Community Archives - Page 4 of 6 - McLellan Marketing Group

Hey non-profits, is Facebook your next fundraiser?

January 21, 2009

If you've been on Facebook for any length of time, you know that causes run rampant there. You can join non-profit pages, you can play games that benefit non-profits, you can declare your allegiance to a cause. You name it, you can probably do it.

Most non-profits, if they're there at all, are stumbling around, trying to figure out how to best use the space. But some have really got it figured out.

Over 6 million Facebook users send each other virtual plants/flowers for their (lil) green patch. And they're told that every time they do, they're saving bits of the Rain Forest. But what does that really mean?

How about over $109,000?

That's how much The Nature Conservancy has earned from people passing pansies. (Say that 5 times fast!). And they didn't even develop the actual application.

Toby Bloomberg has an eye-opening interview with the Digital Membership Manager of The Nature Conservancy that should be must reading for non-profits looking for a fresh fund-raising idea.

If you're a non-profit or involved with helping one — how are you using Facebook to date? How COULD you be using it?

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Want to work a little smarter?

December 7, 2008

The minds behind Working Smarter (SmartDraw‘s blog) decided that they would create a small network of blogs that they believe can serve business leaders with practical, actionable information and ideas.

As they said in their official announcement: "Today we are proud to formally announce the launch of the Working Smarter Network, WSN for short, an exclusive consortium of websites and blogs that provide varied, relevant and useful information to help business people become more effective."

I’m delighted to report that I was invited to be one of the 13 charter members. If you’d like to check out the other sites that were invited to join….here you go.

I have no doubt you’ll find some useful and thought provoking reading among these sites.

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Personal Branding is its own reward

November 1, 2008

Each year, Dan Schawbel’s organization recognizes some of the standout brands with Personal Brand Awards. Last year, Rohit Bhargava won the gold award, and this year Jeremiah Owyang was presented the 2008 gold award. An esteemed panel of judges made the selection and people were graded based on a few factors, such as value proposition, differentiation, and marketability.

I’m humbled to tell you that I was one of the 6 people honored with recognition. It’s quite an honor and even more so, when you see the other recipients. I’d like to take a minute and introduce you to each of the honorees (well, except me…you know me!)

Gold Award: Jeremiah Owyang

Jeremiah is probably one of the most trusted and sought after experts in the social media space. As a researcher for Forrester following media trends is his day job. He’s very generous with his time and knowledge and the judges wisely selected him unanimously.

Silver Awards: Daniel Scocco and Laura Fitton

Daniel is certainly a go-to-guy for blogging, people trust him and he constantly rewards his community. He offers up tips and strategies on blogging and currently holds the #29 spot in terms of popular blogs (according to Technorati).

Laura’s focus is on social media consulting, specifically "microsharing" which is all about harnessing the power of tools like Twitter, Pownce, Plurk and Jaiku. She’s often quoted on and offline about where the world of social media is headed.

Bronze Awards: Jim Kukral, Wendy Piersall, and little old me

Jim’s thing is all things affiliate marketing, social media and internet marketing each and every day. He communicates his brand through both video and written entries and is a common face at industry events.

Wendy introduced herself to us as eMoms at Home which has now evolved into SparkPlugCEO. Wendy’s message is about the power and possibilities of working for yourself and from home. Her personal story inspires many to take the leap.

Me. Enough said. If you want to read what Dan and the judges said…(this link is for you, Mom and Dad!)

Congrats to all the recipients. As you can imagine, it’s heady stuff to be among them.

If you’re wondering who made the call, the judges were:

Dan Schwabel, founder of Personal Branding blog
Andy Beal, online marketing expert and owner of Marketing Pilgrim
David Jones, Vice President of Digital for Hill & Knowlton and one of Canada’s top PR bloggers
David V. Lorenzo, Managing Partner of the Executive Development and Organizational Effectiveness for Gallup.
Chris Brown, Marketing consultant and top marketing blogger
Mario Sundar, Community Evangelist at LinkedIn and top marketing blogger
Kevin Dugan, Director of Marketing communications for FRCH Design Worldwide and a leading PR blogger

Read more about the award in the most recent edition of Personal Branding Magazine.

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When does 237 = 15,000?

October 29, 2008

Image by andrewodom via Take 237 generous authors. Cull them from 15 different countries. Add in 8 topics of discussion and what do you get? Hopefully, $15,000. But for sure, you get…

Age of Conversation 2. Why don’t they get it?

After a very long process, the hardback, paperback and e-book versions of Age of Conversation 2 are on sale, starting today.

