Shoot The Focus Groups? Not This Time.
It took more than a half-century for focus groups to die. From their invention in the 1940’s via noted sociologist Robert K. Merton through their glory days in the 80’s and 90’s, last century’s leading qualitative methodology had a great run. It wasn’t until 2005 or so, when then Yahoo CMO Cammie Dunaway plotted to ‘kill’ all the focus groups and author Douglas Rushkoff dubbed them ‘useless’ that the death knell officially sounded. Yes, there was a sputtering revival or two. (Online focus groups) But CNN finally nailed them completely with this year’s Election Coverage of perpetually undecided voters, ‘moderator’ Soledad O’Brien, and the ratings-friendly perceptual analyzer dials decorating the screen in happy primary colors.
Which is why (as a veteran Focus Group moderator and advocate) I was so surprised and gratified to read the latest news on last weekend’s wildfire VOM (Voice of Moms) aka Motrin Gate. Ad Age details the frenzied timeline plus the general take-away, including this paragraph:
Ultimately, Ms. Presnal (key Mommy blogger) said she sympathizes with J&J’s plight after having received at least two e-mails from (VP) Ms. Widmer last week. Reading from one, she noted that J&J had worked with focus groups of moms in developing the campaign.
“We listened extensively to moms, the insights about their lives, and how their pain impacts them,” Ms. Presnal said, reading from Ms. Widmer’s e-mail. She continued from the e-mail: “I think where this went wrong was the creative expression we used. … The tone was intended to be real and lighthearted, but it came off as irreverent. … We did conduct focus groups with moms. But truthfully they probably weren’t extensive enough to uncover this.”
Mon dieu! Amazingly, the ‘creative’ is getting blamed here. No quotes about how ‘useless’ or ‘dishonest’ the Focus Groups were. The only perceived glitch in the groups is that J&J believes they didn’t do enough of them.
With hundreds of Focus Groups under my moderator’s black belt, I certainly understand both the limitations of the tried-and-true and the temptation to switch to the newer, sexier Social Media Research methodologies. I am deep into shiny new things myself: Twitter Product Parties, Hybrid Chats, Buzz Audits and Crowdsourcing Polls. In fact, more than half of my research requests in the past 6 months have come from clients itching to jump on the intriguing Social Media Research bandwagon. There’s good news from key social networking fronts: both Facebook and Linkedin have big plans to help researchers get uber-targeted, fresher data.
Still, I have to defend the original concept of Focus Groups, which I firmly believe is still viable — when effectively designed and conducted.
Guru’s Note: Stay tuned for Part 2: Five tips to bring your (traditional, that is, f2f) Focus Groups into the 21st Century.
Improv Everywhere Strikes Again. This Time at JFK Airport.
Their slogan is “We Cause Scenes.” And that they did, as comedy performance masters Improv Everywhere flash-mobbed at JFK, apparently on behalf of Absolut. Their stated mission is to cause ‘chaos and joy.’ I would so love to see them do another Freeze like they did in Grand Central, only this time on a glacier as First Dude Todd Palin zips by on his snow machine.
Dentyne’s Anti-Facebook “Make Face Time” Campaign Encourages Us To Get Real.
So I was deep into editing Trend 6: The Return of Real & The Urgency of Touch for my upcoming book when I discovered this refreshing (pun intended) new campaign from gum-giant Dentyne and ad agency, McCann. The creative suggests we log off occasionally to go out and “make face time” with a friend.
“We’ve got nothing against the internet, but when people are surfing the web, they’re missing the best part of life — being together.”
It’s a compelling concept, one that reminds me a little of the YouTube phenom Free Hugs, now a user-generated-content classic with 33,644,908 views. The idea is made all the more engaging by the Make Face Time website that automatically shuts down after 3 minutes. The site also features a ‘Smiley Chamber of Doom’ intended to smash to smithereens those icons of fakery.
I’ve been kvetching lately about the importance of being a real friend during these recessionary times rather than just a Friended Friend. Then Jason Anello, Yahoo Buzz’s Ideologist, gave a great talk at the WOMMA Summit last week on the importance of connecting the online and offline worlds –and mentioned the increasing value of touch. Another project reminded me that massage therapy has been in explosive growth mode, jumping to $11 billion a year industry.
