Flagged For Follow Up

We Must Do Away With "Social Media"

Ian Sohn — 2009-11-06T07:22:19-05:00

We've got to kill the term social media as a way of describing what we do.

You suffer from serious lack of situational awareness if you haven't noticed the eye-rolling at the mere mention of the phrase.

How dare you Ian??

Really? Watch the videos and visit the websites. I'm not making this up. This is happening. It's funny, right? Hopefully it makes you a bit uncomfortable [it did for me].

I know I'm not the first to raise this concern. And I sense the drumbeat getting stronger.

I realize it's been widely socialized, and thus won't go away overnight. But I'm encouraged that some other really annoying terms that were once popular are rarely used these days [e.g. "dandy" and "slacks"].

Rather than crowd-sourcing a new catch-all and beating it into the ground, I propose we develop our own lexicons ... our own way of describing the discipline. And that might involve a more nuanced approach than a convenient phrase like social media.

Hi, I'm Ian Sohn. I'm a communications specialist, counseling brands on how digital conversations in online communities drive business results.

Not quite there, but better.

ROI is a #, not an Essay

Ian Sohn — 2009-10-24T07:08:00-04:00

This will be quick. Was on a solid panel the other day with Amber Naslund discussing measurement in social media.

Amber said something so obvious, yet so important for every social media marketer to hear. Paraphrasing ...

Anyone who's read a business book or gone to college should know ROI is a number derived from a simple mathematical formula.

Nailed it. Her point [or my take on her point] is very simple: If you want to be taken seriously by your management, your clients or your colleagues, understand what ROI actually is and figure out how to calculate it.

No one wants the round-about, long-form, chock-full-of-caveats explanation of ROI. They just want the #. And if you can't measure return for something in particular, then just say so.

Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/iansohn

How I (Don't) Manage My Online Brand

Ian Sohn — 2009-10-16T21:23:55-04:00

I was recently asked my how I manage my personal brand in social media.

I don't.

Well, not entirely true. I don't behave any differently online than I do in the real world. It's common sense, right? Some of the rules I live by ...

Look presentable: Yes, I take pride in how I put myself together in the morning. Just like I take pride in how my blog looks and what my profile pics say about me.
Be nice to strangers: I appreciate every blog comment and re-tweet, and am happy to return the favor any time - regardless of whether you're my college roommate or someone I've never met.
Be multidimensional: I'm a proud dad, professional, Cubs fan. Why would I be anything different on Twitter? My blog, Facebook and Twitter feeds are each a mix of all those facets of my life.
Take responsibility for your actions: I own up to what I say and do - online or otherwise.

What are some other rules that fit into this list?

PRSA and SUPERCOMM Speaking Engagements

Ian Sohn — 2009-10-14T19:35:10-04:00

I'll be sitting on two panels next week. In both cases the panels will be 3 people [including me], which will hopefully make for a good and intimate conversation. Please say hello if you happen to be around.

Tuesday, October 20
PRSA: Social Media: Measurement and Analytics
11:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Maggiano's Little Italy (516 North Clark Street, Chicago)
Fellow panelists include Amber Naslund from Radian6; Brandon Noel, Communications Consultant Allstate Insurance Company. The panel will be moderated by Gini Dietrich, Chief Executive Officer, Arment Dietrich, Inc.

Friday, October 23
Supercomm: Communications Integration: Technology's impact on marketing, advertising and PR
1pm-2:15pm
McCormick Place (Room W178A)
Fellow panelists include Erin Byrne, CEO, proof digital media and Chief Digital Strategist, Burson-Marsteller; Amielle Lake, CEO, Tagga Media Inc. The panel is moderated by John Salak, Founder & President, The Salak Group.

Ambient Awareness & Class Reunions

Ian Sohn — 2009-10-11T15:29:46-04:00

Just a quick thought ...

Ever since Clive Thompson published his New York Times article, I'm So Totally, Digitally Close to You, the term 'ambient awareness' has been tossed around liberally in social media circles. And for good reason ... it's a nice way of describing the connections enabled by communities like Twitter and Facebook. As the article describes it ...

