Bye Bye MySpace? If You Ask Bye Bye Bicycle…Not Quite Yet

I first found out about myspace back in 2004. I was on a flight to LA when a young woman I met thought it may be a cool place I’d like to check out. We were talking about bands and of course every other creative idea you can kick around with someone who enjoys art, design and music. For me MySpace became a location I could find new artists, check out the latest bands and meet new friends (more to come on this in future blogs – one friend I ended up marrying).

In the US perhaps as a social network MySpace has been replaced by Facebook and Twitter…but for bands, promoting your music and allowing you to reach new fans still has its value.

Bye Bye Bicycle
On the 26:th of August Bye Bye Bicycle released their new album “Compass” in Sweden. So how did a guy in Ohio stumble upon them. And how would I have ever seen there videos or checked out there music if it wasn’t for MySpace or YouTube. Unlikely that I wouldn’t have.

Not only is the band worth a listen. And oh yeah they use MySpace as a vehicle to share their sound…but they have pretty good taste for cover art.

1966 Meets 2009 – The Pioneers of Conceptual and Modern Architecture
Bye Bye Bicycle’s debut album “Compass” utilizes the great works of Adolfo Natalin and Gian Piero Frassinelli illustrations from the Italian architecture group Superstudio. These illustrations were made and originally used in 1966 and are “true classics”.

What Women Want

What Women Want
What do Woman Want? Mel Gibson tried to figure it out. As have milions of men on a daily basis. Some of us…better then the other. So from a man who’s perspective is often predicated by guessing…I’ll be happy to say enjoying insights from others certainly is appreciated. Now I’m not talking about the toilet seat problem or answering questions such as ‘how does this outfit make me look?’ I prefer to stay clear of all of that and focus your attention to how applying key learning’s to web experiences benefit what women really want.

Social Gathering
Your primary audience is women…you’ve taken the pain staking steps to produce personas for your website…and as you already suspected your discovery validates that women play are a major audience segment for your brand. So what do we know about the power of women? I just completed reading an excellent research study performed by Shes Connected titled The Power of Social Networking For Women- – July 2009.

Shes Connected
There’s not a week that goes by that you don’t read a study on social networks or on women and the web. Often I wonder whether or not they are credible or if the sampling methods are accurate. From what I gather this study is on target. So let me start by thanking Mark Grindeland and Cathy Harrison for their insight and thorough findings…and for allowing others a view at the ShesConnected research.

Key Findings

• 53%of online women use Social Networks weekly
• Women over 50 years old is especially strong. They are the largest user group of social networks.
• They are highly educated with 23% having a Masters, PHD or advanced degree (vs. 8% nationally)
• Over a third report they are in business for themselves.
• 48% spend at least 1-2 hrs online for personal use, and spend 5 or more online for business use.
• 48% belong to five or more social networks.
• 59% visit social networks multiple times per day.
• 83% have more then 50 connections or friends thru social networks
• They start a large number of groups. 28% say the avegare number joined is 10
• Safeguarding personal privacy is they number one concern

No Surprise at All
Not surprisingly women are highly engaged and comfortable with technology. Viewing videos, reading blogs, posting photos, writing blogs, and posting comments are common practices.

Top Five Reasons
The top five reasons they belong to Social Networks: Network professionally, stay up-to-date with friends, stay up-to-date with groups they belong to, promote their business, and research products and services.

Keys to Success (always remember to keep the seat down)
The key to any research is how we apply it…and how then we use it to our advantage. What implication the results have for advertisers and marketers is nicely spelled out in the study. Leveraging and providing value to your organization is up to you. I encourage you to read between the lines and expand your opportunities.

One web year = One dog year

FACE REALITY
So you are embarking on a site relaunch. Your investing a year of resources and big dollars to elevate your business communications and marketing efforts. If you think about it no matter what you do or how good you are at anticipating designing and relaunching a website you will never be ahead of the game. The moment you launch your site you will be behind. Face reality.

THE SCENERIO
You are a multi-billion dollar corporation. You have just made an large investment to re-design your website. We’re talking about thousands of pages of content and thousands of hours to get it right. So you have taken the plunge and are ready to hold on for a great ride.

