|| Posts by Sionne...it was actually Malcolm's idea ||

The Definition Of Insanity.

2012-01-27T14:45:00.003-05:00

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again...and expecting different results."

Albert Einstein, 1879 - 1955

A Few Good Men.

2009-04-29T01:13:00.003-04:00

Of course the title of this one could also just as easily have been "A Few Good (Wo)Men." since there is no need for applying unnecessary and politically-incorrect gender bias here.

Will be a down-and-dirty one tonight because it is A) quite late - or really early actually - and also B) I have been spending FAR too much time on Twitter past few days...but more coming on that subject very soon.

Before I list the latest positions for your consideration, please remember the standard ground rules:

> unless otherwise indicated, these are all located in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)

> again, don’t always believe the media hype…because while I cannot dispute times are tough these days within many industries, those who can make a contribution in the areas of online media, interactive marketing and e-commerce will continue to advance their careers

> promoting this stuff is not part of my day job in any way, nor a side business that I am pursuing or anything of that nature…I just enjoy connecting good people with good opportunities, so think of it in terms of as Pay It Forward exercise.

> if you are - or know of - a qualified and interested candidate for anything referenced here just contact me and I will arrange the introductions to hiring contacts

With all that out of the way, let us get right into the main event - jobs, jobs and even more jobs:

*** Online Media Sales Executive***
> Leverage your interactive sales skills and relationships with agencies & direct clients to develop and close new business for this established Canadian Males Lifestyle-focused (think: “Maxim Magazine Canada”) publisher, while working within an entrepreneurial startup-type working environment

*** Online Media Sales Executive (New York City)***
> Practice your craft in one of the top media markets worldwide, representing a network of properties for a Canadian-based organization that has been in existence since 1999. Only those with a deep rolodex, excellent sales skills and a Hunter mindset need consider this one. Total comp package in mid-100s to $200K+ and is uncapped…

*** Sales Systems Administrator***
> Apply your technical and analytics background plus experience with sales and billing systems (eg. Solbright) in this key role with a leading Digital Media organization

***Web Analytics Contractors***
> Recruiter seeks 2 individual consultants for client engagements, experienced with 1) WebTrends and 2) Omniture Site Catalyst

***Online Marketing Specialist***
> Permanent downtown role and ideal candidate has experience in managing a website, vendors, podcasts/vodcasts, project management and developing online programs/products. SEO/SEM skills also required and back-end Web capabilities, eg. HTML, CSS). Preference for those with professional services industry experience and bilingualism (English/French) would be an asset. Salary to $70K

***Web Analytics Implementation Specialist***
> Established and well-known firm is growing its Search & Analytics practice. This is a good gig for an “up and comer” with energy, passion and an understanding of the space

***Inside Sales Representatives***
> Boutique SEO/SEM shop recently hired 2 Account Execs and now also needs 3 Inside reps

It's Good To Be The King.

2009-04-24T01:30:00.009-04:00

Have to give a shout-out to my fellow marketing-minded blogger (and coincidentally he is also a *Superdad* as well, just like me!) Rich Gould here, as I originally viewed this awesome video on the Razor Creative blog.

(UPDATE: I keep revising this with new pointers but if you still cannot see the embedded video above just do a Web search for "SpongeBob Burger King" and watch it on YouTube instead...trust me, it is well worth the additional effort to find it)

Rich expressed some concerns in his blog posting about this spot, basically the fact that it was targeted “for kids” and therefore being somewhat inappropriate if viewed by the younger set. My view was exactly the opposite, as I personally think it is an absolute *genius* ad.

Here’s why I think so. As the parent of 3- and 5-year-old children who fall solidly within the SpongeBob consumer demo I consider anything SB-related to be "fun for the whole family" here at my house.

Yet I believe this commercial is talking to me, not to my little ones. Because Daddy is usually the individual (after consulting with Mommy, of course!) who decides where to go for any fast food dining and in the end is ultimately the one springing for a couple of Kiddie Meals, complete with the obligatory branded toy item.