It [ambient awareness] is, they say, very much like being physically near someone and picking up on his mood through the little things he does — body language, sighs, stray comments — out of the corner of your eye.

Later in the article ...

Each little update — each individual bit of social information — is insignificant on its own, even supremely mundane. But taken together, over time, the little snippets coalesce into a surprisingly sophisticated portrait of your friends’ and family members’ lives, like thousands of dots making a pointillist painting. This was never before possible, because in the real world, no friend would bother to call you up and detail the sandwiches she was eating. The ambient information becomes like “a type of E.S.P.,”

It's that last bit, about E.S.P., that particularly hits home after spending this past weekend celebrating a milestone high school reunion. As my eyes floated around a room filled with people I hadn't seen or spoken to in many years, I felt totally in-the-know ...

Teddy? San Francisco, two kids. John? Chiropractor, stays in touch with Gregg. Dina? Can't believe her twins started 5th grade. Micah? Wonder how he likes living in the suburbs?

No big takeaway here ... just that after using the term 'ambient awareness' so often in the last year, it all finally makes sense; and I now have a good example to use when describing the term.

Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/iansohn.

5 Marketing Lessons from Wine Country

Ian Sohn — 2009-09-28T22:05:06-04:00

Disclaimer: Don't worry ... I have no intention of fashioning myself as the next Gary the "social media sommelier" Vaynerchuk [for those of you who are not familiar with Gary, check out http://tv.winelibrary.com/ for a truly unique experience].

I recently returned from my first-ever trip to California wine country [specifically Sonoma]. In addition to pristine weather, post-card vistas, incredible wine and some of the best food I've ever had, I also picked up a few lessons that might be useful for any marketer.

Lesson 1 - In sea of uneducated consumers, free is a good starting point: If you're like me you haven't the faintest idea why one winery is better than the next. The ones we ended up visiting our first day were largely based on free tasting passes [a $10-$20 value] passed on by our concierge. Not the most sophisticated method of choosing, but a starting point. I'm not advising marketers give away their product [who do you think I am, Chris Anderson?] but I do think trial is crucial, and free is as powerful driver of that behavior.

Lesson 2 - Get your story straight, then tell it with passion: My wife and I were fortunate enough to visit with a guy called Stewart Dorman who runs a winery called Adrian Fog. Stewart has a great story [former wine writer ... left to pursue his passion ... spends his days toiling in the vineyards or perfecting his blends ... only makes 1,000 cases barrels a year ... etc.]. It's not so much Stewart's story [which is awesome] but the passion with which he tells it. We walked away from our conversation with two bottles of relatively expensive wine - I wanted to take part of Stewart's story home with us.

Lesson 3 - Create a captivating and differentiating experience: Of all the places we visited, we only joined one wine club - and it wasn't necessarily the best wine we had [but it was damn good]. Rather, it was the winery that did an elegant snack pairing with their tasting flight, spent an hour talking us through the flight, answered our questions, told us their history ... they were the anti-wine snobs. And it made their tasting room different than the others, and a really fun experience. The winery is Williamson Wines.

Lesson 4 - "Limited edition" can be a powerful sales tool: I quickly realized that most wine for sale was not available for distribution [meaning only sold direct or via a wine club]. So the pitch is: You can't get this anywhere else other than buying it right now. Wouldn't it be a shame to get home and think to yourself, 'too bad I didn't get that wine when I had the chance'?

Lesson 5 - Search is king: Found on every street corner in the town of Healdsburg. Charming, no?

the3six5 Project

Ian Sohn — 2009-09-27T21:32:18-04:00

Len Kendall - he of Constructive Grumpiness - has taken on quite an ambitious project for 2010.

Everyday next year a different person will pen a 250 word entry about their experience that day. No specific topic - just as long as it relates to something going on that day. Come December 31, Len expects to have collected the story of one year, told by 365 individuals.

It's called the3six5 ... you can check it out at www.the3six5.com.

I was thrilled Len asked me to contribute. I chose January 8 for three reasons: (1) I figured it might help get my mind going after the holidays (2) I wanted to go early enough as to not be influenced/intimidated by months of great entries and (3) It's my son's birthday.