WEB CYCLE
When you are heavy into the discovery and strategy phase of the project you are typically going to burn about three to four months of your engagement. Let’s assume your project build cylce is twelve months and each phase consumes approx. a third of the process (discovery/strategize, architect/build, release/evolve.).

So in reality once you do your strategy and your discovery (the heavy business strategy and goals of the project) it will be another eight to nine months before you see it implemented and live for John Q Public.

WEB YEAR = DOG YEAR
If it takes a year to build from concept to completion the moment the site launches it will be out of date. All of your strategy and discovery took place eight months earlier. And believe me when I say that one web year is like one dog year. So most likely you are behind in technology, ideas and new best practices. Something else has replaced YouTube, facebook or Twitter as the next best thing. SEO will be different, rich media will be differnet, social media, mobile all different. UGH.

So what now. Do you scrap your investment? Do you pray that you were wise enough to build in scalability and content that stood the test of time? Or do you simply run home crying and praying you won’t lose your job for all the effort you made an entire organization endear for a whole year!

Before you order tickets to the border and plan your escape…relax. It’s not about the technology remember. It’s about the content. So since you are a man of wisdom …a women to be reckoned with…you already factored this in. RIght? You did…didn’t you?

THINK BIG
Keeping up with technology has always been near impossible. Anticipating marketing trends and business plans is what you our others on your team get the big bucks for…so sports fans…do me a favor and don’t forget when you are in the critical stage of discovery and strategy. Think Big. Think about the content and the tends of your industry one year from now. Don’t allow your limited view of marketing today effect your view of tomorrow. What is important now may not be twelve months from now and you have to have the guts to admit that.

The tendency in building a website is to only see the now…to only face your organizations current problems and not predict or anticipate the future trends and insights.

I urge you to be bold. To be a rogue. To let your mind get above the now and think…think…innovate.

It took me approximately two dog minutes to write this blog. Wow…I’m slow.

How to Win that Big Website Account. To the Victor Belongs the Spoils.

Ok here’s the deal…you’ve been advised that you have made the selection cut. It is down to three companies trying to win the account. We heard your first pitch and that of your competition…now you are being told it is yours to win or lose. It is a head to head competition…gut check time. Seize the opportunity.

What’s next…here’s some ammunition to help you win the biz.

Advice from Both Sides of the Fence
I’ve spent 11 years of my career working on the client side and 14 years of my career on the vendor side. Most recently I have returned as the client…and we have just awarded a large website project to a firm who did everything right in earning the business. And they did it with class, patience and the willingness to invest in the relationship.

How Do You Win that Six to Seven Figure Website Account
Well pull up a chair…I’m about to tell you exactly how to do it. From a guy who has been on the winning side of earning this type of account more then a few times and from a guy who has had the pleasure of awarding this type of an account; I thought I’d throw you a bone or two. I’ve got a little advice for those of you who are out there each and every day trying to close that big deal for your company.

The Best Want the Best
Most companies don’t have this kind of money to spend on an endeavor like this very often even if they are a great organization. This kind of opportunity doesn’t come often for the client or for you. First things first, remember they want you or you never would have got the call to present and bid. When an organization elects a team to go out and seek the right partners these individuals are putting their jobs on the line. They have a job to spend the organizations money wisely. So trust me when I say they are seeking you. They know who you are and have researched your organization. So the best brands want to work with the best digital brands.

Don’t Teach me Web 2.0
Never underestimate the knowledge of your audience. If I tell you that you will be presenting to a sophisticated audience for your presentation don’t try to show me that you know more than the audience. Tell me you are equipped to do it…tell me how you are going to do it. Don’t teach me something out of a Web 2.0 book. We already get that. What we need to know is that you took the time to figure out where you can make us better.

Put Some Skin in the Game
It’s not easy to earn money…you need to work for it. You’re not vying for a 100k job. Don’t show me the same thing you would show an account one fifth or one tenth the scale and size. In this case sports fans…you need to spend money to make the money. Is it a risk? Of course it is. But it’s a risk for me to hire you as well. This is business. So…you need to put some skin in the game. Be prepared to go above and beyond. Be prepared to put it all out there and do the research, analyze my current site, tell me what you can do over the other guy. Because believe me they are doing it.

