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This episode brought to you by USPS/Deliver Magazine and Julien Wolff Joel. Audio comments to +1 206 203-3255. Join the Jaffe Juice Facebook group. In this episode, Generation C, Fortune 500 blogging, Delta Skelter, Conversation Starters, My ooVoo Day Political and more...
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As a new American, I can't tell you how excited I am to be able to vote in November for a new President of the United States of America. The right to vote is the ultimate right given to all citizens of any nation, but it's amazing to me how this is still taken for granted.
Coming from South Africa, "1-man, 1-vote" only became a reality in 1994 when the country emerged from its infamous Apartheid era and held its first democratic election that resulted in Nelson Mandela becoming the country's President (it's hard to believe there were parties such as the SOCCER party or the KISS party - keep it straight and simple!)
Segue to present day and the launch of My ooVoo Day...Political Edition. Hot on the heels of the first successful "My ooVoo Day..." program, ooVoo (a crayon client) focuses its efforts on demonstrating what real conversation is all about: debate, dialogue, discourse, disagreement. The ability to bring people together to talk about what they believe in, care about or feel passionately about is what makes this country great and on a political level, it's what counters apathy, eviscerates ignorance and most importantly, boosts voter turnout.
Beginning next week -- and running through early August -- ooVoo will being together a series of multi-person video chats, hosted by 25 or so political pundits, bloggers and online commentators around discussions associated with the coming election. And so whether you'll vote blue, red or another color in the box of crayons, make yourself heard and BE A PART of the conversation.
Check out the host profiles (including personalized video messages) and schedules at the My ooVoo Day site, sign up for some of the 6-person chats, and while you're at it be sure to download ooVoo if you aren't already a subscriber.
Additional links:
I'm coming to Sydney, Australia in August. If you're interested in bringing me in to speak to your company/clients, send an e-mail to Krystal for more information.
A new study by Burson-Marsteller concludes that nearly 15% of Fortune 500 companies communicate with their customers via blogs.
Whilst the spin on the article is that this is encouraging i.e. a 270% increase compared to the last tracking study in December of 2005 ('er comparing 12/05 to 3/08 is like comparing the Ice Age to the Industrial Revolution!), I'm dumbstruck...
Let me clear: 74 out of 500 is pathetic and embarrassing. It's beyond a failing grade. You (and the agencies that represent you) should all be ashamed of yourselves. This is just downright inexcusable.
To quote Erin Byrne, Chief Digital Strategist @ B-M, "I think the reason…why it still isn't higher is that companies are still grappling with how they participate in the conversation when they don't have control over the message."
If that is the case, it's a hollow and lazy excuse and doesn't cut it with me one little bit.
Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely NOT saying that EVERY company should be blogging, BUT BUT BUT come on.....15% is just too low in this day and age.
An interesting breakdown of the 500 does reveal rather telling differences - for example, nearly one-third of Fortune 50 companies maintain a blog (32%), compared with 16% of 201-250 companies and only 2% of 451-500.
Hey Erin, what about the others? 51-200 and 251-450? Can you supply better breakdowns please such as 1-100, 101-250 and 251-500 for example?
Hat tip to Shannon/WOMMA
Things have been so hectic lately that I've even forgotten how to blog. I feel like I'm going back to the original infant roots of blogging: "Dear Diary......" :)
One thing I wanted to do was share the announcement of a few changes at crayon.
To begin, we said bon voyage to the one and only Consigliere, Mr W. Scott Monty (he claims George Jr stole the W from him), who exchanged the heavenly snow-laded pathways of Maynard, MA for a phenomenal opportunity heading up Ford Motor Co.'s social media efforts. We wish him only the best with this corporate challenge and remind Maggie Fox and Geoff Livingston to sleep with one eye open :)
I'm really excited to announce that replacing him is none other than Jane Quigley. Jane is amazing and I don't normally say that about anybody except myself. Jane joins crayon to co-lead our relationship management and new business efforts. She's a seasoned entrepreneur, understands the social media space intimately and most importantly, has the integrated marketing experience necessary to demonstrate strategic leadership and follow-through.
Jane joins us from Zeta Interactive (formerly DigitalGrit) where she was VP of Social Media/Emerging Technologies. With over 14 years of account leadership and strategy experience, she fills a key role in our small, but growing family.
Joining Jane are Gary Krivin, our C.O.O. and Earl Adams, who - like Jane - will fill the role of Relationship Director. Gary was one of the founding partners at Dot Glu and has also worked at leading digital and new marketing flagships such as R/GA and AKQA. Earl most recently worked at Moxie Interactive, where he led client service efforts on clients such as Verizon.
It's a very different crayon to the early days, which were filled with healthy, optimistic, albeit a little too idealistic goals of growth and leadership. Since then, we've traded nice-to-have's (how many social media experts does it take to change a lightbulb?) with have-to-have's (i.e. experience)
Jane, Gary, Earl and myself are rounded out of course with the bald and dutiful Greg Verdino and the bright and energetic Deb Wiseman. Together we've been fortunate to work on the likes of Panasonic, Kraft Foods, ooVoo, American Airlines and Coca-Cola (amongst others).
So that's the update. It's not a press release. It's not an overstatement of fact. It's not a bunch of hyperbole or exaggeration. Just an update.
Due to various personal reasons, I've been uncharacteristically unconversational (not a real word, but whateva). My last post was July 9th and I guess I feel a little more comfortable today to get back into the swing of things. So here goes with some linkety-link:
My latest Adweek article is up on the Web. I focused on this year's navel-gazing orgy at Cannes and chastise the industry for getting all excited about nothing, namely the fact both TV and Web shared center stage, with Cadbury's Gorilla and Halo 3. My contention is that both were tributes to the Web.
I also comment on the fact the amount of innovation that we have seen out of Cannes (and therefore advertising itself) has been minimal to non-existent. Rather than get all stoked on the "Titanium" award (the "integration" accolade), I introduce some conversationally-flavored awards of the future, including:
Would love to hear your new categories you'd like to see at Advertising's center stage!
A bunch of people have sent me this link from USA Today about an angry flier who used the emergency slide on a Delta flight because he got so irked that they were letting coach customers off before him.
No, it's most certainly not me for the following 3 reasons:
PS Still have not heard a peep from Delta on either their original poor offer i.e. $300 voucher towards a future flight and 2 upgradeable vouchers (but only on a qualifying fare) or some kind of follow-up communication or offer.
For what it's worth, I stand my ground in terms of feeling that my request for 2 first/business class round-trip tickets anywhere in the world was justified, GIVEN the circumstances of my experience AND my status within Delta. In any event, this was always a conversation and if Delta had come back to me saying, we won't give you 2, but we'll give you 1, I probably would have been more than happy.
Of course they could have also (had they actually been reading my blog and listening to the conversation) done something a little more lateral such as a page in their in-flight magazine dedicated to my book or even a thought leadership article for example.
My feeling is that they have completely gone into their shells on this matter. They've issued a pathetic and predictable gag order within the company to the effect of "no-one should talk to that ungrateful SOB".
Conversation isn't a quick-fix. It's not for the feint hearted and it's not a miracle cure. It takes time. it's a process.
Come on Delta....there's got to be some humanity beneath that cold and lifeless corporate exterior.
Prove me wrong already!
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