Then there was this weekend’s MotrinGate, in which Moms railed against the baby-wearing, baby-bonding experience being labeled ‘a fashion accessory.’ Mombotv.com has a nice post on this age-old practice, especially the way health workers in many developing countries promote skin to skin contact between mother and newborn. Didn’t we all write termpapers in college citing the wire-mother-monkeys?
Author Desmond Morris says, “Something special happens when two people touch each other physically, whether it be a handshake, a pat on the back, or a slap on the face.”
Obviously I am a huge advocate of the life-changing, life-building, boundary shattering Internet. But I am also a huge advocate of getting the hell offline and LOL-ing the real way.
Does Spreading The Retail Gloom Help Us or Hurt Us?
I have very mixed feelings about an email I received from a friend early this evening.
On one hand, I appreciate the warning. I appreciate the sentiment about celebrating the holidays with family and friends, not bling and things.
But the business person in me can’t help but think that these email blasts only spread the gloom-and-doom that’s already keeping us out of the stores. Yes, we absolutely should slip the Visa cards into a drawer and head toward the mall bearing cash — a new study says 22.8% of us plan to, up from last year — or use our debit cards, like 41.5% plan to do. A return (even if possible) to the bloated excess of the boom-boom years doesn’t work either. But some of us believe firmly that innovation and new opportunities can emerge even in these highly unsettling times. These gloom and doom emails are a viral megaphone that threaten to to drown out our never-say-die American spirit.
Interestingly, the mood on the newer Social Media is much perkier. Tweeters tend to get het-up and pesky but try to share positives; bloggers get mad but share link love; Facebookers are tribal, joining groups, events, causes and status-donations. MySpacers are busy pitching their music while Ning’ers are simply passionate about their own thing. New Social Media is very different than the traditional old media world of email. Socialyzers are in-the-know junkies, wanting to be au courante 24/7. We feel our power (check my post on MotrinGate) and wield it deftly and swiftly. We’re passionately participating in this participatory media — not merely passing iffy information along as in the days of legendary email from Bill Gates, NPR, Disney, etc. If nothing else, Socialyzers want to believe we are in control; that crowdsourcing matters. After all, didn’t we just elect a new President? Traditional emailers are simply passing along the gloom-and-doom with scant hope of effecting change.
Hope and heart live on Social Media sites. Even in 140 characters life is bubbling up.
Here’s the email:
Wow, interesting times. I love gift cards but…maybe not this year.
Personally, it’s a good year to celebrate our family and friends.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!
XXOO ~ Stores that informed the Security Exchange of closing plans between October 2008 and January 2009. PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
Circuit City stores… most recent (? how many)
Ann Taylor- 117 stores nationwide are to be shuttered
Lane Bryant,, Fashion Bug ,and Catherine’s to close 150 store
nationwide
Eddie Bauer to close stores 27 stores and more after January
Cache will close all stores
Talbots closing down all stores
J. Jill closing all stores
GAP closing 85 stores
Footlocker closing 140 stores more to close after January
Wickes Furniture closing down
Levitz closing down remaining stores
Bombay closing remaining stores
Zales closing down 82 stores and 105 after January.
Whitehall closing all stores
Piercing Pagoda closing all stores
Disney closing 98 stores and will close more after January.
Home Depot closing 15 stores 1 in NJ ( New Brunswick )
Guru’s Correction: I am thrilled to correct this — as Home Depot is one of my hang-outs. I’ve heard from them and this is very old news dating back to May.
Macys to close 9 stores after January
Linens and Things closing all stores
Movie Galley Closing all stores
Pacific Sunware closing stores
Pep Boys Closing 33 stores
Sprint/ Nextel closing 133 stores
JC Penney closing a number of stores after January
Ethan Allen closing down 12 stores.
Wilson Leather closing down all stores
Sharper Image closing down all stores
K B Toys closing 356 stores
Loews to close down some stores
Dillard’s to close some stores.
Guru’s Note: I have not verified this information. It’s too depressing. I’d rather hang out at the Apple Store with the Nano Chromatix and drool over the juicy colors.
Here’s the update on store closings from Snopes.com.
Now That’s Jerry’s Finally Given Up The Royal Purple, Who Will Be Yahoo’s Next CEO?