It’s an Investment for You and I
My career is on the line hiring you. And your career is on the line earning my business. I have to go back to my board of directors or executive leadership and answer to them. I have to tell them that this project is right for the company, right for our audiences, and right to spend the money. I want you to want to showcase this project to all of your future clients.

The Yankees and the Red Sox
The best are going to go up against the best. So how bad do you want to win? Imagine you are on national television you are being seen by millions of viewers…so your reputation is on the line. Keep it real …play hard…play fair…play like there is no tomorrow. I’ve got to know you want it. If you play this game like you do a Tuesday night game in June it won’t sell with me. This is the stretch run you’re in the playoffs…one game away from the big show.

We’re Not Playing Poker…Show Your Cards.
Don’t sell me. I’ve already walked onto the car lot to buy. I want you. So wow me with new ideas that apply to me and my audience. I know you can do it and that you have done it for others. But I don’t know how you will do it for my organization. I don’t expect you to give me all of your ideas nor do I expect you to know exactly how you are going to do it. But I do need to see how learnings will apply to me. What I mean by this is I don’t know how your team communicates…I don’t know the detail on the type of process you use or the type of project management tools you use. I need to see them my team is going to have to work with your tools to make us all successful. And I need to see you have the thinking to elevate my audiences web experience vs. my competition in the marketplace.

Humility vs. Arrogance
Humble not slick. Passionate not cocky. Confident not arrogant. If you’re not asking me a lot of questions from each key member of your team (SEO, Analytics, Development, UX, IA, Creative) then I figure you think you know all there is to know about me. You know it all…you’re arrogance has won. If I keep asking you… are there any more questions you have for me or members of my team…I’m telling you you aren’t asking the right questions. And I am feeling like you don’t care enough to want it. And perhaps you don’t need to know me or build the relationship. The wise man asks questions. You are building my house for my family and friends. I know you know how to build a house. But how on earth do you know the experience I want for those visiting my home?

It’s an Investment
I want you to grow your business with our relationship. I want to be your case study. I don’t care about awards. I want you to be proud of me and share our experience to help others. I want to be best in class. I want to exceed anything proceeding us in my industry. Period. And I want you to carry my flag high and proud for other to see. And I want to do the same for you. I want to recommend you to other. I want them to know that quite frankly YOU ROCK.

A New BMW or a Brand New Ford
Ok you’re off buying a new car so what’s the difference between purchasing a new BMW or a new Ford…they are both new cars. You can buy both models for the same price. But one manufacturer is selling a car and the other is selling an experience. I know BMW has great engineers and state of the art technologies to offer me and so does Ford. I expect this. But what separates the men from the boys is the driving experience. This BMW has mastered. There’s a difference in being a leader and a follower.

Don’t Over Charge…Take Charge
The NY Yankees built a new stadium and tried to get fans to pay a ridiculous price per seat. So what happened when they overcharged for their greed. People stayed home. Seats still remain empty. The owners will have to take charge…and access a fair price to regain their following. You best do the same when earning that business. Take charge…blend rates and make adjustments. Win the business. I’m not responsible for paying for your overhead. Keep it fair and over time this relationship will be fruitful. Keep your rates transparent and I will be loyal to you. Be fair. Be sharp. No hidden fees.

Booty for Booty
These opportunities don’t come a knockin everyday. You’re going to have to go streaking across the stadium. If you are not willing to let me know that you will expose all for the account then why should i trust you with all that coin?

It’s My Brand as Well as Your Brand
It’s my brand. This is my biggest touchpoint to the world. Respect this…stay within my brand guidelines. Be my brand advocate and steward. My brand is a promise to my audiences…you now are carrying this flag…don’t drop it. I am passionate about it and so should you be. Once you join me your brand is on the line as well.

As Natalie Merchant liked to sing…Give Them What They Want.
It’s always important to give the client exactly what they ask for…regardless of how small it may seem to you or your team. If I ask you for something I am testing to see if you are listening. If you can’t give me what I want when you are trying to win the account…do you think I will have faith you will give me something when you don’t need to earn it? In a bidding process you’re running a mile so you need to know when to pull away from the rest of the pack. Ask the client where you are in the process. Don’t be afraid to ask for more. To offer up more. To ask for additional one on ones with key players. For instance if you feel you aren’t getting your point across on certain advantages you hold. Provide it or ask if you can submit more information to solidify your case. Follow the rule of engagement. But there’s nothing that says you can’t ask for more. If you don’t ask you won’t advance.

