Building a Connected Brand in a Real-Time Marketing World

Brand Choreography   |   Integrated Marketing Communications

Today, the subject of Integrated Marketing Communications is hotter than ever.  It’s a source of competitive advantage.  However, both planning and executing remain a challenge.  In this rapidly evolving, ever-changing landscape, marketers are challenged to elevate their games by raising the relevance of their marketing communication plans in the face of the rapid proliferation of media choices, new channels, new formats, the shift of power to consumers, the shift from traditional to inbound marketing, the rise of social media channels and shifting buyer behavior.  Budgets are tighter, goals are higher and lingering economic uncertainty creates tension that can interfere with integrated planning and results.  Marketers are racing to prove the value of every dollar they spend to generate the highest ROI possible. [click to continue…]

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Bio

Mark Burgess
Mark is managing partner and co-founder of Blue Focus Marketing, a social branding consultancy that helps brands realize the benefits of social media marketing. Mark is a marketing professor and expert social media blogger for AT&T Business Solutions. Mark's career spans B2B and B2C marketing, advertising, and professional services consulting. Mark led the PwC Global Web team, at McCann, headed the flagship L'Oreal and Sears accounts. At AT&T, led interactive marketing and multicultural marketing initiatives. Mark is ranked #42 in the world for Top Marketing Professors on Twitter, via Social Media Marketing Magazine. Follow me on Twitter at @mnburgess.

7 Personalities of a Social Executive

by Cheryl Burgess on May 16, 2012

What exactly is a “Social Executive”?

 

What exactly is a social executive, and what traits do they exhibit that other businesses looking to jump into the digital bazaar would be wise to emulate?  Fortunately, thanks to Mark Fidelman’s recent piece “The 7 Personality Types of Extremely Anti-Social Executives,” we have a very strong idea of what the Social Executive is not.

In Fidelman’s piece, he used the example of Captain Edward Smith—who helmed the Titanic for its famously doomed maiden voyage—to illustrate what a bad executive looks like.  As Fidelman put it, “Most experts agree that although the Captain went down with the ship, he wasn’t a hero. In fact, he was the architect of the situation and due to his ineffectual management the ship sank.”  But for every stubborn or misguided manager, we can also find examples of stalwart leaders, astute decision makers and trusty commanders.

In the business world, one good example would be Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO of Dell Computers.  In her recent article “Connect with Business Leaders: LinkedIn is the Fortune 500 Exception,” Lori Ruff already went a long way in singing Dell’s praises: “Michael Dell has taken the virtues of LinkedIn and used them to propel forward.  His own extensive network (around 20,000 first level connections) allows him to stay connected with partners and clients around the world.  He can update them instantly and simultaneously with statuses, access crucial information at the drop of a hat, and organize meetings based on travel schedules with ease.”

To put it another way, Michael Dell simply gets it.  He understands that businesses can no longer afford to rest on their laurels while the digital bazaar transforms the world around them.  More importantly, however, Dell understands that in order to promote change he must lead by example.  No executive has all the solutions to the many questions surrounding the shifting corporate landscape, but at least Dell isn’t afraid to look for the answers.

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Bio

Cheryl Burgess
Cheryl Burgess (@ckburgess) Co-founder, Managing Partner and CMO of Blue Focus Marketing, is a speaker, author, creative and marketing technologist with expertise in B2B marketing, social business and social media. She is an expert blogger for AT&T Networking Exchange on social media. She was awarded Wharton Future of Advertising's MVP and praised as a "brilliant strategic thinker in the social media space". She was awarded a Huffington Post "Passionista" for "great business expertise and timeless blog posts". She was featured in Fast Company for "Pitching & Storytelling in the Digital World". Cheryl was a speaker on "Expanding Your Social Influence" at AT&T's Networking Leaders Academy Annual Conference. She is the winner of the 2012, 2011 and 2010 Twitter Shorty Award in Marketing [The New York Times hails this as the Oscar of Twitter], named Top 75 Twitter Women, 2012 Top 100 Branding Experts on Twitter, and a 100 Top Marketer on Twitter. She is co-author of Ad Agencies Winning New Business 360, which has sold in 25 + countries worldwide. Also was also a speaker at Morgan Stanley headquarters in NYC on the power of social media during a crisis. Cheryl is a syndicated blogger for B2Community, Uprising, B2B Marketing Zone, B2B Informer and Crowdshifter. She is the co-founder of #Nifty50 Top Twitter Women and #Nifty50 Top Twitter Men.

Nominate & Share – 2012 #Nifty50 Awards – Nominate Yourself, Your Friends, & Your Co-Workers

by Cheryl Burgess May 15, 2012

For 2012, the #Nifty50 will honor 50 men and 50 women from the tech world (see “Eligibility” section below) who actively engage on Twitter. Know someone who deserves to be considered? To nominate, enter their name, company, Twitter handle, reason and click the “Nominate” button. You can also share this nomination message on Facebook, Twitter [...]

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Small Businesses Online Marketing Efforts Surge in 2012 [Infographic]

by Cheryl Burgess May 14, 2012

As marketing dollars flow from traditional to social media, more small businesses are leveraging social platforms in order to drive traffic and increase visibility.  Nearly 60% of small businesses surveyed plan on spending as much or more in 2012 as they did in 2011 on online marketing efforts, according to the 2012 AT&T Small Business [...]

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Brands Under Pressure: The Brand Lives in the Employees’ Voice

by Cheryl Burgess May 1, 2012

Demanding audiences participating in the global bazaar of social media continue to pressure brands into reorienting their goals.  Consumers demand a higher level of engagement that affords them a fulfilling, relevant experience anchored by the same common denominator—authenticity.  From corporate giants to small businesses, marketers continue to seek ambitious social media initiatives in order to [...]

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“The Twitter Hashtag is the New Neon Sign”

by Mark Burgess April 10, 2012

“The brand lives in connections.” This simple—yet powerful—statement from Noah Brier, co-founder of Percolate, emphasizes the importance of social media.  Yet compelling as it is, we can take this statement one step further: I offer that your brand can also live in hashtags. Twitter offers an amazing tool for networking, generating business leads, sharing valuable [...]

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Come Join the Party: Industry Leaders Define the Shifting Roles of Branding

by Cheryl Burgess April 5, 2012

From the moment we wake up, brands bombard us with attempts to get our attention.  These marketers gear their advertisements and logos towards making our lives easier and connected.  However, in our internet-savvy world, we are beginning to demand more from our brands.  We want them to make us feel alive.  Make us fall in [...]

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Do the Math to Calculate the ROI of Business Blogs

by Cheryl Burgess March 13, 2012

Marketers are being held increasingly accountable for delivering positive, measurable results that align with their businesses’ goals and objectives. Of course, in order to do this these same marketers must simultaneously learn to adapt in a social media ecosystem that is in perpetual evolution.  Budgets are tighter, goals are higher and the lingering economic uncertainty [...]

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Are the Content Needs of Your Audience Caught in Your Blind Spot?

by Mark Burgess March 7, 2012

I was watching one of my favorite TV ads in the Allstate “Mayhem” campaign.  In this ad, the Mayhem character appears as a vehicle’s blind spot, hanging on to the driver’s side window and preventing the driver from being able to see passing cars.  As the driver prepares to change lanes, Mayhem reassures her through [...]

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The Rise of the Employee Brand

by Cheryl Burgess March 1, 2012

While the stragglers sit still trying to figure it out, the smart brands have evolved into social brands.  However, while the social brands sit patting themselves on the back for their innovation, the really smart brands are busy building engaged communities from inside out.  These wise businesses are starting to understand that they need to [...]

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