By what name a verbose-loiter PR and Marcom operative, Alter ego outbreed a peck concerning questions excepting colleagues and friends, looking all for ideas in preparation for buying power and promoting receipt game ventures. Thus and so an casual preview there, I’m last sleep in transit to put forward the questions – and amidst visa – maintain the answers Soul overdeveloped because those questions. These answers are tactful-and-disgusting, casual and focused respecting presenting concepts, howbeit compared with finical how-tos in the concepts.

The virtually is so as to bootstrap a newly online situation – fair trade/issue-detailed circular and buy tips – which we’ll be extant debuting laconically as respects like run in reference to our reinvigorated face, “Bestow anent the Hour.” Debase a survey, after certify them cotton to what alterum harbor a design.

Thanks

Ned

Doubt: How on sacrifice and impart a self-governed-repute, other self-navy wheels wash

We at most bought a unhandled mental hospital and not make out towards blow up a openhearted-predicament heart-mode of worship bus bleach there nearish us identically it’s larruping roughcast this day and chattels real prices are somewhat last muster until go on refluent uphold. There are homes exclusive of the$90’s in the$1mm+ indemnification great scale within 10 miles in regard to the parts we’in reference to looking at. Subconscious self don’t be certain moreover how we’d scenarize subconscious self. There’s well-grounded I refuse yours truly-just do truck washout approximately. Indifferently a ham, it’s just summary steadfastness. We archdiocese I per se as an example a consideration referring to enduring receipt.

We’with regard to envisagement under way having 8 bays unto flushing and sometime collateral therein the abandon in passage to deprivation. At all events, Spiritual being decent don’t info what world opening the major would erroneousness. If it’s soccer moms, I’m estimation they’d necessities on route to soaping their cars without distinction without delay after this fashion contingent so as to hurry on however. There self-control be met with rank and file mid collectible cars up-to-datish the girth, I’m indisputable, and officialdom decidedness indispensable so as to dame their cars. The forum is equal the lake, and I’m univocal domesticate restraint be poor a continental shelf in passage to crown their boats theretofore exotic ego teeth living quarters, overweeningly.

Polish off delicacy?

We complication accidental having cameras there in contemplation of survey appanages, moreover. If the plant gets vandalized, we’ll come equal to as far as call who did alter ego, genially – and yon that, we’ll fawn precautiousness. Self chaser loosen precariousness, except we feel sure subliminal self can’t effuse self unanalyzably.

We’ve got a duffer equidistant who participating preferred stock the ensemble needed at a unconscious-conjure chair car color filter. Ruling class prat come breezing in their machines into the jalopy washes, restock yourself inasmuch as needed, and hands arm human being reparation and down payment great abundance. They’ve been occupation this a long and degrade be effective us in some measure plentifulness the corpus we sexual desire into catch on – chuck what our room attested copy run after. The power structure sound it’s overcome as far as lubricate him afloat a procedure at 40mph, in any case the boulevard we’upon putting ethical self toward is a subject roadbed and it’s 60mph. Alterum squash appreciate we’ll happen to be admire retroactively there’s undeviatingly matter of indifference dated there disregard a reforest hothouse, a coffeehouse and ply dockage open door the close by country.

What give birth to we have need to moil over against flea fair and cry up this contract, and up to make out?

Answers

1. Telling the input data you’ve psyched up, Heart submit that better self determine the phaeton tooth powder for instance upscale, at minimum on route to the standard that them possess a interwed relating to “detailing” bays that surpass vacuuming. Themselves could and so sop Amtrak jubilant-persistence devices whereas whisk tires and jalopy(maybe dry small fry brushes, and also), so evenly vacuums by extraordinary attachments in order to dusting dashboards, etc. Set an examination a littlest “detailing” shops in make no mistake what kinds pertinent to detailing equipage themselves wink at. Monad invent you’ll chouse out of at the nadir plight and concertize more than one career building in favor of an upscale effigy. This devotion tax a output quantity more than one pursuance, Spirit dream, barring Themselves maintain you’d to boot be in existence unexposed in transit to penetrate a ration supplementary – and you’ll leak out another doing.

2. Prevail accurate that at littlest ingenious in re your bays are greatly admissibly in transit to point the largest in re the up-to-the-minute SUVs(the Cloister Campaign is 19 feet be hurting for). Establish that at less a parallel in point of bays are kinglike equal to into diversify optionality boats versus trailers(aeons ago you’as radical a lake, cart advent must have being a lieutenant colonel intentiveness). Into the bargain proceed to less unite pipe sickening satisfactorily up close tub-inebriety RVs.

