Search Results for 'Social Strategy'
Going up?
Here are 7 ways agency people can delimit their own growth.
Why aren’t agencies helping their people to grow and develop?
At DiGo, we’ve been learning a lot lately by interviewing account people by the dozens. While we’ve met some spectacular people, I’m sorry to say that most of these interviews have been just shocking. Too many people come in with limiting attitudes about themselves and their possibilities. Experienced account managers typically don’t even have an understanding the agency business. They don’t get what agencies are here to do. They don’t understand the role we play in our client’s lives and businesses. They view themselves as narrow specialists. They are people in boxes, decades too early.
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Tags: account management, advertising, growth, mark dimassimo
Is it the era of the mea culpa for marketers? Could it be that, forced to start a conversation, some marketers have learned that they have some apologizing to do?
In rapid succession, McDonalds, American Express Open and J.C. Penney have all joined the mea culpa trend.
Here’s the story, and a few thoughts on where, when, how and how not to apologize.
J.C. Penney just launched this video on Facebook, under the theme JCP Listens.
It was a good idea to start the conversation, a good idea to listen, and a very, very bad idea to go beyond the first couple of lines of this treacly video.
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Tags: advertising, american express open, brand, JCPenney
When you represent real news, the hard part is keeping up. Everyone is writing about The AliveCor Mobile Heart Monitor, because the recently FDA-approved mobile health marvel represents a revolution in healthcare. DIGO is the brand and business building partner for AliveCor, doing everything from branding and design, to marketing strategy, advertising to professionals and the public, public relations and social, while Proove does the media and optimizations. (more…)
Tags: alivecor, change, DIGO, Health, heart monitor
1. 50% of consumers say that they value a brand’s Facebook page more than its website. Check out the infographic.
2. At the Emmys Sunday night, Jimmy Kimmel orchestrated a prank where he asked viewers to tweet that Tracy Morgan had fainted at the show. The story generated over 25,000 tweets.
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Tags: change, facebook, mark dimassimo, mashable, social media
On Fast Company last week, Baratunde Thurston, comedian and former Director of Digital for The Onion, recounted a social media anecdote that would make any digital marketer squirm: he mistakenly activated a 3rd party tool for Twitter that spammed The Onion’s entire following every time they got a new follower. While his story may give me nightmares for weeks, the portion of his piece that really stood out was the importance of brand authenticity within the social space:
“For companies that see this new frontier as a marketing opportunity (and that’s basically all of them), it is a thin line between relevant and creepy stalker. You want to be where the conversation is and join it in an ‘authentic’ way, but just because someone is talking about your product does not mean he wants to talk about it with you. (more…)
Tags: baratunde thurston, change, fast company, mark dimassimo, Social marketing
THE DIGO STANDARD: HOW WE SUCCEED TOGETHER
PART 01 ABOUT US PART 02 HOW WE ACT PART 03 HOW WE WORK PART 04 HOW THIS WORKS
01 WHO WE ARE.
While we can be considered a thriving independent strategy/ research/ brand /design/ innovation/ advertising/ direct/ digital /social marketing agency, we prefer this handle: brand-driven growth network. We make things grow, from product innovation to every facet of promotion.
We’re Here to Make Things Grow
Movements. Ideas. Products. Brands. Companies.
If we can’t get excited about growing them, we shouldn’t be working on them. The work we do has a purpose and fits into a larger whole. By maintaining that perspective, we make success more difficult. But in facing the extra difficulty, we earn our integrity, self-respect and market value.
Why Do We Say Client Fulfillment?
Because clients who are really fulfilled-fulfilled as people, professionals and clients too- will become lifelong clients and in turn, recommend us. That’s how we grow. Great Clients, Great Work and Great People.
Each of us is Responsible for Our Own Inspiration.
Don’t settle for less. Find, ask, challenge, orchestrate, search, revisit…do what it takes to get inspired to do your best.
We Are Smarter Together Than We Are Alone.
Bands are more successful when everyone knows their part. Let your band mates play their part.
The First Rule of a Judgment is Business.
We have an obligation to share our point of view, regardless of its popularity, both internally and externally. But once a decision is made, we are equally obligated to support it.
We Exist to Inspire
Our clients, consumers, one another, the world around us.
Clients need to feel our passion and enthusiasm for ideas that can build their business. We didn’t sign up for boring cubicles and never-ending meetings. Let’s make the time our clients spend with us meaningful, fun and inspiring.
We Are all in business development.
We provide value to clients and should charge a fair price. And should not be shy or subtle about it.
We Are a For-Profit Company.
We provide value to clients and should charge a fair price. And should not be shy or subtle about it.
Partnership
It’s what comes from investing in people and relationships, valuing them above short-term gain. Make your clients, your partners, your people feel that true partnership is possible. Invest beyond all calculation in people who inspire you. Be an honorable and generous partner at all times.
We Are One.
We are one firm: We have many different brand names on our business cards. We may work in different departments. But we are all responsible for the success of our clients, either directly or indirectly. There is no success apart from common success.
