Web logs can be innovative marketing tools if not allowed to run amuck (part one of two).

One of my favorite childhood stories was The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss. For those of you who don’t know the story, The Lorax is a cautionary fable on the dangers of corporate greed and disregard for the earth’s environment. The Once-ler, the faceless narrator of the story, describes how he arrived in paradise, built a factory, used up all the natural resources around him and left a desolate wasteland in its wake. Very cheery stuff indeed!

The metaphor still works on many levels -- including perhaps, the interactive space. Don’t believe me? Is ad clutter helping or hurting the online ad market? And what has the proliferation of spam done to the email marketing  channel?

Now we’ve got these great new things called blogs. Ok, they really aren’t all that new. It just seems that way with all the attention they’ve received over the past several months. Blogs started out as personal diaries, where people could share their opinions on a myriad of topics from social issues to politics, to that great band they saw Saturday night. The concept has increasingly been adopted by companies as a serious communications tool, and is now considered ripe for use as a marketing and advertising vehicle.

There is definitely some level of concern in the blogsphere that this trend may ultimately ruin a pure and simple medium in much the same way the Once-ler ran roughshod through the land of the Lorax. For example, Fark.com  has allegedly been selling links on its blog without clearly identifying them as ads. Rick Bruner, a marketing consultant, commented on his blog that “this kind of blatant editorial fraud is nothing but trouble for the blogosphere.” So did Fark display an innovative use of this new medium, or signal the beginning of the end? I guess time will tell.

Regardless, there seems to be no shortage of companies starting their own blogs. Many are doing great things with their blogs, including some old-school brands which I hadn’t previously thought to be on the cutting edge. I spoke with a number of companies who are utilizing blogs as a marketing or customer relationship tool. And while I certainly acknowledge that marketing blogs are in their nascent stage, there are some lessons to be learned. Here is the Chapell view on marketing blogs:

Product, issue or personality focused

First, a caveat: I’m usually reluctant to spend too much time sorting things into neat little categories -- particularly when describing something such as blogs, which are still evolving rapidly. But I think in this case it makes sense to spend some time grouping, as it helps frame the discussion. Most marketing blogs can be segmented into three categories: product-focused, issue-focused and personality-focused.

Product-focused blogs provide lots of rich data on a product, and discuss how that product can be used. They are well suited to support software, consumer electronics and other technology products. Issue focused blogs provide content that is of interest to a majority of people who use the product. And personality blogs typically follow the pursuits of an engaging persona as he/she/it uses the product in daily life. Of course, some marketing blogs have more than one focus.

The focus that is best for any company has a lot to do with the nature of the product. Technology products seem to lend themselves more to product focused blogs so the company can provide technical information and solicit feedback from prime customers. Microsoft and Dell use blogs for that purpose.

Issue-focused blogs make sense when the majority of your customers feel strongly about a certain issue, or when your company was founded around a particular social issue. For example, Stonyfield Farm, a yogurt manufacturer in Vermont, focuses its blog on environmental and women’s issues -- issues that are near and dear to many of the company's customers, and which are in line with the company’s other marketing messages. Travel guide publisher Fodors’ blog is primarily an issue blog. Bloggers discuss stories that might be of interest to the frequent traveler or tourist. However, the Fodors' blog is also a personality blog, as it seeks to personalize some of Fodors’ editors, and differentiate them from the competition.

Personality-focused blogs work well to highlight new products or new and unique ways of using those products. Demonstrating how an intriguing person is actively incorporating your product or service can help generate interest, and can make your marketing blog a more enjoyable read/view. For example, the blog for Sega’s Beta7 football game highlights the exploits of an enthusiastic (ok, he’s flat-out deranged) fan of a particularly violent sports video game.

Maytag blog… Really?

Even some of the old-school companies are moving into the blogosphere. For example, Maytag setup a blog  around its new Skybox product. For those of you who don’t know, Skybox is a personal vending machine product -- basically, it’s a new type of refrigerator that suburban male sports fanatics will place in their home-built bar between the foosball table and the Dig-Dug game.

Now, as a New Yorker, I’m still trying to justify the space taken up by the empty fridge in my apartment, so I’m probably not an ideal customer for them. However, there seems to be no shortage of people out there who would love to feature a Skybox as the crown jewel of their "man-cave." (That is Maytag’s term, btw -- I prefer to refer to that room as “the study” or “library.” It somehow makes it seem more dignified than that you’ve set aside a special room just so you and your friends can swill beer.)

Maytag uses its blog primarily for product- and service-related messages. These things are fine, but I think the Skybox blog would be much more effective as a personality blog. The type of person who pops into my head when I think of the Skybox is the fanatical sports fan. So why not run with that? Tell me about Rob, the rabid Packer fan from Oshkosh, Wis., who hosts a party with 10 of his fellow cheese heads every Sunday afternoon. Or highlight the exploits of Dave from Vernon, Conn., who has the entire family down to his man-cave to watch the UConn Huskies hoops games.

I’d like to see Maytag build more buzz around the whole man-cave experience. Dr. Don Cook, associate professor at the University of New Mexico, says, “Consumers love it when they get the opportunity to craft their own unique environment around a product.”

Perhaps Maytag could host a contest for the best man-cave and get Skybox users to vote on it. Heck, the man-cave could become what scrapbookin’ is for the suburban housewife set. And that would surely have a positive impact upon sales.

Tomorrow: Advice for marketers -- start small, keep it transparent and incorporate feedback. 

Alan Chapell is a consultant focusing on Privacy-Marketing -- helping companies understand privacy and incorporate consumer perception into product development. He has been in the interactive space for more than seven years with firms such as Jupiter Research, DoubleClick and Cheetahmail. Mr. Chapell is the New York Chapter Chairman of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, and he publishes a daily blog on issues of consumer privacy.