Corporate Eye

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Archives for July 2009

Twitter’s Trademark Stance

twitter_follow_meWhat’s a company like Twitter that is built by its open API development model to do when those same developers who support the product and make it easier for millions and millions of people to use use the Twitter name and look in their applications?  What if they use the word Tweet?

This month, Twitter has responded to developers and tech folks who want to know why the company is suddenly playing hard ball about its trademarks — including ones it doesn’t own yet.  For example, Twitter only applied for the trademark for the word “tweet” in April 2009, but the company is already telling developers to avoid using it in application names.  The company does own the trademark for “Twitter”, and while people are allowed to use the word in application names, etc., Twitter is encouraging people to get more creative with the naming of their own products.  The team behind Twitter is also getting a bit tougher about ensuring third-party applications look distinctively different from the actual Twitter interface.

I think it’s about time that Twitter started to get tougher in protecting its brand trademarks (and acquiring new ones).  There is no doubt that those names carry value, and while it’s important that the developer community and the open nature of Twitter be allowed to thrive, there is no reason that the brand names have to be used so freely.  Using a tagline such as “for Twitter” or “approved by Twitter” to distinguish between applications Twitter actually endorses vs. those that Twitter does not, would be a great way to help Twitter users differentiate between the best apps and to reward Twitter app partners.  Of course, I have no idea if this is something Twitter is interested in getting involved in, but even the simple “for Twitter” tag (rather than using Twitter in the app name) which offers no endorsement at all would work to tell people what the third-party application is for without infringing on trademarks.  

My point is this, protecting your brand assets is imperative.  While the initial buzz over Twitter’s stance on its trademarks was negative (you can read the TechCrunch post here and the Twitter blog post here), I think Twitter is doing the right thing.  What do you think?

Image: Flickr

SABMiller’s Investor Page

A good investor home page is like a good beer – it satisfies an immediate need.  Judged by that standard, the investor home page for SABMiller qualifies quite well.  I found the page well laid out, with main topics running down the left hand side and latest updates, share price and News in the middle, pretty much where I would go looking for them. The color palette and design were quite sober, perhaps by design, as, well… this is a beer company.

sabmiller ir

I particularly liked the fact that the main topics included a glossary, as many companies have acronyms and  specialized jargon that often wind up sprinkled throughout their disclosures.  Unfortunately, when you go to the SABMiller’s Glossary, what you find is a basic financial terms glossary, with definitions of such things as “Bear market” and “Mutual fund”.  It reads as if it was lifted straight from a third party provider as it has no definitions that are specific to SABMiller.  For example, definitions for the difference between a brewery and a bottling plant would be much more helpful than learning about bear markets.  (After the last few months, most of us know all too well about those…)  SABMiller should think about putting something here that is directly relevant to their business.

My only other comment about the investor home page is one I’ve made about other investor pages as well: The listing of topics running along the left hand side would be greatly enhanced if it featured pop-up lists as you scrolled over the section.  This would allow investors to find what they want more quickly, without the hassle of hunting through all of the sections.

Overall, a good Investor home page, although the issue with the Glossary grates.  Perhaps my expectations were too high, but it’s enough to make me want to go have a beer.

Wall Street Journal Notices New Recruiting Trends . . .


telescope_psf

It’s an “Aha!” moment at WSJ’s Career Journal, with a recent story titled Beyond Job Boards: Targeting the Source. To quote the lead:

For many Americans looking for work, the first stop is an online job board. Now job seekers are finding that prospective employers increasingly are looking elsewhere to find new hires-the companies’ own Web sites.

The story ambles on through the following points:

  • Companies are buffing up their Career pages, adding videos, employee profiles and social networking tools.
  • They are doing this to save money, reduce the number of applications, and improve the quality of applicants.
  • Job seekers should change their tactics to match, using multiple job search tools, networking with companies and other job seekers, and researching the companies they apply to.
  • Both company sites and job boards are seeing an increase in applicants of as much as 30%.
  • Companies are focusing more on building their employer brands.
  • Companies are turning to employee referrals and social media tools to increase and improve the applicant pool.

If all this sounds familiar . . .

In part, I’m surprised that WSJ (or at least this columnist) is so late in noting “trends” that have been widely discussed for many months.   And in part, I’m surprised at the simple view provided by the story, which mentions an assortment of phenomena without exploring their situational context.  The account relies mainly on general observations (for example:  “‘Part of it is letting people know who we are as a company,'” says Melissa Rutledge, an employment-branding manager at Intuit.”) and anecdotal references to a few companies that are leaders in the online recruiting space (Sodexo, Adobe, Intuit, Zappos).

In fairness, the story is obviously intended as an overview, not an in-depth study, and it does offer a convenient summary of the Recruiting 2.0 landscape.  Nothing mentioned is actually wrong or misleading (except perhaps describing Zappos as a “shoe retailer”).  But the article raised two questions in my mind.

1.       If this is “old news” . . . what’s the new news?

2.       Where is the intersection between company interests and job-seeker interests?

I’ll come back to the first question in a follow-up post.  As for the second, here’s what I mean:  Job-seekers want jobs and companies need employees.  Yet the process of getting them together seems to be more of a frustration-fest than a journey toward mutual satisfaction.  There’s actually a whole industry devoted to making employment connections, yet no one on either side is happy!  Job-seekers mistrust companies and complain about recruiting processes, while companies mistrust the recruiting process and complain about the large number and low quality of applicants.

I’m not sure if it was always this way, but if not, I wonder how it got this way.

So my closing thought is:  Could “social networking” become more than just another process tool?  Perhaps an increased emphasis on communication will produce greater understanding and cooperation between seekers and hirers–which could only be a good thing.  (And maybe that will be the shape of Recruiting 3.0?)


