Insights for Marketing in a Digital World

The Portland Ad Federation sponsors an intern program every summer known as the COLABORATORY. During the 6-week program, interns rotate into participating agencies for two week periods so that interns can gather experience from a wide range of different agency styles and business models. Interns are divided among two teams, who compete to build a creative/strategic pitch to one prominent local brand. This year, its Tillamook Ice Cream, who created some brief materials for the Intern teams to interpret and build upon.

Remember when you got started on Facebook? There was that phase a few months into it where every high-school friend was suddenly back on your radar, whether or not there as any reason to have remembered them in the first place. Waves of old and new faces would wash up on the shore of your in-box. Some of us indiscriminately accepted all. Some others took more time to approve or maybe ignore some of the more hinky ones.

Social Networks right now are merely dumps of nearly infinite connections, powered by XML and RSS. If the robot even thinks there’s a connection, it is programmed to go ahead and make it, hoping that you, the human, will sort it out later.

Everyone is talking Social Media, but what about companies with a more traditional profile? What are the true ramifications of web 2.0 technologies and modes of thinking to “traditional” clients? What are the avenues for innovation? What opportunities exist using the social web, and web 2.0 technologies this year?

TNG built a presentation that outlines some of the major themes that come up as part of a Web 2.0 discussion, which became a discussion of opportunity.  

Through Twitter, I found Twitalyzer this morning.  Its an online app that allows you to put in anyone's Twitter handle, and get a set of metrics on several factors.  So far, I have been enjoying Twitter as part messaging tool, part idea stream, and part cocktail party. Ideas come in, and random shouts echo around the alley as my friends react and digest ideas in their own ways. Its fun, and sometimes a distraction.

Social Media as a topic seems to come up in every conversation about marketing among professionals and companies of many types. Many people are struggling with the concept, while at its core, it is a very simple thing to understand: Social Media is about promoting relationships among individuals, for the sake of better communication. Transparency, authenticity, currency all drive this idea, and promise great rewards to anyone about to launch a blog or start promoting an idea. Be yourself, and the world will find you.

Okay, before you freak out... look it up here The Strategy group has been working on a model for our clients... one that has all the variables accounted for, and that spans the gap between a brand and the ultimate consumer. Consumers have different modes, researching, solving a problem, browsing, sharing, interacting, leading... What a client company needs is to interact, connect, share, trade, learn from, do business with... From both sides, this group of activities needs a name.

One Laptop per Child is a global effort to get a rugged low-cost laptop into the hands of needy children around the world...the higher price reflects two of them, one comes to you, the other goes to a child in need. A global initiative for Social Entrepreneurship has begun its public phase today. You may have even seen the TV ads for this in recent days. One Laptop per Child is a global effort to get a rugged low-cost laptop into the hands of needy children around the world. The innovation comes in two forms..

I can just imagine the voice talent reading an endless list of names and answers in the recordings session... all while keeping tone and style correct.. probably not a fun day of recording...I am having a ball filling up everyone's voicemail with this tool: http://optimus.transformersmovie.com/ In here you can add your friend's names, and some data, and send them a custom voicemail from the character. I love that they've done a great job integrating sound clips, with a grid of names and possible sentence constructions.

Join the search for Steve Fossett at Google...

Google is extending its search to find people now. The wealthy adventurer Steve Fossett disappeared last week, after having taken off in a plane from a small airfield. His whereabouts are a mystery. Richard Branson prevailed up on the powers to update the satellite imagery of the area using Geo Eye. Web citizens can now go to Google and join the search by combing through updated satellite images visually. The administration and updated images are making possible a search that was never before done.