“6 Things” is a list of things I've come across that I find interesting, inspiring, adventurous, or just plain cool. I’ll be publishing these fairly regularly, so keep an eye out.

It's been a little while since my last "6 Things" post. It's not that I haven't had lots of cool stuff ooze through the interweb onto my screen, it's just that I wanted to get my CAT/Clio posts out. And besides, absence makes the heart grow fonder... or is that absinthe?

This list features 6 awesome time-sucking activities I've come across recently. They aren't all new, but if you haven't had the pleasure of using these to fill up your copious free time, then you are in for a treat. Actually, the real question is, "are these a waste of time?" If you are engaged and entertained, is that not a worthwhile activity? Who's to say, but if you get caught at work spending your time on these... you don't know me.

Most of these are tied to brands. Do they do anything for them? Much of marketing is building awareness, so in that sense, many of these are successful (but not all). Will they lead to better business? That's hard to say, but they probably aren't hurting it.

1. Who doesn't want a paper head?
Converse has posted an application on their blog that allows you to make a paper mask of yourself.  Here's mine.

It took some time, but it wasn't difficult. You can print on 8 1/2 by 11 paper, but only if you are making a mask for your cat (it's very small). 11x17 will yield a nearly life-size mask (that's what I used). If you have access to a large format printer, a giant paper head would be awesome.

Does it do anything for Converse? Well, they are really a lifestyle brand, so I say yes. Their blog is all about be cool, hip, and funky... and this fits right in.

2. Rube Goldberg meets Jeopardy
To promote their Chrome browser, Google created a hybrid video/trivia game.

 

It uses a cool YouTube feature that lets you play multiple movies in a sequence and interleaves little trivia games between them. The object is to get through the course as quickly as possible.

It's fun, uses Google services (search and YouTube), and it gets the message out that chrome is fast (over and over, in fact). Will it make you download chrome? It might. They provide a handy download link right on the page.

3. Drink a fake beer, win a real prize.

To promote Strongbow beer, they poured a virtual pint and invited everyone to take a sip.

4. Do a little dance.

You, too, can be a video DJ, creating a seizure inducing video montage that you can send to all your friends.



5. Cast you and your friends in a film trailer.

"Lost in Val Sinestra" is a horror film directed and starring you and your friends. Well, at least that's what the trailer says. If you have a Facebook account, create your own. 



Sure Pixar is great, but have you thought that if Buzz Lightyear would just drop a few more F-bombs it would be high-larious. Well, now is your chance to script a 3D movie your way.

These are not new, but they are still fun to make and watch. Between the too-cute characters and the almost creepy vocalizations, it's hard not to love them. You can create free movies using a limited character set. "Premium" characters cost money (which I suppose is how they stay in business). But even if you only play around and never actually "publish" a movie, it can be hours of fun.

(warning: Most of these movies are rated M for mature... although clearly the people making them are not.)

I took this picture earlier this month in a small cafeteria in an office building. Six months into the year and the sign still has a Happy New Year message on it.

While I too am surprised by how fast the first half of 2010 has gone by, I can't help but think how many times the business owner has passed this sign since January. He's probably walked by it every day and night, yet hasn't thought about updating it.

This isn't the first time I've seen this. You'd be surprised how many times I come across websites with 2009 press releases on their home page or a blog post from April. It's easy to to let time get away from you.

Even if you're updating your news room and blog on a regular basis, when was the last time you updated your product pages with fresh images or refreshed the copy on your "About Us" or "Our People" pages? Chances are, there are updates to be made.

Think about content management as part of your marketing responsibility and part of your customer service responsibilities.  It does matter.

Oh yeah, in case you didn't know it, U LOOK MARVELOUS.

You’ve probably heard about location-based services like Foursquare and Gowalla, but have you tried Pegshot yet? Instead of answering the question “Where are you?”, Pegshot tells your friends “What’s happening where you are?” by enabling users to quickly share videos and photos with their social networks.  The application allows users to “peg” a shot from their location and post it to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr, Digg and Posterous in real-time.  

There are many ways in which brands can take advantage of Pegshot to increase awareness and engagement with their organization. Pegshot is especially well-suited for promoting events as it facilitates quick and easy sharing of photos and videos in real-time, allowing immediate visibility on the social web.  This means your audience can interact with your events while they are happening even if they cannot be there. 

Real-time sharing also increases pass along rates since, attendees are usually active on social networks at events and can quickly view your content and re-tweet it, “Like” or comment on it.  Not only can content be published on your social media accounts, but Pegshot even allows you to post photos and videos directly to your company’s website.  In most cases, companies allow only their employees to publish content to their website to ensure that all material is appropriate.   

To take advantage of Pegshot at your next event, follow these easy steps:

1. Create your event.

Add your event by filling out the details of your event including the name, date, your Twitter hashtag, and location.  Your event will appear on any user’s mobile device in the surrounding area.

2.  Create a branded landing page for your event.

You can create a custom branded landing page for you event or choose your Twitter background.




3. Promote your event and add contributors.

Pegshot offers a custom registration page so you can collect as many contributors as possible. You can use this custom landing page to promote your event across social networks as well as your website, email and print marketing initiatives. 






4. Capture your event as it’s happening. 

Now you’re ready to begin pegging photos and videos of your event in real-time.  Your contributors as well as any Pegshot users in the vicinity can share content of your event which will be displayed on your custom landing page in addition to social networks and your website (if permission is granted.)


 

This is the second of a series on my insights from two conferences I recently attended: The Clio Awards Conference and Creativity and Technology (CAT). As I mentioned in my first post, there was a lot of crossover between them. One thing in common was Farris Yakob, Chief Innovation Officer at MDC. He was closely tied to another thing they had in common: the discussion of technology and creativity.

I didn't know who Faris was prior to the CLIO conference, but after seeing him present on several different topics through both conferences, I realized that we were nearly identical....

  

 (I know.... it's like a mirror, right?)

...in our thinking when it comes to creative and tech. Okay, maybe not identical, but definitely adjacent. Or perhaps I just think he's really smart and I'm projecting. Whatever.

We've all heard this at some point, "Don't let technology drive your creative". And on some level I agree. You shouldn't use technology simply because you can, or because it's the hot new thing, or because your client says they "need AR right now!" even though they don't really know what AR stands for. Creative ideas need to be appropriate to the brand and their goals.

But, I think in many cases, it's easy to ignore technology in the name of creative. After all, creativity is the essence of free unfettered thinking, skipping gleefully through a field of ideas, plucking them up and making a bouquet of awesomeness. Technology is the evil lord forcing everyone to wear drab gray lab coats and march single file while they endlessly push buttons over and over again.
  

But innovation is a key component to creative thinking. Faris made a great point that innovation is hard because we tend to let habits take over. Innovative ideas need to be inspired by new thoughts and technology is a great way to break patterns. Hey, I'm inspired by the tech that will let blind people drive and not just because I see additional opportunities for napping. If you can get a car to recognize and interpret its surroundings, think what that means for the growth of real-time environmental recognition and all the marketing possibilities. It moves gesture recognition to a whole new level and do you know what that means? Well, neither do I, but it's got me thinking in a million directions... it's creative crack! And what about the holy grail of interfaces... controlling things with your mind! Okay... that one is seriously far away from really being useful, but I hope you see my point.

