Why Video Will Be So Important in 2009
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December 30, 2008
One of the principles that Web 2.0 affords us all is that, thanks to the ease of self-publishing, we can create content in pretty much any form we want. And if you don't know exactly how your customers like to consume information, I'd argue that you should make every version available.

This became pretty clear to me today, when we made an announcement at Ford that we're launching a new feature in the Lincoln MKS called Active Park Assist - which means you can parallel park hands-free. Sounds cool.

We launched a traditional press release along with a social media press release. There were mainstream online articles about it which got some pickup, including Engadget, the Wall Street Journal, and Yahoo. And the reaction was mostly people passing along the headlines on Twitter.

But it wasn't until we launched the video that we had that "a-ha" moment. People saw the technology in action and immediately understood what the text-based pieces and the image above were trying to convey.



In this case, we had a story that was more easily understood by observing how technology worked firsthand. When you couple an image-intensive story with an audience's need for quick information, video is a great solution.

So when it's time to make your own announcement, launch a campaign, or build awareness, you should ask yourself: what's the most effective way of telling your story?

Photo credit: Ford Motor Company

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Posted by Scott Monty at 6:05 PM
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Case Study: Social Media for Crisis Communications
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December 22, 2008
A couple of weeks ago on the heels of Ford's appearance before some Congressional committees, I had to deal with a major firestorm online.

In short, the issue was that there was a Ford fansite called TheRangerStation.com that received a cease & desist letter from Ford, and the owner posted that Ford was asking for $5,000 and the URL to be turned over. It turns out there was much more to the story. The owner was selling counterfeit Ford goods, and together, we reached a reasonable solution to the situation.

Ron Ploof, a B-to-B social media consultant, has created a completely masterful case study of what happened here. I'll leave it to him to set it up, tell the story, and draw out the lessons, here in this Scribd document.

Feel free to embed it, share it, rate it, etc.

The Ranger Station Fire

In the end, it's created a point of conversation for us internally (and externally, I might add). I've committed to creating a more fluid conversation between Ford's Communications area and Office of General Counsel, so we don't run into these surprise situations again. We'll still need to protect the brand and our licensees, but if we can work with enthusiast sites, we'll be in a much better place.

Related links:
Interview on For Immediate Release
Real-time review of the day's events on Voltage Blog
Left the Box's assessment

What are your thoughts? Would you have done anything differently?

Photo credit: Woman of Scorn

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Posted by Scott Monty at 11:27 PM
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As If You Really Wondered...
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If there's one thing I'm not a fan of in the social web, it's the peer pressure surrounding memes. On the one hand, it's a forced post that I'd rather not write; then again, if I don't write it, I feel like I'm letting a friend down.

In this case, that friend was Aaron Strout, a social media and marketing colleague from back in Boston. Aaron has recently relocated to Austin (joining a number of other Boston illuminati) and is heading up marketing for Powered. And he told us seven things we may not know about him and challenged others.

So, here are the seven things you may not know about me (keep in mind I've done this a couple of times before). That means if you do your research, you'll know 23 things about me.

  1. I worked as a writer for the Department of Veterans Affairs during the Clinton healthcare reform proposal era. The thought was that the VA would need to compete with the Johns Hopkins and Mass Generals of the world, so they needed their own reform project. Industry and government leaders met and our group wrote the plan. I also wrote for another project Meeting the Challenge: A Research Agenda for Health, Safety and Food for America. I later went on to become a speechwriter for the Director of Medical Research.

  2. Speaking of medical research, I hold a Master's in Medical Science from Boston University School of Medicine and an M.B.A. with an concentration in healthcare management from Boston University Graduate School of Management.

  3. I was an altar boy for 10 years, serving under Father Ted, a very old-school priest. He was a no-nonsense guy and he expected things to be orderly. I kind of cringe every time I seen an altar server wearing sneakers at mass - Fr. Ted would have excommunicated them.

  4. When I participate in karaoke, to disguise my inability to perform current hits, I typically choose older songs and impersonate the singers. My favorite - it's a tie betweetn "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" as a duet between Willie Nelson & Julio Iglesias and "What A Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong.

  5. Before I joined Ford, I had only driven one American car - and a GM one at that. When I was in high school, I inherited a Vette. No, it's not what you're thinking. It was a Chevette.

