Twitter a Brand Extension

Brand extensions come in many forms. Hoot suite is an online dashboard for people who embrace the emergent platform Twitter.  I’ve been coached by three uber-technologists who are associates of my organization. I’ve also engaged in a couple of functions with University Students who've lectured about leveraging online utilities.

My way into the Twitter universe has included the four steps of brand assimilation.

1. Observation
2. Touch point
3. Coaching to assimilation
4. Assimilate and share

Observation

From the point of view of brand touch point of course naming is central to creating personality. The name after all is a core element in building a following and creating equity. I had to overcome the name. 

I admit as well I had no following so the idea that I would initiate the brave new Twitter universe without anyone to receive outgoing tweets while Mashable, Kyle Braatz and the remarkably terse armano were leading armies of Twitter patriots. 

Touch point

Touch points happen when people become introduced to one another, products services, lodging, entertainment the touch point/experience is central to brand building or not. The laws of persuasion go into effect or fail. Twitter suddenly was ubiquitous when my good friend in England Matt Lipsey had us to his home in London the timing lined up for witnessing his debut television show airing in the summer 2008 overseas. The show he directed airs today and is known as Psychoville. My 13 year old son Harry was with me when we had the pleasure of celebrating this Television show in his living room while it was broadcast on Tele’s across the country. Subsequent to the show Twitter was on overdrive with audience members showing a collective upload praising the production in mass tweeting. The shows rating spiked to 2nd after some event in the middle east on the UK twitter roster. The cross media effect evident in this example where old media and new media now intertwine to communicate "brand" validates how social media is relevant and powerful as effective media for reach to market. This is good news for individuals and organizations who wish to extend their unique brand augmenting Twitter to achieve their marketing objectives.

That touch point was quite informative as was Matt’s very cool and level response to the overwhelming positive rating of his Directorship. Certainly the Psychoville debut event was a meaningful experience in the company of my son, my life time friend and his family.

Coaching to assimilation

Often brand buy in is enabled by a coach, educator or a great sales person or an expert.

We're privileged to have capable people in our midst. Among us we have people who bring great depth specifically in areas dealing in the design/brand, writing, technology space. People who have pulled me out of fires on many occasions and who have built the stable business we operate.

We’ve had to stay on top of online technologies in support of our client’s mandates ensuring they receive value. We’ve aligned with our clients and introduced unique solutions to meet their aspirations and build their brands. We have partnered with clients who are making considerable investment and raising their presence through reaching out to audiences and leveraging social media.  Twitter is one of many options.

I called in the experts.

Assimilate and Share

Three weeks back I had about 24 followers.
I was on the Hoot Suite dashboard that Andy Church instructed me on.

I came upon the following tweet.

RT @armano: If there is ONE article you should read over the weekend. It's THIS. http://ow.ly/1p0Tg

This quip demonstrates the functionality of twitter. I see the utility as a LINK distribution channel.
Essentially the field allows the user to write a headline. (if we think in publishing terms) The core content which in the Twitter universe is extensive, varied and rich is found through drilling down from the link. Twitter users are sharing information to drive interest to audiences and create followings. The link above led me to a useful post that defined one persons philosophy about the impacts and opportunities of a networked society. That information “share” crystallized value about Twitter and purpose. I realize the unique attributes Twitter offers today and see tremendous value for clients, stakeholders and others who have an interest in continual learning. The Twitter universe extends your brand to the global village. 

Design thinking and Storytelling

A year in the making of a documentary film certainly has been an experience that I’m unable to sum up here in a short blog post. The culmination of many people giving of there time and support to bring the story to life.

The documentary chronicles an extraordinary profile of leaders who share their perspectives through rich storytelling. They share their memories and legends set against the remarkable backdrop of James Bay Northern Quebec.

An account of "David and Goliath" proportions the James Bay Northern Quebec Cree in the early 1970’s have been inhabitants from time immemorial with a growing population of roughly 5000. They were established over a region the size comparable to England in remote communities.  The communities they lived in had no connecting roads. Intercommunity communications was limited. There territories include a magnificent watershed of lakes, tributaries and rivers streaming through dense boreal forest, wetlands and bogs. In fact the Cree to this day trap beaver using techniques that decades earlier were effective when they played a central role alongside the Europeans in the fur trade boom. The first Hudson Bay Post was established at Rupert House today known as Waskaganish.

