Recently in New vs Old Media Category

In a previous post I talked about the characteristics of Viral Marketing. You may recall there were 6 R's for any marketing campaign to be successful - Replication, Reach, Regular audience, Resilience, Reliance and Response.

This meant that as a company indulging in Viral marketing one has to have an idea which spreads far and wide, to people who really want to know and get excited about it. It has to be genuine and open to comments and feedback. The Viral marketing idea being called the "seed".

How does one seed the viral marketing idea? And where does one go to seed it? If we look at the evolution of the net it took the following paths ...

1) Long ago there was the concept of e-mail which enabled users of a particular organisation to write into each other.

2) Then we got into world wide web where hotmail or yahoo enabled conversations between people who did not belong to the same organisation but could register with these platforms and exchange information. Therein evolved "User Groups".

3)Then came along Google which revolutionised the web by providing large storage space and exchange of pictoral content as an option. Orkut became an instant rage with chats and profiles dominating mailing ... oh so passé!

4) Orkut has been replaced by our addiction to our Facebook, Linkedin and YouTube in that for everything one wants to do one instinctively reaches to these platforms. Statistics show that Facebook is almost as big as Google in page views. YouTube is double in page views. Facebook adds 100,000 to 250,000 new viewers each day. There we have the audience who will hear, listen and respond. There followed the usual players in Twitter, or Digg for creating your own video.

The above are the known ones. Squidoo is another great option. Some marketers swear by it for driving in the traffic. HubPages is a good option too.

My next posting will be about Web 2.0 and using social marketing as a medium for winning business. Stay tuned ...

Image courtesy of: Brajeshwar

Ms. Pistachio was the first to alert me, via Twitter, natch, that Skittles had gone all Social Media on us. Sure as shootin', the current (March 2, 2009) Skittles.com is a mash-up of social media sites where the name of the colorful and intoxicatingly concentrated jelly-bean-oidal confection appears.

Of course, Skittles, with the aid of Agency.com, are following in the footsteps of Modernista!, who took their own website in this direction last year. Still, the fact that a consumer brand has emulated a trendy design shop has got everybody talking, including the ever articulate (and strikingly handsome) David Armano, who rightly predicts, I believe, that we'll see more of this, not less and goes on to link the Skittle move to the emergence of "sponsored conversations."

But what is this "this" that we're going to be seeing more of? I think it's something we could call "aleatoric" design which takes advantage of the fact that web pages, in the end, exist as a set of instructions to be executed by a browser, not a fixed arrangement of text and image (as in the print world). Since these instructions can be linked to dynamic sites themselves (Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia, etc.), "design now becomes the quasi-symphonic arrangement of fluid elements that resist control or even predictability.

Given this tendency, wouldn't it be better for web designers to have a background in performance, choreography, or musical composition than graphic arts? Isn't it time we acknowledged that interactive design is NOT graphic design (or that the latter is an increasingly small and incidental component of the former)?

This post was written by Aquent's Alex "Anytime/Anywhere" Weaver. This is a picture of him.

As fluid and uncertain as it has become (thanks in part to companies shedding full-time employment opportunities faster than A-Rod is shedding fans), the career landscape isn't really a landscape anymore. Its more like a wormhole where traditional job search conventions go in and something entirely different emerges.

Some claim that we are now looking at a 24-hour workplace, but I think it goes beyond that. Thanks to the web, the workplace isn't even a real place anymore; it's been replaced by the nowhere-in-particular of cyberspace.

The question now is: How do you go about looking for a job in the anytime/anywhere world of work in which the internet is your office, a solid web presence your resume, and what you do (your specialization) matters more than where you do it (your geographic location)?

I'll tell you this: it's not easy. Where once you could focus the bulk of your networking attention on the city you call home, now you could potentially be working for a client in Kuala Lumpur on a project that needs to be delivered next day to Sao Paulo (their time), while your toast gets cold in Idaho. See? It's complicated!

We've been responding to this brave new wormhole by shifting around the way we work. Our agents are now focusing less on covering a specific geographical beat than they are on mastering a particular area of specialization. It's technically possible for a web agent in Seattle to find a web designer in Montreal to work for a client in Dallas, so why shouldn't we make exactly that happen?

Obviously [BLATANT SELF-PROMOTION WARNING!], one way to look for gigs (or talent, for that matter) in the anytime/anywhere world is to partner with an organization capable of being anywhere/anytime (I can recommend one if you're curious). But what I'm dying to know is, how are YOU doing it (without the aforementioned, nameless organization)? Have you been able to shift your mind and efforts successfully into the de-spatialized, temporally fluid workplace? Do you work in a certain specialty rather than a certain place? Does your client list span the globe while you, uh, butter your toast in Idaho?

To put it another way, do you now or have you ever worked for someone you have never met in person who lives in a place you've never visited? How did you make that happen? I gotta to know! Talk to me!