There are advances in tech every day, and though I clearly have a nerd streak, it's unlikely that I'll be exposed to all of the smaller, albeit more useful things happening in hardware and software. It's just as likely that technologists who eat and breath this stuff may not be able to look at it from outside to see what creative uses might be born of the technology. And that's what creative people do: interpret information and gain inspiration by bending, molding, and synthesizing the world around them into something new and interesting.  

Don't avoid technology because it makes you uncomfortable. You may never really understand the how of a thing, but you can grasp the what and why. I know firsthand the frustration of not really understanding how something works and feeling a bit put off because of it. But just because something is neo maxi zoom dweebie (anybody?), doesn't mean that it can't lead to a fantastic new creative direction. Look past the bits and bytes, the nuts and bolts, and see the possibilities. Or perhaps it's just that we keep hearing, "it doesn't work that way".  But it could. Or it might. So, tech guys, give a little. Indulge our whimsical and sometimes ridiculous thoughts. Let tech inspire the "what if?".

If you are part of a creative team, listen to your technologists, even if you only understand every fifth word and keep nodding off while they go on and on about Zeno's Paradox (are we there yet?) and divide by zero issues (why isn't that just zero?).  Embrace your inner geek. And technologists, join the fun and give those of us skipping through the idea fields the tools to twist your logic into a fragrant bouquet of awesomeness.

Part One: Professional Soccer

What is it about sports that make “social networking” so natural, so effortless?  More importantly, what can brands in other industries learn from sports as they spend marketing dollars to acquire digital fans?  A recent attempt by Syncapse to estimate the value of a fan on Facebook has resulted in an average worth of $138 per fan.  The study further states that:

• On average, fans spend an additional $71.84 on products for which they are fans compared to those who are not fans
• Fans are 28% more likely than non-fans to continue using the brand
• Fans are 41% more likely than non-fans to recommend a fanned product to their friends

Given the demonstrated value, I sought out Casey Romany, an Account Executive for Soccer United Marketing (SUM) to uncover their ingredients for success.  SUM holds all commercial rights to both Major League Soccer and the United States Soccer Federation, including the men’s and women’s national teams that are playing in the 2010 World Cup.  In addition, they hold rights to Mexican National Team games played in the United States, the CONCACAF Gold Cup™, and InterLiga.™  

SUM just launched the new MLSnet.com, which has been years in the making.  Obviously, they are not ahead of the technology curve, but as Casey describes, perhaps it is because they have never needed to be. 

Soccer fans are extremely loyal and craved a centralized location to read about the sport.  They flocked to the new website where they can read about international matches, local MLS games, and their favorite players from all over the world. 

“We needed to take control of the space.  A fan would have to go to so many different leagues, teams, and national sport sites to access information about soccer,” said Casey.  SUM then supported their investment by hiring some of the biggest soccer journalists, affectionately called “soccer heads,” to tell the sport’s stories.  Genius.

By building one platform for all of soccer and capitalizing on its protagonists, its epic battles, and its gossip, SUM has pulled together a social network so powerful that other brands invest marketing dollars to gain access to the soccer fans that SUM has unified.  When a multi-million dollar business model also includes a way to monetize your marketing and PR tactics, it’s clear your fans are worth more than $138 each.  

The key takeaway:  Soccer, and the rest of the sports industry, is in the business of telling stories.  Strong, passionate, exciting, tales of victory, tragedy, and legends in the making.   Shakespeare only wishes he had it this easy.

And by comparison, fan pages on Facebook are flat.  Most connections are superficial—purely discount driven, and without true loyalty.  Where are the stories?  The passion?  Brands forget that they are selling more than products, and they lose depth in the relationships when they set the expectation that being a fan means getting a price reduction.  I’m not arguing that this method isn’t a great way to build numbers, but I am arguing that it is a fragile way to build loyalty.    

In my opinion, here are a few brands that have succeeded:  

• Starbucks: Starbucks offers promotions, but more importantly, the page also connects to those fans that are socially and environmentally aware— a strong attribute of Facebook users within that 18-24 demographic segment.  Maybe this is why a Syncapse report revealed that Starbucks fans are likely to spend $238.22, more than triple the $71.84 average.  In addition, their photo albums tell vivid, engaging stories about the company, the products, and the leadership (Check out Howard Schultz’ trip to Rwanda).

• Southwest Airlines: As over-the-top as the flight attendants can be, it is refreshing to witness personality in the airline industry.  The persona is also displayed full force on the Southwest Airlines Facebook page, and fans eat this up (a relatively safe assumption given the number of times fans ask, “How do I work for Southwest?”).   Another thing I like about the page is how they speak to checked bags like they are passengers, personifying a service they offer.  I value my personal belongings on a trip, and everything on this page reminds me that Southwest Airlines does also.

• Nike Football (Soccer): Admittedly chosen due to its soccer content, this site still exemplifies the art of storytelling.  The videos instigate a real emotional connection, and the calls to action are extremely powerful.  The Nike Red campaign is building the same momentum as the LiveStrong campaign did $47 million dollars ago.  This page screams “Join the team, unite as a fan of the sport, rally behind the cause, and be loyal to the Nike brand.”

Soccer United Marketing has united fans in a way brands can emulate.  If you are looking to build loyalty, why focus solely on the collection of fickle bargain hunters?  Present your product information by telling the details about the hard work and research during development, or build stories around employees and spokespersons similar to fiery sports features on players and teams.  Most importantly, let your fans know that you have a heart; you are human; and you are the hero, not the villain.  Like.

I attended two conferences recently: The Clio Awards Conference and Creativity and Technology (CAT). Intermixed with the mediocre food, self-congratulatory speeches, and months old "trends" were some pearls of, if not wisdom, at least things that make you go hmmm.... (I was wondering when I'd be able to work in an Arsenio Hall/C+C Music Factory reference). I'm going to summarize some of the discussion I found interesting or useful. There was significant cross-over between the two conferences (both in presentations and presenters) so I'm going to mash them together and serve them up with my own blend of seasonings. I will try to give credit to the appropriate presenter, but if I drop the ball, feel free to call me out in the comments. I also believe in brevity in blogs, so I will spread this over a few posts.             

On Leadership:

The first session at the Clio conference was one that seemed perhaps to be the least relevant, but ended up being the most interesting. What is leadership and what makes a good leader, specifically in a creative company? The presenter was Doug Guthrie from the Berlin School of Creative Leadership.

