When I first started writing this blog, it was focused on social media in the b-to-b space. I was working at a B2B agency at the time so it made sense, plus I saw a lot of potential.
Fast forward to today. I've broadened the focus of the blog (sacrilege!) but I've probably become better known for offering perspectives on the tools and my level of knowledge in general (or you tell me what I'm known for). But occasionally I dabble back into business-to-business applications, because there are some worthy examples and that market is finally starting to catch up.
This is but a small sampling of the entire conference. Take a look at the conference web page and see what you think. And since you're a faithful subscriber to my blog (you havesubscribed for free, right?), let me offer you something in return: if you sign up to attend this blockbuster conference and submit the code ESPK08, you can get $200 off the price of registration - make it $350 off if you register before May 19.
I hope you'll take the opportunity to avail yourself of some of the best current thinking on this subject today and consider attending. If you do show up, please introduce yourself, as I'd be delighted to meet you.
A couple of weeks ago, I was in New York to participate in a press conference for Firebrand, one of our clients at crayon.
I'm not going to spend a lot of time talking about the features of Firebrand, as they've been covered by Joe and Greg, among others. Before I tell you about the event, here's a thumbnail sketch of Firebrand. Essentially, Firebrand offers Web, TV and mobile viewing of top-notch television commercials, but with a twist that sets it apart from other online video properties: they're all-commercials, all the time; and the site allows you to actually participate in contests, giveaways and offers from the very brands that you're watching.
While it may seem counterintuitive that crayon, the company whose founder bemoans the tired old 30-second spot, was involved, there was a method to our madness. You see, in this case, the ads are not interruptions of the feature program: they are the feature program. Commercials as content. And we can support entertainment and engagement.
Now let me tell you a little bit about the event itself. Firebrand planned a press conference for September 25, during Advertising Week - perfect timing, as lots of industry people would be in town and journalists would be in the mood to talk about marketing & advertising. Held at the Paley Center for Media (formerly the Museum of Television and Radio), it was the perfect spot for debuting a brand that is multimedia in nature.
In addition to a nod to the past and present, Firebrand also looked to the future, by virtue of the invitation list. There were probably about 75 people in attendance in the hall - mostly traditional journalists - and I was impressed with the turnout. But here's the interesting part: I was one of a handful of bloggers who were there as well (many more were invited, but unable to attend). When you consider that Firebrand's target audience is Millennials, having the news break on blogs is a natural move.
The bloggers - who were treated the same as the traditional press - were given press kits, including glossies and a traditional press release, as well as links to the social media news release for the event. The SMNR had links to pages on YouTube, Flickr and del.icio.us and even a Facebook group. Based on what I've seen from some prominentbloggers, the SMNR was widely used, as video links and quotes continue to pop up everywhere. And the Facebook group has already garnered over 500 members.
All this, and the site doesn't even go live until October 22! Not bad. Stay tuned for the beta release...
I don't know what it is, but I find that I always begin to succumb to blogger outreach efforts. Maybe it's because I like the attention.
But when it goes wrong - and it doesn't take much - I get turned off pretty quickly. About a month or so ago, my colleague Scott Greg Verdino wrote about his experience with a less than buttoned-up blogger outreach effort.
Well, I recently received an invitation to check out Flektor, a site that allows you to host all of your photos, video, music and text and to essentially create multimedia scrapbooks to share with friends. An interesting site, one that I might be tempted to review. What made it even more attractive is that the pitch was actually one of the smoothest ones I've received. Here are some things they did well:
They were specific - they named the blog that linked to my site (and it happened to be one that I know and respect)
Did their homework - they noted that I write about social media and innovation
Clear goals & objectives - they were very upfront about being in the midst of a social media campaign and wanting to connect with influential bloggers
They were empathetic - they noted that unsolicited emails can be a turn-off, so this would be the only one I received
Offered a two-way dialog - more than just a one-way pitch, they wrote they'd be open to comments, feedback, interviews and specifically stated their methods were "purely one-on-one interaction with people who like" the service
A decidedly human approach - they requested that I let them know if I decide to write something about the service, noting "we monitor, but nobody's perfect"
Sounds like a lock, right? Well, I got to the end of the email and it said:
I look forward to hearing from you! Many Thanks, David!
'Doh! Looks like I won't be participating. Maybe they'll have better luck with David.