Sell me What I Need
It’s my house. I don’t need the swimming pool just because you figured out how to build one. Offer up ideas. Do what you do best. Offer the services you are confident to support. But don’t sell me something I don’t need or that doesn’t apply to my audience just because it’s cool.

Bring your “A” Team
I want to know who I’m going to be working with day to day. I want to know that you are not one swine flu bug away from stalling my efforts or project timeline. I need to know you have a deep bench. I also need to know if a personality or two isn’t working out on the account that we can transition the person without any animosity. Let me know the percentage of time that I will be engaged with key players on your team. I’m reasonable…I understand that you have rock stars and that they bill differently. But that’s your issue to resolve…all I want to know is when and how long I have them as a resource. Relationships are key. Personality is key. Remember for the most part this is a professional service offering. Whatever you do…do not bate and switch. That will be the kiss of death.

Social Conscience is Real
It’s no longer a tree hugging concept. Work this into the play. Whether it is a green initiative or a global health initiative … it’s worth it for all of us. The worlds best brands are starting to figure out that the world is bigger then they are…so they are waking up and smelling the coffee. Be prepared to respond to global issues for your client. Be prepared to offer up new ways of thinking…even if they are not ready for them…they will appreciate your foresight.

Speak my Language
Understand my industry. If you don’t understand it … do not act like you do. Be open and honest of your level of understanding; I will see right through you if you don’t. If your selling to a Quaker you better act like a Quaker. Understand my culture. Speak to me as though you are a part of this culture. If I talk like I’m Amish keep the four letter words at the golf course. CPG, Healthcare, Pharma, Retail are not the same. I want you to bring in learning’s from other industries even better…I’ll listen to them…but make sure you don’t ignore my industry.

Finally…for those of you who feel this type of diligence or advice isn’t necessary to win that big account. You probably weren’t selected for that very reason.

Remember the key differentiators…collaboration is real this is a partnership, listen to what I am asking, pay attention to detail, transparency is truth, know and understand my business, I know you know what you’re doing or I wouldn’t be wasting my time listening to you, we want you to win the account or you wouldn’t be in the final three, ask questions and more questions and more questions.

As Senator Marcy was quoted as saying, back in 1832… “to the victor belong the spoils”

Coming soon at a blog near you…
“So I followed all of your advice why did I still lose the business?”

Junior Mints and Web Experiences

Consistency is important.
If you order a box of quite frankly one of the best candies to enhance your movie experience…a box of Junior Mints…you know exactly what you are going to get in every piece. And the cool thing is…it’s all good. So…no surprises.

So why on earth am I speaking of Junior Mints? Well it’s simple…it’s an experience that you don’t mind repeating over and over again. As the back of the box states…”Over fifty years ago a new star was born…a creamy, flowing, refreshingly light mint center surrounded with just the right amount of rich dark chocolate coating has made Junior Mints a favorite of all ages…inside and outside the movie theatre!”
Photo credit from Juniormints.com

User Experience Matters
So turn your attention to web experiences…why isn’t it that every time you visit your favorite website that you don’t have a consistent experience…one worth remembering over and over again. Consider this…until recently web experiences have been misunderstood. Grant it…now we have user experience experts paying attention to the patterns, habits and trends of the audience.

Allow Yourself to Listen
The problem I still see is that the client who hires the user experience experts doesn’t always pay attention to the truths about what the audience wants or needs. Instead they get lost…lost in internal politics or lack of appropriate marketing needs. They get lost in their old paradigms. They get lost in the only way they know how to think. And remarkably they get clouded…clouded in their inability to think innovation. Some tend to underestimate the intelligence of their audience and often do not understand the audience behaviors…thus the user experience more then not fails. And every morsel of the experience is not as pleasurable. And every time they return to learn more they don’t get a consistent experience.

Let The Truth Be Told
With the web there are unique challenges…audiences aren’t always easy neither to understand nor to identify. So if you’re smart you listen. You listen to the audience, you listen to those you hire to share with you discoveries on how to pay attention to each and every experience and provide a consistent experience worth enjoying. And just as important you listen to yourself. You look at truths.

