2009 Agency Innovator of the Year

I realise it's a little late to be updating my blog for the first time in 2010 on Jan 21st, however already 2010 is shaking out to be a pretty busy year. Many of my clients who in 2009 were still a little hesitant about exploring the possibilities that social and emerging media can provide, have in 2010, no doubt in their minds. An exciting and somewhat daunting process as we ramp up on resources and look for great partners to work with.

Innovation is going to be one of my keyword mantras for 2010 and I promise to post regularly on all things innovative, cool, exciting and new in the digital space. In the meantime check out a pretty cool magazine that really focuses on driving innovation within the global media industry. The Internationalist Magazine. I was fortunate enough to be named one of their Agency Innovators in 2009 and if your interested in reading the bios of all the named innovators click on the above link. As always, would love to know your thoughts and feedback on innovation - what do you think is the next big thing in digital?

Canada Media Day

Had a great couple of days in Toronto last week at the Canadian Media and Digital Conference. I presented the 'Evolution of Media' on behalf of GroupM / mediaedge:cia which was somewhat of a prognostication on the state of industry and the trends that will define us over the next couple of years.

I really enjoyed MediaVest's Brian Terkelsen's "Effective Product Integration" presentation and it was good to see that all of us speakers were singing to the same tune: creative, media, data and technology all need to be integrated work streams in order for companies and their agencies to be successful in their marketing endeavors.

If you were there, I would love to know your thoughts on the day and the content of the event...

Canadian Marketing Week

Looking forward to speaking at Canadian Marketing Week next month. I am speaking on the Evolving Media Landscape and how we - all those involved marketing today - are being affected by this change. You can read more about the Digital Day and Awards Ceremony at the CMA Website. Let me know if you will be there and feel free to follow me on twitter as I will be tweeting from the event. My handle is @zara78

Love Good Statistics

I'm a sucker for good statistics - especially those game changing social media stats that are popping up all over the Internet. One of my favourites at the moment is "Do you Know 4.0" which has now had over 500,000 view on YouTube. Definitely worth a watch. Would love to know if you know of any other stats videos out there that are worth sharing?

Karl Lagerfeld

A lesson in social media for luxury brands....check out Chanels Karl Lagerfeld's twitter page...he follows noone. Everyone follows him. More to come on this shortly but would love to know what you think?
http://twitter.com/KARL_LAGERFELD

Canon G10

A little product review today in order to give thanks to the people at Canon. The Canon G10 Powershot camera has become somewhat permanently attached to my body. It comes everywhere with me and I am loving the quality of the images. I have tried a lot of point and shoot cameras in my time and this without a doubt is the cream of the crop. Couldn't recommend it more. I'd be interested in any of your thoughts on the whole point and shoot / digital camera conversation? I don't think i can be swayed into trying another camera but would be intersted to know if there are any rivals out there to the G10?

Tweet Me

There are so many crazy little "beta's" running around out there but this one definitely got me interested. Check it out. http://tweet.me.it/

DEFINITELY

Love this site!...do you? click on the hyperlink on the title... let me know if you find more sites like this one?

THE FRIENDSHIP PAYOFF: UNLOCKING NEW VALUE IN SOCIAL NETWORKS

Phenomenal three days at Fortune Brainstorm: TECH. The panel I sat on was called THE FRIENDSHIP PAYOFF: UNLOCKING NEW VALUE IN SOCIAL NETWORKS. Thanks to Chris Peacock from CNNMoney who did a great job at chairing the panel as well as my fellow panelists: Gina Bianchini, co-founder and CEO of Ning; Chamath Palihapitiya, vice president of user growth, mobile, and international expansion at Facebook; Deep Nishar, vice president of products at LinkedIn.

Fortune did a great job in bringing in some of the biggest decision makers today in the industry verticals of entertainment and technology. The conversation was lively, and the debates both engaging and insightful. I will definitely be going again next year.

Were you there? If so - would love to know what you thought of Brainstorm?

The Q & A - World of Warcraft

The form of this blog is Q and A - i may wax lyrical about a certain topic / issue / person close to my heart, however its a digital think tank for a reason and I like the Q & A form for this blog immensely. So the question I will leave you with today and i would love to know your thought is around very recent news release that Sam Raimi, famed director of the blockbuster Spider-Man series, has signed on to bring the forces of the Horde and the Alliance to life on the big screen in the upcoming live-action film based on the World of Warcraft universe.

