July 7, 2009 1 Comment
I had no idea this photo would follow me around
What are people saying about you? What kinds of pictures will your boss, employees or (gasp!) kids discover with a few short clicks? What does any of this mean to your personal brand?
This Thursday I’m co-presenting “The Brand of You in the Digital Age” with Tim Brunelle at an event hosted by the Minnesota Chapter of the American Marketing Association and Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA).
We’re going to talk about the changing face of personal brand, why your online identify matters and tips for monitoring, positioning and saving your digital reputation.
Event details:
The Brand of You in a Digital Age
July 9, 2009 | 5:00 p.m.
Grumpy’s Bar – Roseville, MN | REGISTER HERE
Be sure to check out Tim’s preview post at the MNAMA blog.
February 10, 2009 2 Comments
I attended the first 2009 Conversations About the Future of Advertising event (CATFOA) put on by Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) and Minnesota College of Art and Design (MCAD) at the Fine Line Music Cafe (FLMC) last night.
Wow, that’s a damn lot of acronyms there (WTAHOALOAT).
If you’re not already familiar, “CATFOA seeks to improve the quality of interactive marketing and advertising developed in the Twin Cities through enlightening presentations and their resulting conversation.”
Last year’s events were both informative and popular, bringing in a good assortment of nationally recognized media and marketing folks, including Joseph Jaffe (sporting shiny white tennis shoes, mind you) and Adweek’s Brian Morrissey.
Last night’s speaker was Alan Wolk, a New York marketing consultant known for his marketing blog, The Toad Stool, and most recently for his blog series, “Your Brand is Not My Friend.”
Here are a few highlights (captured in <140 character succinct bites, of course):
It has to be tough to come in from out of town and have to tackle a diverse crowd of consultants, agency veterans, designers, copywriters, social media gurus and/or recently laid-off folks who may or may not already know lots or very little about what you’re talking about. Hell, I’m still struggling with it. We’re a diverse group.
Unsurprisingly, the questions from the audience showed this diversity — from basic, “How do I know if my company should/should not be blogging?” to the more complex “How you monetize and prove ROI for social media tactics?”
Alan did a good job focusing on top-level concepts and citing a few real world case studies. And since some of us were ready for the 201 and 301-level discussion, his presentation helped kickstart post-lecture networking discussions among attendees, and you know me, I always love the opportunity to bring the interactive marketing community together and pool our intellectual capital (buzzword bingo, ftw!)
CATFOA provided that very opportunity last night (and free food, to boot). Thanks to MIMA, MCAD and Alan!
Check out the upcoming speakers and tell your coworkers they are missing out if they don’t show up (btw, it’s free):
January 22, 2009 5 Comments
photo by @tbrunelle
On Wednesday, I had the profound pleasure of moderating a Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) event on the topic Digital Reputation Management, a topic that is a core focus of my company (and me personally) in 2009.
A Weber Shandwick proprietary analysis revealed that over three-quarters (79 percent) of the world’s number-one most admired companies lost their crowns over the past five years in their respective industries.
Reputation loss is also on the rise. Nearly 9 out of 10 business executives participating in our Safeguarding Reputation™ survey agree that susceptibility to reputation damage is a growing threat.
Similarly, a sizable 84 percent of global senior executives surveyed by the Economist Intelligence Unit reported that reputation risk increased significantly over the past five years. When executives were asked to choose among 13 risk types, reputation risk emerged as the most significant threat to global corporate business.
As company, brand and product reputations fluctuate and/or deteriorate worldwide, communicators need to proactively engage reputation radar systems to identify, track and respond to approaching reputation threats, as well as find ways to locate and empower brand advocates.
This is definitely a topic which our interactive marketing community needs to be active (especially proactive) in discussing, exploring and collaborating. What a great panel topic!
Our star-studded panel constsited of Tammy Lee Stanoch, VP Corporate Communications for Delta/NWA, Lela Phommasouvanh, Senior Consultant, Search Marketing for FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters Business, and Steve Bendt, Social Technology Activist for Best Buy, Inc.