Techcrunch is reporting that Jerry Yang is finally stepping down as CEO of the company he founded — but will remain as Chief Yahoo. The stock closed today at $10.63, legions away from the $33 Microsoft offered for the company last spring.
Scuttlebutt centers on Sue Decker and a possible return of tech veteran Dan Rosensweig.
Here’s the official press release:
Yahoo! Conducting Search for New CEO
Co-Founder Jerry Yang to Step Down Following Appointment of New CEO
and Return to Former Role as Chief Yahoo! and Board Member
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov 17, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) –
Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO) today announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a search for a new Chief Executive Officer. Jerry Yang, co-Founder of Yahoo!, has decided to return to his former role as Chief Yahoo! upon the appointment of his successor as CEO, and he will also continue to serve on the Board. Yang, 40, assumed the CEO role at the Board’s request in June 2007, and he has led Yahoo! through a strategic repositioning and transformation of its platform.
Chairman Roy Bostock, working with the independent directors and in consultation with Jerry Yang, is leading the process of assessing potential candidates and determining finalists for consideration. The search will encompass both internal and external candidates, and the Board has retained Heidrick & Struggles, a leading international executive search firm, to assist in the process.
“Over the past year and a half, despite extraordinary challenges and distractions, Jerry Yang has led the repositioning of Yahoo! on an open platform model as well as the improved alignment of costs and revenues,” said Roy Bostock. “Jerry and the Board have had an ongoing dialogue about succession timing, and we all agree that now is the right time to make the transition to a new CEO who can take the company to the next level. We are deeply grateful to Jerry for his many contributions as CEO over the past 18 months, and we are pleased that he plans to stay actively involved at Yahoo! as a key executive and member of the Board.”
“From founding this company to guiding its growth into a trusted global brand that is indispensible to millions of people, I have always sought to do what is best for our franchise,” said Jerry Yang. “When the Board asked me to become CEO and lead the transformation of the Company, I did so because it was important to re-envision the business for a different era to drive more effective growth. Having set Yahoo! on a new, more open path, the time is right for me to transition the CEO role and our global talent to a new leader. I will continue to focus on global strategy and to do everything I can to help Yahoo! realize its full potential and enhance its leading culture of technology and product excellence and innovation.”
MotrinGate: Twitter Moms Abuzz Over Motrin Video.
At times like this, I am resoundingly thrilled with my decision to leave traditional advertising oh-so-many-moons ago at the dawn of the digital age.
Apparently, they still don’t ‘get it.’ At least whoever created Motrin’s ‘Wearing Your Baby’ video doesn’t get it. And this corporate cluelessness has now exploded into MotrinGate, thanks to legions of Twitter Moms who have been tweeting upthewazoo all weekend. Pity the poor Motrin exec who shows up to Monday morning’s firestorm. Of course, if they had they had the customer service smarts of Zappos, JetBlue, ComcastCares, etc. they would already know about this Mom-fueled fury and they would have apologized, explained or waved a white eco- diaper.
The video “Wearing Your Baby” is still up and running on the official Motrin website. The video claims that this supposed ‘fashion trend’ of carrying baby in a sling causes ‘extreme pain’ — and thus merits Motrin. Not only is the voice-over whiny, annoying and inauthentic but their ‘facts’ are dicey.
Considering how many zillions of Mom marketing firms there out clamoring to help corporate America, (I spent a chunk of this week’s hugely useful WOMMA conference with Mom-savvy Stacy DeBroff of MomCentral) it seems pretty clear that as one tweeter said: “There’s no way a Mom was involved, or if she was, she was ignored.”
Part of the copy: “If I look tired and crazy people will understand.”
If you’d like to follow MotrinGate on Twitter, simply use #MotrinMoms. Currently MotrinMoms is trending #1 on Twitter — and social media mavens are splashing across all media from new to traditional.
As a Springspotter, I’m pinging Liesbeth in Amsterdam with this trend that shows off the incredible power of mobilized Don’t-Mess-With-Me-Moms.
And here’s one of the videos created in response to Motrin’s original video.
Guru’s Take: The lesson here for corporate America? This didn’t have to happen. All you have to do is ask and Moms will help — with your creative, your research, your buzz. We’ve been having Twitter Product Parties – a nifty way to do Social Media Research — and this 21st century style focus group could easily have prevented this corporate boo-boo. Motrin apparently didn’t ask — and now they’re getting stung bigtime.