A couple weeks ago, Mr. Randall Rothenberg published a manifesto on interactive advertising creativity, which I missed at the time but discovered thanks to a post by Alan Wolk on whether or not creativity still matters.

Mr. Rothenberg's lengthy (by web standards - it took me minutes to read rather than seconds) manifesto is a well-written, informed, and impassioned defense of inspired creativity as the heart and soul of advertising, as that which not only gives it value but, more importantly makes it meaningful to the lives of real human beings. Against the rising tide of commoditization, he says, "We must stop acting as if we're selling schmattes, and start acting like the makers of magic that the best of us are -- and always have been."

Aside from pointing out that Rothenberg explicitly confirms my assertion that interactive design is a team sport - "There are several new skill sets creative agencies today must possess to attract, engage, and influence consumers -- Flash video development, software design, information architecture, animation, CRM, iPhone app design, and ActionScript development among them -- and no one individual will have expertise in all" - I would like to highlight one other critical point he makes: Great advertising is not aimed primarily at consumers; it's true "target audience" are the employees of the company that it promotes:

"This is perhaps the most important reason advertising creativity matters. It inspires the marketer. It encourages the sales force. It provides them, and all the other constituencies in and around the company and the brand, the faith that they will be able to sell the product in to the retailer, close the sales on the dealer's lot, win new commissions, and better their own lives. Great advertising is their rallying cry, the flag they march under. The mouseclick must be matched by their heartbeat."

Forget about the customer for a second. Does your creative work actually inspire your colleagues?

A recent survey we conducted with the American Marketing Association showed that, even though most marketers are turning to online marketing for salvation in these dark times, they are finding themselves in a bind because they don't want to outsource these efforts but they don't necessarily have the in-house expertise required to get it done. Turns out that, although online marketing was a stated priority for many in 2008, few were able to actually make the online marketing hires they'd planned earlier in the year.

Lesson 1: Unfettered demand for online marketing translates into unflagging demand for interactive designers and developers.

The cultural revolution unleashed by web technology is ongoing and has produced an increasingly refined level of specialization. Whereas ten years ago we primarily distinguished between creative, front-end designers on the one hand and technically-oriented back-end coder/programmers on the other, today we see a proliferation of web-specific roles ranging from Flash gurus to user experience managers to web analytics wizards and beyond.

In addition to this morphing, expansion, and multiplication of web roles, we've witnessed an intense transformation of the way web work happens. The nature of the technology allows for teams to function without regard to geographical location and the fact that the web is always "on" means that web projects know no temporal limitations; they can and sometimes must be executed at any time, day or night.

Lesson 2: Innovation on the web isn't just about what people do, it's about where and when they do it.

The demand for interactive talent obviously means a wealth of opportunities for web professionals whether their focus is design, development, or marketing. The innovations brought about by the web mean that companies who hire web professionals have an amazing variety of options when it comes to engaging the people they need. The fact that the web and what people do with it continues to grow and change means that no one can predict exactly what new opportunities it will create in the future. However, it is undeniable that understanding these opportunities and their implications will mean the difference between success and failure for businesses and professionals alike.

Lesson 3: To take advantage of new opportunities, you need to have a grasp of the possibilities engendered by technical innovation as well as the limitations imposed by the demands of the marketplace.

On that note, if you want to get a better handle on the opportunities offered or precluded by the current interactive talent market, you ought to tune in to this webcast that Aquent is putting on in conjunction with Monster: Hiring Interactive Talent in the New World of Work .

Tell 'em, Matt sent you.

Well, I'm back in the podcast saddle (thought I did one in September, but turns out I've maintained radio silence since May - yikes!) and talking with my friend Erik Hauser (with whom I've spoken once or twice before. Erik has done a lot from introducing Wells Fargo to Second Life (after a fashion) to founding and moderating the Experiential Marketing Forum. Most recently, he joined Euro RSCG 4D Impact in the role of VP, Executive Creative Director.

We tried to keep the conversation short this time around, but it still clocks in close to 30 minutes. Compared to past encounters, this one is fairly laid back, though nevertheless replete with nuggets of genuine human insight and emotion on everything from brand responsibility to the power of voice. Highlights can be located at the following temporal coordinates:

01:18 - "Experiential is just good, smart marketing"
03:55 - "Just because the technology exists, doesn't mean you have to use it"
06:18 - Make a good experience great, and a great experience epic
10:25 - Super Bowl 2009 Ads
14:22 - Budweiser and "the heritage play"
16:39 - "A brand is the sum of experiences you have with the brand"
21:19 - To get a job: use the traditional channels, but then go that extra mile
22:13 - "Desperation is a cologne that no one wears well"

To hear the podcast, please click on this here Flash device.