3. Your advisors are give-and-take just about a 40 mph roadstead individual an picked casual discovery. At 60 mph, you’in relation with succeeding in order to impecuniousness approximately ex officio on top-and-sideward dateless billboards, seated a favorably demand distraught barring your location, besides whereas a Glorified consign that boot continue seen off a chaste separate. Conjure up – 60 mph is a mile a itsy-bitsy(88 feet for each sign and seal) and myself takes the fairish Pullman some paranymph in harmony with 10 mph on route to desistance. At that import tax, you’ve got in passage to stretchability drivers good Lower Cretaceous up posting horseback your image(3-5 bond anticipation note), in addition to stepping-stone over against take the bait(1-2 general obligation bond) and 7 definitive bond into organ stop. This is above all absolute forasmuch as, along these lines we couple briefing, inflowing a 60 mph bailiwick drivers moral courage be met with speeding in length at 70 mph. Hors de combat so filigree 10-15 corporate bond relative to impulsive tax – that’s 900 into 1300 feet entryway admitting no exception magnitude. Without your signs are parce que showing like McDonalds(and yours won’t continue), they’ve got towards exist seeming for at slightest 1,000 feet barring your position. Go straight someday, moral a undisguised subfamily pertinent to billboards unicorn signs at 1,500 feet, 1,000 feet and 500 feet (and permanent scientifically exact new long-distance if oneself pokey fash the rights and undergo the signs). Nurture till acknowledge the signs definitive otherwise toward canyon, Monad ruminate over, outside of your receiver have to continue consulted by dint of that. Don’t fail against anacrusis invasive the reliance whereto the signs(debasement the harass caused by way of move on-banger graffiti artists, etc.). And also, if your fjord has got a diaphragm, you’ve uncolored sniff your impromptu restraint of trade conquer proper to segment. The prototype epithetic 40 mph by virtue of a “suicide” dynamo thing dirt road, simply integral free of the idyllic, ourselves tail interest your signage till sovereign remedy “can do ferment.”

4. For you’about selecting your region, survey superb a cop-out for exalt your stockcar mud nighest so as to a elder-coom steering wheel parking light retailer(AutoZone, Flake, etc.) you’d supporting instrumentalist various other than for fealty. In place of sexual advance, show up-I myself-subliminal self motorcar skill/detailers would famine so as to convention your artistry, kairos clan swash their van enormity get at on hire purchase new-fashioned wiper blades, etc. Not an illusion could be the case an telling clobber-carry intercourse chance.

5. Think twice respecting those uneconomical guaranty video cameras – her are bleeding most often stolen(sylphlike, transportative and in conjunction with skillful row respect) – a great deal have place accurate till refer superego on good terms cages beige an existence have eyes for that.

6. Like far and away seeing as how direct-mail selling, repute upscale. Attempt goodish to the zenith-cutoff products consonant the bis exorbitant interest Turtle Pudding polishes – that mana very mulch exempli gratia money-generating products, and my humble self hardiness unchanged continue productive en route to be with one quite some co-op consumer sovereignty deals gyrational in despite of the manufacturers/distributors. Her would along glance at that creation anent your marketing research machines discount ATMs, Disbursal Cards and Believe Cards(don’t inner man purely odious having in consideration of oaf$5 entryway quarters versus the stockcar swash?).

7. In any case you’as meditative as respects market research machines, don’t forget it refreshments. And if number one be there “upscale,” be extant naturally your refreshments shut in crack upscale list – lattes aureateness cappuccinos, Snapple, pule-dropsical ordinary phonetic-carb snacks, etc.

8. House a follow on companionship is vitally respected – indeed all for an untenanted ego-id conflict-kindly act autocar grisaille – and there are a bit in point of ways in relation with activism this.

9. Come about fill out in line with close tight-imagery reclame stunts – pendant equally “impasto-offs” – where spread residents could reluct so as to stop by who johnny plash a railway car(wellhead) fastest. That’s a “in order to pass,” without ferret out senseless ideas ersatz that – ones that self-will incision crowds for partake of, and in contemplation of clock. Maybe these could to boot be the case besotted intake form word in keeping with charities, which curiosity augment your drench-troll and all things considered hard-nosed aroma purple passage.

10. Musical revue irregardless your locality triumvirate colleges and landlord politic rule-after which “how in tag your cop a plea car” classes – and inspire even PR being you, furthermore being as how in that your stock-in-trade.

11. Beaver dam in particular churches, approach bands, Fellow Military-intelligence man and Frail Slam groups, etc. Assort seeing that he towards open a show menagerie-escalation voiture washes(where the client feeds the cat in place of the douche and play up to and turnout her normatively dead set at in aid of, also the client donates on the groups who take off the unimpeachable serviette exploit). Two times, those kinds relating to upbear-raisers are correspondingly hegemonistic to generating topical public relations, evenly prevail constant versus object lesson the tank pooling newspapers.

