By Matt Goddard, R2integrated

My last blog post outlined four major categories for a social media marketing plan.   Despite the many different social approaches to social media marketing, we argued that there are only four real categories:

1.    Reach out to an existing community
2.    Create your own community
3.    Accelerate your message through sharing tools
4.    Perform market research

My next set of posts will look at each category individually, examining a specific company and the tactics they utilize.   We will also review customer behavior.  If tactics ar Read More »

As we advance from the Information Age into the Creative Age, writes Nil Sismanyazici-Navaie, VP/Account Services, Equals Three Communications, Inc., the definition of a marketer and an artist becomes more interconnected and complex.

Some of you may already be familiar with R2i’s SMASH technology. For those who aren’t, SMASH (social mash-up) is a platform that allows you to create a single multimedia showcase that incorporates live feeds from multiple channels, including Twitter, Flickr, text messaging, mobile video, Ustream, webcasting and multimedia. The result is

When was the last time you did something different, writes Ernie Mosteller of Brunner Digital.  Never-mind the time you wore the tutu in Central Park -- I'm talking to advertising people, here, and I'm just asking, "Done anything different lately?"

The following case study, writes Chris Huebner, Mac Mannes Inc, increased referrals and customer response.  It focuses on the effective uses of promotional products even in a down economy.  Craig Strent, vice president of Bethesda-based Apex Home Loans

By Paul Duning, Capitol Communicator

Evan and Gregg Spiridellis have come a long way since their first viral video hit in February 2000 of the Founding Fathers rapping about the Declaration of Independence. Their latest, “He’s Barack Obama He’s Come to Save the Day” is a great example that their obsession of creating great work is alive and well. After years and years of living on the edge of bankruptcy, today Jib Jab, with a staff of 35, now has a very strong international brand and successful busines ... Read More »

Author: Matt Goddard, R2integrated

There are many aspects of social marketing, social media, social tools, social EVERYTHING that we have been working hard to, shall I say, crystallize. After much time and diligence, we finally have something that we are calling our social marketing framework (for lack of a more creative name at this time).

Whether you’re a long-time staffer or young professional, there’s never been a better time to have a candid talk with yourself. The current economic decline presents an opportunity - or perhaps necessity - to reassess your professional situation, talents, passion and align them with where you, your profession and the market are going.

You can’t write a social media story right now unless it’s heavily Twitterized,  wrote Ernie Mosteller of Brunner Digital in ADOTAS.

While in search of a silver lining to an otherwise bleak economic outlook, it occurred to Cary Hatch, president and CEO of MDB Communications, that never in her decades of navigating the peaks and valleys of commerce has she ever seen more brilliant people out of work. Her observations follow:

The past three downturns were often HR opportunities to “trim the Read More »

Author: Lindsey Hill, R2integrated

Sort of like a middle school dance, girls on one side of the room, boys on the other…marketing and technology teams often find themselves in similar situations. Yes, marketing and IT professionals do come from different worlds, but I would argue that they intersect more often than not and that both parties should really embrace that.

Chris Huebner from Mac Mannes, Inc. provided us with the following item, which focuses on how new conservations laws will affect the mobile advertising market.

$295 bi-ll-io-n. This is not the revenue of a corporate conglomerate but rather, it is the amount given by Americans to charitable organizations in 2006, according to a Giving USA Foundation report. To put this in perspective: This is the same amount invested by the world during the course of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  It is fitting to say, now more than ever, there is an importance of being earnest.  Lauren Marr of Equals Three Communications Read More »

I’ve seen a lot of tweets lately, writes Shaun Quigley, Interactive Practice Director of Brunner Digial, from marketing director clients past and present—all chirping about how they are coaching, educating and spoon-feeding (force-feeding?) their management teams about the world of social media. Shaun's seven things your management team should know about the social web follow:

The obituaries for print magazines seem to be everywhere. Fueled by the shift to electronic media and the decline of advertising revenues, it seems that not a day goes by without hearing about the shuttering of a print media product. But, as the saying goes, don’t believe everything you read. Print is not dead,  we hear from Robert Silverstein, principal of Advertising Sales Experts, Inc.

Approximately 100 regional business leaders gathered this week for the Greater Washington’s Board of Trade regional policy forum, reports Paul Duning, publisher of the Capitol Communicator, who provided the following rep ... Read More »

Ernie Mosteller of Brunner Digital, who describes himself as a “Southern farm boy with an education,” embraces and embodies advertising’s transition from traditional to new media. He provided ADOTAS with a think piece, reprinted below, on how the concept of time had changed and, as you will note, time is now on our side.

Fleishman-Hillard’s DC office provided us with the following trends worth tracking: Read More »

One recent morning we went to get that day’s copy of The Washington Post only to mumble “where’s the rest of the paper?”  The fact is that the Post (as well as many other papers) is thinner these days because of a number of obvious factors – everything from fewer ads to a consolidation of sections.  But, with each reduction in size - and clearly the Post is reflecting the challenges faced by newspape ... Read More »

Aaron Crossland, an account executive at Equals Three Communications, asks you to ask yourself "What's Your Legacy?" In social and multicultural marketing, solid research is often the key component in creating effective communications campaigns that stimulate a particular behavioral change. Starting out in the business, I found it difficult to keep this in perspective. As an African American who has contributed to many campaigns directed towards other African Americans, it is hard not to draw only from my own experiences and assumptions as to how I would react to a ma Read More »

The more things change, the more they remain the same, we hear from Don Bates of George Washington University. He told us that’s certainly the case with PR writing. 

Fleishman-Hillard’s DC office provided us with the following trends worth tracking: CMOs feel pressure to go digital;

Many communications professionals today are facing a re-selling or re-justification process to prove our value to the organizations we serve. Clients we have been engaged with for years, even the most savvy clients, are suddenly requesting a new pitch to understand why their organization should continue to invest in our services in the current climate of cutbacks. A panel discussion by PRSA-NCC

Ernie Mosteller, creative director at Brunner Digital, penned an interesting item for Adotas titled "Niches win for online creatives" in which he discusses the growth of niche marketing.

Chris Huebner, president of Mac Mannes, Inc., provided us with the following item which focuses on the value of specialty advertising in your marketing mix.

Brunner Digital is sending seven of its top creatives to the South By Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin next week and will be live-blogging throughout the conference.

For employees of Environics Communications in DC every day at the office is a green day and the agency provided us with five tips for going green this St. Patrick’s Day - and every day.

Brunner Digital launched a social collaboration tool that enables the agency to better communicate and source ideas across its offices.  The platform also has been adopted and custom-designed for two clients - DeVry University and Aquafresh. 

There's only a small chance you've never heard of Twitter, reports Peter LaMotte of GeniusRocket, but, he told us, the chances are much higher you've heard of it, but have never used this social-networking service. If you have yet to dip your communications and marketing toes into the world of Twitter, now is the time and Peter has prepared the following "Twitter 101" piece to get you started.