More than 250 attendees absorbed tips about tracking buzz, making the business case to leadership and the imperative “Set Up a Google Alert for your name and your clients’ names” mantras. If you missed the event, you can stream the archive here.
Gems from the discussion:
The panel put together a list of suggested reading links on del.icio.us here, and also mentioned the following resources to research, check out, use or peruse:
I also recommend:
If you have others to share, please include them in the comments.
UPDATE:
Steve Bendt has a recap post here.
January 7, 2009 Leave a Comment
…the next MIMA event panel on Jan. 21. The topic is Digital Reputation Management.
Event Description:
Remember telephone? Where you’d say “apple” and it would come out the other end as “elbow fireworks”?
Well, these days, controlling your online reputation is akin to playing telephone. You’ve got to speak clearly. You’ve got to listen carefully. And if someone misrepresents your message, you’ve got to speak up. Sound easy enough? It’s not. With so many online communication channels – blogs, social networks, wikis – it’s getting harder to track who’s saying what.
But not to worry! We’re gathering some fine folks to talk through common problems, offer advice and answer your questions. Cool? Cool.
Panelists include:
* Tammy Lee Stanoch, VP Corporate Communications for NWA
* Lela Phommasouvanh, Senior Consultant, Search Marketing for FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters Business
* Dawn M Bryant, Manager, Corporate Public Relations for Best Buy, Inc.
We’ll discuss key issues related to online reputation management, including:
* SEO practices
* Active listening
* Response techniques
* Personal brand
* Customer and employee communities
You’ll walk away with practical tips and smart strategies you can put to use right away. If you’ve got clients, customers and competitors who A) know how to type B) have Internet connections, seriously, don’t miss this discussion.
October 3, 2008 Leave a Comment
This was my first Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) Summit, however, I told numerous people that I had super high expectations going in.
I’ve had the opportunity to go to South by Southwest (SXSW) numerous times, BlogWorld & New Media Expo twice and a handful of other social and interactive conferences.
I was at BlogWorld just last week doing the panel/party/networking thing. It’s one of the favorite parts of my job — meeting new and old friends, learning about new and emerging media and strategies, and evangelizing/proselytizing my take on what’s hot and what’s next.
I’m no stranger to marketing conferences, and for the cost and investment in time, it’s important to get a lot of these events. I’m happy to report the MIMA Summit blew away my expectations, and not just because the speakers were (mostly) high quality, the panels were (mostly) well structured and the chicken wasn’t dry. It was the attendees’ contagious passion for what they do that sealed the deal for me.
MIMA presents an opportunity for the interactive marketing community in the Twin Cities to build and grow our collective intellectual capital.
Because of our midwestern familial culture, our nonchalance about what’s cool and trendy versus strategic and effective, and perhaps more importantly, the diversity of creative opportunities, outlets and clients exhibited by the Minneapolis-Saint Paul social and interactive marketing community, we are on the brink of something big.
MIMA president Matt Wilson feels it, and said so at least twice during the Summit. Former president Kristina Halvorson feels it. In fact, lots of you whom I spoke with at the Summit mentioned it. And I know Lee Odden feels it, because we talked about it in the airport after BlogWorld last week — pre-Summit.
You, my friends and peers, feel it. I know because I’m reading your post-MIMA tweets two days later, and you’re still buzzing off your MIMA high.
After five years in the cities, I’m finally feeling like I understand and am a valuable contributor to the marketing community here. Maybe I’m naive, too fresh or haven’t had enough of my dreams crushed yet, but I’m excited about 2009 and what we can do together.
We — the Minneapolis-Saint Paul marketing community — are on the precipice of a marketing revolution steeped in social media tools, authentic storytelling and a genuine interest in putting the “interactive” in interactive marketing.
The MIMA Summit was simply a milestone in a journey we’ve only just begun, and I’m going to live-tweet the whole trip. See you online.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=d62bd2c7-eb41-481a-80e1-eda98860ccf4)
October 1, 2008 2 Comments
At breakfast this morning I joined a random table and chatted up the guys sitting there. What luck!
