Hidden Canadian Government Gems

I’ve mentioned this before and I’ll mention it again, certain government departments are full of great hidden online products/tools that few people know of. Those outside of government walls may find it hard to believe, but it’s true. Some departments have been told to keep a low-profile on their offering for political reasons, others don’t yet realize just how much value they could potentially bring to audiences beyond their existing niche. In other cases still, it’s the complete lack of a well thought out marketing strategy that is to blame.

This will soon change. It’s becoming harder and harder to remain invisible. Believe it or not, we are slowly moving into the early adopter phase of Government 2.0 here in Canada. A demand for increased transparency, collaboration across multiple stakeholders, and a wide variety of new channels for participation with Canadian citizens, are all bringing to light some of these existing little gems, and rapidly giving birth to new ones. We’re still a far cry away from U.S initiatives such as data.gov and apps.gov, however here are three great Canadian online products/tools that I’ve stumbled upon through my consulting:

Working in Canada Tool – A government mash-up tool that allows you to search for an occupation that you’re interested in and receive up-to-date, accurate information from a wide variety of integrated databases. It puts certain private sector fee-based tools to shame. It was initially developed for skilled immigrants looking to work in Canada. Once you try it out yourself you’ll realize that it’s useful for much more than that.

Termium Plus – An incredible translation tool initially only used by government departments internally. It’s now available to the public. Try typing in a word in English and see just how thorough it is.

GC Surplus Auction – If you think you can find great things to buy on e-Bay, take a look a this Canadian Federal Government auction website. I just found a 2003 Yamaha ATV with a starting bid of $100.

There are plenty more of course. And they will only get better, especially as they begin to transition into stand-alone mobile applications. What I’m curious about though is what you’ve come across lately? Whether you’re a public servant, consultant, or citizen, there’s bound to be an online government tool that impressed you.

Google now offering FREE branded YouTube channels for government orgs

A few of my contacts at Google (i.e. owners of YouTube) have recently informed me that the branded YouTube channel (formerly $50,ooo to setup), is now being offered for free to all government departments (this includes the Canadian Government of course).

What’s the difference between a branded and non-branded channel?

How social media can bring strategic marketing thinking into government

It’s been almost 4 years since we started the Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing (CEPSM) . We set forth a very clear mission: To advance the marketing discipline in the public sector. How have we gone about doing this? Through our core functions of speaking, training and consulting.

The definition

Here’s how I like to simplify the marketing definition, whenever anyone asks: “A strategic process and set of tools wrapped in a philosophy for helping an organization do what it wants to do.”

People forget that marketing is first and foremost a process that helps organizations attain their objectives as effectively and efficiently as possible. It follows  a specific process and various frameworks (such as the 4P’s) that have been developed over many decades.

Why did we start CEPSM ?

• Marketing is one of  the most misunderstood functions in the public sector, often confused with “promotion” and “marketing communications”.
• A major primary research study on The State of Marketing in the Public and Non-Profit Sectors reinforced our beliefs early on.
• There is confusion between the “marketing” function and the “communications” function. In some cases the two are falsely seen as the same thing.
• There is a very evident lack of marketing expertise within the government environment. People are being put into senior “marketing” positions having never taken a single marketing course in their lives, let alone attained a business degree.
• Marketing is perceived as an “art” with no attention being paid to the “science” side. Big mistake.

What has changed?

Very little so far. Having worked with over 50 government clients I can say there is still a tremendous issue with people working in silos and not sharing experiences with each other, thus repeating the same mistakes. Tactics are still being developed without any strategies to guide them. Something needs to be done at a more holistic level.

Every year about 15-20 people go through our Professional Certificate in Public Sector and Non-Profit Marketing (through Carleton University). This course (or something equivalent) should be a mandatory prerequisite for anyone taking on a “marketing” position in government, or a “communications” position that has marketing elements to it. The problem is that people think marketing is some “fluffy” position that is responsible for glossy brochures and tv ads. As a result, any kind of formal training is often ignored. This is especially frustrating for people that actually have marketing/business degrees and are put into these positions surrounded by people (often their bosses) who don’t (I have met plenty).

What keeps me believing?

I have recently noticed an interesting rise in thirst for strategic marketing thinking in government. The neat thing is that most people don’t know that they’re asking for it , albeit indirectly. I’m referring to the thirst for my niche, i.e. anything to do with web 2.0, gov 2.0, social media, etc…

When it comes to social media marketing, there is a lot more interest than pure old “marketing”. Thanks to this, I have been invited to numerous senior management speaking engagements , conference presentations, and workshop courses. The  interesting part is that what I teach in my social media marketing workshops, is essentially  “marketing 101″ with a modern twist that takes into account the necessary organizational culture change that is needed to integrate social media  into an organizational strategy. Therefore I am able to put forth basic marketing principles and get people thinking using the strategic mindset that is “marketing”.

My conclusion from all of this….

…the “sexiness” of social media is a great opportunity to push forward “strategic thinking” and the “marketing process” in government! Especially since social media is something that very few people understand, but almost all want to participate in. Of course there are elements of the marketing process that social media has re-defined (e.g. marketing research can be crowd-sourced, niche audiences can be easily found, feedback can be collaborative, etc…) but the importance of  having a “strategy before tactics” will stand the test of time.