Uncle Ari

What a day yesterday! I became an Uncle to Jules Lendvay Ratner. He is quite the little man and I can't wait to watch him grow. Here are his stats:

6 lbs. 2.8 oz - Slim and Strong
18.5 inches
A head of black hair

I included a couple of pictures for you all and could not be more any more happier. Thankfully, everyone is healthy doing great!!

A week to be thankful...

I know that I slacked last week in blogging about ideas but as the Holidays are approaching, I need to really focus on getting a job. I have even begun to look outside of what I went to school for. As sad as that is, working is healthier than not. This week, I can't promise many posts. My brother and sister-in-law are expecting their baby at any time so I hope you can forgive me for being busy.

I did want to post a great article I read via Twitter. I don't know about you all, but I am really enjoying Twitter and hope I can use it as a tool in my next position. Here is the link:

http://www.britopian.com/2008/11/24/digital-iq-training-5-steps-to-integrating-social-media/

As part of a corporate initiative, Intel has developed a curriculum of training that focuses on the latest in digital marketing and social media. The goal is to create a best-in-class marketing organization; and with speakers like Rohit Bhargava we are definitely headed in the right direction.

Last Friday, Intel hosted Rohit, author of Personality Not Included, to our corporate offices in Silicon Valley to present to the Integrated Marketing team. I have been following Rohit ever since he first wrote about Social Media Optimization a few years ago and met him personally at BlogWorld 2009, where we sat on a panel together.

Rohit presented a few slides on social media; and also cited some really good case studies of how brands like Ford and Lenovo integrated social media into their broader marketing plans. What I found most interesting is the 5 steps of integrating social media:

1. Active listening, then participate

This is essential. With tools like twitter, Google Alerts and corporate solutions like Radian6, marketers can now get a pulse as to what is being said online about their brands. Listening is great and anyone can do it. Participation, however, is more important in my opinion and being authentic when you do.

2. Focus on content instead of ads

Content and lots of it is key. At Intel, we just launched the Core i7 processor. As part of the broader go-to-market campaign, social media was an element that will have residual benefits, something banner advertising doesn’t offer. Search for “digital drag race” in Google and you will notice a ton of content related to this program. Youtube videos, Flickr images and blog postings, all created by Intel. The formula to do this is really easy; manual, but easy.

3. Embrace Accidental Spokespeople

Rohit cited an example of how a play boy bunny was a huge fan and advocate of the Olive Garden (an Italian and family owned restaurant). This bunny was on a quest to evangelize the restaurant but the Olive Garden didn’t want to embrace the “accidental spokesperson” because of her affiliation with Playboy (I assume). In fact just a few days ago, Playboy.com just featured in a new online pictorial called “The Girls of Olive Garden.” Rohit also talked briefly about the Intel Insiders.

4. Offer sharable experiences

This is a great tip. The ideas are to make content sharable through technology and “compelling stories”. The use of widgets is revolutionizing the way companies can share content online. However, the content does have to have an element of “humanity” to it. Storytelling and being personal is essential.

5. Communicate in real time

Use Twitter. It’s that simple. Don’t spend weeks/months formulating a strategy to use Twitter. Just create an account and join in.

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Social Media is becoming an integral part in any marketing strategy and the best advice comes at the end...Create an account and join in.

I hope you all can take a step away from your everyday lives and thank that special someone or someones who have made your life better. I know I have a lot to be thankful for.

Motrin & Moms

I am sure you all have heard of the mess Johnson & Johnson got themselves into over the weekend. I recently did a search online and the reaction is pretty amusing. While I am not necessarily concerned with the content (I can't relate - I'm not a mom), the fact that very little, if any, research was done to see if this message would offend mothers is frightening.



If I learned anything at the Brandcenter, it was to make sure that the advertising/marketing message you publish is both on brand and speaks to your audience, not at them. Here is the advertisement that has every mother up in arms:



So I asked my mom to watch the ad and tell me what she thought. After watching, she responded, "cute". It was interesting to see that she wasn't offended by the content, but thought it was a cute way to advertise the medicine. In a simple search online, it is very easy to find mothers who ARE offended by this, thus getting to my point. Here are a couple of links and a video to some of the mothers and their responses to the ad:

Instinct Parenting Blog

Mashable


Now a P.R. mess, Johnson & Johnson could have easily avoided this by simply hosting a few focus groups or including mothers in their brainstorming session concerning this campaign. In fact, after re-watching the ad, it seems like the Motrin brand group wanted to attack the baby-carriers, not the mothers or babies themselves. If that is the case, a different direction could have brought mom's together in their fight against pain suffered by these products...

With that said, I commend Johnson & Johnson for their quick response to the mess they caused. The first thing they did was shut down the Mortin site. While they didn't have to go that far, it's obvious that they knew they made a mistake and are trying to right it as soon as possible [They should get the site back up ASAP]. Second, the VP of Marketing replied to all of the angry mothers who took the time to write to Motrin with this email:

"I am the Vice President of Marketing for McNeil Consumer Healthcare. I have responsibility for the Motrin Brand, and am responding to concerns about recent advertising on our website. I am, myself, a mom of 3 daughters.