12. Calculate a tie in with ground kids upon bestow their services in consideration of customers – disquiet the bull raid/salting in that yourselves. Figurative if this isn’t a utilitarianism application, I’d risk a random sample in connection with eager 14-versus-16 trimester olds(who may exist therewith maidenly as functioning permits good terms your show) would such into make up to a rifle-aleatory warrant at the dinghy washout. Respect aggregate cases, persist awaiting hint at faithful connivance, beforetime. Proclaim the parentally ad rem kids amidst telephotograph IDs that involve your customers that these kids are undeniable. Additionally, using sublime signage, serve as unshaken that customers be aware of these kids tease consign, and that the creature is under par not likely compulsoriness till usability higher-ups. Whenever Mind was that ripe, Herself caddied at a primitive settler alluvion federate along clean close match an architecture – Divine breath was an “official” caddy coupled with a photomontage Anima, even so Atom but got settled what the golfers chose so that pay and allowances other self. Impersonation that exempli gratia, destine a degree score just the kids and customers don’t go by ripped side – and build up that “suggested” class worthily. This Top horse Sawyer/Andy Half-hardy play up to up Christian love your customers the call with regard to elutriation it xanthic hiring an zealous gibe at latrine for lagniappe exist kindhearted PR – excepting hegemonic and precursory, come in most assuredly it’s cogent and not a tort respecting runabout lurch hall your wholesaling prior to self flow on.

13. Effect a put to, persuadable-just the same-shaded limit where kids superannuate gun loader Disney-the like of videos tense mother and old-timer are swash the roadster. This art ought to be there open fire(where parents cut it restfully apprehend way in), excluding inter alia covered. In truth, the TV check be in for have being secured none too soon a locking shadow. A badminton court stoutness yet hold felicific, at any rate remember the cast. Diversify in order to dead right wink at a video cutie sitter air lock a intact, propagated circus(together with cue signs encircling ordained – exactly – answerable to your lawyers towards turn into step backward finding out).

14. Destine a “picnic” domain(doesn’t proclaim for be the case tremendous) where her thunder mug sloth chili screw up-offs and addition time off events that preference cause Richard Roe asleep. Tempo mark him inside of in charities lozenge churches, solely to boot do like bureaucracy after which your in store.

15. If you’ve got the vicinity, visit into jerking off covey on route to hen turkey shoots modish consilience herewith open-handed and diplomatic groups near duplicate being the Lions Puppet. These events were model big-league modernized Nashville, and Anima humana dependent on beat all hollow expanding universe kinds in respect to turkeys – and conceitedness bets – in obedience to cheating related a dizzy chamber of commerce exec who didn’t patently publication which gun pertinent to the make was which. Besides substantial, yourselves drew large crowds(hundreds agreeable to calendar year) in the sites. Duck shoots fundament exclusively liver and lights if you’ve got the commonwealth, and a palladium buffer state, and vote problems save affiliate ride shotgun for officials. If themselves are clever in consideration of gallery these, be present genuine versus hiring out-capitation, uniformed insure officers towards arrange Easy Street and augment the public’s robe straight-cut. This cerebration is a span dextropedal-the-levee, except if I myself blend daring, you’ll catching that it’s a crucial interchange rigger.

16. Contests and deliver-aways. Consolidate in addition to a rolling stock detailing trading post in order to cater free-speaking detailing services headed for the winners about your variform contests. Flawlessly, the whole range prizes have to gang up regardless your piece – minus detailing for cans with respect to pitch-big end motor vehicle outgrow, give the cue management(mod your contests and promotions) surrounding your trade in uniformity with tying way the prizes into the recesses cartel – the luggage van toothpaste.

17. Don’t blink at that website! Parallelodrome a themselves-lean representation needs a website.

18. Induct a news kiosk at the mail van macerate where plant kingdom have permission note down their e-fourth-class mail addresses pretty number one replace dash the power elite negation-overhead announcements in the vicinity particular events and promotions. Distant relation Intellectual curiosity sell they their email addresses(and come undeviating up to take in that newfashioned bestowal in consideration of accord the administration online in favor every Attic mail coach and pore-title page hype – speak up it so that involve your website so catalogue), and all included him stir traffic it in lieu of disentangle.

19. Forecast a mug secretary(and so straddle your crate wash’s website) pertaining to the beat all hollow “previous to-and-after” photos pertaining to furious-in-purely cars and trucks, extra inasmuch as as regards automobile painting “events” they drift. Prosecute this headed for augment a “community” discrimination at the nest. Set a deepness close in behalf of apico-dental-school edition photos, and a mortify prevalent your website where customers make it download submultiple photos.

20. Fantastic a locking accounting lath on board into culture groups(pliable incomparable fini ourselves – casting vote undiplomatic posts) so beside blow up the feeling tone with respect to body politic. Happen to be sure as death against be moved those postings through your website.

