TribalWorks

These are certainly interesting times in the global markets.  Of course, as in any downturn in the economy there will be a plethora of good buying opportunities that will only be revealed 2-4 years from now after a new breed of of stocks will hit record highs.

But I also think that this is a perfect time to look at the performance of organizations that do have strong tribes associated with them. 

• Will Apple and Harley-Davidson beat out their competitor in terms of maintaining sales?
• Will the Green Bay Packers and the Toronto Maple Leafs be able to continue with near sell-outs every game?
• Which non-profit organizations will be able to maintain and even increase their donor base and average donation per person? 

My hypothesis is that those organizations that continue to invest the resources to support the tribes will be outperform those that do not.

It is never too late to develop a Tribal Strategy for your organization.

According to this company blog, British Airways launched Metrotwin, a social networking site, in July 2008.  As of yet, they are still in the beta phase.

The concept of Metrotwin is as follows:

The online community provides expert recommendations on the best restaurants bars, shops, neighbourhoods and other places in both cities.

In addition, it helps users navigate the vast amount of internet information about the two cities and find the best content quickly.

It enables members to review, rate, save, create profiles, suggest ‘twins’, follow other members’ recommendations and make their own maps and lists.

The network also provides Amazon.com-style personalised recommendations based on user behaviour, and gives every place a score out of 100, which changes dynamically, based on user behaviour.

There are several issues I have with this: 

• I am not quite sure who they are targeting.  Will the membership base consist of (note: as of their Sept 13th blog post, they were planning on sending 4,000 invites out):
  • People who travel the NY-London route frequently?
  • Residents of NY/London who don’t fly often but know their restaurants and bars well?
  • Business travellers?  Tourists?
• What is the connecting thread between the people who will form this community?
  • The love of travel?
  • The love of good food? 
  • A sense of adventure to try new things?
• How much better is this site than other sources with the same information?
  • Network of friends
  • Restaurant guides
  • City guides
  • Other social networking sites

I still fail to see the value proposition in this venture - I think this is more a case of ‘Social networking is cool!  We need a social networking site!’ rather than a well thought out strategic decision.  But perhaps in a few weeks/months when the site is fully operational, I may have a different opinion.

Earlier in September I blogged about the decrease in viewers for the second episode of 90210.  There I gave 3 possible explanations:

• The first episode was hyped up and brought in casual viewers along with the die-hards
  • If this is the case, then we might see the ratings hold steady over the next few weeks
• The show’s formula does not connect with its viewers (i.e. characters, story lines, etc)
  • If this is the case, then we might see the ratings continue to slide
• The new show does not connect with the die-hard tribe of the original series
  • This may mean that the show will lose its previous fans but have an opportunity to create a new tribe

Now it seems, the ratings have shown a slight increase both in the US and Canada for the third episode.

The new 90210 launched on Sept. 2 with a two-hour episode that registered 4.9 million U.S. viewers. The second week saw that audience drop roughly by half; last week, 90210 drew 3.3 million viewers.

In this country, where the series airs on Global, the pilot garnered an impressive 1.3 million Canadian viewers; the second broadcast plunged to 664,000, while last week’s show rebounded slightly to 790,000.

Although it is too early to know what is happening, it looks like either the newer generation tribe may be sticking around and bringing in their friends or it may just be a blip.  It would be great to see what the numbers look like 4-5 episodes from now.

New York Fries, which I learned today is Canadian and has no locations in the US, has launched a new campaign targeting women

The new effort from Toronto-based New York Fries charts a novel course for fast food, targeting women ages 25 to 49 via ads in magazines like Chatelaine, Hello!, Flare, Canadian Living, People, Style at Home and Canadian House & Home.

The campaign, dubbed “Real Fries in a Fake World,” aims to establish the authenticity of New York Fries ingredients. In the creative, produced by Toronto-based Zig - New York Fries’ AOR for five years - real potatoes are portrayed among fake goodies.

The commonly held view is that women are becoming more health cautious so it is certainly very gutsy for them to be actively targeting women.  Although, I have a feeling that this may actually work and be a successful campaign.

It is too common for companies to go with the prevailing trend of the day.  The most recent popular trends companies are jumping on are ‘Being Green’ and ‘Healthy Lifestyles’.  Too often companies do not think about the people who do not fully buy into these trends - the anti-tribe.  Sure people want to be environmentally cautious, but they also don’t always want to walk half a block to pick up a jug of milk.  People want to be healthy, but they enjoy the occasional chocolate bar or cheeseburger.  This leaves a gap in the number of companies addressing a particular need or desire.  In this case, the NY Fries ads will probably be the only ones in those magazines advertsing an unhealthy snack - thus getting people’s attention.

