Integration and Extension – Why Super Bowl Ads Were Mostly a Fail
Despite widespread adoption of Social Media, most companies are still missing the point and failing to engage the medium effectively or powerfully. This was evidenced with the ads at the 2012 Super Bowl XLVI; there were few extensions and few integrations beyond the initial hashtag or web link. Nearly a third miss going that far, according to Altimeter Group.
You’re not Thinking 4th Dimensionally
Most in the communications/promotions world think only 1 or 2 dimensionally. It results from a need to see how their personal work/project impacts a certain space – they put it out there, then gather metrics on their impact. It’s simple, it’s easy. It’s also short sighted. Like any field of play, a 3 dimensional player will eventually advance ahead of the 1 or 2 dimensional player. This is what made Tim Tebow so exciting to watch in his debut season. Just when the “stronger” team thought they had it won, Tebow pulled a new move that was not expected – like running his own touchdown play. (alright, enough with the football, back to business). For you sci-fi fans, this is the equivalent of James T. Kirk beating the no win scenario… by changing the rules of the test. To use social media effectively, you have to be able to “see the future” just a little bit.
This is why social media can be so powerful – it offers a relatively inexpensive means to move into a 3 or 4 dimensional plan against a more powerfully equipped opponent who has more resources for far less money. It sounds silly, but it works. Just ask Gary Vaynerchuk. All innovation is based on this principle – gain 1 dimension against your opponent and you can out-play them.
Watching the Super Bowl ads was disappointing. Most of us in the social media communications business expected LOTS of interactive commercials. Alas only a couple played their game using the new rules. The bad news is this means that so many companies still don’t get it. The good news is, for entrepreneurs and neophytes, you have a lot of opportunity to gain advantage by looking at those extra dimensional opportunities.
Three and a half Strategies to Give You Advantage:
Continue readingA Money Pit across the cusp
There is a distinct cusp of attitudes and approach in business technology use. The divide is roughly age based generationally but also, somewhat, by inclination. For office based, non-manufacturing/distribution businesses we can all be more effective at lower cost.
Old School: Everyone in a place I know, visibly doing a job I’ve assigned. Ahh, comfort and control. Sure I have the expense of land, plant, equipment, furniture, utilities and specific staff for just those pieces of infrastructure. I like it this way. We’ve always done it this way, etc.
Modern Business: Let’s minimize the “plant” infrastructure or minimize it radically. Let’s only spring for the equipment necessary to out-place all or nearly all of our staff. Modern technology allows anyone anywhere to communicate and collaborate effectively, closely and real time. The best business processes allow you to keep staff accountable to achievable goals, motivated (even excited) about the job and mission and just as (or more) efficient at dramatically lower costs.
Social Gillie offers you the best focused assistance with achieving the “modern business” model above. To creat a remote effective workforce you’ll want it just how you choose. We provide solutions from initial assessment to comprehensive development of strategies, requirments, tools, training, implementation, coordination and reporting. A program designed by you to achieve your goals and needs.
Climb out of the comfy “backside in seat” money-pit in your operations.
Contact Social Gillie today to find out more!
So Many Questions
Engineering business relationships has more pieces to it than many are aware of. What are you after? What needs to be done?
- What do I have that I can use?
- Who do I have relationships with?
- How do I communicate with each?
- What tools and technology do we use to communicate?
- How do we measure our effectiveness?
- How do we implement what we need?
- How do we continuously benefit and improve from our efforts?
Our specialty is helping you answer those questions and implement the processes and policies necessary to grow your base of relationships. Communicate better, attract more business, get the best people and suppliers. Be valued in your community and your market segment.
Social Gillie will take you there.
How or Why – Social & Mobile Relationship tools
The most important question about using any particular Social or Mobile Relationship tools is not How?, but rather Why? There is so much talk about how this or that tool is used, how it’s implemented, how to build a network, how to organize contacts, etc. Yet, this is at best the secondary concern. And it is the lack of answering the Why question that keeps many business leaders shy about using the many Social Media and mobile computing platforms in the market today. Don’t get me wrong: I think that Social is good for almost everyone in business; but there are both risks and costs associated for every benefit in social media that need to be addressed.
