future

The future of work

Since the start of the year, I’ve been heading up our Social Business Consultancy here at 1000heads, and I’ve been spending a lot of my time this month listening rather than talking; seeking ideas from a huge range of people on what a ’social business’ of the future really should look like and the challenges in implementing some of those changes now.

Our social consultancy clients include Mars, Heineken, Nokia, Cancer Research UK, Veria and LocateTV, so we well know that being social can mean something very different depending on what sort of company you are – the approach has to be bespoke.

However, I’m also a believer in starting with what the ideal social business might be and being bold in challenging businesses to question and evolve themselves as radically as possible.

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Why you may want to know what a wikibrand is

All of you wonderful marketers, public relations, advertising and communications folks out there who have a lock on and already have a dialed in plan for social networking and the impact it will have on your brand and/or business need to read no further. For the rest of you, I suggest you may want to learn what a wikibrand is.

After beginning the book with a short history of on brands and the phases of brand development since 1860, co-authors Sean Moffitt and Mike Dover compare the period of transition to social we are now currently in, to the Mad Men period of transition from radio/print to television.

But the power to be gained by transitioning to a wikibrand mindset really comes from recognizing and developing a better understanding of, then leading your organization across the Marketing Divide (see below graphic). Even more importantly, the book explores how marketers, through leading the migration across this divide to a social future, have the opportunity to again elevate the marketing function to it’s rightful place leading the parade of an engaged and dynamically connected company and it’s community of customers.

The Marketing Divide

Not sure if this is another Mad men reference, but the authors also lay out and detail their FLIRT concept which represents Focus, Language and content, Incentives, motivation and outreach, Rules and rituals and lastly Tools and platforms. This represents the construct Moffitt and Dover recommend to build out a wikibrand and I will leave it to the authors to further convey as they explain fully in the book.

Once you’ve mastered the concepts around flirting, it’s time to get your wikibrand show on the road with what they describe as “Incubating Your Wikibrand Community” including sharing insightful methods for community development, internalization, management and of course measurement & metrics.

Wrapping up, in his Foreword to the book, “Reinvention of the Brand” Don Tapscott suggests this may be a seminal work and I tend to agree. I say this because too many marketers out there are still treating social as an oddity and handling it with their kid gloves. If Wikibrands does nothing else(and it does), it should through the logical analysis and evolutionary brand progression provided, lead marketers still offside with social to the realization that it is far from an oddity, but rather a portal to our emerging future.

Jeff Ashcroft

@TheSocialCMO

Full disclosure: For purposes of transparency, we did receive a review copy of the Wikibrands book.

Three Views On The Future Of The CMO

The world of marketing is undergoing a massive evolution, consider these three ideas shaping the future of the CMO.

1. Technology Transcendence

For kids today, technology is omnipresent. It’s just there, in everything they do. They are born digital natives. Technology is just a part of life (kinda like sliced bread is for us).

If you hold the highest marketing position in your company, it’s time you become a digital native too. Replace any fear of technology with the acceptance of it. It is no longer a separate “thing” to think about. It must be a part of your subconscious. You need to look through the technology lens and find all the ways it can help you.

2. The Collaborative Strategist

Did we really need the marketing automation software industry to be born to realize how important it is for marketing to be in lock step alignment with sales? One wouldn’t think so, yet it seems that it is the catalyst sparking more and more alignment conversations.

The CMO’s role is to open the door to collaboration and work together with your sales counterpart to determine the next best moves to optimize revenue growth.

3. An Open Point Of View

Working to control your marketing messages today is futile. It is no longer a battle that can be won. It’s time for the brand police to retire.

Changes to the way marketing messages are perceived and consumed have forced the need for a deeper understanding of consumption habits and an open approach to interacting and communicating with your customers. Consider the ease at which your message can be hijacked by consumers (think: BP Oilspill or Nestle), and you quickly realize why CMOs must relinquish control and be open.

How are you changing your view?

Jeremy Victor

Four Must Have Skills For Tomorrow’s Leaders

Every now and then it is important to take a personal inventory of your skills and abilities. I don’t mean an end of the year surface-level, quick, “hey, I’m great” type of thing. I’m talking about an honest, candid evaluation of yourself as a leader. A deep look inside.

Every time I have done this over the years, I also ask myself, “What skills do I need to develop to be more successful in the future?” There are four must have leadership skills on my list this year. They are:

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