September's Top Four Stories

September saw a fifty percent increase in visitors browsing content on MineThatData. These are the top four stories, measured by the number of hits attributed to each permalink.

Number Four was the post titled "Four Ways An Information Technology Employee Can Get Ideas Heard". This article was well received by the folks who saw it on Reddit.

Number Three is this week's "Four Questions With Ann Handley". Ann is the Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs, the sixth ranked Marketing Blog in the world. Her conversational nature was appreciated by our readers.

Number Two was the September 10 edition of The Carnival of Marketing. Readers enjoyed sampling the best marketing posts from early September.

And the Number One article in September is "How Much Do You Really Pay To Watch Football On television?". It was surprising to do the math and see how much National Football League fans have to pay advertisers, in order for the advertising to break-even.

Social Media and Anthropologie

Last night, I spent a lot of time talking about Anthropologie, discussing their initial steps into multichannel marketing. Their multichannel journey, as described in DMNews, is really about the management at the company deciding to speak to Anthropologie customers and prospects with one voice.

While Anthropologie management begins this journey, another revolution is happening all around them. This version of multichannel marketing is owned by the customer. The customer is using "her channel", to market the company on behalf of Anthropologie.

Check out the blog "Craving Anthropologie". This young lady, assuming she is who she represents herself to be, has taken it upon herself to glorify all that is Anthropologie. More than seventeen thousand visitors have followed her discussion of the company over the past year. Seventeen thousand! How many shoppers have been influenced by what this person chooses to write, by this person's interpretation of the Anthropologie "brand"?

This blogger isn't the only one evangelizing Anthropologie. Popular bloggers write about Anthropologie. Bloggers admire the design of Anthropologie products. Some people's comments about Anthropologie merchandise start a series of comments from other fans. This blogger does a better job of marketing Anthropologie than an Anthropologie email campaign. Here's another one --- do you think the branding experts at Anthropologie ever conceived this point of view?

It doesn't end. Other bloggers express themselves here, here and here. And when you read these posts from avid Anthropologie shoppers, how many times do you hear them say, "Boy, I wish Anthropologie did a better job of aligning their channels, because if they were a true multichannel retailer, I'd really increase my spend with their brand!"

Not surprisingly, these shoppers were obsessed with the merchandise Anthropologie sells. And as much as it pains me to say this, these shoppers were obsessed with what Anthropologie represents --- they were obsessed with "the brand". There, I said it! These shoppers were so enthralled by Anthropologie that they decided to invent their own marketing departments, evangelizing the brand on behalf of Anthropologie, for free.

Executives have a responsibility to truly understand their customers. The information is freely available to executives. Try typing the name of your brand into Google Blogsearch. You will immediately learn how customers perceive your business, positive or negative. You will immediately learn the merchandise they think is hot. Your customers are networking and talking. They are shaping the direction of your business, regardless of your multichannel efforts, regardless of the internal politics about how to organize around channels, regardless of what pundits think you should do!!

Anthropologie Begins The Multichannel Journey

Did you do your homework last night, and read the article about Anthropologie beginning their multichannel journey?

I really enjoyed this article. Multichannel pundits tell you that the customer demands you implement a multichannel solution, and while you are at it, why don't you purchase a multi-million dollar multichannel "solution". This article talked about the things we all deal with in our everyday lives.

The former CFO of Anthropologie was thrown under the bus, due to a lack of faith in the Direct channel. Who hasn't worked in a company where certain individuals do not believe in certain key initiatives?

There was a desire to mitigate the need for people to learn both the Direct and Retail side of the business. This is completely valid. Different skills are required to manage each side of the business. Regardless of what pundits tell you about the need to be a multichannel organization, it is not easy to transfer the skillset required to run one channel into the other channel. Real companies deal with these real issues. These real issues impede multichannel integration. Pundits can't help with this.

The article talked about the problems caused by different systems in different channels. A 19 digit sku does not tie out with a 17 digit sku. This caused problems between customers and employees working in the stores. These are real problems. And if profit is slowly declining, as it is at Urban Outfitters (Anthropologie's parent company), and your CFO doesn't believe in the Direct channel, systems integration becomes a challenge. Let's see a pundit convince the CFO to spend the money to fix this problem.

