With all the geo-targeting publicity over the past few months, I thought it was interesting to see how where the funding is going – which only means prepare for the barrage of sites trying to stalk your location.
Solio Charger
Although solar-anything isn’t really new, my friends at the SF-based startup continue to generate good buzz in a category that is overflowing with competitors. Highlighted amongst a gang of other green tech companies here, its a positive trend to see consumers and clients value strong design as a key to innovation.
FastCompany recently announced its 10 most innovative sports/entertainment groups (see the article) and its no surprise that the Worldwide Leader of Sports ranks first in the category and #20 overall. ESPN has fundamentally changed the way we consume sports by creating new editorial and film content, localizing coverage and partnering with true innovators to find ways to deliver new sports to the US.
After spending nearly 40 hours watching college basketball over the past week both in-person (San Jose) or on TV, I couldn’t help but again be totally disappointed at the tragic lack of simple innovation that both the NCAA and CBS refused to adopt. The broadcast and in-venue experience is so 1995 that I really don’t think they changed ANYTHING since Duke won its last National Championship. And thank God that was a long time ago.
Instead of complain, here are a few SIMPLE ideas…..
Television/Online:
In-Venue:
NOTE: This is where the experience is the worst in sports. I have been to the first round for 4 straight years and every year, its miserable. I sat with someone from the NCAA this year and they were baffled by how poor it was. I don’t know why I continue to go back.
UPDATE: I have reposted this from awhile ago since it seems more relevant everyday. Email is for loyalists. Not awareness.
In light of all the economic drivers pushing marketing budgets south yet with raised expectations for delivery, I want to confront the assumed easy route to marketing awareness: the email campaign.
The genesis (and genius) of email was to distro shared data files with short pieces of actionable information. This remains its most effective use. Yet, the email campaign has assumed the responsibility of actually doing the marketing for clients – instead of providing the information-share medium. It’s a classic case of false identity.
Below are 5 creative ideas to use email correctly and drive business development. Important to note: these tips are designed to help modify how you use email – not confirm its the preferred (or only) medium.
#1: The Premise: Make everything B2B
You are selling something. Your list better be interested in buying it (if not – your attention should be on list development). So it’s a business transaction. B2B communication is more direct because it assumes knowledge and need of the product. Its why average click rates of B2B emails are 20% and B2C rates are um, not. Email campaigns are not for awareness. They are for conversion.
#2: The Content: Need to Know Vs. Nice to Know
Email provides a valuable tool – information share. So share it. Send information your customer base MUST know. This creates a dialogue of RSVPs, appointment times, and inquiries about directions, delivery dates and pricing. From window washing (services) to widgets (products), your dialogue starts here and it works.
#3. The Dialogue
Driving real-time messaging based on online (analytics, SEO, competitive announcements) and offline information (cultural news, sales information, tradeshows, retail, etc) confirms you are listening and drives credibility. Police and respond to your customer’s behaviors daily. They will notice and find you as a credible resource. Proof: customers are trending to blogs for product reviews and not magazines for this reason.
#4. The Call to Action: Time Sensitive
The last and most straightforward – but oft the most misaligned – is the call to action. Develop time sensitive incentives such as price promotions, response rates, and reservations. The first 10 responses to this email receive a Starbucks card. A 10% discount. Free shipping. Make it attainable and consistent to generate open rates for your emails.
#5. The Follow-Up: Customer Service as a Product
There is lots of research and analysis on the importance of customer service. Not sure why AT&T has figured out but that’s me & my Iphone’s issue. Whether my cable is down or I need to buy a home, use email as a preferred medium. Consumer information confirms we prefer it that way. That’s called a dialogue (refer to #3) and will drive the most effective and cheapest type of grown – the organic kind.
The intention of New Morning can be assumed many different ways but it made me think about the newness of what the economic downturn brings for us. It actually made me feel optimistic.
See I don’t believe that the recession and unemployment rates and financial crash and on and on is all bad news. Easy-er for me to say so since I still have a job and my home. Point taken. Yet letting the hot air out of the economy has generated new political leadership, smarter/faster companies, increased innovation and generally an awareness that financial greed and irresponsible spending couldn’t last forever.