The examples of great leaders we often site are those people who are charismatic, have taken charge of a situation, have orchestrated a "big moment", or have displayed a specific strength as an individual that allowed a situation to be overcome or a goal to reached for the betterment of a group. While these types of people can be successful leaders, those are not necessarily the characteristics that make a good leader within a company. Here are some key points discussed:

• Your position is not important, how you act in your position is.
• Everyday activity is more important than a "big moment". You must lead with every action not just once in a while.
• Managers think about their departments. Leaders think about the broad organization, independent of individual or departmental needs.
• Good leaders lead through empowering others.
• True leaders embrace complexity inherent in the structure of an organization  and human dynamics. They don't try to oversimplify the situation.
• Don't confuse aspiration with vision. Vision shows the path to success and is essential in a leader.
• Create harmony among component parts by thinking about complexity, articulating a strategy, and then doing the actual work of creating the structure to let it happen.
• Inspire and facilitate other employees to succeed.
• Be introspective. Know yourself.
• Embrace failure. Innovation involves risk so evaluate on effort and intent and not always on success.
• Admit to being wrong.

One of the ideas that came across throughout the entire discussion (at least to my ears) is that a good leader pushes his organization ahead rather than pulling them. He is thinks of the organization over the individual, to the point where a good leader will eventually render themselves obsolete (at least in the context of specific goals to be met).

In this sense, Steve Jobs is not a good leader. He is a great innovator, a creative and business genius, and an tremendous influence on the world... but not a great leader. I don't say this to slam Mr. Jobs, but he was brought up in the session as a good example of someone who would normally be pointed to as a great leader, and yet falls short within the tenets listed here. He inarguably has changed the face of consumer technology and his influence in Apple and beyond will be felt long after he retires, but, by all evidence, is a leader in the traditional "pinnacle" paradigm, rather than the idea of  "leader as foundation" ideas discussed here. In truth, many people we would list as strong leaders would have a hard time standing up to this categorization. This is simply because those people that draw our attention are often characterized by actions and personalities that are not specifically important within this framework,  and those that fit this description tend to be less noticeable as an individual even while the success of their efforts are obvious within the industry.  

And with that... let's go to our studio audience.

(Tune in next time for more from CLIO and CAT... and me of course.)

Major brands are increasingly turning to Facebook to reach consumers and engage them deeper.  In order to get the most out of your Facebook presence, be sure to formulate a strategy.  What do you hope to get out of your Facebook Page?

Facebook Pages can be used for:

• Building brand awareness
• Increasing consumer engagement with your brand
• Generating leads
• Qualifying fans and converting them to customers
• Improving customer service
• Establishing your company as a thought leader

Once you’ve defined your goals, keep in mind these Do’s and Don’ts for engagement:

Do:

• “Listen” to what your fans are talking about on your page – do they have praise or complaints?Identify what interests them and customize your messages accordingly.
• Post compelling content like pictures and videos that keep them coming back for more.
• Share exclusive content that they can’t get anywhere else.
• Utilize Facebook applications like surveys, quizzes and games that foster an interactive experience.
• Use Facebook’s analytics tool to determine what tactics are working, and which one’s aren’t.
• Promote your Fan Page everywhere: print, online and TV advertisements, email signatures, business cards and targeted Facebook ads 

Don’t:

• Automate your content – Facebook is about conversation!
• Sound impersonal - use a casual and informal tone.
• Sound like a press release.
• Spam your fans – maintain a balance of promotional and conversational posts.
• Neglect your Fan Page – make sure you are monitoring it on a daily basis to respond to fans and post new content

Have more tips to add?  Leave a comment below!

  “6 Things” is a list of things I've come across that I find interesting, inspiring, adventurous, or just plain cool. I’ll be publishing these fairly regularly, so keep an eye out.

In this installment of “6 Things” I explore the joys of doing it in public. There's nothing I like better than some PDA. I'm talking about Public Displays of Art, of course. In my last blog, ("What the F...antastic!"), I made pithy and insightful remarks on the power of using unexpected experiences to engage the consumer. The following items are primarily art for art's sake, but it's not hard to draw conclusions to how similar installations can be used to grab the public's attention. It only takes three little words to demonstrate success, "Made you look!"

 

Antony Gormley: Event Horizon

Madison Square Park in New York City has a great program of public art. The exhibits rotate throughout the year, often with several happening simultaneously. The latest, "Event Horizon", is particularly impressive because it extends beyond the park. These figures (31 total) are placed on rooftops as far as 10 blocks away. They are all visible in and around the park, and each faces the square. Once you notice one, you begin to pick out the others. I admit to spending some time walking around trying to find them all. They have actually caused some controversy, but I think most would agree that it's an engaging and delightful exhibit.

IMPROV EVERYWHERE

Performance artists. Pranksters. Marketing geniuses? Somewhere between flashmob and sketch comedy, "Improv Everywhere" has staged some great events. As with any performance, some things hit and some miss, but they are all interesting if for no other reason than to see the public reactions. People love the unexpected. And even those not lucky enough to experience something live can get into the act through the videos posted on the web. A couple of my favorites are "Grocery Store Musical", "Frozen Grand Central", and "Where's Rob", but I encourage you to look at all their "missions". You may see some similarities to marketing stunts staged by various companies. "Improv Everywhere" has shown that people love to get involved and feel "part of the show"... and isn't the heart of marketing?
 

 

Street Art (Literally)

Julian Beever is one of several artists who create amazing pieces that are both public and transitory. If you have ever been fortunate enough to stumble upon this type of art, you know it can actually take your breath. It is so unexpected to find a something like this while walking down an otherwise unremarkable street that you can't help but stop and take some time to study it. Clearly, some brands have caught on to the idea.
 

 

Blowing Art Up

Mixed media artist, Joshua Allen Harris, creates whimsical installations that transform from a pile of what looks like trash into animated "living" creatures with the lifespan of a passing train. Brilliant.
 

Now you see it, now you don't.

This next piece is something I sort of stumbled upon on the web. I was drawn to it mostly because of its simplicity and the possibilities. I can see using this type of installation in an out-of-home marketing campaign to great effect. I'm writing the brief now :)

 

Graffiti? Art? Commentary?

And finally, I happened across this gem just the other night. While walking home, I spotted this painted on the sidewalk on Fifth Avenue north of 22nd street. This is a prime viewing area where tourists stop to take photos of the Empire State Building. Some may think this is simply a commentary on the traffic flow (and it may be), but I suspect it is the work of one the New York's many graffiti artists. True graffiti artists create works that are thought provoking, visually inspirational, or technically challenging. Some have gone on to become well known artists, others have maintained anonymity even in their fame, but most are simply inspired by the work. While it may be vandalism in the truest sense of the word, arguments that this type of art enriches society cannot be ignored. I'm not always sure which side of the fence I come down on. Perhaps I'll write my opinion on a wall on the way home. By the way, as a marketing idea, this has the appeal of authenticity, but it carries all kinds of potential problems, so go cautiously.

What’s the biggest buzzword around social networking right now? If you guessed location-based services, it would be hard to argue with you. If we ask you again in six months, chances are good you’ll answer the social graph.

The social graph questions keep coming up in client and prospect meetings. What is the social graph? What do we need to know about the social graph? How can we use the social graph to deepen relationships with customers? So on and so forth...