We certainly did not mean to offend moms through our advertising. Instead, we had intended to demonstrate genuine sympathy and appreciation for all that parents do for their babies. We believe deeply that moms know best and we sincerely apologize for disappointing you. Please know that we take your feedback seriously and will take swift action with regard to this ad. We are in process of removing it from our website. It will take longer, unfortunately, for it to be removed from magazine print as it is currently on newstands and in distribution.

-Kathy"

This email should go a long way in repairing the relationship damage it has caused and hopefully taught Johnson & Johnson - as well as all marketers - that research pays. What do you all think?

FutureBrand's Country Brand Index

Instead of another Marketing Brief, I wanted to write a quick note about FutureBrand's Country Brand Index.

FutureBrand has published its Brand Indexes for the past four years and it is a fascinating study. They describe it as "a global study that ranks countries as brands and assesses opportunities, insights and findings related to nation branding."

Considering our economic status, the elimination of jobs, our housing market and the overall opinion of the US worldwide, it was shocking to me that we were ranked #3. Granted, we are considered one of the countries on the decline, but to still be ranked in the Top 5 in surprising. He is the entire Top 10:



Here is a closer look at the U.S.:



Aside from the obvious reasons why I find this studying interesting, half of the 2008 VCU Brandcenter class took part in a project called Brand America. While I was not part of the project, I remember some of the great work that was done. A couple of the teams presented their work in NYC, representing the Brandcenter among professional agencies. While I don't think either of the Brandcenter teams won, it must have been a great experience for those involved.

I will let you determine what is most interesting, but for me, it is this:



If you its too hard to read, the US is ranked as the #1 country that does not promote itself as well as it could. While that makes some sense, it should not be the case. The US needs to follow in the footsteps of other countries and develop an Office of Branding to better build its brand across the world. I hope you enjoy the study as much as I do and I look forward to any thoughts or comments.

Marketing Brief - Vol. 8 - Shirin Aranee

Sorry for the delay, but since coming back from Chicago, my mind has really been focused on finding a job. Who am I kidding? It is always focused on finding a job – since I do not currently have one. I guess I was being a bit lazy. Over the weekend, I got to spend time with some old friends who I haven’t seen since my Ohio State days. A lot has happened in the 5 ½ years since I last saw them. I started dating Shirin. I moved to NY for 5 months to start a magazine and wound up working for Sports Illustrated. I moved back home and experienced life at a true start-up company. I went to and completed graduate school at the VCU Brandcenter. I worked for EA SPORTS for the summer. While all of those things have helped mold me into who I am today, there are some things that haven’t changed:

· I am an Ohio State Buckeye

· I love the Giants and Lakers

· I can’t quite get into Baseball

· I play soccer (occasionally)

· I hang out with the same group of friends since South Lakes

· The best times are with those you want to be around

· I have two loving parents and a brother – oh, he got married, so now I have a sister too

I am writing about me because I thought it would be a good idea to do a post on personal branding. This blog, along with my Twitter account and my Facebook account are ways to increase one’s online brand identity. If companies want to get a glimpse of who I am they can read this blog or sign up to be a Facebook friend or LinkedIn connection. Now my girlfriend on the other hand has an opportunity to grow her business using personal branding. She is an up and coming Makeup Artist for MAC Cosmetics. She works in one of the well-known department stores in the area and has enjoyed it very much, so far. Being that a Make-Up Artist can make additional money freelancing, I thought it would be helpful if she branding herself a little stronger…so here are my recommendations:

YouTube

The obvious idea is for Shirin to video herself applying makeup on herself or others. You can find this kind of self-marketing all over the web: This would be a very efficient way to promote her skills and allow for her to practice teaching the skill as well. The other obvious thing though is that others already do that. While she would not be the first, it would still be a good idea for her to promote her skills and show others how she applies makeup.

The not-so-obvious idea would be to follow Gary Vaynerchuk. If you are not familiar with Gary, you should be. He is someone who is passionate about wine but has become even more passionate about self-promotion (in a good way). Gary spends multiple hours a week dedicated to video taping wine-tasting to promote his family business but also entertain his audience.

He is constantly asking others to step up in their respected industries and attempt to do what he does…Shirin has that opportunity with makeup.

Blog

Okay, okay, who hasn’t mentioned that starting a blog is a great way for self-promotion? But in Shirin’s case, it could truly grow her business. In fact, it could also show off her other talent, painting. I would recommend blogging about different techniques, her experiences at work, training and other areas where she can expose her knowledge of being a Makeup Artist.