I’ve had the opportunity to work on a number of large site relaunches and designs in my career and now I will be working on another such redesign for Cincinnati Children’s. We have chosen to interview three of today’s best interactive agencies to assist our team. So what have I learned? What have others around me learned? And what can I share to my new organization and to the company we decide to join in this large project.

A Lot of Really Smart People Make a Lot of Really Dumb Mistakes
I probably could write a book on what I have learned…what to do and what not to do. And I’ve seen a lot of really smart people make a lot of really dumb mistakes. Most of which they never realized they were making. Primarily because they didn’t understand the medium nor how to ultimately meet the user experience. And for some…it was there first time…the first real time they had undertaken a relaunch or a full site redesign. So despite their good intentions they made mistakes which were not easy to detect when they we making them.

Innovation and Ideas Require Clear Thinking
So my advice is be open…open to new ideas…new ways of thinking. Know that best practices in this medium occur each and everyday. They’re being developed…expanded upon…and created with unique approaches which are not all cookie cutter. Allow this to happen. Don’t get caught up in pride or insecurities. Remember that books are great references…but they are not bibles. Be flexible. Be innovative. Do not settle for mediocre or standard. Strive for excellence.

Oscar Wilde May Have Said it Best
“Experience is one thing you can’t get for nothing.”

Don’t worry if you don’t have all the answers…allow yourself to learn something new. It’s not easy to get direction or ideas when you’ve spent your whole career giving them to others. Trust in those you have hired…push them to help you change your thinking and the thinking of those within your organization. Understand there is plenty of room to grow…to make each user experience memorable and effective. This is the time to allow yourself to think of your audiences in new ways…ways you may not have ever allowed yourself to understand. Remember…sometimes you may be too close to the forest to see the trees.

Learn from those who have traveled the road before you and have new perspectives. Remember…you are creating the experience for others…not for yourself.

Junior Mints do it one experience at a time…so can you.

Advertising Age Digital 2009 – An All Thumbs Review

One thing about working for a world-class organization is opportunity…opportunity to explore new ideas and innovations…opportunities to evaluate partners and best practices from some of the best organizations in digital today. Which brings me to this weeks Advertising Age Digital 2009 Conference that took place at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City.

As one would expect there were insights, observations, talk of new trends, panel discussions, back-to-back presentations, and some memorable moments worth noting. And out of all of this professed wisdom there reined one or two particularly exceptional moments of truth often not heard into today’s conferences.

Out of this came some clear winners and clear losers. Being frank has sometimes got me in trouble…but I always am speaking openly and truthfully which is what this blog will do today…if you are going to charge people to listen to what you have to say… you best be prepared to hear differences of opinion. So instead of pointing fingers let’s concentrate on pointing thumbs ☺

Thumbs seem to be the texting method of the Y generation…so it’s appropriate to give a thumbs up…thumbs down or nothing but thumbs review for this year’s conference presentations.

But before I do that I have to say that the folks at Advertising Age hosted a great forum. I personally want to thank them for the agenda they set, the speakers they lined up and their hospitality. A special thanks to Jonah Bloom, editor and mc of Ad Age…this is one Brit worth knowing…a straight talking…action oriented chap.

Two Thumbs Up to…

The clear winner of the show was Simon Clift of Unilever…without a doubt the best presentation I have seen in the last twenty years of business. His candor, truth and honest insights to brand, corporate responsibility, passions from human wellness and a products effect on global social influences was refreshing and candid. Most people bury the truth. He hit truth between the eyes. After spending my career in business and advertising … I like most of you am use to hearing corporations dodge and hide the ills their organizations put on society. Mr. Clift I commend you…not that this is what you want to hear…I’m just glad that you are at the helm…many companies hopefully will follow your lead. Instead of ousting Greenpeace for their protest on destroying trees to gather palm oil for Dove…he invited them in for tea and now is partnering with them to do the right thing for us all.

http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=135866

Thanks to Evidently…the organization that worked with Simon to produce his presentation. It’s quite remarkable what preparation, practice and attention to detail brings to an audience. It’s good to know we matter enough. Special kudos to Marisa…I thank you…you are a truly gifted person despite the fact that you are a Blue Jays fan

www.evidently.com

To the David from Hershey’s who had the insight to call it like he saw it in-front of the large crowd to wake up our friends at Blockbuster for their inability to see what they didn’t want to see.