Toray Group Website — Effective Use Of Visuals

Based in Japan, Toray Group is an integrated chemical company. The company has 37,924 employees and 1,471.6 billion yen (2009/03) in sales. First let’s go to About Us

Toray Group: About Section

Note the use of image visuals. This gives a personality to the website. You get a feeling that there are people are behind this site. Profiling the message from the CEO also is an effective technique. Also deciding to put “Our People” is telling, hmm what’s that phrase “people are our most important asset”.

Navigate to Corporate Governance. There is a comprehensive description but not overly wordy explanation of the company’s Governance process supplemented by a visual diagram —

Toray Group Corporate Governance

The visual is a good supplement to the text and enhances communicating Toray’s Governance process.

Now let’s view what is an excellent use of a video, Toray at a Glance, to explain the company’s businesses, performance, strategies and at the end links to more information.

Toray Group At a Glance

This is one of the most effective website communication techniques I have seen.

Lesson Learned — enhance your website communications by thoughtful use of visuals.

Tylenol – Brand Rebuilding Part Deux?

tylenol_acetaminophen

Tylenol is one of the best brand rebuilding stories that marketing students in just about every college learn about.  It’s a great example of a company responding to negative publicity (in the case of Tylenol – the worst publicity you can imagine – 7 cyanide poisoning deaths in the 1980s from tampering with Tylenol packaging).  I remember the incident well, and the team behind Tylenol did an amazing job of very quickly regaining consumer trust in the brand.  What could have been the end of a brand that at the time still competed closely with aspirin, became a minor bump in the brand’s growth to become the number one over-the-counter pain reliever.

Today, Tylenol faces a new battle.  This time, the fight is with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) who wants to regulate sales of Tylenol by reducing the amount of acetaminophen (the active ingredient) in Tylenol claiming it causes liver damage and possibly making Extra Strength Tylenol available as a prescription only. 

Certainly, sales of Tylenol will go down if the Extra Strength Tylenol product becomes OTC only.  Or will they?  Will consumers actually switch to a different product with a different active ingredient or wait to get a prescription for Extra Strength Tylenol, or will they just take a higher dosage of regular Tylenol?  Is the FDA actually solving the problem?  Or will this be just another small bump in the Tylenol brand story?

Either way, I’m sure the Tylenol team (under the power of Johnson & Johnson – a company that is very, very good at decentralizing and protecting one brand from another at all costs) is already fast at work at a new strategy, should one become necessary if the FDA successfully passes the new regulation it’s proposing.  According to BrandWeek, full-page ads have already appeared in newspapers calling Tylenol the “safest brand of pain reliever you can choose.”  However, it’s a different world now than it was in the 1980s.  The social web is alive and spreading information, news, and rumors faster than ever.  That’s something the Tylenol team didn’t have to think about in the 1980s. 

We’ll have to wait and see how this one develops.  What do you think?  Will this become a big problem for Tylenol, or will the brand rebound with nary a scratch?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Flickr

Creating Value on Your Facebook and Twitter Social Networks

If you’re a Twitterer or a Facebooker, do you have something of value to say? Are you able to help broaden the mindset of your followers with your words of wisdom?

This article that I came across on a sports-related website is actually what got me thinking about that question as it relates to social networking in business. As an avid user of both Facebook and Twitter, I enjoy them both immensely and have gotten a lot of good information and business referrals from those on my friends list. I have connected with high school classmates, established new business contacts and have even enjoyed repeat business from existing clients. Yes, for me the social networking scene is good for my business, but am I contributing enough for others in my circle? Are YOU giving out value-laden advice and pearls of wisdom?

Social Sites Popularity

When the Facebook platform first became popular, it was primarily with college students who socialized about things that interested them: parties, test scores, campus events, etc. After a while (like these days), you can find a lot more diversified audience of moms, freelancers and a host of businesses who connect to their own websites and product lines. According to Facebook’s statistics page, there are now over 200 million users on Facebook – – and that’s a lot of people who have something to say!

With Twitter, it’s quite flattering to get a “ding” in your inbox announcing that someone is “now following you on Twitter.” I’ve had that happen to me countless times, and I never tire or get bored with reading who’s following me and wanting to learn more about them. I think that’s one component of Twitter that’s pretty cool. And since Twitter responses are more succinct than Facebook’s (generally speaking), when you Twit, you’d better be sure to have something to say, say it quickly (or succinctly), and move on. But what if you’re like me and you like to go on and on and explain things better?

Finding that Value

These are only two social networks that I’ve mentioned, but there are countless more with new ones popping up all of the time. They certainly are here to stay, but are you as an individual, a business person or a corporate representative getting any value from those sites? Are you finding that they enhance your business knowledge, or do you find that you’re trudging through a lot of unnecessary information to get to the pearls?

How can you provide value and make Facebook work better for you?

1. Engage the reader. Ask him questions about his business. Show interest in them, and they will show interest in you.

2. Be gracious. Thank them for being a follower. Thank them for friend-requesting you. Always say thank you.

3. Reciprocate. Return the tweet by commenting on one of their tweets or blog posts. Tell them you like their site, their profile picture, etc. Say it and mean it.

4. Create Passion. Write and link to content that not only will interest the readers, but will also interest you. Readers can tell when you’re writing about something that you’re mildly interested in and something that you have a passion for.

Being a part of a social site needn’t be about who ate lunch where or an outline of your daily habits. Add value to your pages and keep the readers coming back for more by giving them that value. Write about interesting topics. Write about unusual practices. Blog about changes in your company’s industry. Blog about blogging and how it has helped you online.

Whatever you find that adds value to your online presence, use it to its maximum and your readers will fill in the rest of the puzzle. Build it…and they will come!

What kinds of other ideas can you use to add value to your site?