If you're interested in contributing, email the3six5@gmail.com [sounds like Len has been getting a lot of emails, so be patient].

Nancy Grace is Everywhere

Ian Sohn — 2009-09-23T07:48:54-04:00

Including as a bookmark in Dan Brown's new book. What?!

Posted via email from Ian Sohn's Posterous

What If ... James Dean Lived a Long Life?

Ian Sohn — 2009-09-19T14:32:50-04:00

Thanks to PSFK for pointing me to this spot for Allan Gray, a South African financial services firm. Just watch it.

What I Like About Posterous

Ian Sohn — 2009-09-07T16:11:41-04:00

Posterous is the popular new kid on the block. There are a number of good reasons to like the service ... from how ridiculously easy it is to post, to how it syndicates content across the social web, to the great bookmarklet and more. Mashable has a nice post about some of the killer 'hidden' features.

But thinking about it today, what I like the most about Posterous is how egalitarian it is. Whether you're a big shot like Alex Bogusky and Guy Kawasaki or a regular Jane like Stephanie Lim, Posterous is not about bells, whistles and fancy design.

And that's what I like about Posterous - everyone starts with the same visual template. It's the content you put into your Posterous feed that will make it stand out from the crowd.

All About Foursquare

Ian Sohn — 2009-09-02T13:46:32-04:00

This was originally posted on Ogilvy's Travel and Tourism blog. I realize most of the people who read this blog already know about Foursquare. But for my father ...

Foursquare is an interesting, fun and [at times] useful service that’s gotten some solid buzz in the last few months. It’s the brainchild of the folks who brought us the one-time Internet service darling, Dodgeball. I found this article from the New York Future Initiative which does a nice job of explaining the service, and the creators’ vision for what it might become.

With the ever-growing buzz, I thought you might appreciate the skinny …

What it is

Foursquare describes itself as 50% friend-finder, 30% social cityguide, 20% nightlife game, though my personal bias is that [at least for the time being] it’s more game.

How it works

A player checks in with Foursquare when they are out and about at a restaurant, bar, museum, movie theater, etc. Checking in earns you points. Points earn status [e.g, I was for a fleeting moment the Mayor of the Bowery Hotel Bar]. You can also earn badges for doing interesting things, like checking in at odd times or out-of-the-way places.

For now points/badges only get you bragging rights, though clearly that will change at some point [e.g., Ian checked in 5 times at Old Town Social, earning him a free cocktail].

How you "play"

Players check in via a slick iPhone app [uses GPS to find your location and things around you], mobile site and text message. You can have Foursquare ping Twitter when you check in.

Where it works

At the time of this post, Foursquare is available in: Amsterdam, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C.

My recommendation

If you’ve got an iPhone, I recommend giving it a whirl - nothing to lose. If you’re a marketer, you should take a peak under the hood so you understand the possibilities when Foursquare [inevitably] opens for [paid] business. If you’re a business in one of the cities above [particularly in a hipster neighborhood] maybe play around with rewarding patrons for checking in from your store/bar/restaurant.

It’s not there yet, and may never be. But I continue to hear the buzz …

Back on the Soapbox [Subject: Email]

Ian Sohn — 2009-08-26T18:32:44-04:00

I've been on a soapbox lately about email [I can tell my wife has just about had it with me]. Three recent events have me thinking about this ...

1. On the day of the denial of service attack on Twitter I happened to be in a meeting with David Armano who was giving a talk on Social Business Design. David discussed [among other things] more dynamic ways to communicate other than email, and how when Twitter [and Facebook] went down that morning, his email inbox was unusually flooded [since people couldn't communicate with him through preferred channels]. While the inbox flood sounds like hell, the fact that he and his friends are using alternative communication channels is very encouraging.
2. I had dinner with a friend last week, and we got into a discussion on the red ! on emails. He is a lawyer [which makes no difference to this story] and claims to have never [not once, ever!] sent an email with a !. He thinks it's the ultimate form of hubris that a ! - which takes no effort to make appear other than clicking a button - will somehow elevate your email to the top of his inbox. He was passionate about this. I was inspired. I went back and scrolled through my sent folder over the last few weeks for all my emails marked ! ... sure enough very few [if any] of them deserved the !. I decided at that moment that I will never send another email marked ! unless it somehow involves the physical well-being of me or my family.

