Aquent Blog

Hope is not a strategy

Jul 2, 2009 @ 9:07 AM · Kelly Boykin

One of our favorite words to throw around is 'hope'. Are you going to lose weight? I hope so. Are you going to win that client? I hope so. Are you going to fall off the cliff? I hope not. In so many contexts, hope is a beautiful word. It conveys peace and optimism, and makes us feel all warm and fuzzy. But in business, hope is not a strategy. In fact, its a luxury most of us cannot afford right now.

Wow, well thats pretty dark, Kelly. Shouldn't we have hope in this climate? Well, sure. But hope without a plan is just a wish. ( I promise to stop with the corny sayings soon).

So here are my two questions for you. What is your goal, and how do you plan to get there? Lets break those down.

What is your goal? When I say this, I mean an actual goal you are working towards. I would love to run a marathon some day. However, I hate to run and have no plans to actually train. I don't even like to drive 26 miles. So the idea of a marathon seems really cool, but its not a goal. Its a wish. What is your business goal for this quarter? Is it specific? measureable? actionable? realistic (or relevant)? and trackable? If so, its a SMART goal and its good. I totally stole this acronym, I am not really that smart myself.

How do you plan to get there? Do you have an action plan in mind? Is it something you are committed to doing, daily?

Its the end of Q2 for most of us. That means Q3 is young and clean, and we haven't had time to mess it up yet!! Get going quickly and set your goals and plans. Make them smart. Stick to them. And if you run a few laps for me, I wont' complain.

Play With Your Food

Jul 1, 2009 @ 7:07 PM · Tim Donnelly

You know, I think it really takes people like these to inspire Commercial Directors (I love the chopping effect):

I'm thinking monetizing twitter is probably a bad idea

Jul 1, 2009 @ 3:07 PM · Eloise Southard

With all the recent chat about monetizing all these new-ish sites that are currently bleeding cash, there's an interesting piece on The Business Insider about how iPhone apps and Kindle sales are WAY bigger than even YouTube, even though YouTube has many more users than iPhone or Kindle. James Mitchell, a Goldman Sachs analyst says both the iPhone and Kindle stores will generate more gross revenue than YouTube this year. And Apple's net revenue -- the 30% it takes from transactions -- could overtake YouTube in 2010. And never forget, both Apple and Amazon make a ton of money selling the uber expensive hardware all this stuff runs on.

I see all of these "ads" or tweets from anything from my Twilight Fans group that I follow (insert gasp here- yes i love those books a ridiculous amount) and some other music groups I follow. It's too scary for me to honestly try to make money that way- seems too big a risk and not enough proof that there's going to be a decent ROI. I do think this could shift though as twitter grows and evolves with its users. iPhone apps sure make more now but there will be more twitter users trying to come up with ways to sell than there are iphone devs. The process and incredible intellect it takes to develop an app outways just trying to sell stuff via tweet. Can see people starting to promote their own etsy.com pages, ebay pages, craigslist links even to help sell what's already posted. Will be certainly interesting to see where this tweeterific site goes, won't it?!

DO YOU PASS THE SOCIAL MEDIA RECRUITMENT TEST?

Jun 29, 2009 @ 6:06 PM · Tim Donnelly

(from Julia Thahar, Recruiter)

With all the social media sites available, you would think that Recruiters and Hiring Managers would have an easy time finding great candidates by what each is blogging or Tweeting about, right? Unfortunately, when someone runs keyword searches they will find hundreds of prospective candidates, more than anyone could ever hope to contact.

So you might be asking, "How can I have Recruiters find me through Facebook, or Twitter, or LinkedIn?"

At Mashable.com, Search Firm CEO Boris Epstein shares his tips on how you can "pass the social media recruitment test" and have Hiring Managers and Recruiters find you instead of the other way around!

Pop over here for the rest of the story.

(photo by _william)

Thinking Outside the Plastic Box

Jun 23, 2009 @ 7:06 PM · Tim Donnelly

Being someone who:

a) lives with a vegetarian
b) works closely with the design industry
c) buys a lot of organic items on a weekly basis

I have to say how surprised I am that:

a) the organic movement has taken off the way it has
b) many organic foods I see are still sold in non-recyclable containers

I always thought that if the organic/green movement grabbed hold, it would follow that many of the companies selling these organic items to consumers would naturally (ha!) choose recyclable materials to package their products. But that doesn't seem to be the case, especially in the organic food aisle. Baby carrots, bagged lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, garlic, etc. all shipped and sold in non-recyclable plastic bags.

And yes, I cringe every time I crumple one up and throw it away. (Thanks, Olivia.)

According to the "one of the world's leading authorities on plastic pollution," Dr. Anthony Andrady, Sr. Research Scientist at North Carolina's Research Triangle, "Except for a small amount that's been incinerated, every bit of plastic manufactured in the world for the last 50 years or so still remains. It's somewhere in the environment."

