Archive for August, 2008

The Job Search Begins

Published by
brian
August 25, 2008 in Advertising, Interactive Agency and Interactive Marketing. 0 Comments

I am a firm believer that when one door closes, another (& possibly many more) opens.  That is why I embark on my job search with a lot of optimism & excitement.  I also feel a bit of comfort in the solidarity of getting laid off with 11 other people with whom I would love to work again. 

Before getting to specifics, if you are someone who is looking to hire or know of potential opportunities, please see the following link for a Word copy (right click, save as) of my resume.  You can also view my LinkedIn profile.

Ideally, my next job brings me further along the career path I have traveled while taking advantage of what I have learned.  I enjoy challenges of all types & a dynamic working atmosphere that demands accountability.  I am at my best when put in a leadership position that requires pulling together people & information.  A role that requires someone who is adept at multi-tasking & making intelligent decisions while being flexible & agile during urgent times would suit me just fine. 

Internet marketing planning, strategy, & goal setting are my forté.  Over the past nine years, I have worked within this space; from positioning & launching new products or retail categories to building & maintaining awareness around services, my background has allowed me to see things not everyone can.  Call it a bird’s-eye view combined with an understanding of the tactics & peripheral efforts necessary for efficient & effective execution.

My experience transcends the online world & I have hands-on experience in almost all of the following channels – Online Media, Paid Search, Social Media, Email, Affiliate - while possessing a solid data & analytics background (I’m kind of a numbers freak).

It should also be known that I do not view a job as just that.  I seek opportunities that fit my skill set & value being part of a team that makes positive contributions towards something bigger.  I am looking to extend my career & not simply work somewhere.

In hindsight this will be a blessing in disguise (thanks Lisa) & I look forward to hearing from & speaking with those interested in bringing me aboard.  You will not be disappointed!

Advertising Appreciation Day

Published by
brian
August 20, 2008 in Advertising. 6 Comments

I read an article today on Sportsline.com called Sports Appreciation Day that poses the question, “Why did I ever like sports in the first place?”  This question is asked on the heels of the ongoing investigations of Barry Bonds’ & Roger Clemens’ use of performance enhancing drugs & lying while under oath.  Throw in the Tim Donaghy gambling scandal, Michael Vick’s conviction & jail time for running & funding a dog fighting ring, some other very unfortunate events & you can paint a pretty bleak picture.  As we all know, it only takes a little negativity to ruin all that is good. 

All of this got me thinking.  When did I decide on a career in advertising & marketing?  As I am wont to do, I then thought some more.  I want you to tell me when you knew a career in advertising & marketing would be your path of choice.  Have you ever doubted or regretted your decision?  What are some of your fondest memories?  How do you stay motivated & inspired?

Me?

I majored in Business Administration & chose to take the vast majority of my junior & senior year electives in marketing-focused classes.  A class I took during my last semester was essentially a culmination of everything I learned within my major as we entered the American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition.  Back in the Fall of 1998, our project was to create an advertising campaign for what is now Toyota’s Prius.  This was my initial foray into the dynamic world of advertising; cross-functional teams, lots of research, story boards, long hours, stressful situations, clashing personalities, & deadlines. 

I loved it; I absolutely loved it & was disappointed that I would not be around in the Spring (because I was graduating) for the actual competition.  We did not end up winning (so I didn’t miss out on much), but the experience left an indelible mark on me.  I wanted to work in advertising, but not just behind the scenes (you can blame that on those damn Simmons Market Research books). 

There have been lots of pitfalls along the way; I even considered doing something else about seven years ago.  The internet & all its wonders saved me.  Its consistent evolution, fueled by some really smart & dedicated people & innovative brands, motivates me & continually piques my curiosity.

Anything you would like to share, please do!  Heck, even if your career is in something unrelated to advertising or marketing, this applies to you.  So, let’s hear it…

Help Us, Help You – Getting Yourself Connected

Published by
brian
August 12, 2008 in Advertising, Education, Interactive Marketing, Multi-channel Retail and Retail. 0 Comments

How often do you or the people surrounding you talk about improving internal communication?

This is all about opening up the lines of communication with the people responsible for managing & executing what makes your business go.  Consider them the gatekeepers of your success.  Marketing initiatives often take a back seat in the ecommerce world; projects aimed at improving site conversion, order attachment, cart abandonment, & navigation are more important than implementing tracking codes or producing banners for your campaigns. 

These things take time & resources & competitive pressures make timing & speed to market a crucial variable.  This is likely to cause a backlog of projects as most technology companies are constantly looking for good IT people.  A backlog plus limited manpower equals slim pickings for you, Marty Marketer.