3. A few days ago I read "A Manifesto for Slow Communications" by John Freeman in the Wall Street Journal. It's the right thinking at the right time. Read it. Slowly.

Email is great for memorializing thoughts, CYA and even distributing a message to a discreet group. And I'm not naive ... I know [for now] this is currently how a lot of business gets done.

But if everything I need to share resides in the cloud [which to me is a simple way of saying my photos are on Flickr, docs on a server somewhere, thoughts on my blog, etc.] then what's the utility/relevancy of email?

Sending email is inefficient when compared to other media ... have they changed addresses lately?; better make the subject line catchy to stand out in their inbox; check my grammar, it is a letter after all; etc. Why bother when I can just Tweet [or Yammer, or update the Wiki, etc.] a link in seconds - without all the other noise that goes along with email. Isn't that more efficient?

In 1996 I was mesmerized by email. Every new message was exciting. In 2009 email is more about inbox management than it is information exchange. It's a labor.

I don't have the answers, but I'm certain a lot of clever people are working on it. Thoughts? Am I overly hysterical about this?

A Manifesto for Slow Communications

Ian Sohn — 2009-08-23T10:49:25-04:00

I highly recommend reading "A Manifesto for Slow Communications" by John Freeman in the Wall Street Journal. A bit naive, perhaps, but undoubtedly inspiring and insightful. What struck me the most [the underlining is mine]:

We need context in order to live, and if the environment of electronic communication has stopped providing it, we shouldn't search online for a solution but turn back to the real world and slow down. To do this, we need to uncouple our idea of progress from speed, separate the idea of speed from efficiency, pause and step back enough to realize that efficiency may be good for business and governments but does not always lead to mindfulness and sustainable, rewarding relationships. We are here for a short time on this planet, and reacting to demands on our time by simply speeding up has canceled out many of the benefits of the Internet, which is one of the most fabulous technological inventions ever conceived. We are connected, yes, but we were before, only by gossamer threads that worked more slowly. Slow communication will preserve these threads and our ability to sensibly choose to use faster modes when necessary. It will also preserve our sanity, our families, our relationships and our ability to find happiness in a world where, in spite of the Internet, saying what we mean is as hard as it ever was. It starts with a simple instruction: Don't send.

5 Rules For How To Behave In Social Media

Ian Sohn — 2009-08-05T22:09:11-04:00

I've been on a jag lately about the phenomenon of the "vocal few" in social media. I wrote about a troubling shift in the brand-consumer power dynamic; and the vilification of "old" media during the breaking Michael Jackson news.

Hopefully this is my last post on the topic ... for the time being.

The latest broo-ha-ha has to do with ESPN. Yesterday afternoon it was rumored - based on a misguided Tweet from an ESPN reporter - that ESPN had enacted draconian social media policies on their employees. Very influential bloggers, including Chris Brogan and Mashable rushed to wag their finger at the network. Tsk Tsk. Problem though - neither Brogan, nor Mashable, nor anyone else had actually seen the policy at the time they were passing judgment. So they were basing their "reporting" on ... [crickets].

[Update: In the spirit of this post ... neither Chris nor Mashable indicated having seen the policy when they first blogged about it. Both referenced an NPR post as their source; that NPR post was based on a single Tweet from an ESPN reporter. Since then, everyone has updated their posts to link to the actual policy in question. But the entire point of this post is about what happened before anyone had actual facts on which to base an evaluation.]

By the time ESPN released the policy, countless people had blindly re-tweeted and propagated the negative POV, based solely on the uninformed opinions of others.

Funny thing happened on the way to the forum ... turns out the policy was, for the most part, reasonable. You can see the bullet points here.

Yet another tempest in the teapot. The vocal minority strikes again.

