ml haynes design

It’s funny how things come to you at the oddest times and in the strangest situations. I’m getting used to it, but ideas and solutions can still strike me when I least expect it. I had one of those experiences recently, as I worked to find the Holy Grail of “selling social” to clients — and even colleagues — that aren’t there yet in understanding the how and the why of it.

If you pitch pixels you know what I’m talking about. You’ve got a Marketing Director, an exec out of the C-suite, maybe even someone out of biz dev that hasn’t yet seen the shining light of their first badge or felt the rush of a retweet. You can throw all the stats you’ve got like so many Ninja Stars, but they just don’t get it. One too many of these meetings and I realized I needed to pull it in and rethink my approach.

Then it hit me. It was really quite simple. I broke it down into four simple steps. Take a look. Try it out. See what you think and let me know if you don’t agree that sometimes (and this is one of those times) it’s best to go low-tech and keep on truckin’!

Step 1: Get In
Social Media should be experienced. If you want to know what’s going on, join in. Reading, researching is no substitute for total immersion. Sure there’s the obvious — and the ubiquitous — but maybe you walk in slowly at the shallow end. Just get off that chaise lounge and get in!

Step 2: Sit Down
Get comfortable too. You’re going to be here for a while. If you’re going to make this a worthwhile venture — and meeting business objectives is certainly worthwhile, to say the least — you’ll need to take the long-view on this. And you’re going to need to be present, actively present, when you’re here too.

Step 3: Hold On
The ride can get bumpy, so reach up and grab that handrail when you feel the need. Remember, this is why you’re here — to take in everything. The good. The bad. The ugly. The “hell-I-had-no-idea-they-felt-like-that.” Social Media is like a focus group on some really good stuff. And once you get your bearings, you’ll be glad you rode it out.

Step 4: Shut Up
This is sometimes the hardest part: the listening part. There’s a reason why we call these intentional communities “listening platforms.” And this is where the gold is. That tripped out focus group I mentioned earlier — they come up with some great stuff. And if we take the time to let it soak in, inform our thinking and insights, change and improve our perspective, then it’s a ride that’ll take us to some very interesting — and fruitful — places.

This post also appears on Talent Zoo’s new media blog this morning. Check it out; there’s some great content there. More great pix (like the one above) can be found at NotStock Photography.

“I’m a Mechanic.” A simple statement of fact, a powerful declaration of affinity and a message of belonging in a time of insecurity. It also happens to be a small, but hard-working microsite developed by my team at the nine-to-five.

We are about to develop and deploy the next phase of content and interactivity —with a side of social — for this brand portal. And as we kick-off this next round I’m thinking a lot about the creation/celebration of culture — the culture we identify with, the culture we gravitate toward, the culture we establish and define against previously mandated boundaries and borders. Experiencing the power of this brand in people’s professional and personal lives, it is no inconsequential task to steward the culture of both consumers and clients, people who have built this brand over generations. To authentically represent the brand and the people who have created culture around it continues to be our challenge.

Makes me think about the brands in my life. The brands that I would stand up for, declare an unwavering believe in, that encourage a feeling of “insider” for having stayed true and loyal. Not too many these days; how about you?

Nice piece on Pandora, the Oakland-based online radio service, in Sunday’s New York Times’ Magazine. The Song Decoders, written by Rob Walker, reveals the dot-com start-up’s hungry beginnings, the president’s (musician, Tim Westergren) thoughts on collaborative filtering and social networks, and what I think is the beauty of Pandora, The Music Genome Project.

Walker states that many of the Pandora users he interviewed for this piece did not know of the Genome Project. It’s this incredible human-based system of codifying music that drew me to Pandora and it’s why I’ve been an avid fan and promoter since that first listen. Recording the DNA of a music track. Mapping it to thousands of other tracks. Then letting the computer do the rest has made for true 21st century radio.

Listen here if you’ve never tried. Keep it up if you’re a listener. This intelligent and entertaining merge of music and methodology deserves the support. Your ears will thank you.

Webtrends, the granddaddy of web analytics apps, launched Webtrends Open Campaign. According to their mid-August press release, Open Campaign is “a transparent look at digital marketing today through the execution of an integrated multi-touch campaign.” In other words, the folks who brought us traffic stats and other under-the-hood goodies are showing us how it’s done. Promises to be an interesting ride.

Using a broad blogging platform, social media APIs and a cast of in-house and partner characters, we’re invited to not only watch but participate in the digital marketing campaign for new product, Analytics 9.

Webtrends, once *the* analytics and measurement tool for web dev and marketers, was put into deep shadow by Google Analytics. Like so many other pay-to-play apps, this once standard tool was pretty much forgotten by most web dev and managers I knew. Google just made it so darn easy. And who can argue with free?

The Webtrends Open Campaign will pull back the covers on a comprehensive initiative. Marketers will no doubt appreciate the transparency and opportunity to poke around someone else’s plan and execution. I’m curious to follow the effects of audience participation on the process and the follow-through on transparency.

With an all-access pass to a new online campaign, I’m going to give it a whirl. How about you?

The Greater London Authority (GLA) has issued an RFP for the rebranding of London. You can read the “call for entries” here and, in fact, request formal paperwork via the same pithy web page.

One firm — Moving Brands — of London has taken a novel approach to the challenge. They have opened up what has typically been a “top secret” process. They have asked the public to participate, and not simply as members of focus groups. They’ve put it all online and enabled commenting throughout. The site, built on WordPress with Twitter feed and YouTube embeds details progress on the project including the “plus” of working with Scott Thomas, Design Director of the Obama Presidential campaign.

Great insight into what branding — and rebranding — can be.