I shared the following image as the centerpiece of a speech given to the Northwestern Medill IMC School a couple years back. The premise: the future of marketing is about embedding social currency into each and every piece of the marketing mix. Starting with giving people a remarkable product, then surrounding the product with experiences, services and communications that get people engaged. The premise is timely one for conversations taking place now. Lots on the evolution of media and marketing communications. More needed on emphasizing social currency in the strategic planning process.

This month’s Harvard Business Review has a series of articles on Managing in a New World. As marketing, communications and media departments continue through their own turbulent transitions it’s important  that CEOs understand the top 10 issues to create more socially-minded organizations.

Getting stuff done through social technologies is largely dependent on deep understanding of company culture and implementing against a myriad of constraints surprisingly consistent across big companies.  So here goes..

1. The struggle over who owns it. No one owns it. Social is an enterprise-wide trend. I’ve posted some thoughts here on ownership as a fictional premise long-term.

2. Perception that social is simply cheap media. The reality: while the technology is cheap (or free) investment costs are required to re-think processes and operate campaigns that have no or minimal precedent. Upfront investment over time will more than pay for itself if scaled effectively.  Cost of operation significantly decreases while impact increases. But to get in the game you must put skin in the game.

3. Knowing enough to be dangerous. Sorta-know social experts, both client and consultant-side, present risks to campaigns and social integration efforts. What may look smart in Power Point may be a train-wreck in-the-making in reality. The people who can tell the difference are those with tangible work experience, not to mention the scars that go with it.

4. The abundant consultant market. The frenzy around social media has quickly created a strange brew of true experts, agency sorta-get-its, blogger counselors, and regretfully, straight-up bullshit artists (At the time of this post there are 17,000+ people who tagged themselves  on We Follow, many self-proclaimed social media experts ). How to make sense of it all through trusted advisers who do what they prescribe is a central challenge moving into marketing’s next phase.

5. Philosopher kings. We’ve all seen them and likely been guilty of playing the part at some point. Getting into seemingly endless philosophical discussions that have no clear-take away on setting policy, direction or specific steps to execute. You can’t adapt to the new media environment by BS’ing in the boardroom. You adapt through trial, error and refinement. Based on specific set of steps to be taken.

6. Tools that rule conversation. Not to be confused with item 5, the irony of new social technologies dominating new media discussions inside companies. Apply the 80/20 rule here. Instead of spending 80 percent of the time talking Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc., spend time talking business objectives, cost-cutting opportunities, relationships you’re trying to build. Then determine which tools are best for you to get the job done.

7. The Readiness Factor. It’s staggering how consistently “we’re not ready for social media” still comes up in planning discussions. This despite all evidence pointing to a real-time systemic shift in the way information, media and entertainment is being produced, consumed and shared.  The Institute of the Future predicts this will lead to a new  socialstructuring of organizations and society.  Plan your moves now in a way that fits the strategic frame for your business. Unless of course you intend to join the growing list of displaced business.

8. Brand driver distractions. As the current HBR issues reinforces executives are dealing with an unprecedented level of turbulence operating their businesses. Couple that with an unprecedented amount of brand information flowing about and you have a looming attention crisis for people driving brand business ops. This again points to a premium on finding advisers who can simplify steps to address proactive opportunities and relevant issues to react to. And most importantly prioritizing the actions exclusively on items that move the business forward.

9. Incentive to innovate. Too many managers operate with a mindset aligned around two fundamental questions: 1) what do I need to do to keep my job in downsizing cycle and 2) what do I need do to meet performance measures tied to incentives. The reality is performance goals were largely designed for a pre-recession, pre-social business environment. Without updates, performance requirements will continue to be an inhibitor to progress. Involve HR if social is serious business for you.

10. Mass orientation to social media. None of this means squat unless orientation and campaign production are designed with audience interests deeply in-mind. Broadcast principles need to be unlearned for new communications to be relevant, reciprocal, and, of course, social.

Lots to think about and plenty to do. What would you add to the list…what advice would you share  to shape new ways of executing social business?

Digg’s top link as of noon eastern today – Firefox’s contest to see who can make the best 30second TV spot for them. Good PR play. Great community building. And a program to to watch as other fast-followers give open source creative a try.

If you’re interested in reading more about how open source meets marketing, consultant James Cherkoff wrote up this manifesto, posted on Change This.

Technorati Tags: open source, advertising, digg, Firefox

Got a surprising call from the people at Boldmouth today, giving me a talking-to about the People as Media post, and the audacity to use the language “pimping products” and word-of-mouth in the same sentence. I didn’t quite get the name of the interrogator, but if you’re out there, thanks for the call. I better appreciate how vehemently those sitting squarely in the WOM space will defend ethics, and perceived ethics, of conversational practices. In retrospect, this was not a good choice of words, especially given the work WOMMA and others are doing to develop and uphold proper standards. Mea Culpa!

Hey Robert – I’m a slow learner. This how you play the game?

4 Jobs I’ve Had: U.S. Open Caddy, Biographer, Start-up Marketeer, CIO Staffer

4 Movies I Can Watch Over and Over: Pulp Fiction, Shawshank, Dumb/Dumber, Beautiful Mind

4 Shows I Love to Watch: Entourage, The Office, SportsCenter, Sopranos

4 Four Places I’ve been on Vacation: Positano, St. Andrews, Park City, Santa Barbara

4 Meals: Steak au Poivre , Rigatoni/Meatballs, Anything Blackened, Kung Pao Chicken

4 Sites I Visit Daily: Kottke, paidcontent.org, Gapingvoid, GM Fastlane

4 More Bloggers to be Tagged: Gary Goldhammer, John Bell, Hans Kullin, Tom Peters

I’ve been invited to join in on a group blog developed by the Media Center, a think tank supported by the Associated Press, BBC and Reuters that looks into the future of the press and parallel industries. The group puts on the must-attend We Media conference and has extended the conversation online through this collaborative space. Called Morph, the blog features a collection of commentary from a vast group of thinkers covering PR and marketing, culture, society, politics and emerging tech. I’ll be joining a stellar crew that includes Ogilvy CD John Bell, Adpulp blogger David Burn, and possibly cameo appearances from Steve Rubel. The first installment focuses on the rise and relevance of personal voices in shaping perceptions. These voices also have strong influence in re-shaping our business today. Look to add to your feeds, visit often and stir up some conversation.

Technorati Tags: Blogs, Morph, PR 2.0, social media, social marketing

You can’t appreciate the Super Bowl media crush until you see it up close, which I got a taste of today. The media swarm has blanketed GM’s Headquarters triggering the avalanche of coverage to bury the nation this week. While it’s early in the week blogger coverage looks to be unusually light. A search on Technorati leads to only 23 sources covering the action with varying levels of intrigue. Like YAY Sports’ posting about White Castle’s creative lobbying for a hangover holiday or a local station, WXYZ, enthusiastically blogging about football-shaped Salami’s from a Motown sausage outfit. If you’re looking for something with a bit more punch check out Chuck Klosterman’s work on ESPN.com. He’s covering the proceedings with literally the Best Blog Ever.

Technorati Tags: Blogs, Super Bowl

TedBlog reports today that Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink will be made into a movie. His writing on the spread of ideas (Tipping Point) and the concept of instantaneous impressions (Blink) have made him one of the most well-read commentators in business and cultural circles.