In reading Steve Rubel’s post yesterday about the Magic T of Marketing, I was struck, that while there is some good thinking there (sans the terrible cat linguist example :-), I think that there is a major flaw in the idea. The Magic T should be “The Magic Anchor.”
My thinking is in line with Malcolm Gladwell’s Law of the Few in his book “The Tipping Point,” and the role that connectors, mavens and salesmen play in spreading an idea or product.
The blogosphere is full of these types. These people, once convinced, can help to push a tipping point, so why not start the engagement phase first with these deep pockets of influencers, then use this group to anchor and guide the overall push with more traditional means?
A good, if not complete example of this hybrid idea, is BlogHer’s new Advertising Network, as described by Jeremy Pepper on Tuesday.
Essentially, BlogHer is leveraging its already existing community to form advertising channels, Jeremy calls them silos, that corporate sponsors can leverage to promote products or services. The first partner is Sweet Simplicity Sweetener and the channel is called “Meet the Parents.”
There is some sort of revenue-sharing model with the bloggers that isn't disclosed at the BlogHer site.
However, I am convinced a similar effort could be employed using public relations and identifying channels to help build an ever widening base that could be anchored by the marketing program. It would also anchor the wide reach PR program as news media are increasingly looking at the Buzz on the Internet when formulating stories.
To find out more about Malcolm’s ideas about mavens, connectors and salesmen, go to his site and take the test to find out if you are a connector.
(Disclosure: my blog is listed at BlogHer, but I am not involved in the leadership or advertising network)
