Customer Reviews

The Open Brand: When Push Comes to Pull in a Web-Made World

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Anyone who is involved in marketing, product development, sales, public relations, or customer service should read this book.

Traditionally, companies have developed their message and pushed it out to their customers--this is push marketing. Companies would push demand through the sales channels. So, the various efforts were company-driven: product development, marketing, sales, and customer service, to name a few.

Today, the marketing model is increasingly a pull model. Customers pull demand through the various channels. And not just to the companies--but to a vast network of other people. This massive customer communication puts customers, not companies, in the driver's seat. If marketing is a show, the audience of customers now controls the stage. This is why a book like The Open Brand matters.

The book consists of four Parts. Part One consists of three chapters. These focus on the concept of "Open." The author has an acronym:

O: On-demand.
P: Personal.
E: Engaging.
N. Networked.
These describe today's marketing environment. While customers are empowered due to online tools such as Instant Messaging, e-mail, blogs, and communities, the effects of their communications reach well beyond the online world into every nook and cranny of the offline world as well.

Part II discusses the iCitizen. The power of the consumer is far different from what it was a few years ago. What is this power, and how did the iCitizen end up with it? Who are iCitizens? Who has more influence--a few celebrities, or thousands of regular people who all have a voice? Part II answers these questions and more. It also explains how and why the iCitizen can be both the medium and the message.

Part III explains the response to the iCitizen. It presents a strategic framework that allows a company to make sense of Part I (the social Web) and Part II (the iCitizen). It discusses the two trends that, more than any others, anchor the open brand framework:

The emergence of consumer notoriety. This is in stark contrast to what has historically been consumer anonymity with regard to brands (and the world). Now consumers can be highly visible, almost instantly. The implications are profound.
The emergence of creative production. This is in stark contrast to simple, uncritical consumption. Today, we have a dazzling array of engaging online activities that didn't exist just a few years ago. Someone writes a blog or releases a video, and a viewpoint (good or bad) can easily go viral.
Part IV is titled "Getting to Open." It's based on what the authors call "The Four OPEN Experiences." Different people experience the Web in different ways. The authors classify these as:

Collectively inclined icitizens believe "I connect."
Cultural change agents believe "I am."
Digital competence seekers believe "I can."
Celebrity-motivated icitizens believe "I matter."
Do you know which group (or experience) has the most power? The answer may surprise you, and that's OK. What's not OK is not learning the answer and doing something about it. What you do, exactly, depends on several interdependent factors. Part IV addresses those.

When you're done reading this book, you'll have an understanding of who is really driving many of the choices companies make. More importantly, you'll have a framework for developing a suitable response with long-term viability.

The book has an appendix with a glossary, acknowledgements, and index.

As social networking via the Internet continues to explode and branch off into new avenues, it is inevitable that standard advertising methods are becoming increasingly antiquated and ineffective. According to Kelly Mooney and Nita Rollins in The Open Brand: When Push Comes to Pull in a Web-Made World, today's tech-savvy consumer demands a larger role in brand establishment. More importantly, the influence they wield over prospective customers is unlimited.

Successful brands know that in order to build a reputation and gather repeat customers, they must create an interactive, on-demand experience for the public. Easily accessible reviews, forums, and 24/7 customer service are minimum requirements. The days of static sites are past and brick-and-mortar stores are finding it more difficult to operate without Web accessibility. Customers demand a personalized experience that focuses on their own unique needs rather than a generic message.

In addition, a brand must appeal to a customer's sense of ego and identity. Shoppers rely more than ever on the suggestions of friends, viewing standard advertising as seedy manipulation. Today's consumers can easily train themselves to ignore ads and commercials. But knowledgeable friends and colleagues are not limited to those consumers interact with on a personal level. The Internet has propelled a legion of nobodies to seemingly overnight fame and continues to uncover new celebrities on a daily basis.

Here we arrive at the core message of The Open Brand, that anybody, anywhere, has the ability to make a brand through simple word of mouth, using the Internet as a platform. Part two chronicles the "rise of the iCitizen," noting seventeen influential self-made online celebrities, including Dane Cook, Perez Hilton, and Harriet Klausner, and why industries should care what they have to say. YouTube, MySpace, and Blogger are just some of the outlets that allow any average person to experience their "15 minutes of fame."

Mooney and Rollins have an eye for trends, and focus on several companies that have already successfully immersed themselves in this new arena of branding. Much of the book lists suggestions for building a brand and utilizing the limitless resources the Internet has to offer. As a blogger, I was particularly interested in the authors' emphasis on the influence us common folk have. It is clear they consider bloggers an important outlet to marketing. They also list some pretty surprising regulations that most people probably aren't even aware exist. The glossary is also a useful tool. Until I read this book, I used RSS on a daily basis, but never knew what the acronym stood for. Now I do.

The layout of the book's graphics and text makes its source (marketing experts) apparent. Large, attention-grabbing fonts and contrasting colors create a fun reading experience. The messages are short, to the point, and effective. The principles within could be utilized by large companies or the blogger next door, but are essential for building a name in the current state of networking.

