Jim interviews Ross McLean, Executive VP / Group Planning Director at ad agency Draftfcb
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Recorded at SXSW Interactive in March, I sat down with Ross McLean, who is the Executive VP / Group Planning Director at ad agency Draftfcb in Chicago to talk all things digital marketing.
In the interview, we discuss:
- Thoughts on SXSW
Our impressions in year 2 (Ross) and year 3 (Jim) at SXSW.
Will it keep getting bigger?
Will it jump the shark?
Where is the conference going?
Will it outgrow Austin?
To successfully publish (or self publish) a book, you need the right team behind you. Here are the 10 people you need to know.
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When I announced on the podcast several weeks ago that I had landed a book deal, I promised that I wouldn’t talk about it unless there was a topic that I felt I was bringing true value to you, the listener.
Of course, that’s always in the eye (or ear) of the beholder, but I think with the success of the iPad and the Kindle, the digital revolution we’ve seen as people are producing their own podcasts, videos, music, blogs, and photography with consumer level tools, that there has to be people in my audience saying…
This week a do a quick SXSW recap then talk about how to host a successful sponsored party
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First, a one-takeaway SXSW recap of a few speakers (all quotes paraphrased by me):
Seth Priebatsch of SCVNGR
“The last decade was about social… about making connections… and Facebook won. The next wave is gameification… adding a gaming level to the social layer… about your influence.”
Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist of Apple
“In business meetings, dress for a ‘tie’… if you show up wearing ripped jeans a hoodie to a formal meeting where everyone else is wearing suits, you’re saying ‘I don’t respect you’… if you show up wearing a suit and oozing style to a casual meeting where everyone else is dressed down, you’re saying ‘I am better than you’… shoot for a relatively even match.” (Although not sure a certain jeans and black-turtleneck-wearing CEO would always agree).
Tim Ferriss, author of The Four Hour Body
When asked to Richard Branson, world-famous entrepreneur, creative-thinker, and businessperson, to answer the question ‘How do you become more productive?’… Branson gave a simple two word answer: ‘work out’.”
Blake Mycoskie, founder of Tom’s Shoes
“It’s OK to support charity with a for-profit business… think about how you can incorporate giving into your business… it’s amazing how your employees and everyone around you will respond.”
OK, How do you throw a successful sponsored event?
Today’s guest is Erin Fitzsimmons, a graphic designer whose amazing work directly led to a book deal
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“i like type. big type, small type, medium type. fancy or sans fancy. i like what happens when you fuse type and pictures, creating visual worlds for the viewers to explore. lately, i’m happy simply doing something creative before i fall asleep. at the end of the day, i’m just a girl who likes type a bit too much.”
– Erin Fitzsimmons
There are many ways to judge a person when hiring them. You can ask friends for recommendations, view their resume, or check out their website.
But also pay attention to their bio.
A bad example was when a potential intern tweeted to me about a job, and her Twitter bio was “slacker extraordinaire.” #Fail.
But in reading Erin Fitzsimmons’ bio above, how could you NOT think that she would be passionate and incredibly talented when it came to print and book layout.
In this week’s podcast, we cover the following topics:
- Erin’s path from photojounalism major to photo editor to book cover designer
- How Erin and I got connected, and the recap of our first meeting of the minds
- Erin’s process for negotiating to do a freelance job for a book on negotiation
- At what moment Jim closed his eyes, made a wish, and clicked the mouse
Today I tackle a new change at Apple that could affect you in several ways.
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A great off-the-cuff podcast today looking at the changes to Apple’s subscription policy.
First, I do two quick points:
1) I learned a new buzzword via Forrester Research on AdAge: T-commerce
- There is E-commerce on the web
- Then M-commerce on the phone (good for research, but not big enough to shop)
- T-commerce is now happening on the tablet
- Many retailers report that over 50% of their mobile traffic is now coming from the iPad
- These are not incremental sales, says Forrester, but T-commerce will largely grow by capturing and cannibalizing traditional PC-based retail traffic
2) Turbo Tax: Love ‘em or hate ‘em?
- I’ve talked before how they should not be on Twitter
- Just 4,600 fans
- Not the best place for complicated private questions, and who loves doing taxes?
Sample tweet: Filing your taxes tonight? Take a look at these awesome videos on tax basics we’ve got going on.
Today I question the spread of social media to every last place on earth.
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Hey everybody… big announcement on the podcast today.
To be honest, I’m not *quite* ready to make it. There are still details to iron out, marketing aspects I want to finalize, and just so many other things i want to do before I’m ready.
But today on the podcast, I wing it. Why? Three reasons:
1) Right before heading home to record the podcast, I met up with Wired’s NY Bureau Chief, John Abell. When I mentioned it to him, he said “Just write it… my new goal for my personal blog is 15 MINUTES. Sure, I may go back and make some edits later, but I don’t agonize over it anymore… I put down the best thoughts I can in 15 minutes and roll with it.”
2) My friend John Murch, who replied to a long, hand-wringing dilemma e-mail over a fairly big decision I sent him last last week with just four letters: JFDI. You can substitute the F for what you want, but loosely translated, it’s Just Freaking Do It.
3) It’s the entrepreneur’s way. I’m Type A. I’m an extreme perfectionist. I want to wait and wait until everything is just right before moving forward. In fact, that’s why it took nearly 3 months to get this podcast off the ground… I wanted the name perfect, I wanted the sound perfect, I wanted the icon perfect. But that’s never the case. So better to get it out there at 80 or 90%, vs not getting it out there at all.