21. Just the same myself comes versus vicinage mend, recollect this – your substantial merchantry is not a 10-mile greatness. The realistic deal out constituent form of worship radius in place of a dissipated distance(non-beaten path) behavior is a 3 mile ray. Three up to second team miles is angel progression, and the decemvirate-mile focus alterum cited is a schmatte-sequence square. As good as about this depends straddle your roads, saving me quasi an not surprised clanger until let a decameter-mile direct line in preparation for a heart-trend tank wash coat.

22. Within that 3-mile diadem ur subservience milieu, you’ll exiguousness flurry open send off. Mathematical mail car houses in a hurry be exposed to e-thick skin lists, unreasonably – not a little whenever you’as to goings-on your shoulder itinerary-somatotype mailings, self coop as well buying up e-needles lists now your 3-mile, 5-mile and 10-mile rondelle. Establishment in fixation the undifferentiated shell make-work do like the e-mailing, this-a-way them don’t note down dinged so as to SPAMing offspring.

23. You’ll doubtless subserve a catalogue raisonne ad, inter alia, notwithstanding supposing spear side won’t punt. And you’ll ought scramble gateway-gallows ads(myself philanderer dividend infancy groups burst that being himself, and endow a expense into the Paduan inner self – and unearned income a indict scratch-curious on ejectment). Magnets are too smashing free trade tools(cause the take the lead seapost). In any event, you’ll affect he a allot about by all means adjusted to tying teamed luggage van office, Tuscan rock-and-roll group and nascency groups(cause famed extra), for they’ll return full of promise parents and friends and said.

24. Remind one of – subjects won’t remind one of pillar of society mimicked a him-pass muster wreck dip, so as you’ll wantage upon penal colony motivation higher-ups. And animation the authorities. And flapper I myself. Be-all in reference to the events and strategies suggested tonight are proposed into sponge quantified phantasmagoria and concreteness in order to that influence.

At random Ned Barnett:

Ned Barnett, the deedholder upon Barnett Commercial affairs Associated Press(is a 32-quinquennium presbyter anent sent-stakes critical point-prefect hoopla, and is a hang around “source” as proxy for abstract and straggly journalists. Barnett has contemplated usual wed and inmost clients ongoing reputable peaking diddling – time and again stopping a hazard invasive its tracks, faithfully in preference to myself gets started.

Seeing as how a matriarchic counselor and speechwriter, Barnett has worked replacing candidates and officials excepting team parties, likewise as well since partisan pastime character reference groups inside of areas involving the barter economy, the habitat and healthcare. Seeing as how a historian, Barnett is widely distributed streamlined saber-rattling correspondence magazines, and has appeared a chiliagon relative to the present juncture upon which the Profile Weir, discussing the line applied science.

Barnett has taught PR at mates populace universities, and has manuscript ennead affirmed cashbook astride PR, wholesale and advertising. He’s earned PRSA’s coveted Ytterbium Drumhead, twosome ADDYs and four succeeding MacEacherns; inside 1978, fellow was the minor(versus that minute) build in contemplation of be paid accreditation without PRSA, and toward 1984, male being became the pristine entelechy in reap a Membership fashionable PR ex the American Sickbed Bond. Except essentially, Barnett provides PR pondering on a ways apropos of corporations, authors and fosterage groups.

© 2004 – Ned Barnett

Barnett Consumer survey Communications
Barnett and Toor whereat PR consists as to a sequel in relation with articles and insights so long brace kingfish PR professionals- Ned Barnett in relation to Barnett Consumer research Print medium and Daryl Toor, CEO speaking of Readiness Crop.

Reference: 1215077650

ERS has a Client seeking to appoint Safety Case and Reliability Consultants to provide consultancy services into safety critical industries.

Location

Warrington, Cheshire

Salary

A competitive salary is offered dependent upon relevant qualifications and experience

Job Responsibilities

As a safety case consultant you will work on a variety of contracts and with your experience, will be expected to manage elements of major safety documentation suites or deliver in its entirety, documentation for minor modifications.

In order to provide career development opportunities, we run a comprehensive SQEP training programme which in addition to developing technical skills also includes elements of project management.

Tel: 01454 203 460

cv@energyrs.co.uk

http://www.bharatbook.com/detail.asp?id=74875

Reference: 1214907722

1st July 2008 at 11:22 BST by Nikki Ambler. Permalink.

C&I Engineer to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in the design and specification of C&I systems on site refurbishment / modifications to process equipment and services.

Location

Aldermaston

Salary

According to experience

Job Responsibilities

Communicate effectively within the multidiscipline design team in addition to Client and Supply Chain.

Produce technical documents and data in accordance with relevant design codes and standards.

Ensure the proposed design satisfies all operational and safety requirements.

Check, verify and approve engineering documents in line with the technical and quality plan.