As many of you will recall, Gavin Heaton and I got a wild hair in the spring of 2007 and solicited 103 authors to help us create the first book, Age of Conversation.

With that book, we were able to raise over $14,000 for Variety, the Children’s Charity. Surely, with twice as many authors, we can top the $15,000 mark. I’m hoping for $20,000 – truth be told.

Each author contributed a single page chapter and wrestled with topics like:

Manifestos
Keeping Secrets in the Age of Conversation
Moving from Conversation to Action?
The Accidental Marketer
A New Brand of Creative
My Marketing Tragedy
Business Model Evolution
Life in the Conversation Lane

Put it all together and you have insights from social media pros, traditional agency veterans, authors, ministers, directors of marcom, artists, PR experts, non-profit directors and many others in between.

The book will make you think, shake your head and on occasion, laugh. It will also mean that you helped us raise money for a very worthy charity that cares for the world’s children.

As my friend (and one of the authors) John Rosen succinctly said…Buy this book. Period.

Here’s a complete list of our gracious authors.

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Feel like a manic juggler?

October 28, 2008

Image via WikipediaI don’t know about you but sometimes it can be a little overwhelming. Okay…that’s a lie. It can be incredibly overwhelming.

We’re all juggling as fast as we can and no matter how many balls we have in the air, there’s always another one being tossed into the rotation.

There’s a new project (or three) at work, a new book to read, 5,000 new blog posts in your RSS feed reader, six fresh social media tools to explore and 200+ e-mails. Daily.

That doesn’t even take into account your family, friends and just carving out some down time. Have a hobby? Like to travel? Well, sleep’s optional, right?

Never before in my career have I seen a more turbulent time. Turbulent is not necessarily a bad thing. There’s just so much swirling around us, our customers and the work we do. And it’s exciting. Intoxicating. And important to continuing to be relevant in our jobs.

So…how do you juggle it all? How do you stay sane AND productive?

Here’s my plan. Help me spread the word that we’re looking for Sanity/Productivity tips. Once we get a good collection here, I’ll create an free e-book that we can offer to others suffering from the same manic juggling that we are.

Come on…share a tip, idea or solution that works for you.

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The answer to ending poverty? Education. Ours and theirs.

October 15, 2008

Today is Blog Action Day ’08 — the one day a year that bloggers unite on a single topic. We hope to raise awareness, initiate action and shake the web.

This year’s topic — poverty.

Here’s the truth, if we’re willing to be honest with each other.

Most of us don’t think about poverty every day. Because we don’t have to. Sure, we might sponsor a child in a poverty-stricken country or donate canned goods to our local food shelter. We bring old coats and mittens to church every winter for the homeless.

But then we stop for brunch on our way home from church and poverty is the furthest thing from our minds.

While all of those acts are kind and serve to meet an immediate need — we fill a belly or warm hands — they don’t actually address the problem. As long as people are shackled to poverty, they don’t have the tools to break free. They are reliant on us to continue to put bandages on their problem.

My friend Laura Hecht tells me that if we could lift people from illiteracy, we could take a big bite out of poverty.

In educating myself to write this post, I also discovered the End Poverty 2015 organization. They’ve identified 8 major goals that would make it possible for us to be the generation that ends poverty forever. Not surprising, universal education is one of their core tenants.

I don’t even begin to pretend I have the answers. But I do know today is the day for asking ourselves the tough questions.

We can’t help educate the world until we begin to educate ourselves.

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Age of Conversation 2008 promotion starting to trickle out

October 11, 2008

The official launch of Age of Conversation 2008 is mere weeks away and we have lots of exciting things planned to tell the world about the book, the authors and the charity that benefits from the book — Variety, the children’s charity.

For a sneak peek into the book’s origination, how the ’08 version is different from the original and what’s next, check out the podcast that Jay Ehret did with Gavin Heaton and myself. Jay’s (who blogs over at the Marketing Spot) goal is to interview all of 237 authors of this year’s edition.

Hat tip to Jay for taking on the project and be sure to watch for future podcasts over at the Age of Conversation site.

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Text in your movie review?

October 10, 2008

Here in Des Moines, moviegoers attending the premiere of the documentary movie "Trouble the Water" will have the chance to participate in an interactive review via their mobile phones and text messaging.

To join the review, audience members will send the keyword "water" to 72466. A return message back will invite them to join the review by typing in their general opinion based on one to five stars, with five being the highest rating.

Then, participants will asked to submit three adjectives they believe best describe the movie. A final message invites texters to provide additional opinions, with a 160-character limit.

The review is sponsored by the theater and Catchwind, a mobile marketing company. Reviews can be viewed at www.fleurcinema.com and www.textvu.com.