That figure might not be so scary until you realize we only started making plastic 50 years ago.

Anthony is, I believe, one of the people who has been talking about the island of plastic the size of Texas (yes that Texas), floating in the South Pacific.

I'm not sure what the disconnect is, quite, and maybe any of you Packaging Designers can enlighten me - why would a company that sells organic produce not think about the waste generated by their packaging?

I don't think it's cost. It doesn't take a business whiz to figure out that the people who buy organic foods are willing to spend a lot more for their food products - a couple pennies more on packaging wouldn't make or break the sale.

A few years ago, I got to see Chris Hacker, former Creative Director for the ultra-eco company Aveda, and to see some of the amazing, creative (and yes, outside the plastic bag/box) thinking his team was coming up with for packaging their products.

Maybe, like organic farmers themselves, it will just take a few rugged companies to be brave enough to set the standard for selling their produce, start the revolution, and have everyone else follow in their green tracks.

Otherwise, I'm afraid that track is now heading toward a giant floating island of polymers floating somewhere in the Pacific.

(Recycled milk crate image by SOCIALisBETTER)

Help!!! It's Monday morning, and I can't get up!

Jun 22, 2009 @ 9:06 AM · Ricky Friedrichs

There something weird about the span of time between 5 and 7am on Monday mornings. Strangely, during that time I can forget about the uncomfortable lumps in my mattress that exist because I'm too lazy to rotate it nearly enough, and instead believe I'm sleeping on a brand new pillow-top version. My sleep is seemingly the deepest I get all week, and I just can't seem to wake up. Even when at the last minute I try to drag myself out of bed, it's as though my son has played some cruel prank on me and glued me to my mattress, because my body just does not move.

If you're anything like me, you may feel the same way on Monday mornings; having spent two relaxing days at home, not wanting to leave your comfortable confines only to have five days of work staring you down.

I have, however, found one thing that helps. No, it's not a Bloody Mary or even the left-over prescription drugs from the time I threw out my back. It's a plan. Yep...that's it. A plan. I've learned that when I take time on Friday afternoon to tie up the loose-ends from the week, then sit down and write a plan for the week to come, I can start Monday without nearly the anxiety that I would otherwise have. I show up to work with my thoughts organized, tasks prioritized, and specifics steps I can take to begin to feel productive. I don't have to scramble around trying to figure out how to best use my time.

Good luck making your plan. You should know, however, it's not always foolproof. That's what the Bloody Mary is for!

国境の美術館　マックス・ミュージアム：ARTE ALLO SPECCHIO

Jun 21, 2009 @ 1:06 AM · Hiroshi Miyazaki

エイクエントJapanの宮崎です。エイクエントJapanで運営していたクリエイターズブログからコチラに引っ越してきました。今回はMirroさんからの報告です。

■国境の美術館　マックス・ミュージアム・その壱

国境沿いにある美術館、魅力的な美術館が多い事に最近ふと気付きました。そこでしばらく連続で国境の美術館について（あくまでも私たちが行ける範囲で）勝手ながら数回書かせていただきます！

例えばスイスのキャッソにあるマックス・ミュージアム。20世紀を代表するGデザイナー、マックス・フーバーの作品とその生涯を知る事が出来る、クリエイター必見の美術館。一目でそれと解るシンプルな長方形の白い建物、そして入り口までの広く取られたこれまた白い空間は、ポツンと立つポスターのカラーとウィンドウのmaxのロゴをより引き立たせています。今回は企画展"おもちゃのコレクション展"に前ブログからおなじみの長男（現在11ヶ月）をつれての訪問。展示は木製のデザインおもちゃを集めたもので、木独特のやさしさを活かし、デザイン主のもの、組み方で遊ぶもの、動きを楽しむものなど、それぞれの特徴があり同じ素材でありながらバリエーションの多さにまず感心させられます。まるで一つ一つが小さな建築物の様。ロビーに設置されたおもちゃは、自由に手に取って遊べるという事で、私達も手に取って遊びます...がっ...（続く）

Email Me, Call Me, Contact Me!

Jun 18, 2009 @ 9:06 PM · Tim McNamara

We're all chained to our email, in one way or another.

Whether at the desk in the office or on the train/bus/ferry/broomstick via Blackberry and I-Phone, no other mass communication medium has revolutionised business the way email has.

We can extol the virtues of face-to-face contact and, to be honest, it is and always will be a more effective communication medium, but the fact is that business today runs on email servers, not on coffee meetings in the lobby.

A recent study has shown some interesting statistics on how we use email. The Epsilon's Global Consumer Email Study of 4000 consumers in 13 countries found the average Australian received over 180 emails a week, 10 per cent more than their Asia Pacific counterparts. This is less than those in Europe (200) and North America (300).