And with me being of a certain age - ie. able to remember this bad boy from its original release; seems Sionne is getting OLDER every day, by the way - hearing the distinctive opening line and musical riff had an instant head-nodding effect that captured me right away...and well, must admit that the King’s antics, the song lyrics and simply ridiculous booty-shaking dancers with their square (!) butts kept me coming back for more. Must have replayed the video about 6 times or so that night before moving on. And ended up checking it out again several times in the week or so since the originally viewing.

So I fully agree some of the content is at best not likely to connect with those aged 3-9 years old…and at worst potentially very inappropriate if in fact BK is targeting children. Rich made the valid and undisputed point that the unsolicited measuring of some buttocks by the King could be construed as something unseemly. But in my mind BK was talking to me here, not to my offspring and I think this allows me to appreciate the commercial in the way it was intended to be received.

Bottom line? With their choice of approach in promoting the current SpongeBob meal/toy offer, this brand captured my attention and also totally made me laugh out loud, gaining some valuable *street cred* in the process .

Depends on your preferred scoring system but the evidence generally supports this being a pretty solid ad win overall, at least based on my Focus Group Of One response and being within the adult/parental consumer demo. Besides, execution-wise, it’s kinda to argue with the effectiveness here of a cameo appearance by Sir Mix-A-Lot himself…isn't it?

Round 2
OK, so was catching up on my email tonight and noticed that (my admittedly personal and subjective) opinion has been validated, by at least one metric anyway. Turns out the Burger King “Square-Butt” spot made its Online Viral Video Chart debut in third place, according to Ad Age:

BK's Square-Butt Spot Makes Viral-Chart Debut in Third Place
Published: April 16, 2009
NEW YORK (Ad Age.com) -- The King likes square butts -- and web-video viewers sure like his crooning about them. The Crispin-produced video promoting Burger King's SpongeBob SquarePants kids meals, which is also airing on TV, entered this week's viral-video chart in the No. 3 spot with more than a half million views, according to data from video-measurement firm Visible Measures.

Yet again, the guys at Crispin Porter + Bogusky hit a home run for their client, while further reinforcing their long-standing image within the industry as Creative & Marketing Rock Stars…and maintaining this status in my personal ranking as well, since I have been loving almost everything they produce from the first time I became aware of this agency’s work back in 2005.

Dear CP+B: Keep pushing the envelope, making it memorable and above all continuing to bring your A-game material, because I just love this stuff…

Laters.

Don't Believe The Hype.

2009-04-09T00:56:00.011-04:00

Recently read a very *official-seeming* article, squarely placing the blame for the recent global economic woes on increased levels of Twitter usage. Took a while for me to catch on but turns out it was actually a satrical piece, mimicking the style of The Onion and really quite entertaining in the end.

Those readers of this blog who are more “tuned in” than the rest of us may have already seen it…but for anyone who hasn’t yet, you definitely need to take a look at this:

Harvard Economist Blames Twitter for Down Economy

Speaking of economic concerns…with all due apologies to Admiral Farragut, I can honestly say there are many reasons these days to simply say "Damn the ~~Torpedoes~~ Economic Downturn, Full Steam Ahead!" and especially so recently since I don’t really see much evidence lately that companies are scaling back their hiring activity in any significant way.

Case in point: tonight I am sharing two really awesome Sales and Marketing roles that recently arrived into my email in-box via my personal network. So if you know of any Qualified & Interested candidates please hit me up ASAP so I can connect the right people with my hiring contacts.

And remember, when it comes to what the media is telling you, always keep eyes / ears open and believe in what you know to be true…just don’t believe the hype.

***Online Media Sales Rock Star***
A leading Entertainment-focused online media portal has an immediate need for a true *superstar* online media sale executive. If you fit the profile of a “…seasoned, driven & entrepreneurial online media sales pro” then this could the right opportunity for you.