  6. If you told me that I could only have a single kind of candy for the rest of my life, it would be Peanut M&M's. And yes, I'm old enough to remember when light brown was a color of regular M&M's.

  7. I won't be doing another one of these memes for at least another year.

Now, in keeping with the rules of the game, I nominate these seven unsuspecting souls. These are all people whom I've met or interacted with for the first time throughout the course of 2008. It's my goal to break out of the echo chamber a bit and extend your reading, if you're not already aware of them:
Amber Naslund
Justin Levy
Samir Belwani
Bob Knorpp
David Alston
Matt McDonald
Shannon Paul


Photo credit: sheeshoo

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Posted by Scott Monty at 7:27 AM
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Ford's CEO Takes to Twitter
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December 16, 2008
I was at a preview event that Ford was holding for media prior to the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), when in strolled our CEO, Alan Mulally. He was immediately swarmed by journalists, who formed the traditional scrum.

When they dispersed, I got his attention and asked if he wanted to take some questions on Twitter. "What's Twitter?" he asked. Fair question. When I explained it to him briefly (and what I had been doing on Twitter recently), he was all for it.

[I've said before and I'll say it again: Alan Mulally is a down-to-earth, affable and smart guy who's interested in new technology and passionate about Ford. I'm proud to be working for him.]

Here's a sampling of questions & answers from the exchange. Mind you, I was thumbing away on my Blackberry as Alan spoke.

Scott Monty
ScottMonty Any questions for Alan Mulally? about 3 hours ago from TwitterBerry

Tim Walker
TWalk @ScottMonty Q. for Mulally: In hindsight, wd he have changed Ford's strategy in 2007/08 if he'd known we'd be in recession by now? about 3 hours ago from twhirl in reply to ScottMonty

Scott Monty
ScottMonty @TWalk No. Matter of fact, we've accelerated the strategy with the safest most fuel-efficient vehicles ever. - Alan Mulally about 3 hours ago from TwitterBerry in reply to TWalk

Asheen Phansey
asheen @ScottMonty what is Mullaly's commitment to sustainability, both personal and professional? about 3 hours ago from twitterrific in reply to ScottMonty

Scott Monty
ScottMonty @asheen I've spent my entire career focused on safe & efficient transport; sutainability is the future. The future is now. -Alan Mulally about 3 hours ago from TwitterBerry in reply to asheen

Tyler Hurst
tdhurst @ScottMonty yeah, what does it feel like to be LEADING the industry rather than sticking with the status quo? about 3 hours ago from twhirl in reply to ScottMonty

Scott Monty
ScottMonty @tdhurst Exhilirating. Ford rocks! - Alan Mulally about 3 hours ago from TwitterBerry in reply to tdhurst

idamaster
idamaster Icon_red_lock @ScottMonty What's Alan currently driving? about 3 hours ago from web in reply to ScottMonty

Scott Monty
ScottMonty Alan just zipped away for some TV interviews. I'll see if I can grab him again. Thanks for the questions. about 3 hours ago from TwitterBerry

Scott Monty
ScottMonty @idamaster Alan makes it a point to drive a diff vehicle every day - including the competition - b/c it's impt to understand cust's view about 3 hours ago from TwitterBerry in reply to idamaster


Michael Critz
mcritz @ScottMonty Is Ford’s decision not to ask for bailout money up-front based in part on a desire to not conform to Congress’s stipulations.... about 3 hours ago from web in reply to ScottMonty

Scott Monty
ScottMonty @mcritz No, it's based on our good plan to tranform Ford and our sufficient liquidity. - Alan Mulally about 3 hours ago from TwitterBerry in reply to mcritz


Scott Monty
ScottMonty That closes this Q&A session with Ford CEO Alan Mulally. We may try this again some time. about 3 hours ago from TwitterBerry



Not bad for a first-timer. He was pretty succinct, too. What do you think? Is this an interesting way to connect directly to a Fortune 100 CEO?

Photo credit: Ford Motor Company

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Posted by Scott Monty at 4:06 PM
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Social Media Predictions 2009
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December 15, 2008
I was honored to receive an email from Peter Kim couple of weeks ago, asking for my predictions for social media in 2009. Peter is a former analyst for Forrester Research and he's now part of a VC that's focusing on social computing.

