This Ain’t No Party, This Ain’t No Disco, This Ain’t No Fooling Around
August 28, 2008
This morning I attended the Cincinnati AMA’s Digital Marketing Summit – entitled “Is Your Marketing Disco or Digital?” The event focused on innovative ways to utilize “New Media” to improve your business – specifically as it pertains to Marketing.
There were a wide range of speakers present, and overall I was very pleased with my decision to attend the event. Here are some of the highlights from my day:
- Met Pete Blackshaw – This guy is a Rock Star in the world of modern marketing, yet he was as polite and friendly, if not more so, than anyone else I met at the event. More later on Pete.
- Made some new friends with interesting people like Brandon Ferris from zoneCG.
- Saw old friends like Alan See from Seapine, and John Atkinson from PimpMyNews.com
- Learned about some interesting web 2.0 tools and ways to use them from Izea’s founder, Ted Murphy.
- Watched a presentation by RIM on the marketing of Blackberry – past, present, and future.
- Heard about some exciting new projects that Cincinnati Bell is developing.
- Attended sessions led by John Atkinson from PimpMyNews and Chris Heile from hyperQUAKE
- Closed the session with an outstanding keynote from Pete Blackshaw – which was outstanding.
My favorite part of the event was without a doubt Pete’s presentation entitled Consumers, Credibility, and Cincinnati. His speech hit on many of the topics that he wrote about in his book, Satisfied Customers Tell 3 Friends, Angry Ones Tell 3,000 . If you haven’t picked up the book yet, it is a must read. We have actually given it to several of our Clients as a gift. It’s really that good. Anyway…
In his presentation, Pete outlined 6 Drivers of Brand Credibility:
- Trust
- Authenticity
- Transparency
- Affirmation
- Listening
- Responsiveness
He then went on to explain the implications of these factors in the digital world in which we live and do business. Bottom line – Do right by people or suffer the consequences. The consumer is in charge, and you need to make sure that you are in touch with what is happening in the consumer marketplace relative to you, your brands, your products, and your reputation. Word of Mouth is on steroids in the digital age, and negative word of mouth can be a company killer.
At the end of his presentation, Pete shifted gears and brought it back to Cincinnati. He spoke of an idea he has formulated regarding the creation of an advertising museum in Cincinnati. This would serve to re-establish Cincinnati as a central hub for advertising in the digital age by showcasing the immense heritage of the craft in the city, creating a connected community of current marketing professionals, and developing something uniquely aligned with the city and its business heritage. I personally think the idea is great, and I hope that I can find some way to be a part of making it happen.
Overall the event was fun. It could have been improved with some signage outside of Great American Ballpark to indicate where to go to get in. (I walked around that stadium twice this morning at 6:45 looking for the entrance to the Crossley Room.) I was also slightly disappointed when they asked me to stop filming the event on my Flip cam 1/2 way through the 2nd speaker of the day. I was informed that “there were arrangements made and I was not permitted to film at the event.” I found it an odd policy for a summit focused on web 2.0, but complied none the less. I managed to capture some great interview footage of people stating why they had come to the event – sort of a man on the street thing – that will sadly never make it to the web. It is a shame because it would have been great to highlight my takes on the event, which I did enjoy. I would have gladly posted the video on YouTube and other sites, providing free publicity to any and all included. Alas, I know that some just are not ready for that yet. In the grand scheme of things it’s not a big deal.
Thanks to all of the speakers, all the cool people I met, and the Cincinnati AMA for putting it all together.
Now I must get to work on implementing some of the great ideas I picked up today.
Is Your Marketing “Disco” or Digital? | AMA Cincinnati Chapter
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All in all, a good day – and it sets the stage for the next digital conference: sponsored by the Cincy Ad Club on Nov 14-15, the Digital Non-Conerence!