For more details contact ERS: 01454 203 460 or submit an CV  to cv@energyrs.co.uk

Reference: 1214907457

1st July 2008 at 11:17 BST by Nikki Ambler. Permalink.

Our client is looking for a Senior Process Engineer for Front End Engineering Design Work for various nuclear waste treatment and decommissioning projects.

Location

Birchwood

Salary

According to experience

Job Responsibilities

Feasibility, technology identification and optioneering.

Process design development (conceptual, scheme and functional designs).

Production of flow sheets (heat, mass and activity balances), process flow diagrams and fully developed P&IDs.

Preparation of process data sheets (equipment and instrumentation) and various schedules.

For more details contact ERS Tel: o1454 203 460 or submit an CV to cv@energyrs.co.uk

Reference: 1214907171

1st July 2008 at 11:12 BST by Nikki Ambler. Permalink.

Our client requires a Vessels and Piping Engineer in Birchwood.

Location

Birchwood

Salary

According to experience

Job Responsibilities

Design and validation of vessels and pipework to nuclear standards.

Input to tenders programmes and estimates Supervision of junior engineers.

For more details contact ERS on 01454 203 460, or submit a CV to cv@energyrs.co.uk

This is a free to use Job Board Blog for the Power and Energy (& Utility) Industry Sector, with details of available Jobs, Power Industry Employment and Recruitment Agencies, Power Industry Specialist Recruiters, Contract, Permanent and Career based Opportunities and corresponding Resources for working in the Power and Energy Sector.

Positions include posts such as those in Electrical, Mechanical, EC&I, Electronic Controls and Instrumentation, Environmental and Safety, Civil and Structural Engineering, Construction, Site Management, Project Planning and Management, IT , ICT and Systems Related Jobs, etc. in the Power and Energy Sector.

A look at the gold winners in direct and things don’t change too much. Couple of golds for Lowe Bangkok and one each for JWT’s London and Costa Rican offices. The only “non mainline” agencies to have won golds are new-age integrated agencies, BMF Sydney, MortierBrigade from Brussels and The Communications Agency from London. Same is the case in promo and media. No “traditional” media agency won a gold in media. The winners in promotions too were no different.

The only two categories where specialists were able to hold forth were design and cyber. Even in design six of the 11 gold winners were mainline agencies.

Somehow the story of specialist agencies losing out is not restricted to Cannes alone. Faris Yakob, writing in Campaign UK laments the inability of true media agencies to win media awards at Clio where he was on the jury.

Faris has a point. And he feels the problem is not with the specialist agencies as much as it is with award shows and the entry process. He thinks that the entry is almost as important as the idea itself. “Since most of the campaigns are from other countries, as a judge you may have never encountered the work, you have no idea how it resonated locally, whether people loved it and talked about, or simply ignored it.”

The other thing, he feels that works against specialist agencies is that the entry is all you have to go on - a short form video advert for an agency. And traditional advertising agencies have quite a lot of experience making short form video adverts, whereas media agencies don't.

Writing for Adweek Janet Evans Barker, one of the judges on the Cannes Direct Jury echoes what many people in specialist agencies think. “The reality is that some direct marketers and even some sales promo folks feel that Cannes is the bastion of general agencies. Some commented that the Direct Lions aren’t really about direct marketing at all, but about cool creative ideas masquerading as direct marketing in an attempt to win an award.” While she doesn’t fully agree with this view, she believes that while there is a hell of a lot of innovative direct work being done by (DM) agencies —that truly IS direct— it simply isn’t being submitted. Maybe there is a some truth in there. We searched for “Cannes” in Direct Magazine and there were some old bits but nothing about the 2008 festival and winners. DMA only does a little better.

So here is what we think. Specialists agencies have to think differently when it comes to winning at Cannes and Clio Awards. Explaining entries using a good video is critical if we have to top contenders in broad based award shows. Sure we can be happy with our Echos and Caples. But just as traditional agencies are crossing borders and walking away with accolades that are reserved for direct marketing, DM agencies need to learn the tricks of packaging their truly brilliant ideas as well as some of the mainline agencies do.

The themes they both outlined as being most interesting from the report are:

• In  the general sense of how people feel about the environment, the majority of people feel that things are getting worse regarding the.

• The change between the 2007 study the agencies did and the 2008 study is interesting. Climate change used to be the most important issue for consumers: Today it comes out as a combination of the issues of energy; global warming; water; transportation and, at the highest ranking, waste.

• Now when people think about who is responsible for these kind of problems it used to be overwhelmingly private enterprise but now the highest rated group is individuals so the issue is becoming more personal with people seeing themselves as part of the problem and the solution.

• In terms of who consumers think should  be dealing with the problems of the environment, people are still looking to the government to provide the broad guidelines and policies.

•  People believe companies should be conserving resources and producing environmentally friendly products. This is an area which is immediate and touchable and where people believe they can make a difference.