Obvious Benefits
For the first half of the modern* digital business age, the focus was on productivity tools. Rivals such as Corel, Lotus and Microsoft began creating productivity software for the every day business user and these tools had a sudden impact on every aspect of business, especially for mid-sized businesses. Functions that were highly specialized and took days, could be done in just hours by less skilled people. As companies adapted, they found more opportunities to improve their daily processes so that almost every role in the business world transformed. A sales manager in a small company could create his own spreadsheet to track clients, the sales team and predict orders, where before it required the accountant or office manager a couple of days to generate such reports. Back then, the crucial question was “how” to use the software, because the “why” was obvious to most.
I remember in the early 90s, working for a manufacturer’s representative who’s leaders had been to a trade show and became convinced that they needed to develop a corporate-wide distributed data management system. At the time, it seemed obvious – put all of the data into one system that can be accessed by all branches for all business functions. Obvious benefit. Then, the show came around to laptop computers. No longer does the sales man carry a brief case. He carries a laptop. The corporate president blurted out in his deep southern drawl “Why in the world would I want all of my salesmen carrying around computers???” He went on to answer his own question with expletives assessing how “dumb of an idea” that would be.
Continue readingLeaders Rivals and Relationships
Epic Contenders
Most people involved in modern business know of the rivalry between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. It was common knowledge that Jobs considered Microsoft products inferior and that there was a professional rivalry between them. Yet, it may escape attention that there is generally a common respect, even among rivals and adversaries, between successful people.
It’s interesting to note that Bill Gates sent a letter to Steve Jobs as he was dying. Yes, even Bill Gates had an appreciation for Steve Jobs, his often quoted adversary and critic. And Steve reportedly kept that letter by his bed – ostensibly to comfort himself in his last days. How fascinating. I think that says a lot about both men.
A Worthy Opponent
Jobs made no secret of his disdain for the Microsoft empire and it’s rise to power. In many ways it seems that Steve was actually propelled by a quest to do something “better” for the consumer. The best stories, the great epics, involve rivals and titanic struggles. This one, for all of it’s mundane techy detail, was no less fascinating than the greatest good vs evil stories of historic battles.
Continue readingHow’s that working for ya?
Social Gillie Team
When Good is Bad
We recently had a prospective client sit with us who has “done it all” so to speak, in the realm of digital communication promotions. The company is a consulting firm that has invested a large amount of time and resources into developing traditional internet and social media programs. They have an entire team that has worked on branding, artwork, websites, blogging, tweeting and selling their product on the web. It’s all good stuff! There’s been a massive effort, for a relatively small company. But we suspected that it wasn’t going well for them based on what we could see.
The Harsh Reality
We invited this prospect to meet with us because we had previously bid their project, but they took a different plan with another vendor. They turned us down, going with the other firm’s strategy and using a different philosophy. When we checked back, we could see from the work that they had not implemented several of our key recommendations. We met to review their experience with the other plan.
When we asked how their plan is working, the blank look came back, “not so good. We’re flat on all sales for that project.” Well, we weren’t surprised. The platforms are all there, the efforts are all professional and polished. But, there is no implementation of the Business Relationship Engineering principles which we had recommended.
Continue readingNew angles on old stuff
I love it when someone comes up with new angles on something old – especially in the online communications or marketing world. This week, two profound examples come forth on this topic. While Social Gillie is not strictly a “media” company, nor a “marketing” company, we track the marketing and social media world intensely as part of our commitment to business relationships engineering.
Fresh Insights on Business Communications
This week, a fresh view has come out that is truly fascinating: Adam Ladd, an Online Communications Designer recorded his 5 year old daughter’s impressions of brand logos. There’s a lot of intrigue in the insights that come from her brief quips. The most noteworthy is Ladd and his wife obviously have a java addiction. Ha! (Don’t we all). But, there are many others that come out.
Continue readingConduits, Streams and Rivulets
Your business relationships are based, maintained and improved based on how you communicate. Communications in the marketplace, business location and around the block and dinner table.
We help enterprises large and small identify, manage and integrate each stream or conduit of relationships that are mission critical. Your employees in and out of the workplace, your leadership, your suppliers and of course your target customer, member or constituent.
Many don’t realize that the underground streams (e.g. your employees at a social gathering with others outside your orbit) impact your efforts and success as much as your advertising or marketing might. Your business relationships require attention, measurement and sustainment. You also will benefit from fresh relationships in each conduit. From finding the talent to make you better, to enhancing your ability to serve those you wish to.
Identify each stream. Measure its use and find its impact. Integrate it to your common enterprise messaging. Ensuring that everyone in your business communications conduits has the best, latest information. Build relationships that keep others talking accurately about you and encouraging others to be in a relationship with your organization.
