In case you needed more proof of how different people use different technology…

What can you learn about marketing from the water company? I recently posted an interview with Alan Heymann, the Director of Public Affairs of the Washington, DC Water and Sewer Authority, about how the water company, DC Water and Sewer, uses social and online media to help their customers and embrace today’s communication channels.

But what can we learn from him? What can we learn about marketing from a public utility? It turns out … a lot!  Read more...

• Alan’s 21 year old sister-in-law doesn’t e-mail. E-mail has been around for over 30 years and is quickly becoming passe. Don’t rely on e-mail.

If anyone in your company is telling you that social media marketing is just for technology companies, or techno wizzes or high tech, and not appropriate for B2B, don’t just tell them that they are behind the times — show them an example of the most “drab” of industries that have embraced today’s social environment: The Washington, DC Water and Sewer Department.

Social is today’s culture — it’s how we interact. Many 20 and 30 somethings are going to take a picture of a pothole and post it on Twitter instead of calling and reporting it. They might not call customer service about a bad product experience — but they will tweet about it! They also won’t write you a letter when they had an enjoyable experience, but they might share a picture on Flickr or talk about their experience on Facebook or LinkedIn. It’s not optional. It’s how people communicate today.

One organization that gets it is the DC Water and Sewer Authority – recently rebranded as “DC Water.” Now, if anyone was not supposed to “get it” it’s the water company, particularly in a city that has had decades of urban problems and a bad reputation (trust me, I grew up hearing about DC as a Washington native), but has been making significant improvements in the last several years.

When I first saw this rebranding I was shocked and amazed. I decided to interview Alan Heymann, DC Water’s Director of Public Affairs, who was extremely responsive — one of the cardinal rules in social media — and thoughtful.

Worth noting that Alan Heymann, who is in charge of social media efforts is the Director of Public Affairs, holds a journalism degree from Northwestern, and a law degree from George Washington University. They aren’t leaving their social media efforts to some unpaid intern, but recognizing its strategic importance as an integral part of their overall communications strategy.  Read more...

People aren’t loyal to old brands — they want products and services that will make their life better – and it doesn’t matter if it’s 100 years old or 100 days old.

Last week I posted an article describing three reasons why the public didn’t believe BP when it said it was taking responsibility for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and would pay all the costs of the cleanup. The reasons I gave—that BPs communication about its commitment was “too little, too late and under the wrong circumstances”—represent only the tip of the proverbial iceberg of public relations blunders made by the oil Goliath and its spokespersons in the weeks since the April 20 catastrophe.

BP has, in fact, violated a good many of the cardinal rules of crisis communication, including these:  Read more...

Last month, I had the pleasure of seeing TBWA’s Chief Digital Officer, Colleen DeCourcey speak at Com.Vention, the largest Internet conference in Israel. Focusing primarily on digital marketing and digital innovation (as Israel is a known innovation hub), the conference featured innovators like Answers.com (based in Israel and the 55th most popular website in the world), Robert Scoble, face.com, Google, and technological innovation. Most people spoke about the sociological and marketing implications of social media, the radical implications of Facebook’s new Like feature, and how digital marketing is changing society. My favorite quote from Google EMEA head Meir Brand: “In the future, we won’t be talking about digital marketing, just marketing.” But, beyond speaking about technology, TBWA’s Chief Digital Officer, Colleen DeCourcey, spoke not about technology – but about art – and how technology can help us tell stories that weren’t possible before.  Read more...