It is fascinating that the catalog becomes the inflection point for change. This very visible form of advertising becomes the critical element that forces channels to compromise. Nobody wants twenty-four million catalogs deliberately communicating inconsistent messages. Catalog is like the friend that brings two dissenting parties to the bargaining table.

The article wraps up with the fact that there isn't consistent data across channels, and that it may take two to three years to accomplish all of the multichannel initiatives. This represents unbridled optimism. Since the article states that there is still internal resistance, expect this process to take a half-decade. They may never achieve the multichannel nirvana that pundits require us to attain.

MineThatData gives four thumbs up to Michael Robinson, Managing Director at Anthropologie Direct, for giving all of us an honest, realistic, and normal view of multichannel marketing from the perspective of a real business leader. Anybody who ever had to actually implement multichannel initiatives within the confines of a business with diverse personalities can understand why pundit-speak is annoying.

Ok, your turn. What did you learn from last night's assignment?

Honesty in Advertising

I heard this on the radio, driving to lunch today:

• McDonalds Radio Commercial: "A cup of fresh-brewed coffee and McDonalds breakfast sandwich can bring you life-affirming focus."

During the afternoon, I read this in a B2B email advertisement:

• "Customer data integration (CDI) or, more broadly, customer-centric master data management (MDM) solutions, are gaining significant momentum, largely because of their ability to help organizations achieve critical cross-functional business imperatives to bolster customer profitability, reduce operational costs, and adhere to regulatory compliance. Companies have come to realize they can't achieve these cross-functional business imperatives without adopting customer-centricity throughout their business processes."

The first quote is intriguing. I thought having cancer was "life affirming". Maybe sipping coffee in a cardboard cup, while sitting on a plastic bench next to the condiment counter is the definition of "life affirming".

The second quote makes me feel stupid. I don't want to purchase things from people who make me feel stupid.

I don't blame copywriters for this. They are simply doing the job management asks them to do.

All --- we can do better. Let's start by simply being honest.

Anthropologie Attempts To Integrate Silos

Your homework assignment for today is to read this brief article in DMNews, about multichannel retailer Anthropologie. On Tuesday night, I will outline my thoughts ... so be ready to participate in the discussion!

Four Questions With Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs

This week, I welcome Ann Handley to the "Four Questions" segment on MineThatData.

Ann Handley is the Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs -- which means that she is the Queen of all Things Content on the MarketingProfs Web site and newsletter and the Primary Caregiver of the blog, the MarketingProfs Daily Fix. Prior to that, she was the co-founder of ClickZ.com. Ann also spent time as a freelance journalist, and wrote regularly for the Boston Globe.

Let's see what Ann has to say!


Question #1: Tell us a little about your career, from being a freelance writer to starting ClickZ to your role now at MarketingProfs. What were the inflection points that caused you to make changes in your career?

Funny how after the fact, it seems like there was a plan all along!

I could say that I saw the Internet and I realized the enormous potential for me personally as well as for publishing. I could say that I was some sort of digital mystic who envisioned that the Internet would revolutionize the way we do business. I could remind you how I invented blogging.

But the truth is far less grand: I was a business journalist in Boston who wanted a little more balance in my work and family life, and thus sought out any opportunity that would give me more flexibility, some degree of intellectual challenge, and hopefully a little money. Early on that meant I became a freelance writer for everything from the Boston Globe to American Baby to those magazines in the back of airline seat pockets.

But in the late 1990s, I co-founded ClickZ to develop its editorial, and I realized I had a bit of knack for finding and developing good writers, honing a publication's overall voice and mission, and in directing this product now known as "content." We sold ClickZ in 2000, and when my noncompete expired two years later, I dropped a note to Allen Weiss, who was then flying solo at an up and coming web site and email newsletter called MarketingProfs.com. I volunteered to take the content piece off his hands, he didn't argue, and we became a team of two.

Four years later, MarketingProfs has just over 190,000 subscribers, a dozen employees, and more products than your readers would have the patience to read about here.


Question #2: You have grown the Marketing Profs Daily Fix blog into one of the ten most visited marketing blogs in the world. Many of your contributers already have very successful blogs. Why do you believe these talented individuals take the extra time to contribute to the Marketing Profs blog?

