Independent Thinking » Transparency

Predicting the Future (of Marketing)

Daria Steigman — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 15:00:32 +0000

What is the future of marketing?

That was the topic at a recent Thoughtlead online mini-conference. The premise: Select 60 smart people, ask them one big question, and give them each 60 seconds to make their case. The responses were sometimes predictable. More often, however, the speakers challenged themselves and us to think about what’s next–and why.

Here’s a sampling of my favorites:

Michael Stelzner pointed out that people don’t trust brands, so it’s important to focus your marketing on helping other people. He also talked about recognizing people who help you. “If you lift people up, they’ll lift you up.”
Steve Rubel said the biggest challenge for marketers going forward is “time and space, and the relationship between the two… Let’s talk about space. Online it’s infinite. We have as much choice as we want in terms of content. Time on the other hand is finite, and attention spans are fragmenting.”
David Meerman Scott talked about the need to focus on real-time (versus campaigns) and to look for things you can do right now. “The bottom line: social media are tools; real-time is a mindset.”
Frank Gruber talked about always being curious, and about letting your curiosity lead you to find new ideas and innovations.
Mitch Joel suggested that the future of marketing ”should, and will be all about anonymity.”
Alex Bogusky said that collaboration is the new competition, and becoming transparent is not a choice.” The only choice is: do you do it, or do you have it done to you?”
Todd Defren talked about putting relationships at the center of everything.
Gary Vaynerchuk suggested that the future of marketing is one-on-one engagement. “The humanization of business is upon us.”

You can read the entire transcript here.

Photo by Krikit (Flickr).

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Privacy, Identity, and Digital Fingerprints

Daria Steigman — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:14:36 +0000

Jeffrey Rosen has a terrific, thought-provoking article in last week’s New York Times Magazine about the end of privacy in our new digital era. In it, he writes:

We are only beginning to understand the costs of an age in which so much of what we say, and of what others say about us, goes into our permanent—and public—digital files. The fact that the Internet never seems to forget is threatening, at an almost existential level, our ability to control our identities; to preserve the option of reinventing ourselves and starting anew; to overcome our checkered pasts…

The truth is that, for a great many people, the permanent memory bank of the Web increasingly means there are no second chances—no opportunities to escape a scarlet letter in your digital past. Now the worst thing you’ve done is often the first thing everyone knows about you.

Rosen looks at the implications of this digital identify and explores potential legal and technological solutions to help us manage and protect our reputations. The article is long–but it is well worth taking the time to read.

Hat tip to Tim Taylor for alerting me to this one.

Photo by graphia (Flickr).

Why Marketers Are Getting the Axe

Daria Steigman — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:26:34 +0000

This recession has not been kind to marketers and other communications pros. Especially at the senior level.

Frankly, I’m not surprised.

Just look at how we typically refer to ourselves. Marketer. Public Affairs Specialist. Writer. Editor. Media Relations Manager. Videographer. It’s all task-based.

IABC has the word “business” in it, but our titles rarely do. And too often we haven’t made the case that storytelling is key to selling widgets (or sneakers, politicians, goodwill, or support for your cause). That communications is a core business function, as necessary to organizational success as product designers and the sales team.

We talk about transparency and authenticity. Our bosses care about sales, opportunity costs, and ROI.

I’ve heard a lot of hand wringing about how communicators don’t have a seat at the table. Yada, Yada, Yada. Feel better?

Now, what are we going to do about it?

The comments are yours.

Note: This post originally appeared on IABC’s Communication World blog.

Photo by Randy Son of Robert (Flickr).

6 Reasons to Pay Attention to HealthReform.gov

Daria Steigman — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:32:19 +0000

I got a great news release this morning from the Department of Health and Human Services. The headline: Secretary Sebelius Releases Inaugural Health Care “Success Story” Report.

Here are 6 reasons this resonated with me and should matter to you too:

1. The administration has a HealthReform.gov Web site. From a transparency perspective alone, this is really important.

2. The last time someone tried to do comprehensive reform, it was drafted in secret meetings and without participation from most stakeholders. This time, the adminstration is asking citizens to share our thoughts.

3. HHS just posted a “Success Story.” When was the last time you heard the federal government provide concrete, data-driven examples in simple English?

4. While the government supports a huge amount of great research in the health care sector, agencies have been notoriously bad at disseminating results outside of a narrow band of researchers. This time, they’re talking about “improving quality of care” and “a success story for patient safety.” Who doesn’t understand that?

5. The project, a Michigan initiative to reduce hospital infections, is pretty compelling. And HHS does a great job of explaining why this matters to us:

The Keystone Project is more than the story of a simple tool like the checklist making a dramatic impact. It is the story of complex organizational change across an entire state changing the attitudes and practices of doctors and nurses, creating incentives for cooperation, partnering with the state hospital association, and creating a social network amongst participating hospitals in Michigan to share best practices.

When I first heard about the project last fall, I vowed that I’d never walk into a hospital room again without a big bottle of Purell and an even-bigger box of disinfecting wipes.

6. I want to know more, and I’m waiting for the next success stories to be posted. And hoping this becomes a new trend in how federal agencies communicate what they do and why we should pay attention and care.

Building Trust via Business Transparency

Daria Steigman — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:41:45 +0000

I had a very revealing conversation with one of the officers on my condo board yesterday. Turns out that for the past year the board has been trying to restore a business focus to our operations. They’ve fired two poorly-performing vendors and read a third one the riot act. And that was just the beginning.

It’s about time:

Time we again had a board that understood business processes and financial management. (Because it was very obvious to me from the projects that never seemed to end and the foot-dragging over problem-solving that we’ve had a few years without appropriate oversight.)
Time someone told me they were taking steps to remedy the problems.

Transparency is a hot topic these days. And it’s not just Wall Street that needs an infusion of openness. The more you tell investors, customers, and other stakeholders what you’re doing for them, the more they will trust you.

My confidence in my condo board went up tremendously yesterday. How can your business be more transparent today?