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Can we get Adirondack Tourism on the Cluetrain?

March 21st, 2006 · 2 Comments · Destination Marketing

The Cluetrain Manifesto – 95 theses

A day spent talking about marketing has left the TourPro somewhat breathless. Could it be that I was chasing after the cluetrain? Traditional tourism marketing was demolished by the internet, now the ‘established’ internet is quickly being obsoleted by the new centers-of-gravity represented by the growing presence and power of the social networks. (I’m not talking about MySpace)

Steve Rubel describes this phenomena quite succinctly “Consumers are turning away from media and, instead, tuning into each other.” A simple, yet devastating change for those marketers that are still engaged in antique practices.The Cluetrain Manifesto’s 95 Theses are a good place to start in trying to understand this new marketing paradigm. Here’s a few I really like:

  • Markets are conversations.
  • Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors.
  • In both internetworked markets and among intranetworked employees, people are speaking to each other in a powerful new way.
  • There are no secrets. The networked market knows more than companies do about their own products. And whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone.
  • What’s happening to markets is also happening among employees. A metaphysical construct called “The Company” is the only thing standing between the two.
  • Already, companies that speak in the language of the pitch, the dog-and-pony show, are no longer speaking to anyone.
  • Companies can now communicate with their markets directly. If they blow it, it could be their last chance.
  • We are immune to advertising. Just forget it.
  • We know some people from your company. They’re pretty cool online. Do you have any more like that you’re hiding? Can they come out and play?
  • When we have questions we turn to each other for answers. If you didn’t have such a tight rein on “your people” maybe they’d be among the people we’d turn to.
  • We are waking up and linking to each other. We are watching. But we are not waiting.

Wow, this changes everything.

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2 Comments so far ↓

  • Portagehog

    Doug, I’m glad you found the Cluetrain Manifesto. That’s been out there for awhile. Good stuff – except the immunity to advertising thing. If we can engage consumers and make them part of the brand through relevant consumer-centric modeling, viral, word of mouth, etc., we can create a positive relationship.

  • TourPro

    I threw that one in just for you. To a certain extent advertising still has a big role to play, but it is no longer the singular method of communication between business and consumer. Most saavy consumers, even you, are looking at ads in a different way. Given the increasing fragmentation of information channels, the ads may now be a vehicle to drive one-on-one communication. Thus, the role of the blog as an adjunct to our existing information offerings.

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