• Wall Street Journal, Automotive News, Forbes CMO Network , Monday, November 23, 2009 10:40 AM

Rather than rely solely on consumer surveys and focus groups to shape their advertising copy, marketers such as International Business Machines, Harrah's Entertainment and Microsoft are beginning to scan the Web to find out what consumers are saying about their brands and are using that information to craft their themes and executions, Emily Steel reports.

Then, once the campaigns are running, the marketers are using the same Web-scanning technologies to monitor consumer reaction to their messages, and to fine-tune them. IBM, for example, has discovered that potential customers generally care less about technology for technology's sake and more about what technology could do for them. This is the old "sell the benefits-not-the-features" saw, no? Sure, but learning what benefits consumers really care about is the name of the game.

Monica Sullivan, Harrah's vp of advertising, says when the company learned that consumers were interested in amenities such as room size and details of menu offerings and services, it was "one of those 'Aha' moments, when you think, 'I should have known that all along."

In an Automotive News story, Leslie J. Allen reminds us that "Web Feedback Can Be Friendly -- Or Brutal." Case in point: General Motors killing plans for a Buick crossover based on the Saturn Vue after Twitter users panned the vehicle. And when GM recently posted pictures of the new Buick Regal on Facebook, it got comments such as, "If you asked me to choose between another Buick Regal and a Ford Pinto that was currently on fire, I'd have to reeeeally think about it."

Jez Frampton, global CEO of Interbrand, points out in Forbes CMO Network that markets always have been conversations but everything has been dialed up a notch online, where "both employees and customers are critical ambassadors -- and in some cases, evangelists -- for your brand."

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