Can't we all just get along? I have five proposed rules for how we should all behave moving forward [wishful thinking, I know]:

Get your facts straight before the bashing begins. Or at least get a fact [any fact] on which you base your opinion.
Put yourself in the brand's shoes. Have you worked at a brand in the era of social media? If not, take your fingers off the keyboard for a minute and just try to think what it's like to be a brand trying to navigate the new world of social media.
Don't blindly pass along the uninformed opinions of others. Do your own thinking. If you agree, go for it. But at least put some effort behind it.
Consider the impact your words can have on an individual or organization. I'm not saying "if you don't have anything nice to say ..." but do try and put a human face on the target of your criticism.
Get over yourself. We all make mistakes.

So - can you live by these rules? I, for one, will make a conscious effort to do so.

This is Culture Personified

Ian Sohn — 2009-08-04T22:33:23-04:00

From the interns at CP+B, courtesy of @bogusky.

Do A Vocal Few Consumers Exert Too Much Influence?

Ian Sohn — 2009-07-30T18:03:58-04:00

[Update: I've changed the title of this post to more accurately reflect the subject matter]

Heresy, I know, to even ask that question in 2009.

I'm not sure where I'm going here, but let's see where I land ...

Before I go on, a question: Do you do your own taxes? More on that later.

Legendary marketers of yore [both fake and real] – the Don Drapers and Berry Gordys of the world – must be shocked at the power shift in the consumer-brand dynamic.

Draper eschewed market research for his own instinct – that’s what he was paid for. And do you think Gordy – the genius behind Motown – would have considered even for a second consulting Twitter as he was developing The Jackson 5, Smokey Robinson or The Supremes? What Gordy might ask, do everyday people know about picking a single? Next thing you know they'll want to name the album and decide what Diana wears on stage.

But something’s changed on Madison Avenue. A prolonged recession combined with the rise of social media seems to have put the destiny and direction of brands in the hands of a vocal few.

Let me make one thing clear: I have embraced social media – both personally and professionally – as much as anyone . Suffice it to say, I agree with those who see it as one of the biggest sea changes of our time. What’s more, I think it is absolutely incredible how social media has facilitated a dialog between brands/fans, and between fans/fans.

At the same time, I love brands – big, sexy, authoritative brands that command my attention. Nike, Apple, Levi's, U2 to name just a few. And what’s more, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many talented, smart and dedicated brand gatekeepers (i.e. brand managers) – a good brand manager is a true asset to any organization. And the brand manager of the future - folks like Dave Knox - will drive marketing innovation for years to come.

So we’re all clear … Ian loves social media and brands, and certainly their intersection. This is not an indictment on either. But I am somewhat conflicted about the direction in which things are moving.

Here’s the rub … brands [and actually, not the ones listed above] seem, well, scared of their customers these days. And the resulting action of that fear is not always positive. Some examples that immediately come to mind:

A few idiots puts a booger on a pizza and the CEO of Dominos has to respond with a video begging for forgiveness [and then he gets criticized for being slow to react; and not coming off as authentic enough in his video].
A few people take umbrage with a Motrin ad and the company is forced to take it down immediately and issue an apology. Turns out there was a big group of moms who totally agreed with Motrin's message.
A few dozen loud detractors don't like how Best Buy writes a help-wanted listing - requiring a new recruit for a digital position to have more than 250 Twitter followers - and the company is forced to change it. What's more, Best Buy decides to "crowdsource" a revised job listing [and apparently, that effort falls pretty flat].
A guy with a grudge, Flipcam and the ability to write a jingle can bring a corporation to its social media knees - United Airlines knows what I'm talking about. Turns out there's more to the story than first reported, and that UA wasn't the big bad airline everyone made them out to be [at least not in this case].
YouTube is littered with consumer-generated-content solicited by brands. But here's the thing - the everyday consumer isn't skilled at making TV commercials [in fact, there are professionals who are really good at doing so]. Nor are they good at naming products or designing packaging. And I'm pretty certain they don't know the first thing about the logistics of customer service.