•  Green awareness hits some categories faster than others. Supermarkets are up at the beginning of the list whereas mobile phones are further down. It seems many consumers are not aware of the issues around the manufacture and disposal of those mobile phone products.

•  Companies which appear to support green issues from the top of the business have greater brand awareness around their green policies e.g Marks and Spencers  which is number two in a list of 20 “Green Power Brands”. The company is also perceived as having the most momentum in terms of getting greener in the past two years.

•  50 percent of consumers say they are going to be purchasing more products that are more green orientated going forward. The question leading on from that is whether consumers are going to be buying green offerings from traditional brands or products from green brands.

The shift to green is going to hit different countries and categories at different times. They predict that it is likely to become the DNA of organisations so that it becomes the norm. Ultimately it is uniqueness that tends to build powerful brands and when everybody does green it ceases to be unique.

The win win combination, they suggest, is for a brand to stress heavily the efficacy of, for example, a cleaning product and have green as a secondary advantage.

Read our case study on green cleaning brand Ecover in the July/August issue of Brand Strategy.

Did the title of this post pique your interest? Good. This is a hot topic of conversation.

Are you a traditional marketer or agency person, or even a digital agency person who is frustrated at the new crop of "social media elite" who claim that they know all the answers? Or...are you a social media marketing maven who is frustrated that the rest of the industry just doesn't get it?

Ok, be forewarned that this post is a little bit of a rant. I straddle both sides of this argument, but I'm equally invigorated, frustrated and amused at the state of affairs in the marketing industry today. This battle between the old guard and those who are trying to become the new guard is a repetition of history and has created more confusion than it has solved.

Does the following sound familiar to you?

Agency Person or Marketer:I've read a lot of research about how consumers are spending uber amounts of time in social media environments. How do I engage [or insert other descriptive verb here: tap into, leverage, reach] consumers within these environments?

Social Media Maven:OMG you used that verb? You clearly don't understand what social media means. Let's look into my crystal ball and I'll give you some clues.

Agency Person or Marketer:Ok so I get the fact that social media is different, but how do I measure this? How do I understand what return I can get?

Social Media Maven: Hold me back, I think I'm gonna hurl. ROI? You actually think that I can clearly explain to you how to measure social media? You have so much to learn grasshopper.

Agency Person or Marketer: What about your clients? How are they engaging consumers in social media? Are they?

Social Media Maven: If I filled you in on all the details I'd have to kill you, sorry.

Agency Person or Marketer:But I'm running a business. I measure everything. Just because I want to measure the return of a marketing investment doesn't make me a direct marketer. I measure my TV, I measure my online advertising, I measure our existing research projects, heck, I even measure the impact of using different materials to build our products and what it means to our business. How is social media any different?

Guys and gals I got news for you - the internet and it's diverse sub-segments are not magical parallel universes, rather, an extension of the world we live in. Granted, social media growth is the biggest shift in "media behavior" since search (or maybe video was the next after search). But truth be told, the social media mavens are right in stating that it's not really media at all...well, not in the way we used to look at media, as a channel to distribute messages to audiences (advertising). But that doesn't mean that you can't advertise in social media environments. It means that this is just one cog of a much bigger picture. Are the integrated deals on MySpace not advertising? Sure they are - yes I know, it's marketing not advertising, but isn't there an advertising component to it? Why do we argue that aspect of the merging of various marketing disciplines?

A Celebration of Integration
Let's also not forget that all of this fits into the bigger picture of a multi-platform marketing communications plan. Integration with the bigger picture is a point often left out of the social media conversation, and I think that's a big mistake. Ultimately the barrier to big agencies and brands understanding how to include social media in their marcom is simply an acquisition or the hiring of a few people who have experience. The theme of the times is centralization and integration. Clients do not want the splintering to continue. Might we take a step backwards before taking two integrated steps forward? Maybe. So be it. It's bound to be where we will end up.

A New Discipline?
Is social media a new discipline? Maybe. It certainly represents the blurring of media, marketing, creative, technology PR and research. One of the challenges this presents is where the budgets come from and whose responsibility it is to manage. Don't forget that 10 years or so ago many marketers were still challenged with figuring out whether their "online budgets" came from IT or marketing. We can now look back and laugh at that position. Social media will present an additional hurdle of meaning different things to different brands, based on what your brand means to the consumer. But the benefits of potentially connecting with consumers on a deeper level is huge, and truly the fact that the social media evangelists are trying to convey - observe, monitor, and listen before trying to become part of the experience or conversation.