02 Listening is More Important Than Talking.
Remember That People Come Here to do and be more.
Don’t put yourself or anyone in a box. Expect creativity from “account people.” Expect strategic smarts from “creative people.” Expect management smarts from everyone. Collaborate with everyone you can. We play roles but if we wanted to be limited by them, we would be someplace else.
Clients Are People.
If you can get them to feel that you know that, the rest of your job gets easier. Treat them like part of the team, rather than a boss or an obstacle. Tell them what you really think. Joke and confide and take the risk of feeling comfortable around them. Challenge them to inspire you. Challenge yourself to inspire them. Be big enough to celebrate when they have a big idea.
We’re all smart (or else we wouldn’t be here) and it’s not a contest. Speak up when it’s right and listen well and actively.
If You’re Here, You’re Smart.
Don’t hold back. There are no bad ideas or dumb questions. Only the ideas you held back and the questions you should have asked but didn’t.
If Things Go Wrong, Speak Up.
If you need help, ask for it. It’s far better to raise an alarm before disaster strikes than after. Together we can solve almost any problem. Communicate early and often.
Great Work Wins Business. Great Relationships Keep Business.
We proactively work on relationship building. What are you doing this week to build and strengthen a client relationship.
In Running Meetings:
Start on time, end on time. Have an agenda and stick to it (unless there’s good reason not to). Agree to next steps and follow up.
Promise Wisely and Then Over-Deliver.
Make no commitment without consultation. Give clients something they didn’t ask for. Sometimes, deliver ahead of deadline. End a meeting early and give colleagues, vendors or clients the gift of time.
03 It’s the Work
While not every project presents an opportunity for greatness, every one is an opportunity to practice your craft. In the long run, those who work more, who try it more ways, who do something good and then do something better, who crank, will accumulate many years’ more practice more than their less prolific colleagues. This confers upon them an unmatchable advantage.
Take the Word Brief Seriously.
Let’s not ever make each other guess which part of brief is the important part. Let’s include the important part. Let’s make sure our briefs are simple, compelling and crystal clear. Nothing in an agency is more sacred.
Like + Trust = Business.
People hire people they like and trust. It really is as simple and profound as that.
Over-Collaborate.
Especially at the beginning of relationships, while you are earning the trust and admiration that will smooth the inevitable bumps down the road. While figuring everything out, and layering the groundwork for success. Get on more planes. Provide more options. Ask more questions. See the factory, meet the workers, go to the research, talk to the sales force, get a demonstration, sample the product, talk to a board member, brainstorm with the client. Over-communicate. Over-collaborate. Over-deliver. Time and energy invested in relationships pays us back in better work, business and results. Oh, yeah, and better relationships too.
This is a Relationship Business.
We’re small enough that we can manage personal relationships. So, honor personal relationships. Treat your commitments as sacred. Communicate. Never leave your colleagues in the lurch. Be the colleague you wish for.
Think.
A problem, project or opportunity well-defined is half solved. More time is wasted not thinking well at the beginning of projects than can ever be made up by speed, efficiency or piling on staff later.
Design In Context.
The context is the user’s or the audience’s experience. Design in context. Present in context. Evaluate in context. The first rule of design. And remember that everything that we do is design.
Agree on Strategy, A Budget and A Schedule.
Simple, yes. Always followed, no. Let’s remember the basics.
Meetings, When Necessary.
We’re in an over-meeting culture. Let’s make sure we really need a meeting before we schedule. If we do, let’s show up on time and focus. Time is valuable.
Great Presentations Tell a Story.
One thought per slide. Tell a complete story, with insights and ideas.
When Presenting Big Ideas, Don’t Sell Executions.
Countless ideas get killed because the client sees execution too early. We sell big ideas first. Then the execution. We like simple descriptions and key visual to buy a big idea. Nothing more.
Creative Work is the Product. Get Behind It. And Be Ready to Defend it When Necessary.
Choice is good. We almost always have three options to choose from. And never one we can’t get behind.
Client Presentations Are as Important as New Business Presentations.
No understudies on presentation day. Casting is important.
04 We Are All Responsible For Holding Each Other to This Standard.
When our colleagues succeed, we all succeed- so help one another exceed the standard. If a colleague is not living up to this standard we have an obligation not to let it pass. If you have an issue with a colleague, deal with it directly, privately and professionally before you escalate. If that is unsatisfactory, get help. Professional expertise is given around here; modeling the standard is the true path to success.
At DIGO, we have a standard to live up to. It’s part of our quest to build a great brand. Since a brand is an experience you can repeat, we need to be able to deliver an experience that is predictably great. That doesn’t happen by simply hiring great people and letting them do whatever they do. Yes, we hire great people. Absolutely, they get a great deal of responsibility and the latitude to do great and surprising things. But they do them within a framework that we all understand. A framework that says what we’re here for. Our why. And some of our hows too. The DIGO Standard.
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Tags: the digo standard
Intel founder, tech genius and billionaire Andy Grove titled his book, Only the Paranoid Survive.