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You are also welcome to download an mp3 of this interview by "right-clicking" ("control-clicking," Mac-wise) on this link. Finally, this and other Talent Blog Podcasts are always available on iTunes. (Note: At the time of posting, I was having pinging issues with iTunes. If you can't find the podcast there now, it should appear within the next 24 hours.)

Finally, I have three words for you: Cash 4 Gold!

This post was written by Aquent's Alex Weaver. This is a picture of him.

Athletes from the local T-ball team to the NBA rely on Nike to outfit them with stylish uniforms. To make that process easier and more reliable, Nike needed a next generation online sports clothing application. Creating this app however called for a specialized, temporary addition to their crew, someone who would combine left-brained design thinking with right-brained development skills.

Nike's online system for building and ordering uniforms utilized an older version of Flash. Its ActionScript programming was not organized into a central function list nor was it scalable, and the interface needed usability updates. These three issues increased the likelihood of one worst-case scenario: a uniform design would be lost if the connection were broken at any point during the building process.

Inspired by positive placements in the past, Nike contact Tum Hallrud turned to Aquent's Brian Guidry and Suzy Thompson to find the person Nike needed. Within days Aquent talent Mike Slone was placed on assignment and began working with the Nike team both on- and off-site to develop requirements and explore solution options.

Mike started by creating a set of core functions and components which improved scalability because they could be reused in new uniform design projects, thus cutting future development time nearly in half. From there, he retooled the user interface making it more intuitive and letting the user preview the uniform on the fly. He also shortened download times and reduced frustration by ensuring that the uniform was saved to a database as it was being assembled.

Mike saved Nike tens of thousands in development costs and, by streamlining the uniform creation process, improved the user experience and boosted sales. The folks at Nike were so impressed by his superpowers, they retained his services for two years beyond the initial contract.

Now, what do you think of that?

Couple weeks back it was announced that Britney is hiring a 2.0 Media Manager. This was posted on a Harvard-only job board, for what that's worth (don't get me wrong - some of my best friends went to Harvard).

I've been trying like mad to find out if this position has been filled. Does anyone know?

A random Google search brought me to this Wired article, "The See-Through CEO," from March 2007 (remember 2007?). Though it seems kind of old-hat now, the thrust of the article (is it strange to use "thrust" metaphorically in a corporate blog?) is summed up thusly, "Secrecy is dying. It's probably already dead." That is, trying to be stealthy about the real workings of your business is pointless because, the truth will out (on the interwebs).

The author suggests that the most adequate response to inescapable visibility is transparency:

All of which explains why the cult of transparency has so many high tech converts these days. Transparency is a judo move. Your customers are going to poke around in your business anyway, and your workers are going to blab about internal info - so why not make it work for you by turning everyone into a partner in the process and inviting them to do so?

This kind of got me thinking about transparency at Aquent and in our business more generally. For example, the way our business works is that we pay the talent less than the client pays us (if you didn't know that already, I'm sorry to just spring it on you). We generate the bill rate (what we charge our client) by adding a percentage of the pay rate (what the talent gets) to the pay rate. Now, depending on a number of factors, that percentage can range from 45% to 100%. The money we make comes from that split times the number of hours worked.

I'm assuming that, if you have worked through us or other staffing/temp agencies, you are aware of this set-up. My question is: How frequently have you been told specifically what we (or anyone) is charging the client?

My belief is that we should share this info for the same reason that companies should be transparent: People will find out anyway. (I know I did when I temped through MacTemps.)

What do you think?

As the scope of the current economic downturn expands and evolves, marketers are responding with pragmatism rather than panic. The pragmatic view, as revealed by research conducted by The Dihedral Group (TDG) on behalf of Aquent and the American Marketing Association, is driven by three factors: new technologies; the availability of highly-skilled contractors; and the understanding that organizations must plan for the recession's inevitable end.

Last spring, Aquent and the AMA enlisted TDG to conduct a survey asking marketers about salaries, hiring plans, and their outlook on the future. We turned the results of that survey into a marketing salaries calculator. Since the initial survey asked a lot about plans for 2008, we sponsored a follow up survey to find out what had happened in the intervening six months. Of course, we found that some plans had changed (only about a third of anticipated interactive marketing hires had been completed, for example), but we also found that, despite the severity of the current economic crisis, marketers seem to responding with a forward-looking level-headedness.

1. Guess what? Technology has changed marketing!

Everybody knows that email, the web, and the rise of social media have changed and are continuing to change the practice of marketing, so naturally these are changing the way marketers respond to a downturn in the economy. Specifically, whether companies are faring well or are struggling right now, online marketing plays a key role in their plans to weather the current storm.

They are, however, using the technology for different reasons and to different ends. On the one hand, those companies that experienced growth in 2008 are concentrating on using online capabilities to deepen customer insight, analyze their behavior, and continually improve the effectiveness of their digital marketing efforts. On the other hand, the strugglers are increasing their reliance on interactive marketing for increased efficiency and cost-savings.