I met Ryan Evans! YES – the Ryan Evans, who is seeking your vote. He promises to change…nothing!
Here’s his platform:
Don’t Change a Thing
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix itYou helped Ryan Evans get his job back. Now it’s time to help him save America. From change.
I strongly believe in the platform that I am running. Here are some details:
- * Financial Situation: What financial situation? Don’t Change a Thing!
- * Underwear: Four words – Don’t Change a Thing!
- * Environment: The environment changes enough. Don’t Change a Thing!
- * Social Security: Who needs money when they get old? Bill Gates doesn’t, why should you? Don’t Change a Thing!
- * Your Mind: Let your mind do its own thing. You don’t need to change it. Don’t Change a Thing!
He also is handing out non-traditional swag, including t-shirts and the “Official Ryan Evans for America Fruit Roll-up”
And a close-up:
Super great guy, and most importantly, he’s for promoting the status quo. Learn more here.
October 1, 2008 2 Comments
Sad. Who gets their drink tickets, eh?
October 1, 2008 Leave a Comment
View the archive here: Click Here
MIMA Mobile 2009 and Beyond (10/01/2008)
2:13
Room is just a little over 50/50 for picking cell phones versus computer if had to give up one
Moderator Kara Thornton gives some interesting stats: 1 in 7 adults only use cell phones; one in five adults have no landline
(i hate when the panelists sit in an order different than listed in the program)
What recos to marketers who are considering entering mobile space?
Greg Crockart, Buongiorno Marketing Services
Talking about Cadbury putting long codes on confectionary products — what I learned is you think about what benefits mobile offer to consumer — how is it making my life easier in some way.
David Gale, Vibes: Mobile is just another screwdriver for marketing, retention, things you already do. Be objectives driven. Mobile is not a gamechanger for any reason whatsoever. Know what your objectives are, set your expectations clearly and then measure results.
Brent Dusing, Cellfire: Even though economy is a bit down, Majority of 18-24 are moving into mobile-only category (not even e-mail). Use it as a mechanism to draw consumers in.
Moderator: How would you advise people to assess participation? How can they determine if mobile is a good fit.
Brent: When dealing with companies who are blue chip advertisers, you won’t have a problem selling. The other thing mobile can provide you — especially if you’re brick and mortar advertiser — is capturing consumer data.
David: Look at behavior. 99 percent plus of traffic on mobile phones is not commercially sponsored. We have to teach consumer to accept the promotion. We assume commercials and companies now have a Web site (a dot com). But we don’t expect that with a mobile property. Set expectations in advance, then experiement, then plot success moving forward.
Greg: Nightmare question is client asking for metrics up front. Sometimes you have to use information at head in advance. Historically the experience on a mobile device isn’t as rich and fulfilling as sitting at a computer. This is getting better with iPhone user-interface, but not everyone has one. Key thing is to show consumer what benefit will be for moving to mobile device.
2:14
Brent: the live personality is key
2:14
Super bowl and other big events is “spikey” and doesn’t perform as well as you would think. In terms of layering across other media, you must experiment. The closer to live you can get — or be live, the more response you’re going to get
2:14
Mobile is about time, location and interaction.
2:15
Make it of value, time, convenience for consumer.
2:15
Brent: I’ll disagree
2:16
While it is true, mobile is good as part of integrated campaign
2:16
(why aren’t any MSP companies represented besides the moderator?)
2:16
We have success with carriers — drive/push consumers through their carrier/channel
2:17
(the internet is soooo slow in this room — who’s downloading MGMT mp3′s?)
2:17
There are ways to drive consumers via mobile web, the irony can’t be lost that twitter is primary a mobile site
2:19
(Only a handful of people in room are conducting mobile campaigns right now)
David says if you’re putting TBD for mobile, just wait until 2010
2:20
Brent: Fast Food, Electronics, Casual Dining, Department Store — real brick and mortar — packaged goods company actually use Cellfire coupons as part of their campaigns
2:20
Brent: one of fundamental differences between mobile phone and internet are wireless carriers
2:21
e.g., for Verizon, TMobile and Alltel, you can’t run digital content on their phones w/o explicit marketing partnerships with those carriers
2:21
unlike the internet, carriers control a lot of the content that is/isn’t distributed on their platforms
2:22
(talking about partnering with a specific carrier now — is that really the way of the future?)
