Book Review: The Open Brand - Making the Transition
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Transitioning from a closed brand to an open one isn't easy. It requires changes in attitudes. How do you measure success, for example? The authors deliver by starting the fourth section off with a list of metrics covering the four kinds of experiences discussed in the previous section. They include both metrics that are currently used (i.e. click-through rates) and metrics that are beginning to emerge (i.e. task completion rates).
The authors then show how to apply the metrics by using a couple of examples of businesses trying to reach different audiences. The examples illustrate the necessity for different approaches depending on which experience you are trying to optimize (on-demand, personal, engaging, or networked). It also shows how you might tell where a particular approach is running into problems.
If you still feel jittery about opening your brand, it's understandable; there have been a number of cases of brand openings going awry. The authors rightly mention Chevy Tahoe's 2006 mashup campaign, in which "some of the over 30,000 videos created at a dedicated web site came from environmental detractors using biting humor as a weapon against gas-guzzling SUVs." This is the kind of thing for which you need to be prepared if you open your brand.
There are also potential intellectual property issues. The courts are just beginning to deal with these. The authors cover both the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and the FAIR USE Act, which was introduced in Congress in February 2007 in an attempt to loosen the restrictions of the DMCA. They also discuss technological ways in which web sites are dealing with the DMCA (i.e. automated detection of copyrighted content). If you're thinking of opening your brand, you will need this information.
This is also the section where you will learn about some mistakes to avoid, such as "flogging," or fake blogging. Both Wal-mart and Sony get their just desserts here. On the other hand, you will see examples worth emulating, too, such as Dell's slow but successful transition in opening up to consumers; for example, it began offering Linux on its machines in response to ideas on IdeaStorm, an online community where customers can submit ideas for Dell products.
This section ends with a five-page distillation of the major themes covered in the rest of the book. This is followed by a useful glossary. This book may be small in size, but it serves as a very useful introduction to the subject of the open brand. I'd even venture to say that brand marketers and SEOs may want to read it more than once. It may not tell you how to optimize your title tags, but it will help you think about strategy and the "big picture" when it comes to getting your brand noticed in all the right places.
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