Following is a guest post from Samuel Degremont, Manager in the Digital Practice in our Paris office. Samuel advises clients on corporate and marketing digital strategy, blogs and social media actions, online buzz creation and crisis management as well as online community management. You can follow his up-to-the minute thoughts on Twitter or read his commentary on the Burson-Marsteller Paris Blog (in French). For other guest posts on the Digital Perspective blog, see here.

I’m back from Stream 2008, where I met WPP’s top digital minds as well as a lot of interesting people including Tim O’Reilly, Jason Calacanis and Yossi Vardi - a lot of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, tech and media participants.

Focusing on how our Digital industry would evolve in the coming years, the “unconference” allowed everyone to participate in discussions related, one way or another, to Digital. See below for a few examples.

Adaptation in Africa

Google’s Anil Hansjee explained the business development logic of the company within developing countries, particularly West Africa (see an introduction to the discussion here). Africa is viewed by Google as a “huge long-term market,” in other words, the infrastructure and usage does not allow Google to market their already successful advertising solutions and productivity tools (including GMail).

For instance, in Kenya, infrastructure in terms of Internet connectivity is rather poor, and equipment rate (computers, Internet access, Internet cafes) is relatively low and lack a presence. Internet business is split among a lot of small players (about 20 ISP with an average of 3000 users). Local content production (which would be searchable, indexable, and of value to local Internet users) is not produced in mass.

Kenyans, however, do connect together with low-end devices such as inexpensive cell phones. From what Anil mentioned, there are more SMS messages exchanged in Nairobi per day than in NYC.

In this difficult local market, Google sees a lot of potential and adapts its global strategy to more practical tasks than “organizing the local content”. Rather, Google empowers local users with tools that allow the development of local use and content.

Google therefore invests time and money with local partners to build a more robust technical infrastructure (for Internet access) and partners with local Telcos to work on mobile (SMS) based solutions: weather forecasts for agricultural needs, SMS banking systems, Classifieds etc.

It’s a sound strategy (relying on local partners and leveraging their local knowledge) which will probably benefit Google in the long term, both commercially and in terms of brand loyalty.

Adaptation in India

Back from Stream, I gave some thought to the SMS solutions available to developing countries, and I found the example of India of interest.

The situation in India (not discussed during Anil’s presentation) is slightly different than what happens in Africa. The subcontinent has a much better infrastructure in terms of mobile carriers, with an estimated 300 million mobile phone subscribers at the end of 2008. Internet use is not much developed, with an estimated 40 million users (2006).

Local players (see below) have adapted to this situation, and offer therefore services for SMS users that allow effective reach and advertising distribution.

• SMS Gushup: This Indian startup allows users to create groups to which they can send SMS updates. As compared to the web-based Twitter micro-messaging service with an estimated daily exchange of about 3 millions messages per day, SMS Gushup sends about 10+ million SMS per day to its groups of users. The “Rockstar” group on SMS Gushup has 99627 members, top groups appear to have 50k members on average…which is enormous. The business model is based on advertising, where every single SMS sent to the group contains a small ad link, which pays for the service. Premium groups are ad-free but require a monthly subscription.
• Google: Finding a more developed infrastructure in India than in Kenya, Google released an equivalent to SMS Gushup called Google SMS Channel, which you can access once logged into your Google Account. The service was just released earlier this month so the number of group members is still low (in the 2000 figure), but it shows how Google adapts to the local markets it operates into.

Adapt, or Perish?

In fact, global models distributed the same way across the world don’t work. It’s the case for cars, it’s the case for a lot of consumers goods. It’s also the case for web-based models, which definitely need adaptation to the technology and uses at work in each country. When there’s not much use, help build it. When usage is different from your primary target countries, adapt to it, or fail.

And its also the case for leading PR and Media companies around the globe.

First, companies have adapted to the growing, exponential Internet use by hiring Digital specialists and allowing resources to internal training (as we do regularly at Burson-Marsteller – see here) – and if they did not follow this adaptation path, they’ll probably be considered less and less pertinent by their clients.

Second, companies need to constantly adapt to their local markets. They’ve done this in in traditional PR and Advertising for decades, and they need to have the same approach towards Digital campaign conception and implementation.

Because every country looks about the same in terms of Internet use at a macro level, it’s tempting for companies to go for global Digital campaigns. However, on a micro level, usage and maturity of the audience are so different from one country to another that adaptation - at least - is mandatory, but it’s even better to have a co-creation with the local Digital specialists.

That’s what we’re trying to build at Burson-Marsteller, with Digital Strategists in charge of coordinating different market areas where our clients operate. The Strategists ensure that a global Digital vision is implemented with an adaptation to local Internet needs and usage.

Following is a guest post written by Marco Nunez. Marco is a Program Manager at Direct Impact, a wholly-owned Burson-Marsteller subsidiary that develops grassroots campaigns that achieve local impact for client public affairs, public education and / or corporate reputation initiatives. Marco is also passionate about digital media, both as a consumer and creator of content but also as a strategist. I haven’t met Marco in person (yet), but have gotten to know him via social media and find him to be insightful and a great sounding board for some of my zany thoughts. I hope he’ll post for us again, but in the meantime, here are some of his current thoughts…

Social Media: The Essence of Grassroots Communication

When Erin asked if I would be interested in drafting a guest post addressing grassroots strategies from a “digital perspective” (pun intended, sorry) I jumped at the opportunity.

Until recently, the majority of our relationships have been highly influenced by geography. Since relationships are dependent on the regular communication of thoughts and emotions, this makes perfect sense.

This is the way things have always been.

Chances are that as you were growing up your best friend lived in your neighborhood. As you got older and became more mobile (bicycle, car, etc.), you probably found new friends with whom you shared more in common. Maybe your neighborhood friends went to different schools now or, due to a slight age difference, were in different grades. Whatever the reason, it is likely that your closest circle of friends changed and many of them lived much further away (relatively speaking).

An example: My senior year in high school I was relegated to a “study hall” in the library—population: two. Jason, my partner in solitude (does that make it “dualitude”?), was new to the school, and since we were the only two there we quickly became best friends. Our frequent discussions revealed a common interest in basketball and certain types of music but they also revealed differences. Among many other things, our spatially enabled conversations allowed us to challenge one another’s conceptions and expose each other to new types of music. Through this process, facilitated entirely by geography, we became increasingly similar in some ways and developed a respect for a new point of view in others. (For a more entertaining example re-watch this classic.)

This is the power of proximity.

If you think of the development of relationships in terms of the concepts outlined by Chris Anderson in The Long Tail, the “head” of a relationship curve would be dominated by proximity-reliant factors, while the “tail” would be littered with a nearly infinite array of relationship-builders like passion for music, sports, video games, ideology, watching people fall off of ladders, etc. While the individuals you spend time with physically will still be greatly influenced by geographic considerations, the concepts and abilities foundational to “social media” applications will continue to expand the number of individuals with whom you develop relationships and trust.

For two decades Direct Impact has been a leader in the development of grassroots communications strategies that allow our clients to mobilize influential leaders within communities in support of key messages or goals. An understanding of the importance relationships—built on common social circles, ideologies and interests—has always been central to the grassroots model. The power of this simple concept is what first drew me to the “social media” tools now emerging. These digitally-enabled developments in the way we communicate will continue to evolve and radically alter the way we find, share and evaluate new sources of information.

As you may have seen, there have been several reports over the last few years highlighting the decline of consumers’ trust in sources of information we would consider “mass media.” Top-down, tightly controlled messages, while still powerful means of communicating ideas and information (arguably the most), are being edged off of their pedestal as more and more consumers turn to “people like them” to help mold their thoughts and opinions.

This is the power of “social media.”

Sites like Classmates.com have been around for years but they exhibit severe limitations as you find someone and begin re-acquainting yourselves through letters, phone calls, emails or similar mediums. The conversations are entirely macro-oriented—“I now have a child,” “I am an accountant,” etc. This information is great for recapping the things that have helped you become who you are but do little to shed light on who you really are.

Facebook, on the other hand, possesses the same ability to connect you with former friends or classmates but adds an important element: the ability to share endless little bits of information about yourself, each carrying the potential to strengthen the relationship that you and your former classmate are rebuilding. Along the way you will find yourself exposed to new sources of information, new types of entertainment and, as a result of the trust that has been established, alternate understandings of points-of-view or concepts that were previously foreign to you.

This is the essence of grassroots communications.

Whether you know it or not, there is a very good chance that the ways in which you take in information and develop opinions on its contents are already being altered. Are you taking full advantage of it? Is your company or organization?

This is your chance.

This is a guest post from Theresa Rice, Director US Hispanic, and Mireille Grangenois, Managing Director of US Multicultural. Theresa and Mireille lead the Multicultural Practice here at Burson-Marsteller, overseeing internal and external efforts in the realm of multicultural marketing communications. The Multicultural Practice currently focuses efforts in the Hispanic and African American communities and plans to add more in the near future.

Have you heard of theroot.com, the Washington Post’s news and opinion site for black audiences? What about the search engine Rushmoredrive.com, designed to prowl the Web for results that people of African descent globally can’t always find on Google? Or urban radio titan Radio One, which has moved decisively into the (surprise!) Hispanic, Asian, gay and faith-based social network scene? Or blurdigital.com which focuses on biracial, multiracial and multicultural audiences? What about amigosdeobama.com, an unofficial Hispanic voter outreach site whose reggaetón and corrido songs in support of the Illinois senator’s presidential candidacy have been a viral sensation for months?

A powerful wave of digital initiatives targeting communities of color, culture and clout is forming. What it reflects is an exploding demand for news, commentary and other information reflecting the cultural, political, consumer and social sensibilities of particular communities—as well as the mass market portals’ failure to satisfy it.

B-M’s own African American-fluentials and Hispanic-fluentials studies reveal that digital and social media are being embraced by the most Web-savvy blacks and Hispanics even more than by their general market population e-fluential peers. They spend more time online than e-fluentials, have larger networks of online and offline peers whom they influence on a daily basis. They are also more likely to respond to certain online marketing initiatives, as well as commonly forward information on products and issues of importance to them, making them prime candidates for digital and word-of-mouth initiatives.

Burson-Marsteller’s proprietary research also indicates that blacks and Hispanics are demanding that the websites they visit reflect an understanding and respect for their cultures. They are looking for things like links to the other ethnic sites they visit, images of people like them and information tailored specifically to their demographic—hence the explosion of community-specific sites.

Behind the increase in media outlets—which of course can come and go, so I won’t venture to predict which will succeed—is something more significant. It is self-determination 2.0: communities that before were mainly recipients of messages are electing to self-identify, form networks and create connections on their own terms. They have become not only active members of a dialogue, but powerful influencers.

Marketers must understand and join in the conversation while recognizing that in many ways, the bar has gotten higher. Phil Dixon, chair of the department of Journalism at the John Johnson School of Communications at Howard University, said to me last week, “Younger people are very careful where they place their trust because there is so much out there. You can’t make yourself credible. The audience declares you credible.” Plus if companies don’t get it right, the results can be disastrous. For example, Hispanic-fluentials are nearly twice as likely as e-fluentials to spread the word online and offline about a negative experience with a product or company.