> Additional Info:
* The ideal candidate has at least 3-5 years of online media sales experience as well as a strong base of existing Media Planner and Buyer contacts via agency and/or client-direct
* Applicants should be experienced in successfully selling the Entertainment (ie. Music, Movie, Video, Celebrity) category
* Applicants should have experience with developing creative revenue-generating client solutions, integrated online media and content deals
* Employer definitely has a startup profile and culture versus a Corporate environment, although the organization does have multiple offices in the US and also overseas
* This role would appeal to candidates with an entrepreneurial mindset, possibly preparing to move out of a bigger online media firm (corporate environment) and into a smaller, more nimble (startup) area
* Compensation package is very attractive, with solid "market-competitive" base salary and opportunity to earn $150K+ OTE

***Senior Vice President, Marketing***
Flex your marketing muscles as a top executive with this global Technology/Software company. Reporting to the CEO, the ideal candidate possesses demonstrated success with corporate marketing in the tech space and has also lead a team of marketers.

> Additional Info:
* The ideal candidate offers a minimum of fifteen years' experience of progressive career growth as a marketer within the software and/or high-tech industries
* The ideal candidate also offers a minimum of 5 years' experience in a senior management capacity
* Applicants will be able to outline a Been There, Done That track record (with Tier 1 industry leaders) and communicate their commitment to career advancement in pursuing this senior Marketing Leadership role

Survival Of The Fittest.

2009-04-03T23:41:00.010-04:00

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but rather the one most adaptable to change.”
Clarence Darrow (1857 – 1938)...and actually not said by Charles Darwin, pictured here *Obama-style*

Wow, basically a whole month since my last posting. Now I would really like to be able to attribute my recent failings in updating this space to a deep commitment in observing Earth Hour…deliberately abstaining from using my computer’s power resources for an extended period and therefore being unable to update Posts By Sionne. The reality though is that my tree-hugging tendencies are in fact not that well-developed. I was honestly just too busy lately to get around to blogging.

That being said, I do think I have a pretty reasonable explanation behind my “going dark” and if you allow me to share a personal story here you will soon understand the situation much, much better.

So we were advised by our realtor at 5PM yesterday that the Seller's conditions are being lifted as of 10AM today/Friday. Assuming the inspection goes well this coming Monday then the transaction will proceed and as of May 15, 2009 we will be relocating to our new residence, aka The New & Improved “Casa Roberts” in lovely downtown Bradford, Ontario.

I offer this as proof that if one is truly committed and able to invest the required effort they can find themselves with a (sort of) Moncton-sized mortgage on a fully updated and reno’d 4-bedroom, 3-bath home sitting on a 100 X 100 fenced lot in a quiet family-friendly neighbourhood that is 5 minutes away from the GO Train station and also still takes only about 70 minutes of vehicle commuting to arrive at my office in downtown Toronto.

Very near the top of the Benefits list for us in this move is the fact that Natasha will soon be 20 minutes from her work and driving primarily via city surface streets, instead of her current “one hour of white knuckles on the highway twice daily” arrangement. This is really quite an exciting concept for my lovely wife, trust me. We both only hope that the ulcers we have induced and additional grey hairs acquired recently will turn out to all worth it in the end...

Meaning I will not elaborate extensively right now but let's just say that past few weeks have involved a whirlwind series of exceptionally-strange dealings with first the buyers of our current home, followed by constantly-stressful negotiations with the multiple potential sellers of the homes we offered to buy. And at one point there were even some serious and in-depth consultations with legal counsel on whether or not we could actually sue our finance company to counteract the impact of our potentially being sued ourselves (yes, I am not joking about this) by the buyers of our current home.

Did I mention yet - as I like to do often - that Natasha and I both work full-time and on the home front are managing the usual excitement that comes along with parenting a 5- and 3-year-old, while also finding time daily to pay at least a little bit of attention to our two supposedly-neglected pet dogs as well? And since moving back to Toronto we have faced the challenge of there not a whole lot of family support locally (aka “absolutely none”) and even something that should be as simple as getting the occasional babysitter for an evening is something that has not happened for at least 6 months now. Good Times indeed and I can honestly say that life as usual is highly *unboring* for all of us playing in the game as members of Team Roberts - Toronto Edition.