While I can’t answer every question you have about the social graph, I can help to start framing the conversation for executives struggling to gain a deeper understanding of the impact social graphs will have on their business.

For starters, the social graph is just a fancy way of describing relationships or connections with people, places and things. It’s a map of your social connections and preferences – a visual data model if you will, with hubs and nodes. For you, your social graph could be the Connections you have on LinkedIn, the places you’ve checked in on FourSquare, or the brands you’ve ‘liked’ on Facebook.

For illustrative purposes, there a few dozen lacrosse fans who are my Friends on Facebook. How many of them are from upstate New York? Syracuse fans? Of those, how many also listened to a lot of grunge in college, now live in Atlanta and work in marketing for an integrated interactive agency?

Granted, there’s probably not another one of me – at least not that specific, but you can see the potential. You’ve never been able to slice and dice data with this level of precision before. It’s this unprecedented level of targeting that gets innovative marketers excited, while privacy advocates reach for their pitchforks and torches.

Of course, my example above only illustrates relationships between connections and doesn’t get into activity, preference or myriad other social graphs that can be linked to one another. For example, who likes the same things or has been the same places as me? Who’s reading this article at the same time you are? These are questions you will be able to answer as social graphs get more sophisticated.

Where Did The Social Graph Come From?

Social graph has been popularized by Facebook, the world’s largest social network and the company most likely to serve as the epicenter for social graphs. While Facebook has plans to be the only social graph, recent announcements like its “Open Graph” suggest the company is happy remaining the epicenter of all social activity online. Plus, it’s unrealistic that Facebook could sustain a monopoly over the social graph – we all want to use other stuff.

With offerings like “Open Graph”, any electronic asset online can be linked to an individual’s social graph. In the months to come, look for this to include every place you go, everything you do, and everything you buy.

While Facebook has a lot of influence, there are no rules to the social graph. Any piece of social data can be woven into your graph to provide a more accurate picture of the interdependencies between your relationships and preferences. Privacy concerns aside (a future post perhaps), this stuff is truly amazing.

In the first wave of the Web, we were excited to discover new websites via links to other sites or search results. Early social networks encouraged us to link to one another, which dramatically accelerated our discovery of mutual relationships and made networking (the human kind) much faster – and in many ways enjoyable. Now everything is getting out there.

What’s All This Mean for Business?

For starters, you’ll start to have a crystal clear view into who your potential and current customers are. In the short-term, this will provide you with tremendous targeting advantages over your competition. For the 1st time ever, you’ll be able to customize incentives for all the 32 year old homemaker motor cross fans that have purchased a tofu burger from you in the past year.

Keep in mind, the more accurate you can target customers, the more accurate customers can target you. It is yet to be determined how consumers will react to the knowledge that they are your best customer. How much longer will it be before Foursquare mayors start demanding more incentives for the role they play in your viral marketing? What happens when Blippy users start demanding special incentives for all the purchases they’ve made?
These are good problems to have. Smarter brands and smarter consumers always forces us to innovate and push the needle farther. And who doesn’t love a good challenge?

Bottom line? The social graph takes a lot of the fun out of the guessing game of life – learning about people and things over time. Only time will tell whether or not instant gratification is a good thing or not. As marketers, it’s hard not to get excited about the potential to target with the greatest accuracy, reliability and ease ever. Bring it on.

At the same time, let’s tread forward lightly. We don’t want to create such huge concerns over privacy that regulation and oversight come in to drain the life out of the creative process.

What do you think? Are social graphs a good thing or a bad thing? Do you want people to know what kind of ice cream you like or what kind of car you drive? How much sharing is too much?

Almost every week I continue to be shocked at some aspect of how Facebook is treating the privacy of their users. While I think Facebook has done some amazing things to redefine the landscape of connection and community in the digital age, the way they auto-opt-in users to new policies and settings that unwittingly further expose them in a manner that is beyond confusing for almost everyone is driving me crazy.

It seems to be a total disregard for privacy that leverages "confuser interface design" tactics and misleading redesign functionality alterations to extend their dominance at the unknowing expense of most of their users. They actively seek to get you to enter as much personally defining data as possible. They make it incredibly complicated to manage your assorted privacy settings, then they go and make significant changes that auto-opt in users to new options like making all of your posts available to search engines or to share your personal data with applications and sites using FaceBook tools. All of this while presenting typical users with a perception of communicating and sharing with their "Friends." Maybe FaceBook is just working towards a Nobel Peace Prize by wanting everybody on the planet and every corporation to be Friends? Ummmm.... no.

 

Conversely, while not exempt from scrutiny, Twitter takes a much different approach. They begin by having an established perception that what you post is public, they have one very clear and simple blanket option to make your posts private, and the information they ask you to enter for registration is extremely limited.

 

I'm also driven crazy by the constant changes to FaceBook API's that make the lives of developers miserable as they struggle to work with this juggernaut of social media and the fact that they employed algorithms that began to selectively decide whose posts among my friends they thought I should see (and even excluded my wife's posts from my stream until I manually added her back in)... but that's a whole other couple of blog posts to write. The following is a short list of things I actually find less annoying than FaceBook's treatment of the concept of privacy:

 

15.       SPAM e-mail

 

14.       People who post their every Foursquare or Gowalla check-in to Twitter

 

13.       The mere existence of Farmville and Mafia Wars

 

12.       The first time I saw Clippy

 
      11.    Developers that hardcode and use auto-code generators out of laziness

 

10.       Requirements documents for a web site or app that say: "should work in every browser"

 

9.       Web sites that dramatically over-use Flash for everything they possibly can

 

8.       People that show up for an interview and haven't read and reviewed your company's web site or have any ability to articulate what your company does

 

7.       People that text or use mobile devices to tweet while driving (or drive while talking on their mobile phone without using a Bluetooth or hands-free device)

 

6.   People that call themselves "Social Media Gurus" in their bios or otherwise

 

5.   People in busy airports that obliviously stop walking out of the blue and then wonder why everyone crashes into them

 

4.   Every scene on the Fox TV series 24 that ever involved Kim Bauer

 

3.   Stupid people (as one of my friends is fond of saying as he quotes his old high school football coach, "Ya can't fix stupid.")

 

2.   The continued existence of IE6

 

1.   The constant deluge of Top <insert number here> Lists

 

I could probably learn to live with all of the above. But I'm on the verge of simply shutting down my FaceBook account instead of constantly fighting to control my own information and exposure. Of course... I don't think FaceBook makes it terribly easy to truly shut down an account, they'd probably just auto-opt me in to be reactivated in a couple of weeks.

(Image Credit: Privacy by alancleaver_2000)

By now, Twitter should be an integral part of your media relations strategy. Twitter has become one of the most efficient tools PR professionals use to manage relationships with journalists and other influencers. Why is Twitter such a great channel for media relations? Here are a few reasons:

• Fish where the fish are: most mainstream and amateur journalists and bloggers are on Twitter. There are many tools for finding journalists on Twitter, such as MediaOnTwitter, MuckRack or JournalistTweets.