The reason I was honored is not just because Peter is a smart guy whom I've always admired, but he included me in some pretty distinguished company. In the end, 14 of us responded and came up with some fairly interesting and bold takeaways for 2009.

Some are:
  • "Although it is now cheaper to launch an initiative leveraging Web 2.0 technology - it requires qualified and passionate people to make them successful." - David Armano
  • "You may not always start the year as a leader, but you can certainly finish it that way." - Rohit Bhargava
  • "Intimacy touches emotion; emotion powers conversation." - Pete Blackshaw
  • "Doors are going to close all over the social web. Why? Because the money didn't come the way people thought it would." - Chris Brogan
  • "The tipping point has not only *not* been reached, but could still tilt *away* from Social Media." - Todd Defren
  • "There's a lot of fixing that needs to be done." - Jason Falls
  • "Dwindling budgets suddenly make low-cost social media look like the pretty girl at the ball." - Ann Handley
  • "We're going to develop a set of better metrics to help guide, direct and validate 'commitment'." - Joseph Jaffe
  • "The movement is rooted in a desire to have quality, not quantity, as people cocoon in the face of the economic crisis." - Charlene Li
  • "After a pre-qualifying wrestling match..." - Ben McConnell
  • "These will be cumulative events and interactions that will build brand loyalty for the companies that pay attention to them." - Scott Monty
  • "The recession will force revenue results out of social technologies." - Jeremiah Owyang
  • "Companies that focus on earning love will thrive during hard times, and kick ass when good times return." - Andy Sernovitz
  • "Suddenly, being Facebook friends with your mom will seem less ridiculous than following 4,000 strangers on Twitter." - Greg Verdino

Here's the full paper, via Scribd, a service that I really like and that' I've been using for Ford initiatives. Feel free to embed, pass it along, comment on it, or whatever.

Social Media 2009

Photo credit: circulating
 Posted by Scott Monty at 10:10 AM
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About Scott

For hi-res, click here
Ranked by Forbes as one of the top 10 influencers in social media, he has been called "an unstoppable force of nature," "the best corporate social media lead on the planet," and Alan Mulally, the CEO of Ford Motor Company, called him "a visionary."

At Ford, Scott heads up the social media function and holds the title Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager. He is a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company, from blogger relations to marketing support, customer service to internal communications and more, as social media is being integrated into many facets of Ford business.


Prior to joining Ford, Scott served as Consigliere for crayon and spent a number of years with PJA Advertising + Marketing, a boutique BtoB agency specializing in health sciences & high tech.

In addition to his professional responsibilities, Scott is an active blogger and podcaster. He writes about the intersection of advertising, marketing and PR at The Social Media Marketing Blog and also writes The Baker Street Blog and cohosts I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, two literary undertakings. Scott has been featured in hundreds of news and business publications in print and on the web, in nearly dozens of books, and on a variety of mainstream media, including NBC, NPR, CNN and The Wall Street Journal. Scott is a recognized thought leader in the social media industry and frequently speaks at industry events.

Scott received his Master's in Medical Science from Boston University's School of Medicine concurrently with his MBA from BU's Graduate School of Management. He lives in the greater Detroit area with his wife and two young sons, golfs all too infrequently, and has a hidden talent for voice over work.

Oh, and one last little-known fact: Scott coined the Oxford Dictionary of English-accepted term "tweetup."

You may download a headshot here, courtesy of Rosh Sillars; a PDF version of Scott's bio is here .


Books in which Scott or his work is featured:

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Scott Monty Bio

Speaking Events

Keynote at Social Media Week NYC

Scott speaks on social media at events, seminars and conferences around the world. His topic generally focuses on corporate use of social media, becoming an online spokesperson, and specifically on the progress that Ford has made in the recent past. If you're interested in booking Scott to speak at your event, please click here to submit a speaking request for Ford-related purposes or email me at speaking [AT] this site's URL (if you know what I mean) to send a general email request.. Scott's bio and headshot can be found in the "About Scott" tab above.



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Who is Scott Monty?

Hi, I'm Scott. I'm the global head of social media for Ford Motor Company. This is my personal blog, where I share my perspectives on social media - the convergence of marketing, advertising and PR on the Web - for marketers, agencies, the enterprise and the individual. This blog contains my personal views. My bio is available here and my headshots can be found here.

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