The smartest companies have first looked at themselves to be global citizens instead of greenwashing. They’ve trimmed the unneccessary levels of hierarchy internally to bring decisions and ideas more quickly to the forefront. And most importantly, people have seized the opportunity to start their own companies or work harder at their current ones.
Sure, not everything is great but understanding that this is an opportunity for us as people to pursue our dreams. To chase those moments that used to pass only as we drove to work or day dreamed in our offices. See it as a new morning and will be just that.
The Social Revolution: Woodstock
Consistently I am confronted with how our great country has found ourselves in such a diabolical set of extreme challenges and opportunities. Is it a moral dilemma? Financial meltdown? Identity crisis? The answer: All of the above.
As technology moves at a staggering pace, our unemployment rates are at rock bottom levels. Academic institutions are still the last to innovate and our children are the first to adopt. Where the talented, driven and most passionate entrepreneurial thinkers of our time are forced to take to YouTube & Twitter instead of boardrooms and Capitol Hill.
I can’t help but wonder: With such a lack of identity, how will this effect our future?
Often called the me-now or entitled generation, we have inherited an economy and business culture that made tremendous strides yet its passed most of our Baby Boomer leaders by without them knowing it. The digital revolution simply escaped them and its no longer ‘digital’, its very real. Digital patent law, online piracy, global e-trade, online investing, data security, manufacturing, licensing, e-commerce: these are real business challenges.
Lets not kid ourselves; we need a revolution in leadership, business models and communication. In other words, we need a modern Woodstock. And its possible. See the similarities:
And now it is our turn. The responsibility for creating a greener, smarter, more humane global economy rests in our generation’s hands. Lets embrace change and the pillars of a 21c biz model by open sourcing new ideas to unite our workforce and utilize technology to find a new identity we can be proud of.
The revolution is here. Minus the tie-dye.
Basics of Curling
Spending many of my evenings casually watching the tape-delayed Olympic games, I haven’t been inclined to say many positive things about the way NBC or the NY Times has covered the games. Both media outlets have endlessly spoiled the coverage by tweeting or posting results before they are actually aired – stealing the spirit from skiers and snowboarders dramatic finishes.
I won’t question how this effects their athletes sponsorship dollars and personal contract opportunities who rely on these events for significant amounts of income (see: Michael Phelps) but I have a feeling its not helping. Knowing Lindsey Vonn or The Flying Carrot wins or loses before Bob Costas takes me live leaves me distracted with other live things going on.
With all that said, curling has become the Olympic darling of games as both fans and media are reporting, posting, blogging, tweeting and commenting on all things new to us Americans.
A few stats:
The technology significance is that most of the promotion, coverage, rules, team uniforms, athlete stories and other tidbits has come through social networks. Example: After winning a bronze medal as a member of the 2006 U.S. team, John Shuster, who works as a bartender on a northern Minnesota golf course, decided he wanted to captain his own team. How else would we know that unless someone asked?
We as consumers are telling the media what to report on.
We are creating our own stories and using traditional media as our research tool. Even better, they are listening. While no doubt the lovefest of us wanting to know and them telling us is a careful ask, but it does solidify that we have a choice of how we want the news reported and can partner networks (ours and the media’s) for global good.
Now lets just hope NBC decides to air that request in real-time.
Late Addition: While I wrote this 20 minute post, 800 people joined the PANTS Facebook page.
Not that I want to dive into economic policy or the politics of Obama’s success or failure, but I found the above graphic interesting based on the recent perception that his presidency is failing. or at least falling short. It highlights an important point that the public truth about products, services, motives, etc doesn’t need to be based in fact – its based on whats reported to them.
Considering that most of the general public still gets their news from a short list of sources – evening local news, morning national news and a few websites, HOW that news is reported is well, news. Its interesting to look at not only Obama, but also the Olympics, Toyota and the financial industry as brands that dominate the market.
My above notion is certainly not news to any of us. What is interesting to me is that so very few brands are even part of a collective discussion. Communications are more active than they’ve ever been on both sides of the conversation from brand to target (and back again) that getting to your target should be easier. You just have to use the medium more effectively.