Guru’s Take #2: Okay, have been researching and from what I can tell, McNeil (maker of Motrin) is a division of Johnson and Johnson . . . and J&J owns the #1 parenting site on the web: Babycenter. So I am wondering why they couldn’t have tapped into that multi-million strong BabyCenter Mom-community?
Guru’s Take #3: Okay, finally a response from the VP at McNeil. (Thank you, Katja, for the post and all your hard work.) Amazing that this semi mea culpa took this long. Amazing that no one from McNeil or the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies appears to be tweeting on the weekend. Even for a complete Twitter newbie, it would have taken all of about a minute for the outraged Motrin tweets to have bubbled up; it was that fast and furious. This whole thing could have been prevented if:
- Someone, anyone, at McNeil (or its agencies) had a clue about social media
- Someone, anyone, at McNeil had a clue about the importance of respecting the VOM (Voice-of-Moms). I’m a veteran market researcher and I cannot imagine letting my clients go without either exploratory pre-production research or post-production eval — hopefully both. I always tell them that research is essentially insurance — it would have prevented McNeil’s 4-Motrin-Migraine.
Trend Alert 1: WWGD? What Would Grandma Do?
From the upcoming Trend Report: OH SNAP! How To Snap Back During These Unsettling New Times.
TREND 1.
It was no surprise President-Elect Obama gave so much credit for his success in life to his beloved late Grandmother ‘Toot.’ Grandmothers have long been the rockbed of solid values, common sense and abiding love. Some 2.5 million children in our country are being raised by their Grandmas, ensuring that new generations are growing up with daily nudges about thrift, frugality, common sense and substance, along with hefty helpings of broccoli and roast chicken with too much limp parsley.
If Grandmothers had been in charge, Wall Street would never have imploded, gas would never have hit $4.99 a gallon, little Johnny would never max out his Visa and no one would have heard of IndyMac or AIG. No one would be subsisting on high fructose corn syrup, partly hydrogenated fats and maltodextrin. No one would be suffering from an extended case of Affluenza, feverishly fed by what Grandma would call “stuff and nonsense.”
This is why so many savvy folks on the brink of life and business decisions are asking themselves one key question: WWGD? What Would Grandma Do?
Here’s a SNAPSHOT from OH SNAP! on Grandma’s Financial Policies:
- Grandma would applaud KMart for its return to the Layaway Plan.
- Grandma would mourn the Sarah Palin who shopped at Saks while applauding her for (formerly) bringing the whole family in to buy at Anchorage’s Out of The Closet secondhand store.
- Grandma would applaud the rise in trust of local banks — 66% of consumers in a recent study said they had confidence in local banks, versus fewer than 25% trust US banks.
- Grandma would applaud signing up for the local bank’s Christmas Club. Remember Grandma put $5 in her Christmas Club account every week or month –frugally setting aside her ‘egg money’ (okay, sorry that was Aunt Bea) so by Christmas she would have a nestegg to spend on really scratchy sweaters and odd wooden toys for the grandchildren.
- Grandma gave you US Savings Bonds on your birthday. (Okay, not so fun)
- No credit cards, no interest rates, no late fees. Cash is king, especially when saved painlessly week by week.
- Grandma knew no one in Nigeria, much less a Prince who left her money.
Here is a smattering of folks who asked WWGD? — and mashed up Grandma Values with Social Media so we can all snap back together in these unsettling times:
If things get really tough, Grandma would find herself a part-time job, probably by social networking with her canasta group. She could always take up knitting, like these famous Swiss Net Grannies, who will personally knit you a pair of socks. Just pick your Granny!
Guru’s Update: Sears has now joined the Layaway revival trend.
Stay tuned for Trend 2: The New Potluck Economy.
The First Musical Instrument Created for the Apple iPhone: Ocarina.
Just in time to head off a boring wait in Black Friday’s check-out lines — the iPhone Ocarina. Now you can amuse yourself and other frenzied shoppers by turning your iPhone into a musical instrument — the ocarina. Simply blow into the microphone and and play the four holes on the iPhone screen. Guru suggests a hearty rendition of the Burl Ives classic: “Have A Holly Jolly Christmas.” Or perhaps the sacred “Feliz Navidad.” Both undoubtedly do justice the ancient heritage of this traditional instrument.