So here’s my conflict: I love the new dialog. I love the new accountability. I love the new consumer empowerment. But what I don’t love:

Bad products based on the demands of a few
Bad advertising based on consumer-generated-content
Knee-jerk reactions based on fear [too precedent setting]
Companies who are active participants in social media getting too much credit for engaging in social media, while their products/services remain well below par

So what's the solution? Heck, I'm not even sure I've articulated the problem. But I go back to my question: Do you do your own taxes? I don’t. I understand the theory, and I’m sure I could power my way through a 1040. Yet I choose to pay an accountant to do them for me. Why? Because an accountant has developed muscles that make them more adept than the average person at effectively preparing a tax return.

Brands posses a unique skill in bringing a product to market – I would love to see them start flexing that muscle again. Maybe I'm a romantic - maybe the era of great brands is coming to an end. Or maybe, as Noah Brier might say [and I don't want to put words in his mouth] a brand is no longer what it says it is, but rather what we perceive it to be. If that's the case, maybe brands are right to bow to every complaint, every outcry, every Twitter storm ... if that's what it takes to manage perceptions.

Thoughts? Comments?

What Brand Has the Guts to Sign Michael Vick

Ian Sohn — 2009-07-27T20:40:54-04:00

Besides Lance Armstrong's historic comeback, Michael Vick is THE most compelling story in sports this year. Just today Commissioner Roger Goodell announced a conditional reinstatement, likely making Vick eligible to take the field on week six of the upcoming season. That's if [and a big if at that] an NFL team takes a shot on Vick.

Vick's return to the NFL is inevitable, be it this year or next. But not so certain is his standing with Madison Avenue. I, for one, think there could be a tremendous upside for the brand who signs Vick to an endorsement deal. First, he'll come cheap - pennies on the dollar compared to before his legal troubles. Second, he's got a potentially fascinating story to tell. As an old acquaintance said to me on Twitter today, "One thing Americas loves more than someone falling from grace... A comeback story with an emotional twist."

So what brands could be the right fit for Vick? I sincerely hope it's not the 2nd-rate energy supplements of the world; or even worse, some mixed-martial-arts league. Vick's story would be wasted on the few who probably never saw fault in his crime to begin with [I know, a gross generalization, but I'm willing to take a leap on that one].

Rather, I think three marquee brands have the permission, the personality and the audience to tell Vick's story. It's a win-win. The brand gets one of America's most famous ex-cons to bare his soul, and Vick gets his payday [and perhaps redemption].

Those three brands are Apple, Nike and EA Sports. Why? In Apple's case, it's all about celebrating the outsider, the misfit. With Nike, it's about celebrating an undeniable talent - one we wish we all possessed. And with EA Sports, it's all about recognizing that despite his off the field troubles, there will come a day [soon] where both on the field and on the gaming system, Vick will be one of the most feared offensive weapons.

Whoever works with Vick, I know one thing for sure ... put him in front of a camera. Get real close - I mean, close enough to see his pores. Turn the camera on, and let him confess his sins. Tell the people at home how he's served his time. Tell them about how grimy and ugly incarceration can be. Tell them how no one believes in him. And them tell them how he is committed - no possessed - about reclaiming his thrown atop the NFL. Be gritty. Be raw. Don't romanticize the situation. Rather, acknowledge the long road back to redemption. It could be incredibly powerful.

So what brand has the guts to step up to the plate [that's a preview of my next post]. Likely, none of the above. The pragmatist in me can't blame them. But the romantic in me thinks it would make for incredible theater. For now, we wait.

Any other brands you could see getting in the arena with Vick? And if so, how

Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand

Ian Sohn — 2009-07-24T14:10:14-04:00

[I originally posted this on the Ogilvy PR blog]

This past Tuesday I spoke on a panel in Chicago sponsored by New York Festivals. The panel - Social Media: How to Profit from It & Get Clients to Buy Into It – featured a great group including:

John Geletka, Director at Ratchet; Len Kendall, Media Strategist, Constructive Grumpiness; Rob Saker, Business Partner, Marketing Technology at Miller Coors; Vinny Warren, CEO, Escape Pod. Alan Wolk hosted.

The topics were what you might expect … who owns social media within an organization (everyone and no one); what role should legal departments play in policing social media activity (bring them in early, rather than during a crisis); how do you help overcome clients’ fear of opening themselves up to attacks in social media (people will talk about you either way, better to get involved than bury your head in the sand); can agencies run a client’s Twitter feed or blog (not recommended in most cases, but either way total transparency a must).

