We’re Lava7. We provide social media marketing solutions for businesses. We’re located inside Cowork Utah in Orem, and we’re looking for two more talented people to collaborate with us. Is one of them you?

To Be Clear… This Is Not A Job Offer

Are you familiar with the concept of coworking? Cowork Utah is a social media community workspace that provides a collaborative environment for entrepreneurs and independent freelancers. We’re looking for two fun-to-work-with, passionate graphic designers, art directors, programmers, WordPress geeks, and the like. Maybe even an account manager. We’re not sure yet. You would continue to run your own business as you are doing right now—except that you’d be running it here at Cowork Utah.

We Aren’t Asking For Much In Return

We just want to be able to hire you to help us when it makes sense for both of us! That’s right… Hire you. You will have no “in trade” obligation to us for the rent.  And we’ll even furnish the office for you. We love having talented people working in the building. It not only helps us when our plate gets full, but it also helps you with more workload and gigs to earn a living. We’re confident that we’ll find two people who bring great value to the equation—and we want to pay for that value. Pretty simple.

Here Are The Details – Please Read Carefully

1. We’re accepting applications from NOVEMBER 1st thru NOVEMBER 9th.

2. To submit an application, simply email:   jack (at) lava7 (dot) com. As part of your email please tell us what you do and why you think you’d be a good fit around here. Please include any links to the things you’ve done and/or your online portfolio. You can attach a resume if you’d like. Whatever you think will best help us know you better.

3. PLEASE… PLEASE… Don’t call us. We’re trying to make a living, just like you. WE PROMISE that we’ll acknowledge receipt of your email application so that you know we got it. AND WE PROMISE to carefully consider every application.

4. We will make a decision on two winning applicants BY NOVEMBER 11th. If we don’t call you, you’ll know we didn’t pick you. It doesn’t mean we don’t still love you. It just means we didn’t pick you. If you are chosen you may move in immediately if you’d like. The five months we’re paying for are November through the end of March, 2010. There’s no obligation after that on either side.

5. We reserve the right to not pick anybody if we don’t find the right fits.

You can learn more about Lava7 by clicking >HERE

THANKS FOR CONSIDERING THIS OFFER. WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR APPLICATION!

Also, Gary just published a book called Crush It. It’s not quite available for purchase, but Chris Brogan talked about it today.  Marketing, branding, and advertising are changing in remarkable, exciting ways.

When it comes to the way(s) in which your company is engaging with your audience, are YOU asking the right questions? Don’t get caught up in the tools. Make sure, first, that your message and objectives are crystal clear.

Agree?

Traditional marketing uses push tactics, such as cold calls, TV commercials, billboards, radio ads and direct mail to interrupt consumer’s attention. New marketing uses pull tactics based on behavior to engage consumers when and how they want to be engaged.

The fact is that only 18% of television ad campaigns today generate positive ROI, and 90% of the people who CAN skip television commercials DO! In addition, a recent Nielsen study shows that only 14% of people surveyed trust advertising—while a whopping 78% of people surveyed trust the recommendations of other consumers. The new marketing/communication model is a dialogue, not a monologue.

Are you listening to and engaging with your audience, in two way conversations, at a number of touch points along the online engagement continuum?

Share your thoughts with us and with others…

The conference’s sessions and business exposition bring together government officials, entrepreneurs and others interested in rural economic growth for networking and lively discussion. Jack was invited by the Senator’s office to speak on, “More than Adding Friends—Sales Through Social Networking”.

Yesterday, when I saw the film trailer below (new version), I was reminded again of a critical differentiator that drives our agency. In this clip, for the film Art & Copy, Dan Wieden (wieden/kennedy) makes the comment, “If one can speak honestly, and use this profession to do that… weird #$%#* can happen!” 

Those who speak honestly, directly, clearly and purple-cow creatively will cut through the clutter and emerge as the effective advertisers of tomorrow. Social media tools now afford EVERY business—large or small—that golden, subtle, powerful opportunity. But it MUST be approached with the right creative mindset.

So, how did so many companies (and the agencies that produce commercials like the one shown below) become so far removed from honestly telling people compelling stories that spread (pun intended)?  The answer is, that when people stopped believing advertising, advertisers thought the solution was to simply make ads edgier, less informative, and more interruptive.

Sure…  It worked for some products. I get clever, and fresh. I love clever, and fresh.

It doesn’t work for most products. Kraft Foods’ new ad campaign below attempts to persuade me to buy Miracle Whip (instead of mayonnaise) by showing the same old me-too, tired images of beautiful people dancing around—with sandwich spread as the focus of their impromptu rooftop party. It’s just lame. Hey Kraft, you’re insulting people’s sensibility. But even worse… You’re creating more mistrust.

Where will tomorrow’s brilliant marketing and advertising minds go with this?

Again, quoting Chris Brogan, “I think there’s the potential for a renaissance of quality advertising. I think the tools are here. I think the opportunities are powerful. All that’s required next are the minds and the passions to deliver the new (and by new, I might mean very old) advertising to people who seek to be informed instead of entertained.”

What will your business do with this opportunity? The passion in advertising creativity—coupled with today’s new media tools that engage audiences along every point of the online continuum—will change marketing and advertising forever. It’s the change that fuels our social media marketing vision.

Imagine what could happen. We do—and we’re doing something about it every day.

What do you think?  Please share your thoughts with us below:

We’ll be talking more about Hugh Macleod soon, when we unveil our agency’s new quintessence and focal point—a remarkable piece of art that he created with Seth Godin. In the meantime, enjoy this short clip: