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.

According to a new Online Measurement and Strategy Report, “companies are typically failing to adopt a coherent strategy that ties in web analytics data with business objectives - just 18% of surveyed firms do so.” Apparently, organizations are “under-investing in internal analytics staff and failing to implement a coherent measurement strategy which can help them turn their data into something of real value to their business.”

Approximately 700 companies took part in the survey, including 434 client-side companies and 229 supplier-side respondents (constituting agencies, consultancies and analytics vendors).

Although 88% of companies polled said that web analytics are important for measuring traffic to websites, cost and resources were seen as the greatest hindrance to effective data analysis. 48% of organizations do not have any dedicated web analysts.

For anyone who participates online, whether via blogs, social networks and even instant messenger, having some form of a history log is helpful to gain a better understanding of past trends and possibly predict the future. Sure, there are some frustrations with current web analytics offerings, but as we continue to live in an increasing hyper-digital world, effective measurement and targeting will become a necessity.

For more information about Burson-Marsteller’s evidence-based approach and strategic analysis offerings, see our Strategic Development section on www.bm.com.

NBC News is getting into the education business, the digital education business to be exact, reports the New York Times. In conjunction with the New York Film Academy, NBC News is offering a four-week, eight-week and one-year digital journalism program for interested students. According to the Times, “a crying need for digital technologies” is one of many driving forces behind the new venture.

Although the article cites references regarding push-back in the academic world, specifically the fact that having “digital” tools doesn’t necessarily equate to journalism success, I believe NBC News and the NY Film Academy should be applauded for their endeavor. As a recent graduate and digital native, I know the impetus of understanding and applying digital in today’s world. Part of my job as Global Digital Coordinator is not only tracking current online trends but also evaluating these trends in terms of relevancy for our worldwide clients and Digital team.

Digital is all around us, ranging from websites to mobile phones; from broadcast TV to radio; from blog posts to blog comments…however the question remains: “What do I do with it?” Although the obvious answer (”a lot”) may appear simple, there should be a significant amount of thought and planning before one engages within this medium.

This idea of digital as omnipresent, and more importantly, actionable is present in Burson-Marsteller’s training program, Digital in Action, already in its six month throughout the company. Similar to the actions of NBC News and the New York Film Academy, an organization that values continuous learning and training via solid strategies, best practices and tools around new technology/communication channels serves as the ultimate destination for knowledge sharing, for company, employee and student.

Do you see value in the partnership between NBC News and the New York Film Academy?

The web is buzzing today about Guy Kawasaki’s launch of AllTop.com. The site serves as an aggregator of stories across numerous topics and is essentially a magazine rack for the web. From Twitter to blogs, the digerati are discussing merits and drawbacks of both the site and Kawasaki himself. Check out posts from Doc Searls at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, TechCrunch and Jeremiah Owyang.

I guess I’m missing something, because part of the beauty of the web is that if you don’t like it, you don’t have to use it. The Internet allows us to self-select sites, content, people of interest based on whatever criteria are individually relevant. If you are a hipster and have your own RSS feeds all set up, feel free to ignore the AllTop site. Or, perhaps it may still be useful, giving you an easy way to scan top stories in topics of occasional interest. For the techies who say the site is entry level and not useful to those of us who live online, I say, “Duh!” It isn’t meant for us. If I had a dollar for every client who asked me what RSS is, I’d be rich by now. I sent this to my brother who is not very savvy when it comes to digital and he said, “Cool. I’ll bookmark this.” It will probably be a valuable resource for him and will enhance his online experience.

Personally, I think the site is just fine. I like the simplicity of the layout, fully acknowledging the nod to PopURLs. I like being able to scroll numerous feeds, many of which I don’t subscribe to as a new source of content. I spent a bit of time stuck in an airport this weekend and AllTop definitely helped pass the time. I really like the Twitter channel as I don’t have time to subscribe to everyone I’d like, (although I have to confess to being disappointed in not getting a nod on the acknowledgments page for initially recommending the idea to Guy) and think that he deserves a ton of credit for building this site quick and marketing it well.

Besides, I think there are a lot of other things that we could spend our time griping about. How about Internet pollution to start?

I read on CNN yesterday about Yahoo and Google planning to offer social networking applications through their email page functions. Both companies have already made significant strides in allowing users to customize their home pages and aggregate content and functionality from various sites into a personal portal page.  However, I think that email is at odds with social networking given that email is inherently a personal communication.  Sure, I can block content from being seen by the world on social networking sites, but content is largely available to people I’ve marked as friends. Email is often more transactional then social, and that is a significant difference. I get the point about my email contacts being the genesis of my social graph, but no offense, there are some folks in my contacts database that I prefer to communicate with only on an as necessary and transactional basis.  Now, having widgets that tie my social networking information into my Google home page would be something I’d really go for. I’m all for the idea of a centralized home page that is aggregated, and eventually curated, just for and by me.  But leave my email account alone.

Earlier this month Erin wrote a post about Radiohead and the fact that the band let their fans decide how much they each would pay for the new album (downloaded directly from the Radiohead website). Talk about putting a lot (almost all) your trust in the hands of the consumer.

So will Radiohead be playing on the next street corner to make up for their democratized album? Highly unlikely – so far the band has sold 1.2 million albums at $8 each ($9.6 million in one week); mind you there is no middleman involved here either. Not too shabby!

Have a look at threadless – this company has placed complete trust in their community as well. Basic and brief overview: artists submit t-shirt designs, community votes, only winning designs are printed – thus usually insuring that all inventory is moved. Obviously there are incentives for both the designers and community – threadless sure has the pulse of its people.

These are definitely two great examples of embracing your fans, trusting them, and creating a relationship that is deeper than most.

E-marketer reported on a study conducted by the Deloitte Consumer Product Group that indicated that consumers are accessing and trust consumer-generated product reviews. The data is very convincing, indicating that 99% of respondents find consumer-generated reviews somewhat or very credible. However, only 62% read consumer-generated reviews.  I find it surprising that that 99% find the information credible but only 62% actually access in the information, but either way 62% is a big number. The eMarketer article states, “More than eight in 10 respondents in the Deloitte study who read consumer reviews said that the reviews had affected their buying intentions: either they became more determined to buy the product or they changed their minds and bought a different product altogether.”

As if we needed more proof, this is yet another demonstration of the big stick that consumers now carry, and further proof that marketers need to participate in online conversations with consumers.  Knowing that online reviews are influencing other consumers makes them a critical source of marketing data.  Talk about immediate and actionable feedback. Marketers need to track online feedback, and have a great opportunity to use it to facilitate real-time branding and even impact product development and potentially business operations. CPG companies have it pretty good being able to get this feedback.  I wish we had a system like this for agencies!

If you are a Radiohead fan (who among us isn’t?) you have probably heard by now that they are releasing a new album on October 10th.  It can be ordered online only at the Radiohead Web site, and is delivered either via download or a beautifully packaged disc-box.  So what?  Bands offer pre-orders on their Web sites all the time.  This situation is different because Radiohead has set the price to purchase the album via download to “up to you.”  That’s right - it’s up to you.  The band has not set a price for the download, choosing to leave it to fans to determine the value to them individually.

I won’t get into Radiohead’s point of view on the music industry, as I don’t even know enough to be dangerous.  What I do know, however, is what a great representation of trust this is.  We talk to clients about the need to trust their brands, trust their messages, and trust their consumers due to how influential consumer-generated media is in today’s digital communications landscape. Companies need to trust that they can participate in social media, and that their reputation will protect them when needed.  Radiohead clearly trusts their fans, moreso than the industry executives who should be there to protect them.  I hope this works out for Radiohead because it will make a great case study as to how good things can happen when you are courageous enough to trust those that matter most.

And, if you are a Radiohead fanatic like I am, take a look at the song list and listen to some clips. Can’t wait for the 10th!

Burson-Marsteller’s global CEO, Mark Penn, recently published a book titled Microtrends. The book details the small trends that are generating big change in America. Early buzz from clients and media is very positive. I am fascinated by this thinking, and am especially interested in the implications for digital communications. Given how online communications make the world a smaller place it will be especially interesting to identify personal microtrends. Have a look at the Web site, and send a chapter to a friend.  It will be interesting to discuss which microtrends we all find most interesting.