LinkedIn

If you read my blog, you know I am a believer in LinkedIn. Considering Shirin is starting her professional career, it would make sense to sign up for LinkedIn’s free service. Until she needs to start networking, she can get by with a free account. With that said, in a quick search, there is a group of Stylists (including Makeup Artists) that is close to 1,000 members. That would be a great way to network in itself. She can update the group with her blog postings and videos.

MAC Ideas

This recommendation has less to do with self-promotion online and more to do with making a name for herself within the department store and MAC as a brand. We were talking over the weekend and realized that the mannequins in department stores go faceless almost all the time. It would be a unique partnership for MAC to makeup these mannequins in order to better promote the individual artists. I can imagine it rotating on a bi-weekly or monthly shift, but allowing each individual to showcase their skills.

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I am interested in your thoughts and also recommendations for companies to tackle. Hope everyone is doing well.

The Working Man's Triathlon

Ran across this while researching jobs. It's brilliant!



Click the logo to go to the site.

Time off this week...

Sorry for the late notice, but because of the election and traveling, I will resume the Marketing Briefs next Monday. I hope everyone did their part and voted - no matter who for. Have a great rest of the week and weekend!

Marketing Brief Vol. 7 - VCU Brandcenter

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. As I anxiously await whether I will be offered a Marketing role with a Market leader (crossing fingers), I thought it would be interesting to focus on the VCU Brandcenter. As most who of you who read my blog know, I am a recent – is 6 months recent? – graduate of the #1 Advertising program in the country. I am not THAT arrogant, while we are considered #1 by Creativity Magazine, saying we are is a running joke with Peter Coughter, esteemed Professor and Presentation Consultant to the masses.

The best way to sum up my two year experience at the Brandcenter was that it was eye-opening. I would say 98.7% of my experience was very positive and the other 1.3% was not. No need to dwell on the 1.3% since it did not effect my time at VCU. While I agree with the Brandcenter in that it considers itself ahead of competition in terms of producing the next generation of marketing leaders, there are a few social media tactics it could implement to increase the brand awareness.

VCU Brandcenter on Facebook

Current:

The Brandcenter exists on Facebook in a number of different ways. In addition to many of its current and former students who are on Facebook, there are 7 groups including the Adcenter Alum group that has 227 members and the VCU Brandcenter group with only 3 members. It is apparent that there is little coherence between these groups. I don’t think that is necessarily a bad thing considering many of these groups were created by students. The Brandcenter also has an organization page that holds 179 fans. Unfortunately, this page is never updated.

Potential:

The Brandcenter has an opportunity to build stronger relationships with its alumni and potential students via Facebook. I believe the Brandcenter needs to build or ask a current group to become the official Brandcenter/Adcenter Alumni Group page on Facebook. This would allow former and current students to better network with each other about potential internships and jobs as well as discuss current campaigns and industry news that could affect the members. The Brandcenter should also think about building a group page for those interested in coming to the Brandcenter. This group would build a strong communication line between potential applicants and the school. In addition to the two official groups, the Brandcenter should update its organization page more frequently. New photos, videos and event information would maintain a consistent update for the fans and does not take long to do. While I built this page to increase awareness across Facebook, it should be updated by staff of the Brandcenter.

VCU Brandcenter on LinkedIn

Current:

The VCU Brandcenter has a small presence on LinkedIn. I built a group dedicated to the Brandcenter in order to increase its awareness among professionals. The simple idea was to develop this group so each member could display the logo of the Brandcenter on their profile page. I have received a majority of member requests from current or former Brandcenter students but there have been a few from those not directly connected to the school.

Potential:

There isn’t too much more the Brandcenter could do with this group. There is the ability to post articles to drum up discussions about industry news which could create interesting discussions. The other thing would be to invite other Brandcenter students or alumni to join the group in order to increase the group’s size.

While not currently available, according to the LinkedIn website, companies will soon be able to add themselves to the companies already listed. This will be a great addition to the Brandcenter’s online presence because this page will increase awareness by being able to post industry jobs; student produced videos and advertisements as well as other Brandcenter material.

VCU Brandcenter on YouTube

Current:

A simple search of “VCU Brandcenter” on YouTube loads around 35 videos. Considering how many videos are produced throughout one year at the Brandcenter, this number is way to low. In any event, here are a couple of examples:

VCU Brandcenter Blog

Current:

Non-existent

Potential:

There has been so much chatter about the importance of companies blogging about what is happening within the walls of said company. While the Brandcenter is not a company, it should be blogging about its students, its alumni and the current state of advertising/marketing. Considering its resources, the blog could become a well-read source for industry commentary and profiles of industry professionals.

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These four tactics would not cost any overhead (unless you wanted to hire me to manage it) and would significantly increase the Brandcenter’s presence online. Obviously, each tactic would have its own link on the Brandcenter’s homepage in order to help drive traffic to each site. The other way to drive traffic would be to rely on the Brandcenter’s Ambassadors; its students and alumni. Thoughts?