Thanks to LikeCool and Smule Ocarina.
More cool from Smule: Ocarina is a social application. (I knew it — everything has to be a social app these days. Where are the anti-social apps? I want one.) Tap on the globe icon and you will see and hear other Ocarina players throughout the world. (Also likely standing in line at Target) The globe view will highlight the source of the music. Rate your favorite performances so that others may benefit from your judgment. Name your Ocarina if you want listeners around the world to identify your performances. With this robust application beautiful music is created, appreciated and shared. (I am so wanting to hear Inna-Ga-Da-Davida Baby)
Tis Almost The Season for Merry Social Networking. Five Ways To Head Off The Business Bah Humbugs.
Despite the Scrooges already shoveling coal for our stockings, we Americans are a resilient sort. Let the corporations cut back on their festivities. Let the bubbly turn to brew, the shrimp turn to sausage, the Black Ties turn to black T’s. Our parties must go on.
But for those looking to these merry months as a never-ending source of business opportunities and shrewd social networking, beware of mixing Mistletoe martinis with clients new and old. Can you spot the red flags amidst the green? Here are five ways to head off the Holiday Bah Humbugs:
1. Give it a rest. (At least sometimes)
That potential client you’ve been dying to meet is standing at the buffet table, eying the sushi. Another prospect is happily greeting a group of friends. And another is headed toward the rest room. You’re thinking: “Now’s my chance!” In these recessionary times, it’s difficult not to leap into full court press when faced with a room full of possibility and prodigious amounts of alcohol. But sometimes it’s best to hang back and observe. Did that client just arrive and he’s starving after skipping lunch? How will he feel if you barge over with your business card? Maybe the other client hasn’t seen her buddies in months. Will she want to be interrupted by someone whose sole mission is pushing her own business? And the rest room. Well, duh.
2. Shameless Promotion and Sacred Do Not Mix.
Never forget that sprinkled among the party-hearty revelers are those who regard Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa or Winter Solstice as sacred. These faithful souls are not likely to take kindly to non-stop business chatter or cards offered along with holiday greetings. This is true for mailings, emailing’s, gifts or festivities. Don’t think you can easily spot those most apt to be offended. Why not be sensitive to one and all?
3. Give The Gift of Friendship (Not Friend Requestship).
We love our virtual friends and the exploding world of social networking. But just as one of the Presidential candidates drove us batty with endless insincere “My friends”, now is the time to be a real friend. People are losing their jobs, contracts, houses, health insurance and self-esteem. Let our gifts this year be kind and loving gestures — not tweets and pings.
4. Honor the Culture Mash.
I continue to be annoyed at the namby-pampy word ‘holiday’ that’s such a cowardly attempt at being politically correct. If it’s a Christmas Party, call it that. If it’s a Kwanzaa celebration, call it that. My favorite comes from those trend-setting folks at the OC: ChrismukKuh. Let’s have (as our new President calls himself) a Mutt-Mas, a party that mashes all our cultures into one wild multi-cultural shebang.
5. Schedule Some Silent Nights.
Rather than schedule frenzied Fa-La-Las, how about planning some quiet times and if clients are involved, declare a No Business Zone. Carving out some time to just ‘be’ keeps us sane — and may actually be a better business plan in the long run. No one wants to listen to or keep up a non-stop tap dance. There is peace in the quiet. Or plan the celebration around music and simply shut the heck up.
I’d love to hear your ideas.
We’ll Always Have Belgium. Where to Get Married in the Post Prop 8 World.
Now that (boo!) Prop 8 has tanked here in California, where will lovebirds go to get married? Why Belgium, of course, where same-sex marriage has been legal since 2003. And now there’s even a cool new kind of wedding: Marriage in the Sky.
Marriage in the Sky is hosted on a platform, where 20 guests are strapped into aircraft-like seats and suspended at a height of 50 meters. The wedding ceremony can be customised to every couple’s wishes, including spectacular elements like bungee jumping off of the platform after vows have been exchanged. A second crane can be used to suspend another platform at the same height, making room for entertainment or more guests, especially if one’s friends tend to work for Cirque de Soleil.
Guru’s Note: Just don’t invite me unless I’m issued a parachute and my own case of champagne.
Thanks, as always, to my fellow trendspotters at Springwise.
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