We provide comprehensive analysis, strategic planning, training, integration and fulfillment in ways custom designed for each person or enterprise.
Value and Risk in Outsourcing
Outsourcing, In-sourcing, Consulting and Contracted Collaboration - part 1
When should you Consider Outsourcing, In-sourcing or Consulting? Will these empower your company, or dilute your creative energies? Do they offer gains of intellectual property, or risk losing them? Beware of formulaic answers, but seek sound methodology. Using consultants has distinct benefits that should be considered and some risks to avoid. Not every consulting engagement is alike. Many smaller companies do not realize that they can generally set the terms of usage of consultants. If you cannot do so with one company, you can simply shop for another provider who will work with terms that you like. Even if you are locked into a contractual engagement with one company, there are usually short term remedies that allow you to step around those contracts for certain situations.
Talking about Tech Origins
In the late 1980s and through the 1990s MCI, the bygone telecommunications innovator, built internal consulting teams within their company to develop new products and new services that completely changed the face of telecommunications; driving the innovations that make so many amazing things possible today, which are now part of our every day life. They invested billions on creative transformation. There are walls lined with patents and a list of hundreds of innovations in technology, all of which were birthed in that technology incubator.
Not Social Business
In the dynamic world of business and information, buzzwords can be annoying as the “latest fad”. Many speak out in frustration or disagreement at calling everything “social” these days. At Social Gillie we’re focused on prioritizing the relationships that make your business a success if managed well (or a failure if not). And that goes way beyond marketing. Its not “Social Business” or “Social Media” or “Social Marketing”. It’s much more: Business Relationship Engineering.
Let’s drop the “Social media” buzz words but not forget that these are relationship platforms, tools that offer new ways for people to do what they have always wanted to do: relate to their world in a way that matters. Relationships matter, as the slogan goes; But there are so many types of relationships that matter! And it’s okay because effective relationships are also profitable.
The New “Trust” Economy
Making our case for us
Providing one more piece of evidence to our recent point that the new economic virtue is “trust”, the automobile insurer Esurance has completely revamped their advertising/marketing campaign around the concept of Trust and Trustworthiness. Good for them. We hope they live up to it and that the campaign succeeds hugely.
The Social Media revolution is about developing trust through interactive dialogue. People want to get things that work and they want to know that when they buy something that doesn’t work, that there is a policy of fixing it – a way to get answers and solutions from the manufacturer. No company is immune to the new tone of scrutiny.
What do you do?
FAQ1:
The question most frequently asked of us. What do you guys do?
We help businesses, ministries, non-profits, individuals and campaigns effectively use Business Relationship Engineering.
What you sell, who you hire, who your leaders are, who supplies and the general public are all dependent on the number, nature and quality of the relationships you maintain and how you communicate in them.
Business relationship engineering is the integration of systems, hardware, and people to create a collaborative environment fostering every business relationship.
We provide assessments, planning, training, implementation and fulfillment specializing in digital, mobile and social communications programs.
We are your foremost resource for comprehensive real-time and Interactive communications consulting services. Use the right tools, be on the forefront of public awareness.
Proving that Social Continues to Flourish
Facebook’s Open Graph API is slamming online news outlets with new traffic. Even Yahoo! News, which seemed to be doomed to irrelevence not too long ago has seen a 600% increase from Facebook, of all places. In this brief article by FastGush, we see two important facts revealed:
- News Outlets have a new shot in the arm, driving traffic from folks who may have been ignoring the news elsewhere.
- Many social media users are unaware of the implications and risks of their usage of these emerging tools.
Who owns your peeps?
Have you thought about who owns your followers?As social media and the people that join social networks becomes more and more a part of the work place, employers are being forced to consider the impact. Some employers have seen (or considered) only bad effects, while others have benefited unwittingly from positive impacts without fully understanding why.
In his recent article titled ”Who gets custody of Twitter when an employee quits?” attorney and blogger Venkat Balasubramani follows two recent court cases where two different employers (Ardis Health and PhoneDog) have spent enormous sums in attorney fees and lost valuable social capital to sue former employees for taking their large twitter accounts with them, when they left their respective employers. In these two cases, the courts sided with the employers. However, that may not always be the case – and besides that, it is the court of public opinion that is often more impacting than the legal justice system when it comes to social media issues.