Before I go, I do have something tonight for those of you completely disinterested in Sionne’s personal affairs and dropping in periodically instead for my news and insights from the online media and marketing worlds.

Now if this applies to you and you have actually even made it this far down the page I can definitely say I commend your commitment to the pursuit of information, or your exceptional amounts of available free time, or both. But I will also share something I read this week that I believe falls under tonight’s Darwinian theme. Or for those of you who can remember this, perhaps it is more along the lines of that classic Timex slogan Takes a Licking and Keeps on Ticking instead.

HEADLINE: Microsoft Looks to JWT to Market New Search Engine - Web Giant Expected to Spend Up to $100 Million in Bid to Win Share From Google, Yahoo

Summary version of the Ad Age article is that Microsoft has engaged its agency JWT to develop a creative campaign for the latest version of its Search offering...which I have heard being referred to as both Kumo and Project Kiev but still also called plain-old Live Search, according to Steve Ballmer.

This is either an example of a committed push by MSFT to get some much-need traction in the Search category, or a colossal waste of dollars and a case of throwing good money after bad in a (doomed) losing effort. I suppose it depends on your point of view but mine is that this is a good move and might actually be able to make a difference in growing share for a viable market alternative to the Google powerhouse.

I personally have an above-average familiarity with the Microsoft adCenter offering from my previous role here at Bell Canada. I also experienced a reasonable level of success during that time, communicating adCenter’s merits to its B2B audience. So I think it is entirely possible for JWT to create some compelling messaging resonating with consumers of Live Search as well. Can’t hurt to try. Plus, if the Redmond crew really want to pursue a win in the Search Wars then taking aggressive action is better than doing nothing...and expecting a divine intervention-type of miracle to happen instead. As I often like to say, “the definition of insanity is continually repeating the same behaviours, yet expecting a different outcome” so this announcement makes perfect sense to me.

And combining a multi-million-dollar ad blitz with a parallel Microsoft strategy of Why-Buy-Yahoo!-When-We-Can-Just-Hire-All-Of-Its-Best-People just might be enough to do the trick. Since the other big news I heard this week was that Dayne Sampson - former Yahoo VP, Operations for Search and Advertising - has also defected to the Dark Side and been beamed up to the Redmond mother ship. This now makes a pretty impressive roster of Search & Media execs (aka Yahoo! alumni) on the MSFT payroll, a list that now includes Sean Suchter, Qi Lu, Larry Heck, Jan Pedersen and now Sampson.

Maybe the current thinking of management is to ignore whether or not Carol Bartz wants to re-open the dormant Micro-hoo! merger/acquisition discussion. Because as many who follow this industry closely are also observing, if this torrid pace of fence-jumping from Yahoo! to Microsoft continues it might not be too long before there won’t be much of a Search biz remaining for MSFT to buy anyway.

Always interesting. And I have no doubt there will be even more developments surfacing very soon.

The Godfather.

2009-03-04T00:22:00.008-05:00

I do not say use the term "marketing guru" lightly or frequently. Suffice it to say however that Seth Godin is an absolute genius when it comes to marketing. Not only is he insightful and enlightening on an ongoing basis but his true gift is clarity of communication and making his points with brevity while still remaining entertaining and engaging.

This is not always easily accomplished and I believe Woodrow Wilson expressed it best when he said upon being asked how much preparation he would need to write a speech, "That depends. If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation. If fifteen minutes, three days. If half an hour, two days. If an hour, I am ready now."

Have followed Seth pretty regularly for about 10 years now...since the late 1990's, going back to his Yoyodyne days and the publishing of his book, Permission Marketing. His concepts definitely resonated with me then as I was working in Member Acquisition Marketing with a pre-IPO dotcom in the San Francisco area at the time. And the amazing thing is that while he continues to publish new books they - with a few exceptions - still keep delivering against expectations, at least for me anyway.

Tonight I am re-posting two of my favourite Seth’s Blog posts here. If you enjoy them and it turns out you have been living under a rock, ie. you are not already reading Seth's musings frequently, then do yourself a favour ASAP by going here now and then returning often, OK?

