nuance intelligence

In case some of you thought the blogosphere was simply a haven for losers in basements worldwide, the INSIGHT blog from EyeTraffic Media highlights a recent study from TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony that includes some good data:

• 49% of senior marketing executives believe that social media should be monitored at the executive level and be allocated significant resources
• Uses of social media: 37% said to gain consumer insight, 21% said to build brand awareness, 18% said to increase customer loyalty
• 88% of U.S. senior marketing executives (65% global) agreed that reading and analyzing social media to understand unfiltered consumer perceptions would have the most impact on the future of their businesses
• 50% of senior marketing executives said creating a user community of bloggers to provide user feedback is the most effective use of social media
• 47% of senior marketing executives said using social media vehicles to generate a viral campaign would also be very effective in a product launch

What’s the nuance? While this might seem like good news for our burgeoning consultancy, I’m concerned that it will continue to add noise to the already crowded ‘sphere, and the worst kind of noise, at that — corporate marketing speak. Only if they can understand the cluetrain manifesto’s primary point, that markets are conversations, and speak with their real voice will they have a chance of creating some signal (even Microsoft seems to get it). And if the marketers can’t distinguish between viral and organic marketing, they will succeed in further isolating themselves from the market, exactly the opposite of their goals. Evolve or die.