Why customers, and not social media, are your key to brand success

July 6, 2010

Large and small brands are now embracing social media as a means to reach their customers but many still make easily avoidable mistakes. For instance, many persist in seeing these tools as an end in themselves rather than an extension of traditional media that has always been social in nature (whether it’s television, print or radio). [...]

If you liked the post, please tweet, Digg or Stumble it. Thanks!
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Facebook
Read the full article →

Social media explained by a 9-year-old in one sentence

July 4, 2010

Not long ago I took my daughters to the Portland Children’s Museum – wonderful place – and I couldn’t help but notice this quote written on the wall above the clay making room. To me it so effectively distilled the essence of social media that so I wanted to share it.
The quote reads:

When I make [...]

If you liked the post, please tweet, Digg or Stumble it. Thanks!
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Facebook
Read the full article →

Top ten reasons social media should not (and will not) kill traditional advertising

June 30, 2010

I spent the week at the Cannes International Advertising Festival and came away greatly encouraged. Not only did the Festival team (led by Terry Savage and Philip Thomas) do an amazing job but I was impressed by how well the event captured the latest expression of the marketing world. With all the excitement (and, yes, [...]

If you liked the post, please tweet, Digg or Stumble it. Thanks!
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Facebook
Read the full article →

Top ten ways social media is teaching us to be human again

June 27, 2010

This week I spoke at the Cannes International Advertising Festival and one of the things I stressed in my  social media seminar was the fact that “Technology is teaching us to be human again’. The two winners of the Cannes Cyber Grand Prix — the Nike/Livestrong Chalkbot campaign and the VW ‘Fun Theory’ fun campaign [...]

If you liked the post, please tweet, Digg or Stumble it. Thanks!
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Facebook
Read the full article →

Cannes International Advertising Festival Round-up: Social media’s impact on advertising

June 23, 2010

There’s no simple way to characterize the Cannes Advertising Festival so far this year, but there are a few phrases that keep coming up that are a guide. One is brand purpose (which I spoke about in my social media seminar with Alec Ross), another is ‘doing good’ and a third is ‘community’. These three concepts [...]

If you liked the post, please tweet, Digg or Stumble it. Thanks!
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Facebook
Read the full article →

Cannes Advertising Festival Social Media Seminar (video)

June 21, 2010

Here’s a link to five minutes of video from my seminar yesterday with Alec Ross from the U.S State Dept.. The topic was: ‘The How of Social media: Make or Break Lessons in Today’s Most Powerful Instrument of Change’.  Plus a synopsis of the talk with hyperlinked case studies can be found here. Thank you again [...]

If you liked the post, please tweet, Digg or Stumble it. Thanks!
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Facebook
Read the full article →

Cannes Advertising Festival Seminar: Social media as an instrument of change

June 20, 2010

For those at the seminar who want further information, or for those who couldn’t make it, here are a synopsis, a list of key points and links to the case studies that I mentioned in my seminar at Cannes today.
SYNOPSIS: The advertising world is reeling from change – and it’s not just because they have [...]

If you liked the post, please tweet, Digg or Stumble it. Thanks!
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Facebook
Read the full article →

The unseen side of the Cannes International Advertising Festival

June 18, 2010

It’s 11 p.m. on Friday night, a full day before the Cannes Advertising Festival kicks off. Yet artists are already at work in the shadows of the Palais de Festival. Each night these street dancers practice their moves, teach the younger kids the basics, and work their particular brand of creativity in and around the [...]

If you liked the post, please tweet, Digg or Stumble it. Thanks!
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Facebook
Read the full article →