This is so interesting to me as many games have tried - some successfully Peter Jacksons Lord of the Rings for example and some not so successfully - Street Fighter, Super Mario Bros - to take games to the big screen and I will be deeply interested to see how successful the transition is for such an intense, core MMORPG game. With 11.5 million subscribers - who are devoted to the cause - there is a guaranteed massive opening weekend - but will Raimi be able to deliver against what will be extremely high expectations from such a devoted fan base? Time will tell. What do you think?

Fortune Brainstorm:TECH

In Pasadena, California for Fortune Magazines Brainstorm session based around the Tech industry. Will be participating on a panel tomorrow titled The Friendship Payoff: Unlocking the new value in social networks - which i am really looking forward too. Will update you with more on this conference over the next couple of days.

Thanks Dr McFunkyFunk

I honestly have no idea who you are Dr McFunky Funk but i loved the comment you left on my blog regarding my Portable ID's post....especially your comment about there being a "strange tension between wanting privacy and wanting celebrity". See the full post below....

I couldn't agree more. We can't deny the amazing opportunity that digital data (both PII and otherwise ) provides to a brand and marketer alike. Moreover when I speak to my friends outside of "digital land" and ask them if they would prefer more targeted advertising the response is always a resounding "Yes".

I guess it is not so much now a debate of should we shouldn't we but more of a "how" this should work. How can we organise, rationalise and ultimately legalize this opportunity that benefits the consumer first and foremost and ultimately the brands?

As always...the floor is open for more discussion on this topic. Would love to hear your thoughts.


DrMcFunkyFunk writes... Jess! Great writeup. My concerns are with web citizens preserving a "walled garden" of private, friends-only interactions and relationships as separate from their professional or public persona. I don't think any company, public and profit driven, can withstand the urge to eventually open this information up: see recent actions by facebook as example #1. I think privately hosted, distributed, dark-net like "clubhouses" that are established in private spaces will be the next wave of online relationship infrastructure that provides that lasting privacy. But will they be able to gain mass-market penetration? There's this strange tension between wanting privacy, and wanting celebrity. Trying times for a marketer! Cheers!

Portable ID's

Im not the most avid blogger but when i have something to say, that i think is of worth...im going to say it! So that said...in a past post i discussed the end of the registration page, and the use of profile data ( from social networks for example ) in order to facilitate the data brands need to message their audience.

To be a little clearer the next stage of the social web is going to evolve from a few social network sites to a "consisten backdrop of online activity" according to Forrester analyst Jeremiah Owyang. "Technologies like OpenID and Facebook connect will allow individuals to traverse the Internet with their social connections along for the ride". All this is great news for brands who are still struggling with the challenges the social web can bring. Read more here

Social Networks are like the Manhattan Bar Scene

Social Networks are like the Manhattan Bar Scene - well at least that is how it looks from the outside looking in on this fickle internet world. Myspace is not cool anymore - as Social Media Expert so 'expertly' put it " Todays cultural icon is tomorrows passing fad". Sad, but true.

Facebook is receiving a lot of love in the social media headlines and Twitter is the latest and greatest. There are so many more up and coming bars...ahem...digital social platforms... that the moment I write about them here, they may already be irrelevant.

So how does a brand figure out what works for them now? How do they remain relevant? How do they know they are lining up outside the coolest bar in town ready and willing to pay their entrance fee? The short answer is they don't. The longer response takes us down the path of marketer responsibility. I have said this a few times before, but why do so many brands place their IP into their agencies hands? Why do marketers in these organizations not wish to take their brands public perception into their own hands? There are a plethora of reasons as to why this happens, but going forward, in a recession no less, i think we will see brand managers, marketers and co making sure they, along with their agencies, know the right bar to visit on a Saturday night as well as the right publisher to spend their money with. Who that will be in 6 months time remains to be seen....

Facebook and Twitter are currently the bars, sorry publishers, of choice for many brands... what's yours?

Market To The Max

Im on a panel titled Getting Results from Social Media – Success Stories & Proven Tactics from Leading Digital Experts. Thanks to the brilliant Blake Cahill from Visible Technologies who has helped to bring myself and fellow panelists together to disucss such a timely topic.
If you are in seattle and can make it down today please do. Details can be found at: http://www.markettothemax.com/

Getting Results from Social Media – Success Stories & Proven Tactics from Leading Digital Experts

Twitter, Podcasting, Facebook, Online Video, Blogging – it’s enough to make a marketers head swim. Join us as our panel of experts and practitioners explain the latest in social media, and what’s really working.
Moderator: Blake Cahill, Visible Technologies
Panelists: Sean O’Driscoll, Ant’s Eye View
Jessica Michaels, Wunderman
Stephen Rose, Microsoft
Lisa Coffey, Google