Product Strategy in the Age of “Real-Time Marketing and PR”
by Janet Muto
Last week I attended the Boston Product Management Association’s monthly meeting, which featured David Meerman Scott talking about “Real-Time Marketing and PR.”
While you might think that real-time marketing and PR has little to do with product innovation – that is not the case. Scott made a compelling case for how product strategists can be opportunistic. His real-world example cited the strategic and rapid thinking of Calton Cases Inc.
Many are familiar with the background on this story: In 2009, musician Dave Carroll released a YouTube video, “United Breaks Guitars,” chronicling how his guitar was damaged while flying United Airlines, and the airline’s refusal to reimburse Carroll for the damaged goods.
The video went viral, and United faced a PR nightmare.
The less well-known part of the story involves Calton Cases. Scott details their product response in his book (so I don’t want to spoil the ending), but it resulted in an opportunity to leverage a hot news story, and generate an increase in revenue.
As Scott writes in “Real-Time Marketing and PR,” Calton Cases’ president states, “my background is product management…so I was able to work quickly.”
How quickly could your product team respond to an unforeseen opportunity? What do you need to do to be ready for an unexpected event that could mean increased revenues? I’d love to hear your stories.
– Janet
January 11th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Thanks Janet!! I love what Calton Cases did. Thanks for spreading the word.
January 12th, 2011 at 10:43 pm
Janet-
Thanks for writing about our event, and for focusing on the Carlton Cases example!
If strategists and product managers stay connected with the possibilities, and the needs of their customers.. innovating in “real-time” becomes a true competitive advantage!