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I didn’t expect you

September 23, 2008

Two years ago today, I clicked on the “publish now” button here at Drew’s Marketing Minute for the first time. I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I figured I’d write and sometimes, someone would read. Maybe a comment or two. It was a grand experiment and I was flying without a net.

Now, 760 posts later — boy, did I write. With 3,200+ subscribers, I guess you did some reading and with a whopping 5,526 comments as I write this — man, did you talk back!

I don’t really know how to say this without sounding a little goofy — but I am humbled by your presence here. I know how busy you are. I know how many excellent marketing blogs there are. And still you come. I didn’t expect you.

And thank goodness you showed up! Do you realize what we’ve done together in these two years? We’ve sparked ideas, we’ve raised issues, we critiqued, applauded and even gotten a little weepy once or twice.

We co-wrote Giving College Grads a Fighting Chance and invited the world to download it for free.

We created the resource — New Blogger’s Toolbox and loaded it with great blogs and teachers for the novice blogger.

Together, we launched Age of Conversation and raised about $14,000 at last count for Variety, the Children’s Charity. And as crazy as we are…we’re about to do it again!

We created Blogger’s Social and literally brought the world to NYC for a weekend of laughter, hugging and some crazy hats.

But above all, we connected. For me anyway, this has gone way beyond just writing about marketing and branding. Just like we preach — by just being here and being yourselves, sharing with gusto, and creating a welcoming place for others to join us — together, we created a community.

I’ve talked to many of you on the phone or via e-mail. I’ve met you for coffee, for a beer, for dinner or for a laugh. We’ve skyped, ooVoo’d, texted and traded guest posts.

And in some cases, we’ve shared a weekend or a moment. And they’ve all been remarkable. From this grand experiment, I’ve gained so much. But what I value the most is you.

Thank you for sharing this space with me for the past two years. I really didn’t expect you. But man, am I glad you showed up!

Here’s a little and very incomplete pictorial view of some of the people this blog has brought into my life. I’m grateful beyond measure.

Pictured…Luc Debaisieux, CK, Gavin Heaton, Lori Magno

Pictured…Connie Reece & me

Pictured…Me, Sandy Renshaw, Tom Vander Well, Timothy Johnson, Mike Sansone, Terry Starbucker and Mike Wagner

Pictured…me & Roberta Rosenberg

Pictured…Todd And & me

Pictured…Anna Farmery & me

Just like the marketing lesson you’re probably sick of hearing me preach — in the end, it’s about the relationship. Again, thank you so much for being a part of this blog. I didn’t expect you. But I love that you’re here!

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Hey ye sea dog, how many flags are ye hoistin’?

September 19, 2008

(Note to my readers. No, I have not gone off the deep end. September 19th is blog like a pirate day and who’d want to miss out on that??)

Aft in th’ tide, buccanneers banded together in crews an’ sailed th’ seas, lookin’ fer places t’ plunder an’ pillage. Each crew tookst great pride in the’r ability t’ secure bounty. They be like a tight-knit family, workin’ an’ playin’ together. They boasted o’ battles won an’ lasses wooed. Piratin’ be a team sport an’ ye wore yer team`s colors wi’ honor. T’ tell th’ world jus’ who be approachin’, each crew hoisted a unique jolly roger on the’r vessel, typically adorned wi’ symbols that told a tale o’ the’r captain.

Th’ jolly rogers be defended, often times wi’ th’ sea dogs` lives. They be that important a symbol. They told th’ crew`s distinct tale.

How about ye? Do ye hoist a single jolly roger that tells o’ yer unique tale or do ye spend half yer time, hoistin’ an’ changin’ jolly rogers, dependin’ on who ye be talkin’ t’ or what yer scurvy dog competitors be doin’?

If ye dasn’t hoist a jolly roger at all — what tale would ye want yer jolly roger t’ tell, if ye could only be havin’ th’ one? What symbols would ye include so that yer tale would be remembered an’ re-told by them who saw ‘t?

Can ye imagine th’ pride ye might create in yer own crew, if ye gave them a powerful tale an’ a symbolic jolly roger t’ wave an’ raise?

Maybe ye canna wave a jolly roger at yer place o’ business. But what could ye hoist t’ be a constant reminder o’ what ye an’ yer crew would swashbuckle t’ th’ Davy Jones’ locker t’ defend?

If ye dasn’t give yer crew an’ yer customers somethin’ t’ b’lieve in an’ defend, why ortin’ ta they keep comin’ aft?

The flag is Blackbeard’s. To read more about pirate flags and all things pirate…check this out.

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