A future changing thumbs up to GOGII you are going to single handed change the way we text and gather data on brands for years to come…quite simply brilliant. We better all learn of a good carpel tunnel doc because this new idea is going to revolutionize mobile advertising and brand knowledge for us all.

www.gogii.com

More Thumbs up…

To Keith Lee for hands down getting it! His genius to develop incredible user experiences and motivation models for his products are amazing. He shared with us all from learning’s that help engage the avid World of Warcraft following. Wow…would I love to spend a couple days in their shop to learn the magic of human behavior.

To Damon Wayans for his cool lid…yeah I’m the guy you were sitting next too who saved you from crushing your sunglasses…and I’m the guy that didn’t get a by-line in the group photo on Advertising Age Digital. No worries…I’ve always admired your work. You’re a class act.

For the producers of the TV hit Heroes…primarily because my boys like the show. Your integrated approach to multiple mediums should wake up a few broadcasters.

To UNICEF and P&G’s Lucas Watson Global Team Leader, Digital Business Strategy for their vaccination campaign, which is saving lives and entrusting a brand. If you purchase a package of pampers and selected products P&G will vaccinate a child

www.pampers.com/en_US/unicef/

Joe Rospars, founding partner of Blue State Digital…the man behind President Obama’s new media marketing efforts and truly an email maven and campaign strategist We appreciated your direct approach to results and your being real attitude. It’s no wonder one and six subscribers voted for President Obama. The solution to getting it done…”How can you make someone act NOW”. By converting the top 15% of his audience he helped the USA make a change in history both for one-man…one nation and the future of online marketing. I hope to work with you soon.

Even More Thumbs Up…Wahooeeeee!!

Thumbs up to Fredrik Caristro, CEO and ECD of Great works America and his team for an Absolut idea that took a social media risk by taking custom musical machines that proved art still can be integrate advertising and engage a world with one of a kind concepts to interest and drive the senses of passion.

www.absolut.com/absolutmachines/

Thanks PJ Pereira, Chief Creative Director & Co-founder, Pereira & O’Dell…. for reinforcing Simon and others belief that the next revolution to follow this recession will a Creative Revolution….an opinion I share. He summed it up well by commenting we all well need to learn how to organize chaos.

To Benjamin Palmer of the barbarian group for recognizing with a calm cool delivery that …yeah we did this thing…and that thing did some things that …yeah were good. You would have made comedian Steven Wright proud. It was a nice reminder to those who get caught up in themselves… creative without the chest beating. Refreshing too be so comfortable with your works. Yeah well it worked.

Thumbs up to being on the client side once again for this great organization I work for and the kids we try to help everyday…passion still means something. If you care to join me in a few incredible global health initiatives stay tuned to next year…you may see Cincinnati Children’s on that stage talking about saving a few lives.

To my new friends…Jonah, Marisa, Bob, Louis, Lisette, Allison, Joe, Sheryl and the others who I hope to work with over the next year initiating some new projects to directly help kids and their families get healthy.

Nothing But All Thumbs Awards goes to…

Twitter. If you weren’t on twitter you felt like a twit! Ugh. I was twitted out just hearing the word twitter two million fourteen hundred thousand times in only two days.

Agencies that still don’t get it. And believe you me…many of them really don’t get it. Which is a shock…my suggestion to you is retire. Prepare to see many fall in the next year that can’t recognize or react to this changing world.

Blockbuster… for ignoring what you have… and ignoring your consumer audience segments…it’s more than soccer moms. Being close-minded will get you a one-way ticket out of business. Pay attention to your other audiences like the eighty Netflix fans in the audience who were trying to get you to recognize them as a segment. With that said I give you credit for standing up there and taking it in the gut. Now stand back up and get to work.

Thumbs down to…

All of those who had their heads down in the conference texting and checking emails non-stop…yes…you were at a digital conference hearing about twitter and every other trend…but professional courtesy and respect for those speaking and those sitting around you still has a place in this world. Or at least it should. Rude is rude. Trust me your not that important.