So, how do you justify that request for a larger marketing budget?  You connect yourself with the right people, across the company, regardless of regional location.  We all can be more sophisticated with our marketing & relationship development/management, but too often get consumed within our own workload & don’t bother to actually meet & talk to people. 

Get familiar with the people I have listed below, especially if they’re in the same building or campus.  If they’re elsewhere schedule time when you travel to meet them.  Don’t travel?  Think of something that will get you out there.  Or beg; it doesn’t cost much for your company to provide airfare, hotel, & food/gas expenses compared the negative cost of failing or stale campaigns.

Merchandisers: Quite possibly the most important people as it relates to you driving incremental sales. 

  • They know what sells & why & so do their vendors. 
  • Seasonality, product launches, in-stock vs. out-of-stock are but a few things you need to be plugged into.

IT: These guys & gals cover a wide variety of things you need. 

  • The product & web development folks will keep you up-to-date with upcoming site changes, enhancements, & functionality.  It’s important for you to be aware of new landing pages & URL changes to eliminate or minimize campaign downtime. 
  • You know how your project got denied for implementation anytime within the next 4 months?  Besides escalating through your department, if you’re actually nice to these people, they might help push your projects through in half the time required or less. 
  • And don’t forget your help desk people.  That one to two day turnaround to get your laptop, Treo, printer, or phone fixed can turn into mere hours.  Don’t forget to repay them for favors; food & alcohol go a long way.

Creative: Anything you are going to publish graphically online should look good. 

  • If you want your media campaign to drive as much revenue as possible; you need to make sure what’s produced for you is legit. 
  • It’s so easy, but too many online retailers fail miserably in this department.  It’s not because the personnel are bad; they just don’t have the right direction.  Help them & be clear about what you need.

Public Relations: Being on top of company announcements will allow you to create new campaigns or be prepared to react to news, whether it’s positive or negative. 

  • Crisis & issues management is vastly underutilized in the online space. 
  • Too many brands are not aware of what’s being said; by the time they figure it out, it’s too late.  You are key in eliminating or minimizing crap like this.

Customer Service: If you’re smart, you are monitoring the online chatter specific to your brand. 

  • Whether positive or negative, feed it to customer service; they can facilitate things for customers & improve their experience or at least somewhat appease an irate customer.  We all know the damage one bad opinion with motivation to tell all can do.

Front Desk: From routing calls to them being one of the few people you see this often, they can make your life easier & more pleasant.

If you or someone you know is not listed here, but you feel they’re just as important, I would welcome the feedback.  As you can see, I am not opposed to communicating.

Help Us, Help You

Published by
brian
August 5, 2008 in Advertising, Education, Interactive Marketing, Multi-channel Retail and Retail. 1 Comment

Like any relationship, the client/agency relationship has its ups & downs.  Each side’s view of the partnership is mainly attributable to how they collaboratively face & overcome the challenges presented.  Professionally, there isn’t much more satisfying than helping a client not only reach their goals, but exceed them.  A big part of which is scoping properly & setting the proper expectations, but I’m not delving into that right now (I smell another, future series of posts).  Conversely, there is nothing more frustrating than a breakdown in communication or execution that leaves the client short of their goals. 

The client is pissed & the agency is left to pick up the pieces internally while externally determining what is necessary to reassure the client that everything will be just dandy.  Usually, an amicable resolution can be reached.  Objectives & goals may need to be reset, strategy & tactics are adjusted &, consequently, the client gets what they need.

Waste of money…on both sides.  The agency eats the time they spend finding a resolution & will most likely credit the client for time spent on what did not work.  The client misses opportunities to build/promote their brand, drive more sales, respond to negative press in a timely manner, etc.

Over the next few weeks, I will delve into the bulleted topics below.  I feel there is a lot a client can do to set themselves & their agency up for success.  Yeah, I know this works both ways; read on.  This series will be mainly geared towards ecommerce (one of my specialties), but the astute reader will be able to draw parallels across the entire digital space. 

  • Getting Yourself Connected – At least one person on your marketing team should have a reliable contact on the following teams: Merchandise, IT (web development, help desk, product development), Creative, PR, Customer Service, front desk (if for only the fact that you see this person more than most people you love)
  • Aggregating & Analyzing Data – Become one with it; everyone above you has a background in concrete numbers & has planned & made decisions according to what the numbers tell them.  Think they’re wrong?  Prove it…with numbers.
  • Internally Selling Upward – Both yourself & new ideas
  • Effectively Leveraging Available Resources – We are all strapped for time; understanding how to get what you need when there is seemingly no help will set you apart from everyone else.
  • Evaluating & Changing Process – There is nothing wrong with occasionally kicking the tires. 

The underlying theme is communication that enables client & agency to make informed decisions in the most efficient & effective manner possible.  It’s a lot of work, but this industry is not for the faint of heart.

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