So as you might have guessed from the title, the announcement is:
I got a book deal.
When I started this blog and podcast nearly three years ago, I ran it by one of the Executive VPs here at the office, Dan Shar, to make sure it was appealing to the Wired audience, I didn’t offend anyone, there weren’t any sales or advertiser conflicts, etc. After 3-4 weeks, he said, everything is fine, just use your best judgment and push it live without me.
You’ve got to adapt in a rapidly changing world to keep up. Here are the 7 most valuable skills you can have.
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As always trying to bring you the marketing trends that matter.
But what good is knowing the marketing trends if you can’t take advantage of them?
This is the digital age folks, and you need to be constantly adapting. The advice I’m going to give you in this week’s podcast is the same whether you’re a graduating college senior or 20-something starting in their new job and asking me what’s important, OR, if you’re in your 30s or heaven forbid 40s like me and want to make sure your skills are current.
So what I’ll tell you all is KEEP LEARNING.
Get out there and take a class – heck, if you can, TEACH a class. I’ve had the honor of teaching a social media class at NYU each fall and I have to say two things:
1) Preparing my lectures really focuses me on knowing the latest information
2) My students were so great and they ended up teaching me so many great things
But if you’re going to take a class, in my opinion, here are the 7 most valuable new media skills you can learn, listed by increasing level of difficulty:
Note: Shorter bullet points are listed here, while I elaborate more fully in the podcast itself.
1. Blogging
Starting a blog is easy. Maintaining a blog is hard. But you’ll never get that far if you don’t get started with post #1. If you’re just starting out, head over to a free service like Tumblr. Whether you simply pick a topic you’re passionate about and just start writing, or lay out a well-planned business strategy with a launch date, getting in the habit of blogging will help you in many areas.
It provides an outlet for creative thoughts, helps people find you or your business on the web, and makes you a better writer and communicator.
Kick off the new year with the right attitude, here are 6 things you can do for a better 2011.
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Happy New Year everybody!
So how was your 2010? Was it good? Did you meet all your goals? Are you at the target income you said you’d be at on New Years Eve last year? What about that target weight?
See, I’m a lifelong Red Sox fan, and our motto for the longest time was, Wait Till Next Year. And that’s the great thing about New Years Day. It IS next year, so no matter if you strayed a little, the optimism is back and you can get your goals on track once more.
Just like anything in life, you need a good foundation. While the items on my list might not be groundbreaking, lets take the first episode of the new year to make sure we return to basics, then we’ll build on specific marketing trends and activities all year. Ready?
Here are some of the things I talk about in the podcast:
Also, see the bottom of the post for SURVEY RESULTS.
1) Maintain good health
I really found out this year that the saying “You’re nothing without your health” holds true.
From my broken arm to a pulled back muscle to end the last few days of the year (ironically the day BEFORE all the snow fell, which got me out of a lot shoveling), it was a huge shock to go from being a perpetually super-healthy individual walking several miles around NYC, scrambling up and down subway steps, and running nearly every day to hospital stays and losing use of a major limb for weeks on end.
Millions will pledge that this is the year to “get in shape,” and with good reason. Not only will you feel better and live longer, but working out gives you an amazing energy level that forms a foundation for everything else on this list.
This week I ask you to please answer 10 quick questions in my year-end reader survey, and I cover the top trends of 2010 as I go.
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What a year this has been in the digital marketing world. From the continued surge of Facebook and the movie surrounding it, to the launch of the fastest selling consumer electronics product of all time — the iPad — and the disruption surrounding that, it’s been a fascinating year for digital media.
I’m going to ask you a favor. Before you read the rest of this post, please answer 10 simple questions about the show and this blog. Whether you’re a longtime fan, or this is the very first episode to grace your eyes or ears, it’s invaluable for me to get feedback on the direction of the program.
Bonus! One reader will win a Hopkinson Report t-shirt!
I am to do two things with this show…
#1 is to entertain and #2 is to inform.
Those go hand-in-hand. If I keep your attention and make you laugh but you get no value, that doesn’t work.
If I give some helpful hints but bore you to death, you’re not going to stick around either.
Quick example: Q: Why should you do a survey, how do you create one, and how much does it cost?
A: You should put together a survey to make sure you’re continually serving the customer. It doesn’t matter if you’re a major retail business, a publisher, a podcaster, or even a small-time blogger. You want to make sure your customers and readers are happy, and the best way to know that is to ask them. Things change over time, trends evolve, and you want to make sure you’re still on track.
Did the November cover of WIRED Magazine get removed by Facebook due to inappropriate content? We still don’t know for sure.
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I received an interesting message from Facebook recently.
First, it was an e-mail to my Yahoo account, which is connected to Facebook. It was so generic that I had to scour it pretty closely to make sure it wasn’t spam. Then a day later, I was greeted with a popup message within Facebook with the same message to makes sure I saw it, forcing me to X out the dialog box to make it disappear. It said the following:
“You uploaded a photo that violates our Terms of Use, and this photo has been removed. Facebook does not allow photos that attack an individual or group, or that contain nudity, drug use, violence, or other violations of the Terms of Use. These policies are designed to ensure Facebook remains a safe, secure and trusted environment for all users, including the many children who use the site.
If you have any questions or concerns, you can visit our FAQ page.”
Wow, Jim, you might be asking. What the heck did you upload?
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