2:23
(talking about partnering with a specific carrier now — is that really the way of the future?)
2:23
Greg: Japan and Europe mobile markets are really picking up compared to U.S. although they are catching up.
2:26
Brent: as a marketer, we have to consider the 6 different programming languages
2:26
on the internet, fundamentally you can manage your own Web site, that doesn’t work in the mobile space
2:27
David: there are 3rd party services who help with ringtone delivery and such, but even those aren’t enough. Answer is be patient enough to ask questions and understand desired tactics will have roadblocks
2:27
Question from audience: how would you layer in smart phones?
2:28
(I love the european perspective since they are sooo far ahead of us — it helps only a few carriers/manufacturers have mass there)
2:28
Greg: I have people say SMS is boring, 150 characters in black and white (wow, they are so far ahead of us)
2:28
SMS just works. But carriers in U.S. are straining under amount of SMS. What I’m seeing is shaky and carriers need to put more resources in reliability of SMS
2:30
Google searches are ~6 billion per month, so that’s a big difference
2:30
Greg: of course it comes down to the phone your client has doesn’t work
2:31
although only .5% were marketing-based.
Brent: I think that’s an opportunity
2:31
David: the volume of SMS was 73 billion messages sent just in June
2:31
even though people still have dvrs, they will still watch a commercial. but they still had pop-up ads and will resisit advertising on their phones
2:31
(what’s the future, guys?)
2:32
On mobile Web, you can start seeing what kinds of phone they are on and customize the approach
2:33
Question from twitter: affect mobile marketing has had on political campaigns
2:34
David: Obama rewritten the rules for mobile — actually violated a lot of laws for push marketing for seeking donations, etc.
2:35
Greg, who has worked at AT&T, says Obama really hyped the VP announcement beyond belief, which was dangerous because the real-time opportunity was impossible
2:35
So you start at 3 p.m. in the afternoon, and if you haven’t done your math right, you get it at 4 a.m.
2:35
the other side is people don’t get it at all
2:36
last night, Obama campaign sent message saying best place to watch debates was cnn. then 20 minutes later they resent another saying “major networks”
2:37
Brent: I think it was really smart to do this. People felt like they were in the know — know before others — inside scoop
2:38
Moderator speaks again!
2:38
Greg plays Obama ringtone – wonder what they think of that in his international meetings
2:38
Question from Twitter: How do you see Adobe Air changing the market?
2:38
NONE OF THE PANELISTS KNOW WHAT ADOBE AIR IS
2:39
Greg: Android won’t be a game changer b/c don’t have user interface that Apple has
2:41
Greg: Who has had their phone crash? (maybe 10 raised hands)
2:42
Brent: I used to have a handset that crashed all the time, but my new one hasn’t crashed in 2 years.
2:42
(my caveman blackberry crashes about every other day – thanks work! :) )
2:43
David: We’ll still see limits on bandwith, speed and battery life. Nothing much coming in the future to solve that.
2:43
Brent: My Blackberry is fine. Same thing with iPhones
2:44
(what? My wife’s iPhone doesn’t last a day of surfing and talking, and it’s brand new)
2:44
Greg: with Android, what I’m seeing is similar to Windows platform that you’ll start seeing on lots of brands
2:44
PC manufacturer model is going to start being applied to mobile devices
2:45
Brent: I think the high-up time and high-availability is going to need to be worked on
2:45
That’s it. I’m bummed they didn’t really talk about next year or the future, just navigating now.
2:45
October 1, 2008 Leave a Comment
Speaker was James Quinn from Larkin Hoffman Attorneys.
My two biggest takeaways really quick:
Digital and social marketing strategist, music blogger, citizen journalist, recovering egoist, apostle
|