And while the conversation was spirited, what really got me jazzed was the depth-of-bond formed by physically being in the same room.

Alan Wolk is someone I “met” over Twitter and had developed a great rapport with. But upon actually meeting him – hearing his voice, shaking his hand – I instantly knew him in an entirely different way.

Len Kendall and I have exchanged messages over Twitter for months – but it turns out he is more soft-spoken (in a refreshing way, compared to many in social media who are at the other end of the volume spectrum) than I imagined, which will undoubtedly factor into my future conversations with him.

John Geletka, Rob Sakar and Vinny Warren … had someone introduced me to them via email or Twitter, I’m sure I would have found them interesting, but they would likely have gotten lumped in with a lot of other people I e-meet every day. Now, you’re darn sure I’ll pay closer attention to what they say moving forward.

We (meaning those of us reading this blog) lead an increasingly digital existence. But once in a while we need to remind ourselves that nothing takes the place of some old-fashioned face time. Since it’s Friday (and I’m in a Friday kind of mood), I’ll leave you with this classic … way ahead of its time.

Hotel Partnerships

Ian Sohn — 2009-07-24T11:56:38-04:00

[I wrote this for the Ogilvy PR travel and tourism blog, and thought it had some relevance here]

I recently read on Springwise about a nice promotion from Omni Hotels called Omni Flips for Summer. From Springwise …

… families staying at any of the chain’s hotels and resorts in North America can borrow a pocket-sized video camcorder for free and use it to record their most memorable moments. The camcorder provided is the new Flip Ultra video camcorder, launched this spring by Pure Digital, and it’s available to guests who purchase any “Omni Flips for Summer” weekend package … When their weekend filming is complete, guests can upload their video memories to their own laptop or use the Omni Hotels Business Center at no charge to transfer the footage to a thumb drive to take home. Guests are also encouraged to upload a three-minute video to Omni’s Local Scoop social networking website as part of the Omni Flips for Summer Video Contest, the winner of which—announced in September—will get a free trip for four to the Omni Bedford Springs Resort in Pennsylvania.

In the last few years hotels have become a very attractive environment for brands to reach their targets. In my experience, here are a few things brands should keep in mind when partnering with hotels:

Simplicity. Hotel brands are usually governed by a centralized brand team, but operations are very much determined property-by-property. And these days, operations teams are stretched thin. The more you - the brand - can do to create a truly turnkey promotion, the better your chances for success.
Beta. Rolling a promotion out to an entire chain of hotels is risky, expensive, and will require logistics coordination you never imagined. Instead, pilot the promotion in one or two markets - validate guests interest and take the opportunity to tweak the operational aspects to make it easier on a grander scale.
Localize. If possible, try to localize the promotion to make it more interesting to the guests in a particular market.
Delight. Travel - particularly business travel - can be grueling. When possible, delight guests with something unexpected and fun. At the very least, don’t make them jump through hoops.
Talkability. Don’t think me too. Think me first. The latter will generate much more word-of-mouth.

So what else should go on this list?

American Airlines - Name Our Facebook App

Ian Sohn — 2009-07-20T20:38:06-04:00

Not often these days you see positive blog posts about the airline industry, but I give American Airlines credit for this promotion. As you can see, they are asking their fliers to help name their fare-finding Facebook app. Pretty simple execution, with a nice payoff - 25,000 miles.

So far, 1,400 fans.

The Ethics of ‘Outing’ an Anonymous Commenter

Ian Sohn — 2009-07-10T14:40:03-04:00

There is a battle raging on one of my favorite blogs, PSFK, about a new campaign for Levi's from Wieden + Kennedy [that's an advertising agency for those of you who don't live in the echo chamber]. If you're interested, check out the post and comments here.

But this post isn't about the campaign, but rather something I noticed in the comment thread. Someone, identifying herself only as "megan," left an anonymous comment for Piers Fawkes [who wrote the post] saying "your negative rants on wk are getting boring."