• Mix business with pleasure: Twitter provides the ultimate glimpse into a person’s world. You can learn a lot of about journalists and bloggers by following their tweets and getting involved in conversations. This will help you not only identify ways to approach the journalist better, but also to monitor and respond to journalists’ needs – positioning you as a trusted expert.

• Get to the point: journalists are overwhelmed with pitches. The short message format of Twitter makes it easier for journalists to scan brief messages. The chances of your tweet being read may be better than with email – just make sure the journalist is cool with being pitched via Twitter before you tweet it.

• Pass it on: a tweet (Twitter status update) mention of your company or product by an influential journalist can be just as effective as a mention in a print publication. In many instances, the tweet may drive more traffic to your site in a short period of time. If increasing qualified site visitors is a core objective of your PR plan, you may want to consider Twitter.

• Track results: most of your activity can be tracked through Twitter. Whether you want to track the pace at which you’re gaining new followers, the number of times your tweets are re-tweeted (passed along to others), or how many people click on a link that you share (using trackable URL-shorteners like Bit.ly or Su.pr), it’s easy for you to keep tabs on the effectiveness of your social media impact.

• Build relationships: Twitter is all about relationships. The longer you use Twitter – actively use Twitter – the more relationships you will form. I can honestly say that I’ve built more relationships with media in the past two years on Twitter than I had in the previous five using conventional methods.

So how can you use Twitter for media relations? I suggest you look at Twitter as a channel like you would any other outlet. Treat journalists and bloggers with the respect they deserve – you know, the way you would like to be treated. Listen and observe at least (if not more) as much as you talk or tweet, you’ll be surprised what you can learn from journalists and bloggers. If you follow the media on Twitter long enough, you’ll notice that most tell you exactly what it takes to score publicity opportunities with them step-by-step.

Here are some general tips for using Twitter as a media relations tool:

• Follow journalists and bloggers relevant to your organization and read what they tweet about. If you see a tweet you really like, consider passing the tweet along or sharing your feedback with the person. This is a great way to build relationships, outside of just wanting coverage.

• Use the Twitter Search function to search for keywords related to your business. This will make it easier to see which of the users you’re following are talking about relevant topics. You can also set up saved searches for keywords or hashtags (#journchat for example), so you don’t have to read every tweet that comes along.

• Monitor Twitter users like @prsarahevans, @skydiver and @profnet to keep tabs on publicity opportunities issued through Twitter. You should follow each of these users if you’re not already.

• When it’s time to pitch a story, you should know that the journalist or blogger is open to being pitched through Twitter. If you’ve followed the steps above, you’ll know the answer.

Finally, don’t make the mistake of thinking Twitter is just another social media fad. As someone with firsthand experience using Twitter for media relations, I can tell you that – for today, at least – it’s the easiest and most effective way to get the attention of today’s busy journalists. It’s also a great way to accelerate your learning around PR, with thousands of helpful PR professionals at your disposal for advice at any hour of the day.


(Image Credit: Twitter Badge by 7son75)

 
A friend recently asked me what all the sensation was around Foursquare and Gowalla. These location based services (LBS) now gaining serious traction in the social media space. This same friend had asked me the same question a little over two years ago when I started actively participating and raving about Twitter and Facebook.

The first time I was asked this question, I initially struggled to answer it in a way that would easily explain the excitement and draw of using an online service to tell other people what I was doing, where I was eating, or why I think that (so and so's latest article) was so interesting. 

However, this time the answer came to me rather quickly. "It's all about our interaction with our communities. Mine and yours and how they overlap!" When I see a friend write that the Thai place down the street has some kickin' sushi, I give that more credence than the billboard I see driving to the office. When I see one of your friends talk passionately about their son's kung fu instructor, I take that as a more qualified reference than a yellow pages ad.


So what are we really seeking when we post our latest thoughts on Facebook and Twitter? Or when we check out where our friends are checking in on Foursquare or Gowalla? Are we just vain and think that what we are doing is SO important? Or are we just seeking a way to connect in an ever busy, ever moving, ever expanding world?

We have friends and family and colleagues and people we just admire with whom we go days, weeks or even years without actually laying eyes on each other. Or even more rare, actually sitting down and catching up on what has been going on in our lives, our careers, our family, friends, churches, baseball leagues … our communities.

Thanks to these online tools, I get to keep up with a larger number of people than ever possible before. And I learn more about their communities and the people and places in them. This in turn, expands my own known universe. It makes me bigger than I could be on my own. My boundaries are constantly expanded, and in a way that is relevant and meaningful to me and my friends (and your friends and their friends). Growth is good, is it not?
 
I live and work in Atlanta. I like to enjoy the occasional tasty local brew, listen to great live music and I also just so happen to really get geeky about the latest and greatest innovations in the .NET developer community. Wonder how many different ways those communities intersect and how they are related? Wouldn't be a cool thing if I could go somewhere and see my friends in these different circles talk about these things that are interesting to me and that we have in common. What if I can be the catalyst to help bring these different communities together in new and interesting ways?



One of the most interesting ways that new media tools have affected me and my community are when my online and offline worlds converge. Last November, I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to host and moderate a panel for the TAG Consulting Society on "Marketing Your Practice to Build Loyalty and Brand Awareness". I was able to engage 2 panel members through my offline community and reached out to my online community to find the remaining two panel members.

Thanks to my network of friends, I was introduced to two extremely smart and engaging panelists who helped round out a wonderful panel. (Thanks again to @lisa_sherman77  and @johnreed3000). Another example of where my friends reach out to their friends who then become my friends who then can become your friends too.
 
I would like to extend this opportunity for us to become part of each other's community. Follow me on Twitter @andrewmccann or on Facebook or on LinkedIn. From there you can find me on Foursquare and Gowalla and whatever the next big thing is that allows me to connect with my friends and your friends and my friends with your friends.

We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.
-- Herman Melville

I am in the business of creative communication. Ideas. Images. Shaping together thoughts, images and communications into stuff like Web applications, brands and the visual and sensual experiences that make memories and impressions. I have been at this business for a long time but that doesn't make it any easier to find the right idea. So what have I learned about creative that keeps me at my job and serving a lot of different clients? Namely, that perspiration leads to inspiration...
 
There have been a handful of occasions when the right concept just came to me. Like the scene in "Lust for Life" where Kirk Douglas (playing Vincent van Gogh) attacks a canvas then reveals a plein air masterpiece.  But this is more movie myth than reality. If you ever read Letters to Theo, you get the other side of the story and the real struggle to come up with a style of his own. Then there was the sheer volume of work the artist actually did to get to that point of success. In other words Vincent worked his butt off.
 
Lucky for me, I knew from the history of visual art that creative breakthroughs are rarely instantaneous. Most artists lead a very workman-like existence like Picasso. He was know to be in his studio every day around 6am and spent the better part of his day at work in the studio. The result was a prolific career spanning over 13 thousand paintings and over 100,000 other handcrafted works.
 