Arrogance and the inability to change award goes to the group of journalists on the panel that refuse to grow and learn. Insisting that having a Peabody award carries more relevance then changing …pay attention and get over your selves…perhaps it’s time to understand that everyone in this world is worth reading and listening too.

The staff at the Met for not being ready when audience members showed up to attend the conference …remember you had people coming from all over the globe to attend your facility. Pride and preparation still can go a long way.

The AV staff that was hired to support the folks at Ad Age need to get it together and pay back the good folks at Ad Age for all the mistakes you made and all the discomfort you put the speakers and audience through. I’ve been in your seats before…it doesn’t have to be so difficult.

And finally, two thumbs down to the NYC cop who pulled over the young middle eastern cab driver who was driving me to the conference and gave him two tickets / four points against his license for a left hand turn that a hundred thousand people make every day in New York. Especially when Abdul and I were having a great conversation about how NYC is the place to live because people don’t see color. No kidding the timing was epic and ridiculous.

And finally to the clear winner of the conference…YOU.

Ultimately all of the innovations and creative prowess shared will eventually hit an experience nearest you. Hopefully I may be a part of a few of those…I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

And at the insane speed things are moving today…sooner than later no doubt.

The views expressed in this blog are solely my views and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of my employer.

We need Bond…James Bond.

We need Bond…James Bond
“Your mission is to locate the source of our problem…gather all the Intel possible…and remedy the situation…and for God’s sakes Bond…you don’t have to kill everyone while doing it!” – M, Director of MI6

With the release of the new 007 movie ‘Quantum of Solace’ opening today in theatres all across the US…I thought it would be appropriate to talk about the quantum of today’s economy in the digital industry and where solace may actually reside.

I mean …come on people…this is James Bond!!!
After a year of waiting for the sequel to last years blockbuster… my sons and seven of their High School buddies donned our best Bond suits and tuxedos (no kidding…we really did!) and headed to the 12:01 a.m. show to watch the gritty new Bond (Daniel Craig) bust heads and take on the evils of the day.

“What the hell is this organization Bond…how can they be everywhere and we know absolutely nothing about them” – M
For ‘M’…the enemy was a mysterious organization…for us it’s the economy. So how do we combat the evils that lie in our digital economy? What challenges do we as marketing and advertising professionals need to pay attention too? Which products and services will allow your business to retain market share or stabilize until the economy gains strength?

“How long have I got” – James Bond
“30 seconds!” – CIA confidant
“Well that doesn’t give us a lot of time” -Bond

If you haven’t already acted…you need to act now!
Maybe you already know what to do…maybe you are positioned to weather this storm or the hurricane winds of this global conundrum. Maybe you recognized the need to evaluate the right industry solutions and trends in January of last year and you have aligned your corporate strategies to protect both company and client alike.

If you did…it is likely your mission was and still is to focus on the following:
Shaken not stirred…you delved into and solidified your current client relationships and developed plans to assure their services were going to be met without interruption.

Like Bond…your decision making was fair and decisive. You knew when to execute and you established price structures with integrity.

Like the leaders of MI6…you trusted and retained the right team, products and services that support the needs of your business.

You had the Bond intuition to anticipate…and the strength to analyze the quantum of data that insured ROI on each and every project and contract.

Ah…great…but Tim what about the Aston Martin…I must have a fast set of wheels to outrun my competition! Well of course you do!

So with exact precision you targeted your services to accommodate proven web marketing tools for ‘08 and ’09. You focused marketing resources to continue to provide exceptional search marketing, analytics, PPC, email and web marketing. Trends…no… I’m not talking just trends…you know what you need…solid practices with positive results.

You are James Bond
“I’m motivated by my duty” – James Bond

You are nimble and fast to react to changes…you are creative and realize that you need to execute with authority…be decisive and accurate.

You own the wisdom and character to overcome adversity.

You are iconic. You are James Bond for your employees, your industry, and your customers.

“You don’t have to worry about me” – Bond
Keep up the good work 007…we need you!

Visit www.007.com to catch up on the Quantum of Solace. (property of Sony/MGM) Starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric. Directed by Marc Forster. Rated PG-13 for intense violence and sexual content.