Back to Obama: He’s been much maligned for not activating his digital army to be a force of action, good PR or change. I hope he returns to focusing on choosing his medium as much as his good news message to empower his brand and bring about economic change.
I have ripped this explanation from @twitter but thought it was very helpful to understand the value of immediacy. See how the games + advertising helps determine real time results and reactions and for those paying attention, a chance to respond.
The horizontal axis is time. The vertical axis is a percentage: the blue line is the percentage of tweets, relative to the total worldwide tweet volume, that were about the Super Bowl each minute, while the red line is the percentage of tweets that were about brands or commercials.
You can see excitement spike with the kickoff at marker A. Everyone watching was geared up for the first commercial break at marker B, hoping for funny or memorable ads; as soon as the first commercial break began, viewers were immediately tweeting about it. The first @DoritosUSA ad at marker C caused the largest per-minute volume of commercial-related tweets — for the minute following the ad, related tweets were 19% of all tweets we saw, eclipsing even the chatter around the Super Bowl itself for a brief period. Back in the game, excited or dismayed tweets following the first @Colts touchdown at marker D formed nearly 40% of all tweets that minute. The second half began with a bang as @TheSaints recovered a surprise onside kick, and for the next minute 44% of all worldwide tweets were about football. Chatter around brands had meanwhile dropped to much lower levels until @Google’s Parisian Love commercial sparked viewers once more. Excitement around the game grew steadily with large peaks following scores and turnovers up until the final moments. As the game ended, one out of every two tweets on Twitter was about the Super Bowl. Crazy.
The recent downturn of the economy has left many without jobs, considering new careers and starting new small businesses that will radically effect the new economy. Without getting technical, its going to change the speed of innovation (see Moore’s Law) as well as how we market those products. Yet, in the mean time, much of the workforce has decided to become ‘consultants’ to better market themselves for their next job. Its not that I blame them for the desire, but I do question their commitment.
When I become a consultant, it was with the intention of not finding the next great job, but with the idea that I wanted to work as a sole proprietor in a family of other equally talented, motivated individuals on interesting projects. I was tired of filling out time sheets and 360 reviews. It wasn’t to find another job or work in my pajamas. My mission was (and still is) to work with progressive, change-agent clients on dedicated, creative projects.
Consultants have earned the stereotype of all strategy, no action, expensive partners who lack the expertise upon entrance to deliver right away. The expectation should be that we are hired-guns. Already aware of trends, news, and market factors to affect your business positively. No doubt it takes time to learn the idiosyncrasies of your business, but the right consultant already knows about your industry. There is no training required.
With all that said, here are a few ways to filter out those that are dedicated to your business and those taking work only until their next job offer:
1. Business Plan: Every business should have one whether its you and your garage or you’re on the NYSE. They require a positioning, growth strategy and opportunity assessment. They don’t require actual billings right now. Asking why they choose to work in the field, how they market themselves and where the opportunity is for them based on practice goes a long way to how they think and if/why this was their choice.
2. Credentials: Going beyond the fancy PPTs highlighting work or list of clients, this should also include things like business insurance, business cards, a website (or blog or FB page) with a real POV and references. Often times work is confidential but that doesn’t mean they can’t show to you in-person. My litmus test for who I select for references and/or partners is based on if they are organized and proactive enough to treat their business as important as they say yours is.
3. Network: This WSJ article mentions teaching as one possible solution. It can be academic or social or political, but the most talented people I know have an amazing list of contacts that they count as colleagues and friends. Its not the size of the rolodex that matters, its the type of contacts that should fit the specialty they choose.
For example, most of my contacts are in advertising, PR, design, entertainment and production. I specialize in adopting technology – often times through creative projects – to market mostly tech companies. My clients need an expertise in the how/where/who for new product launches, communication plans, loyalty programs, prospect outreach, and retail. I know how to build marketing plans and execute creatively using technology for technology clients. My distinction matches my network.
As the market waffles on rebound or recession, the right consultant is going be as qualified as they are passionate about your business. Working with those that follow the entrepreuerial road less traveled is a decision that I hope both clients and consultants value as exactly that, a choice.
I am a Business Development consultant specializing in working with clients to adopt technology in communications
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