(And sorry Seth, but for some reason Blogger does not support TrackBack URLs linking to your blog so I am using the Permalink version here instead)

Personal branding in the age of Google

A friend advertised on Craigslist for a housekeeper.

Three interesting resumes came to the top. She googled each person's name.

The first search turned up a MySpace page. There was a picture of the applicant, drinking beer from a funnel. Under hobbies, the first entry was, "binge drinking."

The second search turned up a personal blog (a good one, actually). The most recent entry said something like, "I am applying for some menial jobs that are below me, and I'm annoyed by it. I'll certainly quit the minute I sell a few paintings."

And the third? There were only six matches, and the sixth was from the local police department, indicating that the applicant had been arrested for shoplifting two years earlier.

Three for three.

Google never forgets.

Of course, you don't have to be a drunk, a thief or a bitter failure for this to backfire. Everything you do now ends up in your permanent record. The best plan is to overload Google with a long tail of good stuff and to always act as if you're on Candid Camera, because you are.

The panhandler's secret

When there were old-school parking meters in New York, quarters were precious.

One day, I'm walking down the street and a guy comes up to me and says, "Do you have a dollar for four quarters?" He held out his hand with four quarters in it.

Curious, I engaged with him. I took out a dollar bill and took the four quarters.

Then he turned to me and said, "can you spare a quarter?"

What a fascinating interaction.

First, he engaged me. A fair trade, one that perhaps even benefited me, not him.

Now, we have a relationship. Now, he knows I have a quarter (in my hand, even). So his next request is much more difficult to turn down. If he had just walked up to me and said, "can you spare a quarter," he would have been invisible.

Too often, we close the sale before we even open it.

Interact first, sell second.

There's Gold In Them Thar Hills.

2009-02-26T00:27:00.006-05:00

OK, so all the ad nauseam talk of the worldwide Economic Downturn be damned…there are some very innovative and interesting companies still hiring, for example the ones I am highlighting here.

Want a job? If you are a qualified and interested candidate for anything listed in this post, please contact me and I will arrange introductions where appropriate.

Have a job, but sourcing candidates? I periodically circulate employment leads throughout my network, either on behalf of recruiters or as a favour to my contacts with direct employers. As previously mentioned it is not my day job, nor something I am looking at as an upcoming segue into a Recruiting career…think of it as more like a Pay It Forward exercise. So my disclaimer _slash_ explanation aside, if you want me to post your career opportunity here, just drop me a line and I will almost certainly do that for you at some point in the near future.

Now, here comes the good stuff…

***Director of Business Development***
A leader in a rapidly-growing segment of the Social Media category requires a business development leader. Only top-performing individuals with an understanding of (and passion for) leveraging social media solutions in a business context need apply.

> Highlights of Position Responsibilities
• Successfully build strategic partnerships, interacting directly with senior executives in Partner and Customer organizations
• Oversee and execute against the company's Channel Development road map

> Highlights of Required Experience and Skills
• Degree and 5 years+ related experience in B2B partnership development/management
• Demonstrated success in generating revenue streams from partner relationships and channels
• Must be technically minded and comfortable discussing complex "architecture-level" subjects with potential partners
• Must also be tenacious and resourceful, with excellent time management skills and most importantly a very good sense of humour

> Additional Information
• This position will be based out of a Virtual Office and therefore the new hire’s working location is flexible
• While a deep familiarity with social media and online social networks is preferred, this is not a firm requirement

***Senior Project Manager, Interactive***
A boutique East Coast firm focused on the development of interactive content for Web, Mobile and Offline is currently seeking a senior project manager with the ability and interest in taking a leadership role within the organization.