As I read this slender but remarkably thought-provoking volume, I was reminded of Henry Chesbrough's breakthrough insights about what he calls "the open business model" and the open mindset it requires. "A business model performs two important functions: it creates value and it captures a portion of that value. It creates value by defining a series of activities from raw materials through to the final consumer that will yield a new product or service with value being added throughout the various activities. The business model captures value by establishing a unique resource, asset, or position within that series of activities, where the firm enjoys a competitive advantage."

Having thus established a frame-of-reference, Chesbrough continues: "An open business model uses this new division of innovation labor - both in the creation of value and in the capture of a portion of that value. Open models create value by leveraging many more ideas, due to their inclusion of a variety of external concepts. Open models can also enable greater value capture, by using a key asset, resource, or position not only in the company's own business model but also in other companies businesses."

This is precisely what Kelly Mooney and Nita Rollins have in mind when explain when charting the same trajectory of consumer empowerment discussed in Mooney's first book, The Ten Demandments: Rules to Live By in the Age of the Demanding Consumer. The Open Brand "examines what few could have predicted: The extent of consumers' overwhelming motivation for and adeptness at being heard, making a mark, controlling their experiences, sharing products, and sharing opinions....Marketers have to rethink their approach in the face of the mounting power and reach of consumers - both as individuals and communities...The next step is to stage and support experiences that pull customers into brand participation in a way that's relevant to their lives."

As the title of their book indicates, Mooney and Rollins insist that a brand must be O.P.E.N.: On-demand, Personal, Engaging, and Networked. That is, whatever today's consumers are seeking, they want it - and often get it - "right now." Also, it is imperative to bring the given brand as close as possible to each consumer's real-time needs, wants, and expectations. Moreover, brand marketers must development content that is "immersive, participatory and relevant in order to earn a place in the social web and consumer conversations" because open brands must provide "meaningful and engrossing experiences that foster consumer relationships online - and off." Finally, open brands must "become part of social networks by marketing to the niche of communal consumers who interact with other like-minded consumers online." These are not merely desirables. They are imperatives. Mooney and Rollins explain why...and they also explain how to think through the process by which to associate these attributes with any brand, be it a product, service, or person.

In essence, marketing's primary function is to create or increase demand. Without differentiation, all brands seem the same. Even when differentiation has been determined, however, it must be recognized as such by the target consumer. And even then, the challenge remains to position the differentiated brand so that it appeals to the target consumer in terms of its immediate availability, its relevance, its ability to provide "meaningful and engrossing experiences that foster consumer relationships online - and off," and offer the promise of being able to support and enrich interactive social networks.

Mooney and Rollins identify and briefly discuss eleven companies ("alpha openers" and "enablers" such as Amazon, Blogspot, Flickr, Google, and Wikipedia) "that have innovated or leveraged internet and telecommunications technologies to benefit consumers in new and significant ways." They briefly discuss a number of personal brands, "icitizens," to indicate "just how widely brands must cast their nets to catch up with these trendsetters, truth tellers and tastemakers." Of special interest is what they have to say about what they identify as "The Open Brand Metric System." (They provide a chart on Page 163 that consolidates all of the key points. This will facilitate, indeed expedite frequent review of those points later.) The details of this system are best revealed within Mooney and Rollins' narrative, in context. However, I can say now is that the information goes a long way toward answering the question "How formulate business objectives, foundation metrics, and emerging metrics for each of the four components of the O.P.E.N. system.

In the final chapter, they provide a distillation of some of the key themes for their reader to consider when "opening" her or his brand. I recommend that the material in this chapter be read and re-read with great care, then frequently reviewed later as well as the chart on Page 63. Credit Mooney and Rollins with providing a wealth of information as well as their own suggestions to those who are struggling to market a brand in a global marketplace in which there are more opportunities than ever before to connect, to create interaction, and most importantly, to respond effectively to the needs and interests of consumers who have more power and less patience then ever before.

* * * * *

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Chesbrough's Open Innovation: Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating And Profiting from Technology and the more recent Open Business Models: How to Thrive in the New Innovation Landscape as well as two books by Marty Neumeier, The Brand Gap (Expanded Edition) and the more recent Zag: The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands.

There are two schools of thought on the role of the 'expert' in consulting industries: (1) it's our job to be the smartest guy in the room on our 'best at' subject or (2) it's our job to make our client feel like the smartest guy in the room.

Mooney/Rollins definitely fall in the latter. They've built a book that converges all the big ideas and groundswell of momentum around the social Web into a simple story on impact and action.

One that any marketer would find accessible and very quotable.

I say 'built a book' because it's the structure that agency wonks will be attracted to. A visual approach to the ideas and concepts we talk about every day, repeatable cases and solid frameworks.

For clients and converts, it's all content.

Tons of fresh, smart ideas that will have you scribbling notes in the margins.

There's a plethora of books out there about Web 2.0, Social Media, Twittering, and more...but what I love about this book is that it makes it all simple and obvious and intuitive. It cuts through the impenetrable jargon, and where jargon just can't be chiseled free, it clarifies and translates. The book satisfies the unmet marketer need for clarity and simplicity. It's also written by two industry leaders who "walk the talk" on all these principles.

