An article by Jason Xenopoulos

 According to Chinese Astrology, 2012 is the Year of the Dragon. The Dragon is the mightiest of all the 12 signs. It symbolizes strength, dominance and good luck. But 2012 is not just the year of the Dragon; it is the year of the Water Dragon – the Black Dragon.

The Dragon is a symbol of power and ambition, fundamentally masculine and yang in nature. Water on the other hand, is the most “yin” of all the elements, inherently feminine, characterized by flexibility, pliancy and softness, and providing a vital counter-point to the Dragon’s fiery breath.

As marketers, we have the opportunity to ride this grand Black Dragon into battle, harnessing its power and hunger for innovation. But those bold enough to embark on this journey must not lose touch with the vital fluid water energy that defines the Black Dragon.

As we move into 2012, it is important for marketers and business leaders to begin thinking about social media as more than just Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. In order to harness the true power of social, marketers must begin to understand the overarching concepts that drive our inexorable move towards a fundamentally social mediascape.

The Dragon occupies the fifth position of the Zodiac, and the Chinese calendar is defined by five cosmic elements; accordingly I have chosen to highlight the five core concepts that marketers will need to understand to tame the Water Dragon in 2012.

1. Social by Design

“Social by Design” is the term that Facebook uses to describe the new world-wide-web order. It hinges on the principle that social media has fundamentally changed the way we use the Internet. Social dynamics now underpin every aspect of the web.

The effects of an increasingly interconnected world are now felt at every level of business. Companies are reorganising themselves around people; processes are changing and structures are mutating as businesses themselves become “Social by Design”.  The question is no longer, “how do we create viral marketing,” but, “how do we develop viral products and services?”

2012 is the year industry leaders must look beyond social media and towards Social Business.

2. Propagation Planning

In the past, Media Planners were able to reach their targeted customers through bought-media channels such as radio and television. But social media has rewired the planet’s electronic communication networks and to birth a new science, Propagation Planning, which governs how brand messages scale and spread.

In our socially connected mediaverse, people are discovering much more of the content they consume through friends, rather than recognised media channels. Griffin Farley from BBH New York describes Propagation Planning as, “planning not for the people you reach, but the people that they reach, by giving them assets to propagate”.

Marketers and business leaders who want to harness the full power of social media in 2012 will need to understand the science of Propagation Planning, deploying tactics that will ensure the virability of their marketing messages, products and services.

3. Devolution™

The Social Media revolution is a consumer revolution. The democratisation of media has shifted power into the hands of the general public. As marketers, we are no longer the sole proprietors of our brands. Today, our brands are co-owned by our consumers. Consumer-centricity, transparency, truth, and authenticity are now table-stakes and business leaders must take heed of this new consumer-led dispensation.

At NATIVE, we have developed a strategic methodology we call Devolution™, designed to help marketers adapt to the changing needs of their increasingly empowered consumers. We firmly believe, to remain relevant in a world being redefined by social dynamics, business leaders will need to devolve their brands into the hands of the people that are most important to them – their customers.

4. Mobilisation

Mobile media is not solely about advertising on cellphones. It is about understanding the implications of being an “always-on” brand, available to customers anywhere, anytime.

An “always-on” approach to business acknowledges the mobile habits of the modern consumer and strives to meet them where they are. It demands a new approach to functions such as sales, marketing and customer support, applying significant pressure to business structures and processes.

Mobilising your business is not about buying a few mobile banner ads or building a mobisite; it is about understanding the way mobile computing is likely to disrupt and redefine the customer journey within your industry … and then reshaping your business to meet these burgeoning consumer demands.

NATIVE’S Devolution™ methodology suggests that you should view your customer’s mobile phone as their remote control for your business. Invite them to interact with you from the comfort of their own home. Let them decide what they want and when they want it. Give them the power … because if you don’t, they’ll eventually take it away.

5. E-merging Markets

According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the world’s population will grow by another billion people by 2025. But as dramatic as this sounds, population growth will not be the primary source of the next billion consumers.

While Western markets have begun to buckle beneath the pressure of a global recession, the “third world”, has begun to emerge. Today 80% of the world’s consumers are moving into a new economic reality. Now global brands are looking to tap into these emerging markets to reclaim the growth that once defined their successes.

From a marketing perspective, connecting with emerging consumers has always been a challenge. The sophisticated mass media infrastructures that forged consumerism in the West do not exist in many emerging markets. Fixed-line telephony, never mind desktop Internet access, is enjoyed by only a small fraction of the population in many developing countries.

Enter the mobile phone and reality shifts. In South Africa, for example, in 2009 we had approximately 4.3 million fixed-line connections, but well over

40 million mobile subscribers. The mobile phone is fast becoming the number one gateway to the Internet. Suddenly, emerging markets like South Africa have managed to leapfrog decades of socio-economic development to a place where almost the entire population is connected. This radically changes the picture for marketers, who now have the opportunity to engage with another layer of the population.

But leaders and entrepreneurs who are targeting emerging markets must acknowledge the vital role that technology plays in harnessing these consumers … because it is only through the appropriate and innovative use of technology that we will fully realize the potential of our e-merging consumers.

In “Enter the Dragon”, Bruce Lee’s martial arts masterpiece from which this article borrows its name, there is a scene where the villain O’Hara  demonstrates his strength by smashing a length of wood. Bruce Lee’s character smiles cynically and says: “Boards … don’t hit back”. For me, this quote summarises the difference between marketing in the pre-social-media era, and marketing today.

In the past, brands could illustrate their value through an exhibition of their strengths, like O’Hara’s well-rehearsed demonstration. But today marketing is live hand-to-hand combat, in real-time. As business leaders we have to learn to roll with the punches. We have to learn to improvise. We have to be alert, ready for anything. We have to learn to watch, listen, feel and react. This kind of fluid, responsive power is the essence of the Black Dragon.

I don’t know enough about Chinese Astrology to really vouch for the effects that the Water Dragon will have on business in 2012. I can say with confidence, however, that business leaders who bet on the five concepts I have outlined are likely to enjoy the Dragon’s good luck.