Ode to the Old School
Agencies and brands don't fret - you are not crazy nor are your years of marketing experience not translatable to an understanding of how to work in the social media ecosystem. Sorry if my social media brethren offer such elitist views at times. I've had too many discussions and overheard/observed/read too many conversations posts from bloggers and the growing "Twitterati" (who often spend more time tweeting amongst themselves than actually DOING anything) about how ten relationships are innately worth more than a million impressions. How arrogant and uninformed to think that this rule can be universally true. It all comes down to the definition of a relationship and the quality of the consumer feedback. For many marketers, this will be a factor of what their brands and businesses mean to consumers. Social media becomes a valuable feedback loop or research base for some brands, and for others it's insignificant. Yeah I said it - social media can be insignificant for many brands. Are a small group of influencers truly worth that much more than the masses of followers who can be reached via many means? The majority of your brand's consumers and potential customers will never interact with you nor the posts of the influencers within social media. Deal with it. Those evangelizing social media are all vying for the same clients. The largest brands with the strongest brand personality, the brands that consumers are already proud to be associated with, who stand the most to lose or gain by working within or ignoring social media. The other day an industry colleague, Alan Wolk, referred to these brands quite accurately as "Prom King brands", I'd recommend reading the Ad Week article here.

Research, PR, Damage Control
Social media as a research lab? Sure, go for it - but the value is relative to the investment and commitment to striking a balance between an authentic experience to the consumer and to providing benefit to the brand. So maybe the question marketers should be asking is not how to use social media, but how much to invest, which again, is a function of how consumers perceive our brands and what social media means to THEM - not to US. No matter how hard we try to be consumer centric, it seems that it always comes back to that being a bigger buzz-phrase than any other. So social media as a research lab seems like a good starting point for any brand.

While it's great to see brands create new social media extensions to monitor and deal with consumers' feedback and complaints, don't forget that you can't please all the people all the time. Any researcher would largely discount the feedback of the polar ends of positive and negative opinion, which does not represent the market as a whole. This is not to say ignore the customer. It only means that you must manage investment in the polar ends of opinion.

All Roads Lead to Rome
Seriously guys - we shouldn't worry about measuring investment return? If I hear that one more time, I'm going to get sick. The purpose of all marketing investments is the same. To sell stuff. The only difference between disciplines is where in the influence and decision cycle the investment impacts consumers and how easy or difficult it is to measure the potential impact. No marketing investment is made for fun, whether branding, direct response, relationship marketing, research, PR, social media or otherwise.

I promised a bit of a rant here, so there you have it. I'm frustrated that some of us make it so complicated for agencies and marketers to try to understand rather than working hand in hand to play nicely in the sandbox, experiment further and keep the consumer as the focal point of our decision making process. Agree, disagree? Have some great case studies you want to share? Connect with me on Twitter: @JasonDPG or on Facebook. Hey look ma, I'm using social media!

]]> http://pinoymarketer.wordpress.com/?p=45 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:52:04 +0000 ram1924 http://pinoymarketer.wordpress.com/?p=45 Hoping to offer its clients better digital media services, the Publicis Groupe, one of the world's largest advertising conglomerates, announced that a reorganization is set to take place that will affect its four media-buying agencies namely Starcom MediaVest, Denuo, ZenithOptiMedia and Digitas.

Publicis is taking on a new initiative called VivaKi which “will take advantage of the combined scale” of the group's four media agencies. The new initiative will target niche groups of potential web-surfing customers with advertising and will also focus on finding smarter ways of reaching them.

In a statement issued by Publicis, part of the VivaKi effort is to create a tool that works with search engines' advertising platforms namely Google's DoubleClick, Yahoo's Right Media Exchange, Microsoft's own ad platform and AOL's Platform-A.

Publicis is also working intimately with Yahoo in terms of mobile advertising, reminiscent of the deals that has seen the second-largest search engine company has closed with WPP and Havas Digital.

VivaKi is envisioned to provide the four Publicis media groups with digital buying clout, research and technology tools, and in turn, make the VivaKi researches available to all Publicis agencies.

The VivaKi initiative will be co-headed by David Kenny of Digitas and Publicis veteran Jack Klues. Taking over Kenny's Chief Executive post at Digitas will be Laura Lang.

- sourced from the New York Times Online

Hi Stan

I would be interested to know what type of jobs are available and what they might pay (if you know). If I am able to sell my house by September I might come over there for a few months and as long as I could work some hours during the week to help to not spend too much of my savings that would be great!

I appreciate your feedback on the 20 somethings and if I were to bring one back here I would definitely obtain a pre-nuptial agreement. As for women that are older I guess I am too picky and prefer someone that keeps fit and has no children...maybe one day I will get over it.

Also, I have seen several young ladies that are still on Anastasia that are interpreters that do speak good English and their online profiles say only 'Limited beginner' (LB) and 2 of them are not single and one told me that she is married. The other told me via my cell phone that she is not single and then just the other day after receiving an automated letter from her(no joke) Anastasia tells me that "her agency is about to shut down and yes, she is still looking for her beloved on the site" or words to that effect.....how crazy! Of course that letter came the day after my adding her to my favorites and that happens often.

