Max Gladwell

AdAge compiles consumer data and categorizes accordingly but fails to acknowledge a key component of the social media age.

Max Gladwell was launched because we felt that the powerful nexus of social media and green living represented incredible potential for change on a local as well as global scale. As AdAge reports, we’re right on target. “Some 88% of marketers who use social media plan to spend more on it this year, and 31% of those said they will spend “significantly more,” according to Prospero Technologies research.”

AdAge identifies nine social-media “consumer personalities”. However, what AdAge fails to mention is that these are not merely consumers…that all of us are no longer just consumers. The very definition of social media implies that we are vital (and influential) participants in the marketplace of products, services, policy, and brand equity. This is one of the fundamental shifts in how marketers of all stripes will have to view and approach the media landscape. The era of marketing at people is quickly coming to a close. The days when companies owned their brands are in the past. The term “consumer” is quickly losing its relevance. 

That said, the three most important participant categories for change are as follows: 

SMART GREEN: Clearly they prefer to buy products in recycled packages and eschew products that pollute. They are average users of social networking, blogging and podcasting but slightly above average in message boards. They are older (50-plus) and are most likely to go online for health or financial information. And in the spirit of their eco-friendly attitude toward trees, they’re 23% more likely to send electronic greeting cards. 

HEALTH AND IMAGE LEADERS: This is eager to try health and wellness products, experiment with diets, and spend to look younger. The majority are under 50. They prefer reading blogs over posting comments or creating their own blogs and prefer to read about TV shows, video games, music and art/literature. They also like social-networking sites: More than one-fifth visit them more than twice a month.