> Highlights of Position Responsibilities
• Identify optimization opportunities and in turn take action to improve the company’s current project management processes
• Ensure the end-to-end delivery of multiple concurrent projects, on time, within budget, with the highest possible level of quality
• Provide internal leadership and external relationship management on a wide range of projects, from micro-sites to game development
• Project scoping, proposal writing, requirements gathering, critical path ownership, liaising with Sales, Design, Dev and QA teams and management of project expenses
• Lead client status meetings plus collect feedback from work-in-progress presentations
• Offer mentorship and guidance to junior members of the project management team

> Highlights of Required Experience and Skills
• Have worked at least 2 years in a project management capacity within an interactive development firm or design agency
• Experience with multiple projects, successfully managing competing objectives and priorities in challenging time frames
• Understanding of the website project development process
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively as part of both technical and non-technical teams, at multiple organizational levels
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office, Visio, Project, and Adobe Products

> Additional Information
• This position is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia

***Affiliate Marketing Manager***
> Overview/Summary
• Online affiliate marketing program expertise required, at minimum within the Casino Gaming, Poker or Sports Betting category
• Must understand the mindset and motivators of the online wagering community, and be able to “speak their language” when developing related B2C communications messaging
• This is a hands-on role…pure strategists with an aversion to the Execution process need not apply
• Candidates meeting the above requirements and also possessing media management experience are preferred

> Additional Information
• This position is located in Montreal…exceptional candidates with a preference for working remotely (from Toronto only) may be considered
• Salary is in the $70K Canadian range, with incentive compensation and benefits to be negotiated

***Email Marketing Manager***
> Overview/Summary
• Email marketing program expertise required, at minimum within the Casino Gaming, Poker or Sports Betting category
• Must understand the mindset and motivators of the online wagering community, and be able to “speak their language” when developing related B2C communications messaging
• Candidates will be required to demonstrated having previously leveraged email marketing channels for all of the following activist: acquisition, activation as well as retention
• This is a hands-on role…pure strategists with an aversion to the Execution process (and lacking basic HTML proficiency) need not apply

> Additional Information
• This position is located in Montreal…exceptional candidates with a preference for working from Toronto may be considered
• Salary is in the $70K Canadian range, with incentive compensation and benefits to be negotiated

***Sales Executive, Research Services***
Join a venture-funded technology company introducing its paradigm-shifting online market research solution to North American clients. This is an excellent opportunity for a highly motivated Hunter-type sales professional to get on board at the early stages and make a significant contribution to the company’s growth and overall achievement against its business objectives.

> Highlights of Position Responsibilities
• Evangelize and secure booked orders for the company’s Online Research services / Sampling solutions, both to Canadian and US market research service providers and also client organizations directly
• Build the business - identify prospective customers, qualify and prioritize leads, establish contact, forge relationships, make the pitch, counter objections to close the sale…and then repeat, all while documenting this process so the company’s management team can track Sales Funnel activity accurately

> Highlights of Required Experience and Skills
• Bachelors degree or equivalent plus 5+ years’ experience in sales development
Must have a proven track record of achieving (exceeding) quotas, ideally in selling market research services and/or advertising sales
• Candidates with a background in web analytics, audience measurement, and/or business intelligence are preferred
• Candidates with familiarity using Salesorce.com for management of sales activity management are preferred

> Additional Information
• This position will be located in Toronto, Ontario (Canada) or Mountain View, California (USA)
• The compensation package includes a competitive base salary plus commissions along with a comprehensive benefits package and stock options

I Drink Your Milkshake.

2009-02-18T00:41:00.014-05:00

Read an article tonight referencing a fairly interesting development, ie. that the Yahoo! share of the Search market increased and Google's actually fell at the same time.