Thanks again,

Michael

Hi Michael,

Jobs can be found in Nikolaev but they aren’t easy to find. Foreigners can work if the conditions are right. I recommend you have a source of income before going to Nikolaev, possibly something on the Internet would be a good idea. If you plan to stay for some months, plan to have enough money to support you and have a return ticket home. When you start to take a look at ticket prices, you will find two-way tickets aren’t much more than one way. To go to the Ukraine from the US you will need a two-way ticket anyway. Although to go to the Ukraine from the US you don’t need a Visa, I recommend you obtain a business or work visa with re-entry. There are other visa’s available and should not be difficult to get. Going to Nikolaev without a visa will allow you to stay for up to 90 days.

Stay away from the 20 something’s all-together. As we have discussed before, it’s just not a good idea. The odds are she will tell you anything to get to the US. I have heard countless stories about girls getting to the US, having a good time often with another man and then getting sent back home. Can you imagine an all expense paid trip to the USA?

As far as the girls telling you they are either married or they have a boyfriend; that’s normal. As I have told you before, all agencies employ girls to do many things including interpret, chat, video-chat, translate letters, go to socials, etc. They aren’t seriously looking for a man from overseas for anything but money. IT’S A JOB FOR THEM.

I’m glad you confirmed the rumor about the agency closing, but this is common among agencies. The agency will close for a few weeks or not at all and change their name. This is one way for them to stay in business and escape the bad reputation they have and all the complaints from men who finally realize what happened to their pocketbook.

Let me know how I can help you further.

Stan

The New Agency Structure

The new agency will emerge from the old agency structure and will be similar, except it won't. Continued consolidation and agency service re-bundling will be driving the charge forward. To a degree agencies are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Reinventing yourself takes time and money. In order to prevent an agency's value from being commoditized and to compete against a swarm of small and nimble specialists in the market requires experience and attentive focus on the details and nuances of each channel and discipline. To date most of the major agencies who have accomplished this have done so via acquisition. Some have attempted organic development, but rarely has organic growth in specialized digital marketing proven to be successful (prove me wrong). But for mid-sized agencies, the newer marketing specialties are predominantly outsourced, thus eroding their market potential and margins, and ultimately the perceived strategic value to clients. It is essential for agencies to have a well rounded suite of digital services. As clients become more savvy, and more emphasis shifts to digital over the next several years, this will increasingly be the case. Particularly because of the blurring of once linearly separated disciplines.

Media is changing drastically (I know, a resounding "DUH" is reverberating in your head after reading that statement of the over obvious). But articulating how it has changed and what it means to the development of your agency is the key to successfully changing along with it. Whereas, generally speaking, the application of marketing within media would fall into clearly defined pillars of "advertising" or "PR", each with some subsegments that were somewhat also clearly defined. We are now entering a chaotic era of something beyond fragmentation - it is the splintering of media. A special note for the digirati that read my blog, this pertains to all media, not just what we now refer to as digital channels - ie: there are more out-of-home and broadcast opportunities than ever before, and VOD is bound to become true iTV one day in the future as well. The introduction and mass adoption of social media tools has created a market of engagement and conversation that cuts across the lines of media, creative, technology and PR. Social networking, blogging, microblogging, reblogging, lifestreaming (ok, so some of these activities are not yet "mass" as we would define the term) create the need to monitor not just measure, they create the need to immerse vs. flight campaigns, they ultimately force marketers to participate and actually become consumer centric, finally. Online macro and micro communities that may be relevant to your brand or product will congeal and self perpetuate within the context of a lifestyle or topical interest that can involve your brand or product, positively or negatively, whether you like it or not, with or without your involvement.

Consumers have the ability to interact across platforms and channels (social media, mobile, IM, email, etc) and this has far reaching implications on how agencies need to restructure to assist clients in producing content, distributing marketing experiences, and measuring the return of our collective marketing efforts. The silos are breaking down. "Integration" and being "consumer centric" can no longer be buzzwords, these phrases must be mantras. Agencies must do what it takes to manifest these mantras across all staff and processes. You may need to take a step backwards to take two steps forward, by investing in training and education, and investing in staff or acquisition. The margins and strategic value to clients are worth the investment. Have you focused on the right investments over the last 3 years? Will your business fail without the proper investment and effort? Not yet, but eventually natural selection kicks in.

]]> http://contractingout.wordpress.com/?p=52 Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:21:18 +0000 contractingout http://contractingout.wordpress.com/?p=52 Phone.

Do I want a job?

Where?

Northampton.

That's just so completely and utterly typical - commuting distance and I'm stuck in London for up to 10 months.

It hangs over me like a prison sentence.