Google released its year-end Zeitgeist (the tool that tells what people are looking for on the internet) today. The interesting thing for me was the fastest rising Global Queries. Sarah Palin, Obama, Beijing 2008 and people searching for Facebook login, Heath Ledger, Jonas Brothers tells me that people using the internet are obsessed with pop culture, and not necessarily weighty world topics, or even great products/brands.  Today's top videos as reported on Ice Rocket support that claim.

When pop culture has such a grip on our attention( carrie fisher, call in gay day, cc sabathia...all hot on Google 12/10/2008) how does a brand, a specific product, an "unsexy" but worthy idea cut through the cluster? If who is playing for what sports team is more important than which brand is saving the world one green initiative at a time, then getting a brand/company message to cut through the pop culture noise, requires a great deal of creativity and some calculated risk on behalf of a brand.




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Marketing News Radio recently ran a podcast by Jonathan Salem Baskin,  author of "Branding Only Works on Cattle". He talks about his book and about how brands should think of places other than the marketing department to do branding. I think one of the most insightful things he states in the interview is that it (branding) is not about telling people things, but about experience, is about showing them by action. He has a great example of how Zappos.com doesn't spend any money on marketing, but pours it all into customer service -- again experiencing the brand. The most effective way of influencing one's buying decision is establishing a unique relationship with the customer's experience. In addition, social media is not the savior of marketing.  Content has to be delivered when relevant to the situation, in the right venue and at the right time.

Marketers need to think differently about branding, building affinity, and sparking conversations and more importantly get your customer service department in line. Breakthroughs in marketing can come from various departments within an organization. Please the customer and they will talk about you positively and increase your brands sales. Brands as behavior is an interesting concept.

What are other ways that brands can differentiate themselves through non-traditional branding techniques?

Jonathan also has a blog called Dim bulb. It has some great comments on the business decision of running a Super Bowl Ad.

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What are other ways to maximize the effectiveness of widgets and other social media gizmos? Any recent gleaming examples?

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