ads on the Microsoft advertising mobile media network to emphasize the premium ingredients used in the Burger and create awareness about it especially among 25 to 44 year-old men. The M Burger banners encouraged consumers to click to find out more about the new burger and the McDonalds' closest to them. The mobile advertising campaign delivered 1.3 million impressions and a 4.6 percent click-through rate.

(2)Using Mobile Technology to Create Buzz and Generate Goodwill
McDonalds (Italy) embarked on a text message holiday promotion where consumers could text Santa and receive a gift within seconds in the restaurant. The fast food giant printed unique codes on cups for consumers to send with a text message while in the restaurant. Every code would win for the first time and everyone was a winner. Prizes included personal photos with Santa to free mobile phones. This mass sweepstakes strategy produced a 25% response rate with more than 1.5 million participation in five weeks.

Both the local vegetable seller in India and McDonalds Corp in Europe effectively engaged consumers through text messages that were relevant, timely, succinct and captured their interest. I'd like to hear from you - What types of text messages from companies/marketers have appealed to you or have completely put you off? : )

Blog 14: Apple Wins title of Company with the World's Best Reputation

Waters (2010) provides various definitions of organizational reputation as “the general estimation in which a person is held by the public,” “the state or situation of being held in high esteem” or “a cognitive representation of a company's ability to meet the expectations of its stakeholders.”

Just two days back, FORTUNE magazine released its annual list of the world’s most admired companies. Guess who made it to the top of the list for having the best reputation? Apple topped the list for the third year in a row!

A total of 667 companies from 33 countries were surveyed with more than 4,200 respondents, including executives, directors and analysts, who were asked to rate companies in their own industry on nine criteria, from investment value to social responsibility. According to FORTUNE magazine, the list represents an annual ranking of corporate reputation. This list of most admired companies will appear in the print edition of FORTUNE magazine on 22 March 2010, so check it out.

There must be multiple reasons why Apple has received this honor for the third time in a row. Apple does project an image that is true to the organization, it encourages interactions with stakeholders, it gives back to the community, it listens to its consumers, many people have emotional attachments to Apple, and the company seems to be concerned with long term success not just short term gains.

Waters (2010) says: "brand is your personality, but reputation is your real character." Apple has clearly paid attention to both brand-building and reputation-building. Why do you think Apple has the world's best reputation?

Blog 13: Wikis – The Tortoise or the Hare?

One of my all time favorite fables from Aesop is “The Tortoise and the Hare.” The story is about a race between a swift hare and a slow-moving tortoise. During the race, the over-confident hare takes a nap and the tortoise who is initially slow to catch up, crawls slowly but steadily, and wins the race!

Despite being around since 1994, wikis have been slow to catch on among corporate users. Recent research however shows that this platform is catching up and is here to stay! After surveying 168 corporate wiki users, Majchrzak et al (2006) concluded that corporate wikis appear to be sustainable: "companies appear to succeed at using wikis beyond few-month pilot projects, into a sustainable part of their collaborative work processes" (p.101). Henriksson et al (2008) examine Finish companies’ use of wikis and found that none of the 50 companies that had started using wikis had later discarded them (p.150). Good news for wiki fans!

Top 10 reasons why wikis are here to stay:

(1) Promote information transparency within a company
(2) Encourage the uploading of credible information
(3) Provide an organizational memory through a collaborative knowledge base
(4) Improve work processes and efficiency through knowledge sharing
(5) Provide a repository of up-to-date information
(6) Promote mutual equality and is democratic
(7) Promote a participatory and collaborative work culture
(8) Enhance the reputation of contributors
(9) Promote dialogue and idea generation
(10) Enhance relationships between the organization and employees

Despite its benefits, some people feel wikis (1) are hard to adopt, (2) are impersonal, centralized and slow-moving, (3) have no clear authority, and (4) promote a philosophy of radical openness which clashes with the culture of most corporations (Szybalski, 2005).

What are your thoughts about the sustainability of wikis in the corporate world? Are wikis like the tortoise - slow to catch on but here to stay? Or like the hare who appears to be strong at first but fizzles out in the end?