Some highlights:

* The results are based on comScore rankings - US data only - as summarized by JP Morgan's Imran Khan

* The big news is that the Yahoo! share of "domestic core search market" was up in January 2009, hitting 21.0% and increasing 0.5% from december's share of 20.5%

* This now makes 6 consecutive months of market share gains, reversing the long-time Declining trend of recent years

* Google's domestic core search market share dropped by 0.5% in January to 63.0% from the 63.5% level in December

* This could be interpreted as the first signs of Google's domestic search share reaching a plateau, something which many industry observers have predicted will happen inevitably

* MSN's domestic core search market share increased in January to 8.5% over 8.3% in December

* This small gain by MSN could be interpreted as a Good News story...or alternatively as a So What? data point since Microsoft clearly needs to make much more substantial gains than these if it is to become competitive, especially given the level of MSFT resources that are currently being allocated to winning in Search

* AOL domestic core search market share increased in January to 3.9% (from 3.8% in December) while Ask Network domestic core search market share dropped to 3.7% in January from 3.9% in December...a bit of a cancelling-each-other-out effect overall happening with these secondary players

So, while Microsoft's MSN and Online Services unit continues to add former top Yahoo! Search executives to its roster, Yahoo! appears to be holding its own, at least for the time being. On the other hand, with key players like Sean Suchter (former VP of Search Technology), Qi Lu (EVP Engineering - Yahoo! Search and Advertising Technology Group) and most recently (former VP of Search & Advertising Sciences at Yahoo! Labs) Larry Heck joining the "mother ship" in Redmond - and Yahoo! vets Scott Moore and Eric Hadley already on board managing media/programming and branding/global marketing portfolios respectively - I can't imagine how this won't eventually have an overall negative impact on the ability of Yahoo! to remain relevant in the Search category.

And with numerous signs pointing to a massive company-wide re-org of the entire management ranks happening very soon down in Sunnyvale, I predict continued growth in the Yahoo! Alumni Club membership ranks on the employee payroll at MSFT...with a corresponding Yahoo! death spiral in Search over the next 6-12 months.

So, will this all result in a Fire Sale by Yahoo! to Microsoft after all? Or perhaps another scenario, in which Yahoo! sells off its Search business or possibly attempts to partner with another online player?

I welcome discussion of any and all opinions and theories, so please feel free to post your thoughts in the Comments section.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

2009-02-11T01:34:00.018-05:00

Am going with a bit of a different format tonight...

First off, while it may be true that "Jobs become obsolete. Talent doesn't." this had better be an accidental or coincidental display of the advertisement alongside the article content. Otherwise it is a textbook example of taking online ad targeting to the extreme...and yes, I am only joking.

(Source = washingtonpost.com, via TechCrunch)

OK...definitely Been There, Done That and have even purchased the t-shirt on more than one occasion.

(Source = David Armano, via a Paul Burns blog posting)

Speaking of t-shirts, I think I might start wearing this one on a regular basis.

(Source = NoiseBot)

The New York experience, communicated artfully with Lego. Follow the link for entire I LEGO N.Y. series.

(Source = NYTimes.com via blog posts by Paul Burns AND Razor Creative)

It is funny because it is true.

(Source = Noise to Signal)

In With The New...Continued.

2009-01-14T07:25:00.012-05:00

So as many of you know, I make a habit of periodically circulating employment leads throughout my network, either on behalf of recruiters or as a favour to my contacts with direct employers. This is part of my ongoing commitment to active networking and being a connector of people, combined with my long-time personal affinity for HR activities and end-to-end management of an organization’s most important resource - its Talent.

Right now I coincidentally have several interesting positions to share in the early part of New Year 2009. So please take a look here…and feel free to pass any leads along if you know someone who is qualified and would potentially be interested in considering an opportunity.

But do want to be up-front that I am just acting as the middleman and this is definitely not my day job in any way either. Meaning while in some cases I do have a bit more information, for the most part what I have posted on the blog is essentially everything I know about the position, OK?

Happy hunting!

There are openings listed here in Media Operations & Account Management (2 roles), Marketing & Product Management / Project Management (2 roles) as well as Sales & Business Development (2 roles).

***Associate Director - Media Account Management***
An internal promotion has recently created this Toronto-based Sympatico/MSN vacancy, which reports to the Senior Director of Operations and Business Strategy. The Sympatico/MSN Account Management team - headed up by the Media Account Management Associate Director - manages the fulfilment and optimization of online media campaigns while providing performance reporting to clients and the Sympatico/MSN Sales team.