The Cree used the Rupert River as an inland thruway for traversing their Canoe caravans west toward the Bay to bring their cache of pelts to the Europeans who in turn loaded the fur onto ships. Ships once loaded crossed the Atlantic Ocean back to Europe. The fur was crafted into hats and other fashion. At the time the Cree were part of a multi-national enterprise long before the notion of globalization was in vogue.

Robert Bourassa was the premier at the time in the 1970’s his administration began a massive hydro electric project in the far north squat in the centre of the James Bay Cree territories. These two forces the James Bay Northern Quebec Cree and Quebec Hydro Electric Utilities set the stage for what is one of the most legendary dynamics in Aboriginal history. The story treatment has profiled the central players sharing their perspective whom at that time asserted their rights, protected their traditional activities including hunting, fishing and trapping and preserved their territories against unbridled land development.

Storytelling is a persuasive technique that is central to understanding. We have a rich and diverse Northern Region in Canada that includes deep cultural heritage. The stories from the north unfortunately are being lost. Lack of investment by stakeholders combined with an aging population of Elders within northern Communities puts the concept of “preservation” on a narrow pending timeframe. 
I was in conversation with a leading expert in pedagogy from Canada’s west coast who has worked extensively with the Haida. She shared with me that just three First Nations languages remain vital and in use here in Canada many First Nations languages are now lost as generations pass away.

Of course the stories and knowledge disappear along with the languages this is a tragedy for generations of future Canadians specifically Aboriginal youth.

Design thinking applied to ethnology sustaining oral history and education is now at the forefront for me having gained an understanding of the James Bay Cree's leadership and innovation. 

In Canada we must act together to preserve our countries Aboriginal Elder’s original and authentic stories, that for centuries have been foundational to their peoples survival, education, values, conservation and beliefs.

From Jeremy Kuzub who wrote...

I noticed this neat angle on Google - it shows a lot of insight and thinking into their own product and is the fruit of some enlightened self reflection I think.

Why do people use Google? They follow that question to the human side of things and uncover the real value that they offer to people and articulate in a way that is fitting of their brand image. Be neat to hear what you think!

http://www.youtube.com/searchstories?utm_source=en-us-ctpt-display-ss&utm_medium=ha&utm_campaign=en

Feel free to forward,

Thanks!
Jeremy

Bob on Brand writes...

I took a look what is evident as you say is the Human side and how "search" is arguably an extension of our senses. We can have an information feast could be a snack, decadent meal, desert or some other form of consumption. I think its also cool how the interface design google created back when they first launched is essentially the same today. The site design has brilliant functionality credit to the people in their day who envisioned and engineered the largest archive ever.

google is a new phenomena by comparison to old distribution technologies ie: TV, Radio, Telephone. Marshall Mcluhan who was famous for the slogan "media is the massage" had an acute ability to define how these old medias changed human habits or defined impacts technologies played on our senses.

I recall he described TV as a hot media where anchors or commentators would do better job of conveying the news message if they used a more calm restful approach because this would result in a better capture by listeners/viewers of the broadcast. Wolf Blitzer it occurs to me is a hot commentator "highly wound up character" within a hot media this seems to me is an example of why the show "the situation room" is so hard to settle into. The broadcaster in these scenarios I believe is doing a disservice to the viewer. It's not long before the remote button channels away. Trouble with the format when the emotional amperage is so highly wound the sensationalism dilutes the essence of the news value.

Mcluhan made many fascinating observations about technologies the other apt reference he defined was "the global village" It would be great to hear a Mcluhanist prophetic explaining what this new form of media means, looking toward the future.

From a design perspective I think we're witnessing a major democratizing of information available to everyone. Including information that has varying degrees of value.

I see a new conversation emerging and its about design and making information meaningful.

Design of information and related technologies / process's will be paramount to competitive advantage and sustaining vital and progressive organizations. Eventually design will rank higher and emerge to the forefront. People recognize design value today as a core driver for changing perceptions, gaining market share or building investments..ie: Obama, iphone, Target, gordongroup ....

Jeremy of course you already practice engineering with design as a primary construct of your brilliant solutions. This is evident in the interactive web based learning modules you produce on behalf of the federal governments aerospace investment.

JEREMY'S WORK IS FEATURED IN AN EARLIER POST Making the Complex Clear

We're fortunate to have clients who partner with us in extraordinary design.

Your thoughts?

Bob