I happen to believe that anonymous commenting is pretty cowardly. But I'm neither naive nor dogmatic about it - I realize that for a variety of reasons people sometimes feel they need to hide their identity, or just aren't comfortable identifying themselves. But still, I'm not a big fan. Apparently Piers has a zero tolerance policy, judging by his 'outing' of Megan as a W+K employee

So the question I pose [and I invite Piers to respond, and I hope he appreciates the spirit in which this post is drafted] is, what are the ethical standards for a blogger 'outing' an anonymous commenter?

Do we owe our readers a disclaimer that their identity may be revealed, despite their desire for anonymity?

As masters of our own domain (pun intended) do we have a right to do anything we want with the back-end analytics at our fingertips?

What's the upside of 'outing' commenters? Does it level the playing field? Force people to own up to their words?

Please leave your comments - I hope the subject-matter here compels you to leave your name.

What Would I Do to Fix Yahoo!

Ian Sohn — 2009-07-06T21:21:17-04:00

I love Yahoo! Just as much as the guys below.

I've had a MyYahoo page for as long as I can remember, and it's still my home page at work and home. I was a big Terry Semel fan. I've had Yahoo! email addresses for years, and have no plans to switch to Gmail. Yahoo! is where I first learned about RSS. I've partnered with Yahoo! at previous jobs. I've bought and sold YHOO a few times over, and while I don't own it now, think it's available at a great price.

So I was terribly excited to see AdAge's headline, What Would You Do to Fix Yahoo, a story asking industry experts and readers for their suggestions on how to fix Yahoo!

I'm not going to judge their suggestions, but let's just say I wasn't terribly inspired by most of the ideas, which included: owning fun, changing corporate colors from purple to red, changing the name of MyYahoo to YaYou and others.

If you've read this blog for long enough you'll know that I'm not going to sit here and claim to have the answers. Heck, I just read the article about five minutes ago and haven't really thought about it.

But here's what I do know ... the fact that not one branding or marketing expert mentioned Flickr or Delicious in the AdAge article is a huge problem. Even worse, that consumers have no idea that Yahoo! owns two of the most trafficked, important and just plain awesome online communities.

Whatever Yahoo's! fix is, I promise you it involves integrating its core search and email functionality with the best-in-class Flickr and the highly utilitarian Delicious.

Would love to hear your suggestions. And if anyone from Yahoo! reads this, I am happy to serve as a beta tester!

Contextual Ad for FRS Healthy Energy

Ian Sohn — 2009-07-04T13:40:38-04:00

While I find ESPN's Tour De France site lacking [namely, as the opening time trial was taking place there was nowhere on the site to follow finish times!], the ad for FRS Healthy Energy tucked away on the right hand column fits in perfectly with the site ... as if it's an editorial module.

Branded Entertaiment Innovation?

Ian Sohn — 2009-07-04T10:32:24-04:00

This is a deck I created in September of 2003, back in my entrepreneurial days.

Get past the horrific slides (a .PPT ninja I'm not).

Agency Cd Scenario Leave Behind

View more documents from iss206.

Focus on the basic premise ... pretty close to what specialized branded entertainment agencies are pitching today (6 years later).

Since there's nothing I can do with this deck now, I figured I would share it for the benefit of any brand managers interested in getting into the branded entertainment game ... for one very specific reason:

When your big (and possibly expensive) agency pitches you on their big idea, show them this terrible ugly deck, created by one young guy in his NYC apartment nearly 6 years ago.

Is their big idea significantly more innovative than what's in here, or are they selling you the same pre-packaged programs that have been around forever?

And if their version of innovation is tossing around the term "webisode," tell them about all the awards BMW and Fallon won for that idea in 2002.

I'm not saying I ever had, or currently have the answers. Just sharing ...

The Triumph of Randomness

Ian Sohn — 2009-07-03T07:00:20-04:00

A great read to start my holiday weekend, courtesy of Leonard Mlodinow and The Wall Street Journal, called The Triumph of Randomness.

Looking for order in patterns has allowed us to understand the patterns of the universe, and hence to create modern physics and technology; but it also sometimes compels us to submit bids on eBay because we see the face of Jesus in a slice of toast.