Because I pester them until they knuckle under.

No -- not really. I'm not sure the reason is the same for every author -- but in general it's probably because the collection of writers I've assembled are, in my view, some of the sharpest minds in marketing, and it's a bit of a kick to be included in such great company.

Also, some of the writers get exposure to either a wider, broader, or more varied audience than they might on their own blogs. For example, the talented David Armano has an awesome blog, but many of his readers are design or agency-focused, and MarketingProfs offers him exposure to a broader marketing audience. Same with Tom Ehrenfeld, who writes his own blog about the intersection of business and writing. And Eric Frenchman, whose passion is online marketing with an emphasis on political marketing. Finally, some of our authors -- like Ted Mininni and Gerry McGovern -- don't maintain their own blogs at all, so the Daily Fix gives them a blogging outlet without the need for daily maintenance.

And by the way, the MarketingProfs Daily Fix is now number 7. (Yay!)


Question #3: Which blogs do you like to read?

Tons. I read the big ones, certainly, which are obvious enough that I don't need to mention them, probably (but will): Seth Godin, Church of the Customer, MicroPersuasion, Guy Kawasaki. I also read all of the blogs (or newsletters) published by the 50-plus MarketingProfs Daily Fix authors. Or I try my best to.

But in truth, I like reading blogs published by lesser-known bloggers the best. What I like about smaller blogs -- the smallest blogs -- is that they are less affected by audience, advertisers, or any of the trappings of larger publishing ventures. They don't necessarily write for any other reason than that they have something to say. And I like the unaffected result.

I can't do that -- I can't write without imagining an audience, which is probably why I admire it.


Question #4: In ten years, where do you think today's journalists, newspaper writers, fiction writers, authors, biographers, and bloggers will be writing their content, and how will audiences find their content?

Oh Lord if I could answer that I'd be a genius -- wouldn't I? And an oracle, too. And then I'd head to the race track to place my bet!

But I guess my best answer would be that writers will have expanded their content offerings further into platforms we are already seeing emerge...vlogging, vcasting, mobile, podcasts, etc. Some of the writers I see blogging now, for example, will probably switch completely to audio or video formats as the technology and audience evolves, separating those with a true passion for writing from those who are more visual or aural. Various people will gravitate toward the kinds of platforms that thrill them most, in other words.

Generally, technology will continue to become more invisible, and therefore the way it is ingrained into our day-to-day lives will become more seamless. And those driven to deliver content will still be using it to keep writing, and/or speaking, sharing their opinions and knowledge and research, and finding all kinds of new friends, communities and audiences just the same.


Thank you, Ann, for taking the time to participate in this week's "Four Questions" segment!

Snoqualmie Joe

A dear friend of mine hosts the Snoqualmie Joe Podcast in the village of Snoqualmie, about thirty miles east of Seattle. Snoqualmie Joe drives a bus for a living. Five nights a week, he provides a valuable service to the residents of King County. During his spare time, he produces thirty podcasts a year. His topics range from griping about dog poo to caring for the safety of children riding scooters to politics to the development of a casino.

Last fall, during the November elections, Snoqualmie Joe hosted shows with most of the candidates running for offices in Snoqualmie. In the week prior to the election, three hundred people downloaded his shows. On election day, nine hundred people voted. It is entirely possible that Snoqualmie Joe influenced the decisions of up to a third of all active voters in Snoqualmie.

Recently, Snoqualmie Joe talked about a controversial road development linking new and established neighborhoods, and the public's negative reaction to comments made by the Mayor. Two weeks later, the Mayor called Snoqualmie Joe, asking for an opportunity to communicate with the residents of Snoqualmie via Snoqualmie Joe's podcast.

Snoqualmie Joe will probably never become famous, or earn millions of dollars, or even make a living doing his hobby. Snoqualmie Joe will educate the public. He will provide an invaluable public service. He will directly influence this November's the elections, on a local level.

Every one of us has the ability to achieve our potential, using the tools God gave us. Snoqualmie Joe translated his authentic, genuine, real, hilarious, honest, and unique personality into the relatively new field of podcasting, and in the process, became an invaluable part of the fabric of Snoqualmie.