Aside for putting the time into the work itself, one has to show up prepared to make the effort to do good creative work. You have to come in prepared and focused. I like to come in with both the schedule and my tasks up to date and the deck cleared.
 
Before I can contribute to good design and creative I have to know the background of the assignment or better yet, be part of the learning process for the objective. In my business this means some good investigative teamwork that will eventually live in a brief or document. It might be a persona study or even a video of real customers.

The point is time must be dedicated to understanding what the creative work is supposed to do in the context of experience. I have found more success when I am actually part of that process of intelligence gathering than when I am handed the discovery work. I think this is because the creative process takes time and my mind is working on the issues in the background while I am typically focused on something else.
 
Creative concepts take time. I have heard it called incubation time, described as ideation and the failure of it termed "writers' block".   I think that making new connections and insights within various sets of data requires time to process and then reform the connections and filter out the obvious and most likely ideas that would not differentiate the creative work. However we describe it, it takes time and effort and filtering to get good work. Good creative is work.
 
 

Who doesn't love a good Top Ten list? The answer is nobody! Why else would Letterman still be doing it after all these years? I decided it was due time I compiled my own. So, here is my Top Ten List of Top Ten Lists:

#10 - Letterman’s Top 10 - the mother of all top 10 lists

#9 - Top 10 Cat Videos - woo hoo (ironically, I'm allergic... but not to video)
 
#8 - Top 10 Best Tracking Shots Ever - a personal favorite

#7 - Top 10 Inventions That Changed the World - did the bread slicer make the list?
    
#6 - Top 10 Sports Cliches -

#5 - Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs - yeah, thanks for narrowing it down guys. It does have a Top 10 though.

#4 - Top 10 Burgers in the U.S. - according to Playboy (the obvious source)

#3 - Top 10-est Rap Albums of All Time - according to Steady Bloggin'

#2 - Top 10 Video Share Websites - from Top Ten Reviews

And... drum roll please... my #1 pick for best Top 10 lists is...

#1 - Wayne's World - the duo revised the famous bit a couple of years ago.

My point is not the Top Ten lists, but rather, that these lists (and in some cases the corresponding content) have been around for as long as we can remember.  Essentially it’s like a radio DJ of old, someone making choices for you and putting the selected material into neat little buckets to presumably be more easily consumed.

For brands the time has come that we start talking about making a clear distinction when it comes to web video (and content), and all brand messaging online for that matter - the distinction between content vs. intent.

Cats doing wacky stuff is merely content for content sake, there’s no intent to make it spread or sell anything. It’s just…cats? However, what if you do in fact to want to speak to the cat people. What then? How do you ‘meow’ to the feline masses? You want to connect with, collect and ultimately sell to the cat people.

Now we have intent.

This is crucial as the era of services like Peter Gabriel’s TheFilter.com reach the marketplace and begin to filter content for us. Forget search. Imagine all the portals claiming to be the source for the most effective filtering, aggregating only the content that’s right for you.

The media landscape is already fragmented to such a degree it’s difficult for anyone, even the most literate and tech savvy, to follow. Which means now it’s even more important that brands are intentional when creating content to reach their preferred consumer.

Can you just throw a banner ad on some zany video of Al Bundy dancing to the latest Major Lazer jam? Sure, that still works…Google’s banking on it. But you’re not speaking directly to anyone.

Instead, go find people. Your people. Seek them out where they are, and speak to them in their language so you connect in a way that’s engaging, authentic, and real. Intent.

Now take that idea and run with it. That’s what the Internet is for.


(Image Credit: Number 10 by yoppy)

What do you want? Those of you that are CMOs, Brand Managers, VPs of Advertising or Marketing, what do you really want?
 
Whenever and wherever this question is asked, the answer is always the same: Results! You want results and you want them now (it’s the same thing you wanted yesterday, and the same thing you’ll want tomorrow).

If you are in the agency business, you should never lose sight of this basic marketing need. If you are in-house and spend your money on advertising and marketing, I hope this helps you think about how to find people who can improve those results faster.
 
This topic has been on my mind since I got together with a group of marketing professionals earlier this month. We started off talking about how to produce ROI reports for their CFOs and finance counter parts. Ultimately, what everyone really wants to see is results.

How you define results and what value they deliver for your business may vary, but here are some sample measurements based on our discussion:

•    Brand health metrics
•    Units Sold
•    Leads Generated
•    Awareness and Recall levels
•    ROAS
•    E-mail marketing conversion
•    Increased Foot Traffic
 
How can agencies produce results more consistently when results are so varied by each client? Here are six suggestions for ways I think agencies can be prepared to provide a variety of results for a variety of clients and also for the same customer who has evolving needs over a long period of time.

1.    Understand your client's business. If you are not as much a management consultant as an ad person, then I think you will fail in the future. Today's marketing and advertising challenges, impact customer service, public relations, product develop & procurement as well as IT, finance and channel relations. Now, they always have, but now that the world is digitized and visibility is possible; the demand to work on more than just demand is higher.

2.    Understand customer behavior. One of the things I think Agency can do better than most client-side marketers is getting to know the end customer and the customers along the way.  We can and should provide outsider insight into the purchase drivers that lead consumers or businesses to buy from clients. By being involved in the insight business, we can help our customers produce the results they need.

3.    Be more social. So much has been said about this over the last 18 months, so I'll share why I think agencies need to become more social. We are in the business of communications and in connecting companies and customers. The landscape has evolved where the cost of distributing messages is virtually zero and the demand for connection is 100%.  When demand is this high and the cost is so low, there is an unlimited amount of success you can have for you and your customers if you tap into this skill set.

4.    Learn math and how to analyze data. I became a Speech Communications major because it had no math requirement. I bet a lot of people who are in our field did the same thing, I know it.  Math has never been a problem for me, I just didn't care to do any more formulas or equations. Then I got into advertising, and as I did Nielsen store data, GRPs, category management, research, coupon redemption and media plans, it became clear that math was going to be a big part of my life. When I started our Integrated Interactive Agency in the 90s it become clear that math, engineering and analysis would be at the center of much of what we would do to help clients. A strong analytics capability and good math people, programmers, engineers and analysts are essential if you are serious about producing results and proving those results.

5.    Learn how to produce.  Content, code, sounds, event. From branding to social, to broadcast to micro-cast. From visual to technical, and in-home to the 6th screen. A good partner doesn't outsource the doing to sub-contractors, it is no longer acceptable to do the boards, the concept, the design, the plan and then hand it off. In these days and times, buyers expect ongoing interactions and learned messaging overtime. The mediums must be an integrated seamless experience or you will lose sales and revenue for your clients. That is not the result they want.

6.    Ask your clients what they need to thrive. So I end with this, what do you need to thrive in your current marketing and advertising role? We are listening……….
 

While the race for ‘ownership’ of the LBS market (Location Based Services) rages on, and naysayers’ debate its viability, I am sold on the concept.