The survey, conducted by ROI Research, also found:

•    North American (87%) and European (74%) respondents are more likely than their peers in APAC (58%) to use email as their primary online communications tool.
•    In Australia, an average of 85 emails a week are considered spam.
•    Asia Pacific (32%) leads North America (9%) and Europe (7%) in the use of PDA or handheld devices to access email.
•    The idea of spam email had evolved to include irrelevant and 'saturated' contact.

Epsilon spokesperson Dominic Powers explained the challenges facing digital marketing teams in making their messages stand out in a crowded inbox.

"Marketers need to work harder to create emails which have a high level of relevance, personalisation and ensure that the timing of emails is what the user wants," he said.

What the user wants, it appears, is to stop being harassed to buy pharmaceuticals and cheap diamonds, in addition to being pressured to take part in lucrative business 'opportunities' in Nigeria.

What about you? How many email accounts do you use and how do you use them? Do you think the volume of spam is increasing?

New eMarketer report on SEO and SEM Spending

Jun 18, 2009 @ 4:06 PM · Eric Waldinger

SEO to rise amid other search spending
June 18, 3:53 PM
Becky Sheetz-Runkle

Search is fundamental to customer acquisition. And search engine optimization (SEO) is projected to grow consistently, according to eMarketer's Search Marketing Trends report.

One key finding is that brand loyalty is out the window in a down economy. Today's customers are jumping online in search of the best deal. This has major ramifications for B2B companies with longer (thanks recession!) sales cycles that need to work even harder to keep the customers they have.

Paid search, or pay-per-click is where the bulk of the search marketing spend is, but eMarketer concludes that marketers are increasingly turning to SEO to acquire new customers. eMarketer isn't alone in this conclusion.

They project that paid search will roll back from 15.9% in 2009 to 11.3% in 2013. Contrast this with SEO, which they expect to grow from 17.7% to 20.3%.

Find more details on the Search Marketing Trends report at http://www.emarketer.com/Report.aspx?code=emarketer_2000559.

Google "Freshness" Factor May Mean Big Implications For Retailers

Jun 18, 2009 @ 10:06 AM · Eric Waldinger

Great Article from Bob Heyman in Search Engine Land.

Jun 18, 2009 at 8:11am ET by Bob Heyman

Changes that Google has made to search queries have a big potential implications for retailers and other merchants. Among the first to recognize this and make proactive site changes is Pinny Gniwisch, executive vice president of marketing at jewelry site www.ice.com. Ice.com is No. 166 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.

Most search engines, Google included, now have a "freshness" filter which introduces "recency" as a search criteria. The search giant has a specific initiative, QDF (Query Deserves Freshness) to incorporate recency and freshness in determining relevance. Pinny believes users will adopt these new "freshness" tools and that retailers who are ready will benefit.

Mr. Gniwisch says that with Google Inc. offering consumers new search options, such as specifying new content loaded to web pages within the past 24 hours, online retailers need to re-think how they optimize their site content for natural search. He adds, "Now that Google is allowing more options in search, retailers could be losing out if they're not properly categorizing content."

The key to taking advantage of new search options is to index a site's content for search engines daily," Gniwisch says. He adds that if that's not feasible, retailers should update content daily on a blog that links to their e-commerce site, so that their retail site will have a better chance of appearing high up in natural search rankings for searches conducted for recent time periods, as well as for particular types of content.

Despite whether or not rapid adoption of the new user search options is imminent, Ice.com is working to optimize its web site maximize natural search exposure, Gniwisch says. Among the techniques being tested is a daily reload via RSS of all the site's products. It's too soon to tell if this will be read by the googlebot as duplicate content and dinged or rewarded for freshness.

"Google Search Options" is Google's suite of features designed to enable "real time" search. It has been suggested that this feature set is intended to allow Google to compete with Twitter in "real time" search. The feature set allows users to drill down into search results by recency , content type and more. Once turned on (by clicking "Show Options" in any search result), the feature appears as a left-hand column next to search results Time based filtering allows users to look at only results created recently, within the last day, the last week, or the last year.

Bob Heyman is the Chief Search Officer at Mediasmith in San Francisco, and co-author of Digital Engagement, published by The American Management Association. Bob coined the terms "Audience Development" for building traffic to websites and "Search Engine Optimization" (SEO).

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Hope is not a strategy

Play With Your Food

I'm thinking monetizing twitter is probably a bad idea

DO YOU PASS THE SOCIAL MEDIA RECRUITMENT TEST?

Thinking Outside the Plastic Box

Help!!! It's Monday morning, and I can't get up!

国境の美術館　マックス・ミュージアム：ARTE ALLO SPECCHIO

Email Me, Call Me, Contact Me!

New eMarketer report on SEO and SEM Spending

Google "Freshness" Factor May Mean Big Implications For Retailers

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