Sure fires are not very healthy.  But so what?  Enough people tell them what to eat and how to look.  Many women may find it refreshing that NY Fries connects with their inner self who really wants a cup of fries every now and then.

Ever since Facebook decided to move to their new layout, users have been begging Facebook to shift back to the old layout or at the very least allow users the choice.  Numerous groups have started to protest this, including one purported to be encouraged by Marc Zomberg, the founder of Facebook (of course, I doubt Marc had anything to do with it.  Especially since his name is Mark Zuckerberg [Thanks Sumit for the heads-up]).

At the time of this posting, here are just a few of the Facebook groups and the member count:

• IF 10 MILLION JOIN MARC ZOMBERG WILL BRING BACK THE OLD FACEBOOK!:  971,354
• 1 000 000+ to bring back old facebook:  371,769
• I PREFER THE OLD FACEBOOK:  308,568
• Please Keep the Old Facebook.  The New Version is A Disaster:  474,965 

Those we just the ones I found with 100,000+ members.  There seem to be dozen more groups with 10-100,000 members and many more with fewer than 10,000.  Regardless, there seems to be a very strong contingent of users who are upset with Facebook’s move. 

This is a good example whereby the Facebook tribe pushes back on the company that ‘built’ it.  I breifly mentioned in yesterday’s post about how tribes sometimes turn on the companies that ‘created’ them.

It is ironic how Facebook’s own tools and purpose are now working against them.  Essentially, the created the condition for this new anti-tribe to nucleate and grow rapidly.

There is no shortage of angst many feel towards Microsoft for essentially cornering the PC market through what many perceive to be ‘not cool’ business tactics.  However, when I read this blog post that alleges that Apple rejected a mail app from being listed on their App Store, I couldn’t help but think that this was ‘not cool’.  The developer explains:

I submitted my application on July 17th. On August 29th I finally heard back from Apple:

… Your application duplicates the functionality of the built-in iPhone application Mail without providing sufficient differentiation or added functionality, which will lead to user confusion. …

This is an interesting claim since although handing email, my app is simply directly loading and showing Gmail inside of an application. How you can confuse Gmail with Mail.app I’m not sure.

Now, I do not know the whole story, I am just going by what was posted by the developer of the application.  Assuming this is true, this leads me to one of the following conclusions:

1. Apple just made up an excuse not to allow any competition to its built in iPhone app.
   • If this is the case, then Apple should take a lesson from Microsoft’s experience .  After all, many Apple product and brand lovers are people who were upset at Microsoft for forcing them to use certain applications (i.e. Internet Explorer, MS Office, etc).  If Apple thinks competition is good, then prove it.
2. Apple genuinely believes that this application is not that much different and thus, does not feel it deserves a spot in the App Store.
   • If this is the case, then Apple should remember its brand promise.  Apple seems to be all about choice.  Why else would they have dozens of different colours and styles for their products?  If this product truly is not different, then it will not sell.  But as long as the application functions the way it supposed to, Apple should let the consumer decide whether or not to buy it.

Generally, tribes are not too forgiving when companies stray too far from the perceived brand promise.  We have looked at several cases where the tribe turns on tribal leaders or even the company that ‘built’ the tribe (we’ll blog about these later).  Either way, I think the developer has a point when he says:

 If you’re going to have rules about this, enforce them across the board. The number of shitty apps in the store is off the charts and yet mine that actually works is getting blocked. 

It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

In early September, the CFL and Future Shop announced their improved push for the All-Star Ballot which will allow fans to vote for the All-Star teams for the East and West division.  In addition to an online voting platform, the CFL and Future Shop will do the following:

“This is the first year we’ve done a dedicated television spot to promote [voting],” said Hellyer. “The other layer we’ve added is an in-stadium activation in Vancouver, Winnipeg and Edmonton, where we’ve designed special all-star balloting towels to promote the contest and allow people to have a little fun with it.”

The idea is great.  Allowing the team and league fans to vote for their players is consistent with the CFL’s goal to be as fan friendly as possible.  Furthermore, the TV spots and the in-stadium activation will go a long way in rallying the tribe towards their favourite teams and players.

However, I think the selection of the athletes promoting the TV spots could have been done better.

At the forefront of the campaign is a television spot that features Toronto Argonauts quarterback Kerry Joseph and Hamilton Tiger-Cats running back Jesse Lumsden, each dressed like Future Shop sales associates.