If you are not familiar, LBS are the latest craze in the ever growing social media marketing landscape.  The general principle is that an end user uses their smart phone and its GPS abilities to ‘check in’ to their current location. 

Like its social media older cousins Facebook and Twitter, there are many out there that think this is just a passing phenomena - a game if you will.  Like Facebook and its now 400 million plus users, and Twitter and it’s large following I believe in the LBS strategy.  Out of the pack has emerged two ‘major’ players in the field, FourSquare and Gowalla.  Google, Facebook, Yahoo! and even Apple are also looking at entering the playing field but I believe they will have to make an acquisition to truly play. 

Along with the hype of these types of services there is also a lot of criticism.  Since I am a ‘fan’ and a user I might be a bit jaded but I think I can at least address the critics; here are the gripes I have heard, some legit, some just silly:

1. If you tell everyone where you are then you are leaving your house open to be robbed.  I originally thought that this was a ‘non-issue’ I have to admit but after a conversation with people smarter than I over drinks I have amended my opinion.  This is one that you DO have to pay attention to.  Use common sense, if you are ‘checking in’ on vacation, turn off the setting that posts to Facebook and Twitter, so ONLY your friends on that LBS Tool of your choice get it.  Second, and this goes whether you use and LBS or not, CHECK YOUR PRIVACY SETTINGS IN FACEBOOK!  Facebook has gone through a number of changes and many people have forgotten to go into their settings and make sure they have the level of privacy that they want.  For me, I only want FRIENDS seeing information; others may have different standards and that’s cool, just make sure you are comfortable with yours.  As for Twitter, you can ‘protect your tweets’ as well so only your followers can see them.

2. You can get stalked by a crazy ex and have to deal with all that.  True, but is that really a concern?  If it was, you wouldn’t be on FB, Twitter or LinkedIn.  Can it be a problem?  Sure.  However, you don’t have to tell EVERYONE where you are.  Your standard LBS lets you self select who the information goes to.  Side note – crazy ex probably knows all your haunts and when you like to be there anyway…

3. Why would you want to be doing free marketing/advertising for a place or a brand?  Are we seriously talking about this one in 2010?  Look down at your feet people (go ahead, I’ll wait) --- is that a ‘swoosh’?  Did NIKE pay you to wear their shoes or did you drop $100+?  How about that laptop I carry around?  You know the really sleek, chrome looking thing with the fruit in the middle very well lit?  Let’s face it people, WE have become walking billboards!  Take the silly Ed Hardy T-shirts (yes, I am just over 40 and don’t get it).  You have people clamoring to be seen in an Ed Hardy, and what is besides some crazy print with the biggest part of it being his SIGNATURE!!!  I’ll talk more about personal brands in another blog.So there are some of the negatives, which may be legitimate, but aren’t exactly deal breakers.

What are the positives you might ask?

1. It’s fun and it’s social.  One of my favorite shows as a kid was CHEERS, the bar where everyone knows your name.  Basically, with a tool like FourSquare you can become your own walking CHEERS.  Check in at a friendly place and the bartender says, “Welcome, how about a beer Mr. Peterson”, OR how about you get to a place that is running an amazing special, you could take the time and call or your friends, or break your fingers and text them OR check in with an LBS, type in a comment, it automatically gets to everyone through whatever social tools you are using and who knows what can happen when everyone shows up.  Simply put, in its most elemental form, it’s a way to extend the party.

2. As I have heard from Social Media Guru, Gary Vaynerchuck, “why would someone check in at a bar?”  Give’em a free beer and watch them check in all day!  What a cool way to earn stuff and allow a small business truly establish a win-win customer loyalty program.  At one of the Whole Foods in Austin, TX you get a very valuable coupon on your 5th visit.  What does this do?  It drives loyalty, rewards it, makes it fun and even mysterious…what will I get on my 10th check in, etc…Not enough small businesses are using these tools to see a huge uptick here but I believe by this time next year it will be off the charts.

3. That last part of #2 is part of the biggest positive from a business application and it’s the direct corollary to the third criticism.  I’m not sure when MARKETING became a four letter word but when it comes to LBS that is seems to be the #1 complaint and it goes something like this, “that stuff is just one big marketing ploy to get you to go somewhere or buy something”.  My response is somewhere along the famous Socrates reply of “duh!”  Isn’t that the whole reason for newspapers, magazines, TV shows, etc…sure they have their entertainment and news value BUT no one is shocked to know that advertisers are paying to place their content in front of your eyeballs to get you to buy stuff!  Not sure why the uproar when it comes to LBS, it seems to me like a natural fit.

4. Last but not least and this is by far where I see the big win for LBS and that is creating partnerships to pull off some really cool stuff.  I was discussing the value of FourSquare with an Executive at one of the major record labels.  She is responsible for new acts and we were discussing the value of LBS for her and she said; give me one way it works in my world.  So I said, do you have an all girl band you want to promote?  The answer was yes.  How about an in store ‘tour’ across America teamed with an outlet like Express?  You have all the traditional ways to support it but now add an LBS layer for very little cost.  It is also a completed integrated approach across all the social media tools; from Facebook, to Twitter, blogs, Flickr and a full activation using LBS.  Her eyes lit up and she said, write it up and let’s take a look at it.  That’s just the tip of the iceberg.So, mock it if you want.  Five years ago you never thought you’d be on Facebook. 

If you can remember back to 1991, if someone asked if you wanted to be accessible 24/7 via the phone, some new thing called email and a feature called text that in our old lexicon meant a book at school you would have said, “no freaking way”…and how many of you don’t have a cell phone today?

Not too long ago, Electrolux commissioned a website to promote their Infinity brand refrigerators to consumers in Brazil. Before you dive into the link to the website (below), take a second to think about the refrigerator you have. If you don’t love your refrigerator (I don’t love mine), think about the fridge you’d like to have.

What did you think about first? Be honest. Was it sleek? Stainless steel, black, or some other beautiful color that matched the rest of your kitchen? Did it have all the right options and all the right drawers to fit your hectic lifestyle?

We buy things for a lot of reasons, but most of these reasons boil down to one main driver: improve life. We humans surround ourselves with things that define us and alter the way we experience the world. Like the rest of the animal kingdom, though, and no matter how much we may believe we are creatures of logic, the core of us is driven by emotion.

Here’s the experience Electrolux wants you to associate with their product:




I will warn you ahead of time, this Brazilian website, as you may have expected, is written entirely in Portguese. Fortunately, for us non-Portuguese speakers, the site makes a great example of how powerful reaching an audience on an emotional level can be. Visit the site at: http://www.electrolux.com.br/infinity/

Sound and Music
As the site completes loading, music sets the stage enhancing the experience and setting the user in the atmosphere of a dinner party. Note how the music and sound changes as you navigate through the dinner party (try the menu to the left, the first three options translate roughly to Appetizers, Entrees, and Desserts).

Sound is an important part of any experiential website because we create memories and not just with our eyes, but with all of our senses. Electrolux uses sound and music to enhance a pleasant emotional experience associated with the brand.