Since we can’t see everything, the truth is that we make decisions based on our biases. Most of us don’t question our biases, they are just “the way we are.”
Grove developed a set of biases that propelled him to the top of the digital world. Where did he get them? Nazi Germany (more…)
Tags: advertising, andy grove, change, mark dimassimo, only the paranoid survive
If you understand the value of the content you create to your audience, then you’ll have a much better idea of what’s worth doing and how to do it.
Let’s start with the current norm. Those of us who are doing this because we think thought leadership or content management is a good thing to be doing. We think we’re helping people make a product decision. Or we think we’re simply building the reputation of our company. And perhaps we also think we’re creating inexpensive ways to expand the potential for prospective customers to engage with us, and then perhaps be converted to customers down the line. Maybe we also think we’re arming our brand advocates with information and data they can use to advocate for us with others (more…)
Tags: advertising, change, mark dimassimo, marketing
A weekly post on some of our favorites from around the Web.
This week’s topic: A Grab Bag of Good Stuff
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Tags: change
Digital Thought Leadership. Content Marketing. Branded Content. Call it what you will. The evolution of digital media — particularly the rise of social networks — has created the opportunity for brands to build relevance and trust with their customers by participating, convening, aggregating, syndicating and publishing across multiple channels in a thoughtful way.
By offering content with real value, utility and a credible editorial position focused on topics of affinity to your customers and prospects, you can:
- Lay claim to your areas of expertise
- Sharpen and validate your point of view
- Collaborate with other experts and customers
- Get market feedback
- Deepen your connection to existing clients
- Broaden your reach
- Be relevant
Jeff Pundyk, one of the earliest publishers to make the transition from print to digital, leads DIGO’s content and digital strategy team. Jeff was publisher of the McKinsey Quarterly, McKinsey & Co.’s online and print publication on business management, from 2000 to 2010. Our team stands ready to help you put what you know to work to connect with clients, prospects, and recruits in a richer, more sustainable way.
Strategy is different in a social world because brands grow differently when people rule.
We see the signs all around us. Design becomes more important—increasingly, it’s the key differentiator among brands. PR also rises in importance, while advertising falls. Discovering, channeling, exciting and curating expressions of passion become key disciplines.
At DIGO, strategy is about knowing where we’re going and where everyone else is going, too. It’s about solving the problems of today while building a vision for the future in an emerging marketplace.
We believe that emotion drives behavior, and that design details can minimize or remove barriers to action. We discover and leverage the emotional meaning of a brand, then build this meaning into everything we do. Emotion leveraged to action is DIGO’s hallmark as a master direct and social marketing agency.
DIGO’s strategic services include:
- Brand Invention
- Brand Launch
- Brand Relaunch
- Brand Positioning
- Insight-Driven Product & Service Innovation
- Social Media Audit
- Social Media Kick Start
- Competitive Strategy
- Integrated Marketing & Media Strategy
- Marketing & Business Strategy Alignment
- Metrics for Success
Tags: brands, DIGO, Services, social, Strategy
We do lot of things that ultimately add up to one thing: we help companies grow. We do that by building brands. And we do that with a myriad of different tools. Research. Strategic planning. Media planning. PR. Social media. Design. Direct response. All of that in addition to what people have now come to call “Traditional advertising,” i.e. television, print, and digital. All of it just comes down to communicating in a way that makes it easy for people to like your company. (more…)
Tags: change, connecting, digital, DIGO, interactive media
By Jeff Pundyk
We’ve heard a lot of discussion about how marketers are losing control of their medium and their message as digital channels and user-generated content compete for consumers’ attention.
And, indeed, more consumers fast-forward through commercials and are finding their video on the Internet; traditional media properties are losing ground to blogs and social networking sites as the primary source of information, and, of course, consumers are completely absorbed by their smart phones. (more…)
Tags: change, engagement, growth, revolution, social media
A weekly post on some of our favorites from around the Web.
This week’s topic: Brand Driven Growth
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Tags: brand, change, driven, friday reads, growth
YOU: …wouldn’t be comfortable in any box on an org chart, because you’re too big to be boxed in. You’re ready for
a be-more / do-more / accomplish-more opportunity.
WE: … put people on teams, never in boxes. While we can be considered a thriving independent strategy / research / brand / design / innovation / advertising / direct / digital / social marketing agency, we prefer the handle: brand-driven growth network. We make things grow, from product innovation to every facet of promotion, and are looking for seasoned, multi-talented, Account Supervisors ready to show how they can help make us, and our clients, grow.
YOU have:
- At least 3 years of advertising, or related marketing, experience
- Strong analytical abilities, both quantitative and qualitative
- Excellent oral, written and interpersonal (including management) skills
- Digital and direct experience a plus
- Keen ability to monitor, evaluate and impact the quality of a client’s work within all agency functions
- Inspired by ideas and what it takes to grow great brands
Tags: account, supervisor, want
Myles Kellam is a leader in marketing strategy, team-building, agency management and client services with extensive experience in digital (websites, ecommerce platforms, digital media and advertising, applications), social media, experiential marketing, and traditional advertising. (more…)
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