What the authors are talking about is a new mindset...a new organizing principle...and a new consumer world order.

Great case studies, superb visuals, and extremely creative. It's a go-to guide for easy and continued reference. The glossary is particularly "actionable." A great book give to someone on your team who's doesn't get that the web is more than a tool, or just a "cool" technology.


- Pete

If you are only looking to read one book on how social media, and the open web, will change the way you market your brand, this book is not it. But the fact is, no one book can answer all of the questions that arise as marketers struggle with how to harness the power of the open web to help further their brand awareness.

That being said, Open Brand is a book that should be on every brand owner and corporate marketing executive's bookshelf. It opens your mind to the new way one needs to think about the customer, and the customer's impact on the marketing of the brand. It used to be that we could easily sell a brand to a consumer simply based on the features and benefits of the product, with a little bit of marketing thrown in. Today, the consumer is our collaborator, our product development team, our marketing voice, our influencer, and the job of a company is to open itself and let the consumer in, and provide that same consumer with the necessary tools to do his or her job in helping us build the brand.

The hardest thing for a company to do is to let go of its brand, and allow the consumers and influencers to "do their thing" without invoking too much control on what these consumers do, and how they do it. This book provides a unique and important perspective for the brand owner, helping them understand the importance of allowing the marketing, and the brand positioning, to be left Open to interpretation by the end user.

For all brand owners, I highly recommend this book. While it could have been slightly better written, it is a quick read, and well worth the few dollars it costs. I always feel that if you gain one piece of knowledge from a book, it is money well spent. I can assure you that after reading this book, you will have a better understanding as to the importance of allowing your brand and your corporate brand to be one that is Open. an investment worth making.

The first thought that comes to mind when I consider The Open Brand is consistency. Everything from the font size, color scheme, and layout are all consistently soft and modern and appear to form a brand unto it's own. When I had first read this book I was in the process of developing a branding company and the look and feel was and is definitely consistent with what I look for in a solid marketing book. The Open Brand provides a perfect mix of theory, defined jargon, and practical examples. A must read for anyone interested in modern branding and how to apply open branding concepts.

I am currently enrolled in a course at the Harvard Extension School on Social Media. After reading this book, it occurred to me what social media actually is! I think Kelly Mooney and Nita Rollins do an excellent job of spelling out (literally) what social media is and they also explain why companies and organizations need to get on the bandwagon and utilize this new media in the marketing plans.

The title alone prepares you for the onslaught of terminology and philosophy to come in this book. OPEN is the operative word in Social Media philosophy. I am a user of social media both personally and professionally, however I didn't understand exactly what I was engaging in. The Open Brand explains how I watch TV. , enjoy a meal or read a book. Reviewing a restaurant on Yelp.com or sharing a book I read with a friend through Amazon are ways in which I engage. I now understand how my behavior affects the market place.

There are pluses and minuses for businesses in adopting social media. It is the "openness," is the sore spot for traditional marketers, however Mooney and Rollins explain ways in which marketers can embrace openness and use it to their advantage.

Reading this book was probably one of the smartest moves I could make career wise. I feel seriously enlightened. Thank you!

This is a tiny book containing some huge ideas, and gorgeously designed. It is a pleasure to view and to hold. The central conceit of The Open Brand revolves around the careful reverse-engineering of a false-acronym etymology for the word "O.P.E.N.": On-demand, Personal, Engaging, and Networked. Kelly Mooney has a gift for taking enormously complex ideas and making them easy-to-digest, as well as for restating common-sense into a practical distillation for those whom it might not be common-knowledge.

In her breakdown, on-demand refers to the rise, and expectation, of instant-gratification consumerism. Personal means discovering and acknowledging at a granular level the uniqueness of each potential or actual customer, and providing tailored services through constant dialogue. Engagement is emotional; long-tail interactive and meaningful relationship-building. Networked calls specifically to social media: it's about acknowledging the viral value of each consumer, finding homes for brands in users' communal online niches.

The foursquare of the OPEN brand is supplemented by four C's denoting "icitizen" user-populations, broken down not by age or other standard demographic metrics, but by skill and comfort level in the new social medium: competence (I can), corresponding to the on-demand-ness of a brand; collectivism (I connect), corresponding to engagement; cultural change (I am), corresponding to networks; and celebrity (I matter), corresponding to the P in OPEN. These are arrayed on a spectrum in which competent users have few, but strong, online connections and meaningful conversational relationships with their connections (they excel at closing on purchasing decisions), through celebrity users who have a vast number of weak ties; their words carry further (they excel at raising brand awareness). Marketers can find value at any point in this spectrum.

It's hard to do justice to her ideas, and to her explication of these ideas, in such a small space. In such a tiny and concise book, the fact that entire chapters are dedicated to digital millennials, to metrics, and to copyright law in a user-generated world underscore the importance of these concepts without giving them short shrift. This is a companion volume: slim, elegant, and the one that you will refer to again and again. It defines the grammar of a brave new world.

This is a quick read loaded with insight and data that every smart business person should read if they want to stay current and embrace the concept of opening up their brand.