Page 33 - 40.pdf - Brand Equity Magazine

BRANDING & BLOGS
BRANDS IN BLOGS
Where Compliments Can Go Viral in a Big Way
It’s become pretty much endemic
because everyone in Malaysia seems
to know a Blogger.
And you do not need to ‘qualify’ to blog.
Want to be heard? Have lots of free
time? Want to feel powerful? Just blog!
It’s the ultimate in user-generatedcontent!
And here’s one proof-point if you do
not believe in its power; Malaysian
politicians are some of the most prolifi c
bloggers.
Not surprisingly, no one can offer an
accurate tally of blogs in Malaysia.
“Though we represent a community
85,000 of bloggers, the actual number
far exceeds what we know,” says
Timothy Tiah, the executive director of
Asia’s fi rst blog advertising community,
Nuffnang.com.
Nuffnang’s business model helps
Bloggers monetize their blogs; and
advertisers to deliver their brand
experience through blogs.
For the uninitiated a blog simply is a
web log, and carries a chronological
publication of personal thoughts.
People can blog on any topic – politics,
photography, personal musings,
babycare, recipes, entertainment,
hobbies etc.; it’s almost never ending.
The Blogger becomes a publisher of
ideas, experiences and opinions.
Popular blogs draw a large audience
of followers that range from passionate
loyalists to just-passing-bys’. But they
have the power to infl uence. And it’s a
double edged sword as well.
“A travel blog can attract 3000 readers
every day. The popular entertainment
blog budiey.com receives anywhere
between 20,000 to 30,000 visitors
every day,” Timothy reveals.
Stories of Tony Fernandez engaging
Blogger Kenny Sia immediately after
his outburst about AirAsia’s service
quality have been told many times.
Stories of this type make blogs more
credible, and acknowledges the power
it can wield.
Brand Builders can through blogs
engage customers at a micro level to
create excitement for their brand.
“There are two ways of doing it. The
company can advertise in a blog
or engage a Blogger to write their
experience with the brand,” Timothy
says.
“Bloggers can also be engaged to trial
a product and post their experience. Or
they can be paid to write about it, and
that would be an advertorial,” he adds.
Seeding of new products, or an existing
product’s benefi ts and upcoming events
through blogs is one way of getting the
word out fast. Very often, they can kickstart
a word-of-mouth campaign. But the
results can be positive or negative.
Timothy Tiah
36 Brand Equity Volume 2, 2010
There’s no guarantee that a Blogger
can be absolutely ethical. Quid pro quo
does rear its ugly head sometimes;
or often. Treat Bloggers well and your
brand is in for happy times.
So how do we connect Rice Cookers,
blogs and target customers?
Explains Timothy, “Let’s assume that
Housewives with a household income
exceeding RM2000 and a family size
of three would be the target. The next
thing to do is to explore blog categories
that housewives are likely to visit, such
as parenting, cooking. Or, we can
broaden that to include the above 40s.”
“Next we plan how to engage the
target customer. We could organize a
family day, invite parent bloggers, their
friends and blog visitors to participate
in activities.”
But Malaysian brand builders are
hesitating to use blogs in a big way;
a good number simply hop into the
bandwagon.
Timothy admits that blogs are not a
primary means of engaging target
customers yet. Standalone blog
campaigns have not taken off in a big
way. “Blogs are usually brought in to
support a major campaign. However,
we organized a standalone campaign
in April this year and it entered the
Malaysia Book of Records. Over 500
fun loving Bloggers came together at
the Gatsby Deodorant Street Fair.”
There’s an interesting point to note
here – its 500 bloggers and not their
target readers. What if their readers
were invited? The numbers could have
been staggering!
Blog are yet to reach critical mass; and
that may not be far off. But its power
to infl uence cannot be ignored by the
brand building fraternity.
And did you know that there were over
500,000 active Bloggers during and
after the 2008 general elections? That’s
mega infl uence at work – big time and
overtime!
Timothy Tiah can be reached at
timothy@nuffnang.com