Photography and Animation
Despite its impact on the experience, the sounds may have gone somewhat unnoticed by you due to well-directed and vivid photography. Looking at the “Entrees” section (Pratos Principais), the subtlety of animation in the steam rising from the meat dish, the dancing candle flames, or the gently shifting liquids all work together with the photography to paint the picture of a real event. I could almost walk up to the table and help myself to a plate.

Interactivity
Throughout each scene of the evening, small diamond calls-to-action float, asking me to dig a bit deeper into the scene. When I do click, I’m presented with another juxtaposition; this time, it is the detail of one of the party dishes along side features of the fridge. As a user, I can now opt to explore to my liking, either allowing myself to be enticed by the sharply presented dishes, or, I can choose to explore how Electrolux makes this elegant evening simple.

In the real world, experiences we have are not just sights and sounds, but they are shaped also by our own interaction with them. The ability to engage and be fully involved with the party is severely limited by the technology (for now), but sometimes it just takes a little bit of interactivity to create enough of a dialogue between the user and the website.

Looking back over the three components that bring the site together, we see pieces of a real experience: sound, sight, and interaction. They beg the question: would taste, touch, and smell enhance this website further?

I hope you enjoy the site and I’d encourage you to explore it fully even if you aren’t in the market for a refrigerator.

To make your business thrive you need to do more than just think new! Having a Twitter account and a Facebook page is good, but knowing what to do with them is better. Having an iPad and an iPhone app is good, but having ones that really fill a consumer need is better.

Traditional advertising has becoming increasingly inefficient, so how do you effectively reach your customers today without breaking the bank?

The Big Idea: Own Your Edge!
Case Studies in Music & Publishing

Forrester Research shows music industry sales have dropped 50% in the last decade, from 14.6B in 1999 to 6.3B in 2009. The Publishers Bureau reports that for the first quarter of this year, magazine ad pages fell 9.4% to 34,800 pages compared to the same quarter last year.

Clearly both industries are in a state of flux. These stats are stunning, but they pose a great up side for new technology, social media and digital marketing. So what will these two industries look like in five years and what can they learn from each other? Will publishers charge for on-line versions of their magazines? What can the music business do to stem the tide when their sales continue to decline?

Both industries have to contend with a world where people are more and more consuming on-line content for free. The iPad alone won't save magazines, but it's a start. There is no doubt that publishers need to harness the power of this new device immediately.

This is where publishing can learn a thing or two from the music business. The iPod and iTunes saved an industry on life-support. Apple clearly helped change the paradigm. Ever since Napster came into the lexicon the industry was slow to embrace it but Apple made it easier to buy music than to steal it, and that should help do the same for magazines.

Direct sale of content has always been the easiest way to determine the success or failure of any business, but now there's more!

Now is the time to foster B2B strategic relationships and grow your brand community if you want your business to really survive.

"Own your Edge" everywhere you can. Having the best product in the store isn't enough, you have to have the best communities online. Twitter, Foursquare and Facebook... everywhere!

Now, promotion and marketing is as monetizable as the product being marketed, and new technology and social media are the tools to success going forward.

Last week The Financial Times announced it is using Foursquare to target a new younger consumer, and the Warner Music Group has started-up an in-house social media team.

So it's clear some music and publishing businesses are going in the right direction, that is significant, and an understanding of what they are trying to do is sure to open up the door to the companies that have been reluctant to try something new.

Even if entrants into a space aren't paid subscribers, get subscribers wherever you can. Extend the brand, generate awareness through reach and frequency across all platforms, and the money will follow. Plus these new subscribers will be your best brand evangelists.

But everyone wants an immediate ROI and these tactics alone won't provide that.

The secret sauce then is to add a layer of strategic partnering to the mix. Create strategic B2B relationships and enhance the bottom line at the same time you are creating a base of engagement in the social sphere while better utilizing the new technologies.

It's all about creative thinking in the digital space.  The Mantra should be "Think Better!"

And that's why flux in the marketplace is a good thing for digital marketers.

If you use the new tools effectively, create strategic partnerships while creating a loyal brand community, you will "Own your Edge."

While talking with a family member about things to do around town, one of them shared their experience at a “Dialogue in the Dark” exhibit.  In the exhibition, blind guides lead visitors through a completely dark environment where they learn to interact by relying on other senses. The activities provide an innovative and powerful tool for reinforcing a trusting collaborative mindset and emotional intelligence.  The exhibit is based upon writings from German-Jewish philosopher Martin Buber’s work The Principles of Dialogue which states: “The only way to learn is through encounter”.

Having to experience life without the sense of sight reminds me of how many customers ask for help in the building of a new website or some other piece of creative,  without wanting to take the time to share anything about who their target audience is, their industry, their competitive landscape, or their vision for the future.  Execution on creative for marketing campaigns without the input required to understand how to support and target the message is like drawing pictures in the dark.  You have no sense of direction to guide you in the creation of the most attractive and appealing designs.

Here are several points to consider when guiding someone on a journey in an area they are unfamiliar with using their other four senses.  Remember these steps are intended to build trust, confidence, and stimulate use of other senses beyond sight.

 “Hearing” the Voice of your Customers

Listening to the Voice of Your Customers can at times sound like an old wives tales to many who choose to shoot first and then aim in their approach to designing great creative.   The process of capturing a customer's requirements to produces a detailed set of wants and needs, and then prioritized in terms of relative importance can consist of both qualitative and quantitative research steps. It usually starts with a series of forensic questions that yields measurable results focused on awareness, credibility, loyalty, accuracy.  This input is valuable in the creative process because it provides the designer with a framework for developing the creative to appeal to the most important needs of an end user.

“Smelling” the environmental ques around you

A designer can learn tremendous insight from your competitors and other industry and non-industry related sites that are generally appealing to your target audience.  Most consumers look at search results and make three to six second decisions based upon how copy and the initial creative “smells”-  that is the first impression of trust and care that one senses when seeing a new site.  People know what authenticity really smells like.

“Touching ” your clients with the right message

We have all seen how a cute picture drawn by a small child can touch our hearts and pull us to act in a certain way.  Planning is an essential key to an effective website that will earn the trust and loyalty of a dedicated customer base.  If you were to walk around a well built house with your eyes closed you could use your sense of touch to know that a solid architecture was used in the construction of the home. A quality user experience has to be the centerpiece of any online strategy.

Share the “Taste” of the success of great design

Whether you are enjoying a meal at a hole in the wall beach shanty or white tablecloth restaurant, you know when you have experienced a meal well served with lots of different flavors that truly satisfies you.  When you are following a process to developing quality user focused creative for a marketing campaign, you will want to experience the comfort of a site map that meets your target audience(s) prioritized information needs.  You will likely have a taste for various design comps and want to add a few savory changes before the recipe is finally to your taste.

To steer clear of beauty pageants that want you to show your pretty pictures and to avoid having to draw pictures in the dark, look for every opportunity to show your prospects and clients how to use their other senses in developing great creative.