In this day and age - especially with form letters (which it turns out this was), such an error is inexcusable. The technology should be able to merge databases with forms. And if it's a personalized approach, then it shouldn't be happening. With a little effort and attention to detail, these errors can be eradicated, saving clients a lot of money in wasted outreach efforts. And maybe it even makes sense to put together something like Ogilvy PR's Blogger Outreach Code of Ethics.
Bottom line, this is more than PR 101 - it's common courtesy in any social environment: pay attention to people you're talking to, make them feel like they're important to you, and for God's sake, get their names right.
Last month, crayon was visited by a crew from ABC News, as they were filming a piece for a series called "The Workplace of the Future." As crayon has offices in Second Life, we were a natural choice to showcase what it's like to be part of a virtual company.
Well, earlier this evening, World News Tonight with Charles Gibson aired a spot that featured crayon in addition to IBM and accenture. Not bad company to keep, eh? My colleagues got some nice coverage, including C.C., Joseph and Greg (voice only). You can watch the video by clicking the player in the upper-right corner of your screen.
The ultimate irony? You're forced to watch a 30-second spot as part of the pre-roll. Here's the YouTube version without the ads:
And in the meantime, you're welcome to join us on Crayonville Island every Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. EST for Coffee with crayon.
I'm very proud to say that one of my fellow bloggers has decided to become a fellow crayonista. I guess you could call him my new new media colleague.
Greg Verdino, most recently VP of Emerging Channels at Digitas and author of Greg Verdino's Marketing Blog (well, who else would author it, really?), is joining crayon tomorrow as Chief Strategy Officer.
Everyone on the team is very excited to have Greg join us. With his ability to assess the latest channels, applications, tools and techniques, combined with his knowledge of marketing, Greg is sure to give crayon a boost.
AdWeek scooped everyone with their coverage over the weekend. But the best announcement comes from Greg himself.
After yesterday's big announcement, I was greeted with a number of comments, emails and tweets from a variety of people in the social media world - some of whom I've met, with whom I've corresponded and in some cases, some whom I've never heard of or heard from before.
And to all of you - if I haven't said so individually yet - allow me to simply say:
Thank you.
I have continued to find and I firmly believe that the positive energy that one expends in a social network is returned in multiples. My friend Greg Verdino thinks so too. (Hey wait, didn't I mention this before?) This week I have been humbled by the outpouring of support and thoughtfulness, not to mention the congratulatory messages that they've extended to both me and my future employer.
I've been writing this blog for nearly a year, and I feel that in so many ways I'm still a novice, with much still to learn. And despite knowing my subject matter, sometimes I wonder if any of the material is resonating with my readers, either on a personal level or for business practices.
For that reason, the kindness you have shown and the confidence you place in me have inspired me with even more positive feelings about my job change and my writing. Even though I'm sure there are some heavy workloads ahead, it is my hope to continue to bring you valuable insights, candid commentary, frank assessments and humor on a regular basis - all designed to further the conversation.
It's the least I can do in return for your praise and respect.
Greg Verdino just posted a great blog entry about the consolidation that have been taking place in the online advertising space. Of recent interest:
Microsoft buys aQuantive for $6 billion on 5/18
WPP Group buys 24/7 RealMedia for $649 million on 5/17
Yahoo buys Right Media for $680 million on 4/30
Google buys DoubleClick for $3.1 billion
I left a long comment on his blog that can be summed up with a couple of questions that marketers might want to ask themselves:
If this results in lower ad buys or agency services (unlikely), that might be a positive to shareholders; customers might not benefit, as the realist in me thinks that marketers would simply pad their P&L with wider margins rather than pass along the savings.
If we see a more intelligent approach to online marketing and a more comprehensive and unified method of ad creation, behavioral targeting and measurement of results we could expect a much more tightly controlled and better understood ROI, not to mention an audience that receives marketing it truly cares about.
All in all, it's a troubling trend that leaves more decisions in fewer hands. If we were to play out this trend to the extreme, we'd be left with a monolith of a media company (or perhaps a small handful) that controls everything. Scary.
To hammer the point home, you might want to check out a video that I posted on this blog last September that predicts the future of online media. While it doesn't call into account the activity of the ad agencies, it's very eerie, as it predicts the same sort of impact on the world as the latest activities.
Scott Monty's perspectives on implications of social media - the convergence of marketing, advertising and PR on the Web - for marketers, agencies, the enterprise and the individual.
When I first started writing this blog, it was focused on social media in the b-to-b space. I was working at a B2B agency at the time so it made sense, plus I saw a lot of potential.
