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B2BM
April 2009
12
Reviews
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Go to www.b2bm.biz/features
Book review Event review
Meatball Sundae Exploiting social media
by Seth Godin
Jed Murphy,
in B2B marketing
Lawrence Mitchell, Reed
Carlson Marketing Business Information
In the old world, products and Format: Half day conference
services (the ‘meatballs’) were Date: March 4
successfully promoted via TV and Venue: Century Club, London
mass-media communications. It Organised by: B2B Marketing
was a formula that worked for and Mardev
decades. But the advent of the
Internet has changed the rules. Around 120 B2B marketers
Godin believes that most gathered at the trendy Century
brands make the mistake of trying Club in Shaftsbury Avenue in early
to apply new marketing techniques March. I was one of them, and like
to their existing mass-marketing my peers, I was keen to hear how
The issue of ROI from social
strategies. some marketers have successfully
media was raised
He calls this the ‘sundae integrated social technology tools
topping’; the array of new digital and media into their overall mix. be afraid to offer your proposition
media and social networking, The key take-aways of the event as a solution to a problem.
Title: Meatball Sundae: blogs, YouTube and Twitter. And were that social media allows Inevitably, as an audience of
How new marketing is trying to graft new marketing marketers to engage with marketers working through a
transforming the business world techniques onto old business communities that would previously challenging economic
(and how to thrive in it) models is as appealing as a sundae be almost impossible to reach. environment, the question of ROI
Authors: Seth Godin topping on a dish of meatballs. In However, just like a face-to-face came up. The response from the
Published by: Piatkus fact, new marketing is very poor at interaction, there are rules to follow. panel was that social media should
Reviewed by: Jed Murphy, selling meatballs. Instead, Firstly, think of social media as be thought of as evolution rather
interactive director, Carlson businesses should restructure their a place to have a conversation, than revolution. You can measure
Marketing organisation to cope with changes rather than a channel to push many things – engagement and
in customer expectations and messages through. conversions, response to surveys,
Back in 1999 Seth Godin changed behaviours. Secondly, as always, be clear on the number of users suggesting
the relationship marketing Godin outlines 14 trends that objectives, so that you know what ideas and voting etc.
landscape with the concept of are fundamentally changing the success looks like. All agreed that if you have a
‘permission marketing’. He business world. Each is described in Thirdly, become comfortable not large audience of relevant people
predicted the end of interruption his easily-digestible style and being able to control every engaging with each other around
marketing and a new era of backed by plenty of real-world element of the message, but don’t your brand, it can’t be a bad thing.
customer opt-in and engagement. examples. He also references
A decade later, and permission influential thinking of recent years,
marketing is a widely accepted such as McConnell & Hubba’s ‘One
norm, backed by data protection per cent rule’ and Chris Anderson’s
legislation that has caught up in ‘the Long Tail’.
the intervening period. His latest Meatball Sundae is a wake-up
book demonstrates just as much call for all marketers struggling to
foresight. combine their old world business
Godin’s core idea is that the models with the challenges
advent of ‘new marketing’ – a term provided by the Internet and digital
he coins for the combination of media. This is an essential, if not
over a dozen trends – has changed always appetising, read.
the fundamentals of the discipline. Jed.Murphy@carlson-europe.com Over 120 B2B marketers attended the event at the Century Club
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