When approached by customers with questions about the store’s products, Joseph and Lumsden interrupt with boasts about their on-field prowess.

I don’t like this selection for the following reasons:

• Kerry Joseph and Neil Lumsden, although usually very good players, are having a pretty poor seasons.  In fact, Joseph has been benched in Toronto
• Both players are from the Golden Horseshoe and thus speak to the same crowd - a representative from each division would have been better
• According to our CFL Gravity Index, as of Week 12, the two least exciting teams to watch are the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats  -  According to our Index, choosing Anthony Calvillo from Montreal and Ricky Ray from Edmonton would have been better choices.   Even if you take the Index as of Week 6, they would have been better off picking a player from Montreal and a player from Saskatchewan/Calgary.  (Click here for more info on the CFL Gravity Index)

According Nikki Hellyer of Future Shop, their customers are big CFL fans.

“Our customers are huge CFL fans. They love football and they love the Canadian Football League, so it’s something that they’re actively participating in,” said Nikki Hellyer, senior marketing manager for Future Shop. “I think when people watch football it’s something they get excited about. And everyone has an opinion, so this gives them an opportunity to voice that opinion.”

True CFL tribe members are looking for the best players on the All-Star teams and best teams to be in the Grey Cup.  This current ad with the players chosen is inconsistent with the attempt at getting the die-hard fans to participate in the balloting.

It is good to see that Toronto motor sports fans will once again be able to see an open-wheeled race in the city.  After a year absence due to the folding of CART, the IRL added Toronto as stop on the tour.

Honda has just announced that it will be the title sponsor for the event.  This is very good news for Toronto racing fans, but it will be odd not calling it The Molson Indy.

Given the very fickle nature of many Toronto sports fans, it will be very interesting to see if the Toronto racing tribe will come back in strong numbers after a one year hiatus.  A strong showing will boost the prospects of other racing leagues making stops in Toronto.  It has been rumored that NASCAR may plan a stop either for its Nationwide or Sprint Cup series.

WSJ is launching a new social networking site targeted towards business executives.  This will essentially be like Facebook but less fun.  Unlike business social networking site LinkedIn which is free, this site will only be accessible to WSJ paying subscribers.

The new Journal Community is coming Tuesday as part of the site’s first major revision since 2002. There, paying subscribers create personal profile pages with their real names, job details, interests and photo, much as users can at Facebook and the professional-networking site LinkedIn.

Community members will be able to comment on individual stories, create discussion groups on specific topics and ask one another for advice on such topics as starting small businesses or finding a place to take clients during a business trip, say, in Prague.

The Journal’s online audience has been growing fast, and nonpaying visitors make up the lion’s share. WSJ.com has 4.7 million visitors in July, nearly twice July 2007’s total of 2.4 million, according to comScore Inc. Only about 5 per cent of the site’s users are paying subscribers, the Journal said.

Starting a social networking site today is very difficult, but with a decent sized subscriber base in place, they may have a shot.  WSJ is banking on their sophisticated member base to distinguish themselves from other sites.  Furthermore, they want to ensure the high quality of conversations and discussions.

WSJ.com hopes to increase the quality of discussions by insisting that users post over their real names — as verified against billing and subscription information. Other social networks that ask for real names don’t have good ways to verify them, and news sites that allow pseudonyms have found discussions often degenerate into vicious personal attacks.

I suspect that many potential members of the WSJ site are already on LinkedIn.  Thus, it will be necessary for WSJ to create an experience that members can’t find elsewhere.  I think that WSJ is on the right track by creating a community where there is less noise and using the wight of a global media brand. 

WSJ would be wise to develop or add features that will allow the organic growth of different tribes within its subscriber base.

Best Buy put in a bid to buy online music retailer Napster.  According to the article.

Best Buy said it will pay $2.65 per share, nearly double the amount of Friday’s closing price.

Included in the deal is approximately $67-million in cash and short-term investments held by Napster, meaning the net price of the deal would be $54-million, the companies said.

The companies said the proposed acquisition includes Napster’s approximately 700,000 subscribers, its Web-based customer service and mobile capabilities.

One has to think what is the benefit to Best Buy and its shareholders.  What is so unique about Napster that it will bring about an increase in profits to Best Buy?  Are Best Buy consumers going to all of a sudden choose a Sony Walkman MP3 Player instead of an iPod because Best Buy may throw in 10 free downloads on Napster?  In a previous post we talked about how Popcuts.comuses a unique hook to get people to sign up with them and focused on building up tribes around musicians.  There is nothing truly unique about Napster - that’s why iTunes has millions of subscribers and Napster doesn’t.