In the beginning of March, a panel convened at Kent State University, OH, after the primary, to discuss how technology is empowering individuals to participate in the 2008 election. As The Strategist reported, new media experts included Matt Dickman, VP of Digital Marketing at Fleishman-Hillard and author of Techno//Marketer.

The conversation revolved around the implications of Web 2.0 on the political process. While the potential to connect with citizens is much greater than it has ever been, much of it remains still unrealized. The same rings true for marketers. There is still a frank conversation we need to have about getting mixed up in thinking that the platforms and media is as far as it goes.

That is still not far enough.

The capability and capacity for two-way communications have still not gotten us to truly connect with constituents - our customers. Closer, yes, but the availability is not yet there to make it a conversation. For that to happen it needs to be:

Personal - one-to-one

How do you reach your customers at a personal level? Technology can help us see what is important to individuals. How can you talk to your customers about what is important to them? Let’s be honest, if you cannot tell that your customer just dropped $5k in your store - and what they bought - you have a lot of system work to do. Remember that people should drive systems, not the other way around. Put the rules in place to run the right queries. An extension of that in Web 2.0 language is to know what your customers are talking about. Digital is pretty permanent.

Spreadable - one-to-one-to-many

Most ideas spread not because of what you said, but because of what others, peers and members of the population, said in response to each other. Today, there’s a global transparency, an ability to see different perspectives from remote geographies, that we never thought possible in the past. With the abundance of information, no one person can hold in their brains all the facts, so your customers build off each other, through stories. Stories are inspired by great experiences, by affinity. What’s your story?

Spontaneous

Just like the flash mobs. They can gather in minutes to support an issue, and be strongly organized around that, to then disband and reform around another issue at the drop of a hat. What holds these spontaneous demonstrations together, the glue, is passion for a cause - the opportunity - and inspiration from peers - authorities who have “social” capital. Anything can happen, anything goes, and unless you are prepared to move fluidly with the crowd, you may be run over. Are you developing a sense of your core? Many organizations (and politicians) have been caught short with their messages and desire to control them. How fluid are you? How good you are on your feet depends on having your feet on, and ears to, the ground.
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With all this at play, why would political candidates spend time rebuffing each other, when they could invest that time talking with you? Can you think of a good reason why marketers would want to do the same? The best wins are those of heart and mind.

The best way to win both is involvement, engagement. Make it personal, spreadable, and spontaneous. More and more, people do choose to vote with their wallets.

I am waiting for the moment when the light bulb goes off: this blogger is my customer. That is PR 2.0, ladies and gentlemen. The sooner you realize that, the better your conversation gets. Instead of asking yourself: how can I send this pitch in a way that all these bloggers will publish it? Ask: how can I talk about my service and product to a potential customer?

Remember when we were talking about advertising that way not a year or so ago? Well, we may still be talking about it that way. You’ve got to stop treating your customers like they are morons - they are your (increasingly) daughter, too. If you think of it that way, wouldn’t your whole attitude towards the medium change?

So, now that you know that bloggers are your customers, what are the thoughtful steps you will take to open a dialogue with them?

1. First off, lose the attitude. They owe you nothing. Just because you are showing up announced in their email box, it does not mean they should even read your message. There are many messages just like yours piling in their in box.
2. Then figure out if who you are trying to reach is a match for what you’d want to say. It begins with listening, in this case reading. What is the author writing about? What if you find out that that blogger does not write about what you’ve got? Go out of your way to connect them with content they want, as a kind gesture. You may know where it is.
3. You do that and add a third step, depth. See, bloggers are proud about what they write, and they like to have a special angle for their readers. Have you got one to offer? It will probably not take you long to ascertain what the core interests of both readers and author. Look at the list of topics and see which ones have the most entries.
4. Do you want to score points? Continue a conversation they started at their blog. I know, I know, that would mean you’d actually want to pay attention to what they write about. This is not exactly the same as pitching main stream media. This means reading more closely, contributing to the conversation in a meaningful way to the blogger. He selects his content, not his editor.
5. Talk with them (not at them) as if they were your customer, chance are they may very well be. When you do that, keep it real. Be yourself, answer additional questions honestly, go out of your way to be helpful. Bloggers don’t mean to be difficult, they are generally busier than main stream media - in many cases, the blog is not their day job.

Has the light bulb gone off, yet?

Chances are you know someone who reads product labels while eating, especially when eating alone. It’s natural to be curious about what you eat. I’ve seen people engrossed in that kind of reading. H.J. Heinz Company knows a thing or two about interacting with its customers through a label.

Although Heinz tomato ketchup has been around since 1875, it’s still a staple on the tables of your favorite diners and fast food places, and chances are in your refrigerator. In fact, the product is so well known, that it might running the risk of being taken for granted - part of the décor. Many of us are passionate consumers of the famed ketchup. You might not be surprised to learn that Heinz receives letters and emails from its customers.

Do you remember a while back the “Talking Label” campaign? How about the “Say something Ketchuppy” contest? I do, they were both fun initiatives that featured catchy phrases and quotes on the product’s most prized real estate - the labels. What better vehicle for a viral campaign than this already visible (and famous) space? If you’re like me, for some items, you pay attention to the label.

Heinz was at it again last year with a “Top This TV” online contest. They allowed customers to enter videos submissions of a TV ad - the winner would take a spot in the 2007 Emmy Awards. Linking the site to YouTube for submission was a good step to popularize the contest. And that it did.

The Winner

Who won the first prize? “Heinz the Kissable Ketchup” by Andrew Dodson of Wheelersburg, Ohio was aired during the Emmies and Andrew got to take home the $57,000 prize. Four runner-ups took each $5,700 each in prize money and got to brag about their spots being aired during The Today’s Show. That is 5 people selected from over 6,000 entries resulting in 10 million online views – about 120,000 hours of people interacting with the brand, according to Smith Brothers Advertising, the agency that worked on the campaign.

Heinz picked a smart time frame to run the contest – the Fourth of July week-end. Ready with your ketchup bottles?

The Results

Base volume growth was about 4% and according to Heinz North America, sales have gone up by 13% year-over-year after the campaign was over. The contest was so successful, that Heinz repeated it with “Take 2″ in December 2007.

Now, could you pass me the ketchup? Or maybe we should say could you pass it on?