> Highlights of Position Responsibilities
• Provide leadership and management to Canada's top team of Internet Advertising Account Managers
• Partner with Sales to rigorously execute all Campaign Implementation processes while planning/managing against both short- and longer-term (revenue) objectives

> Highlights of Required Experience and Skills
• Degree and 5 years+ of Account Management experience in a communications company or agency
• Online Industry experience is preferred, ideally with demonstrated success in a supervisory role
• Business Growth Planning & Operations Forecasting, Resource Optimization & People Management, Process Design & Implementation along with Achieving KPI Targets - Directly & Via Team Members

> Additional Information
• This is a priority hire for the organization and the successful candidate will be asked to commence employment ASAP
• Bilingualism (English/French) is considered an asset
• Location is in Toronto - 207 Queen's Quay

***Production Manager, Portal Operations***
The Sympatico/MSN portal, a division of Bell Canada is looking for a Content Production Manager who will be responsible for working with a team of Content Managers and the Homepage Editor. This position will be located in Toronto and will report to the Associate Director, Portal Operations.

> Highlights of Position Responsibilities
• Working with a team of Content Managers that are involved in the planning, integration and management of content for channels on the Sympatico/MSN English portal
• Developing and managing an Editorial Calendar
• Tracking and reporting of results to identify opportunities for performance improvement and trends to optimize integration
• Coordinating cross promotion to drive results and meet targets for content and events that have revenue associated with them

> Highlights of Required Experience and Skills
• College diploma in multimedia or a related discipline or equivalent combination of training and experience
• 2-4 years experience managing a team
• 1-2 years experience working in online editorial positions

> Additional Information
• This is a priority hire for the organization and the successful candidate will be asked to commence employment ASAP

***Project Manager, Interactive Television (full-time, contract)***
• Seeking Project Manager - ideally with Broadcast or ITV experience - to guide the launch of an ITV property
• Offering competitive compensation and can anticipate an initial 6-month contract term
• Location is Toronto/GTA
• This is not a “speculative venture” and the employer is known within the space

***International Marketing Manager***
> Highlights of Position Responsibilities
• Develop go-to-market strategies and materials for launching new online publishers, Internet content verticals, and customized Web/Interactive media solutions
• Working with Sales department, develop and execute an annual marketing plan
• Clearly communicate marketing initiatives; ensure messaging is aligned with the company's unique value proposition and global strategy initiatives.
• Research and international Sales team support
> Highlights of Required Experience and Skills
• Bachelor’s degree required, with 1-2 years experience in online advertising, marketing, and/or sales strategy
• Solid analytical and strategic thinking, proven leadership qualities and ability to work well independently as well as with team members
• Organized, results-driven with a track record of successful execution and must possess superb verbal and written communication and presentation skills
• Passionate about Internet and New Media with an understanding of online advertising principles, traffic & engagement metric tracking tools, Web 2.0 technologies, and social networking trends

> Additional Information
• Preference is for bilingual candidates with French-language skills
• Public Relations expertise and experience writing press releases is an asset
• Location is Toronto/GTA

***Online Advertising Sales Executive***
> Highlights of Position Responsibilities
• Sales Hunting - prospecting potential Web Media advertisers and selling online advertising solutions, including face-to-face presentations with interactive media planners/buyers and marketing personnel
• Evangelism - educating marketers on the advantages of online advertising plus convincing marketers to allocate ad budgets to online channels
• Account Management & Admin - following up with existing clients re: ongoing online campaigns; maintaining sales contacts in CRM database (Salesforce.com) and updating sales forecasts

> Highlights of Required Experience and Skills
• Must have college diploma, plus 2+ years of online advertising sales experience
• Must have extensive knowledge of the online advertising industry
• Must be a team player with strong “solutions sales” mindset
• Must demonstrate a history of overachieving against sales quotas and exceeding client expectations

> Additional Information
• Location is Toronto/GTA
• This is a role where true Hunters with polished sales skills and a strong work ethic will thrive and excel
• This role requires some travel to United States markets (approx. 10-20%)
• Base compensation is $60K to $80K; will consider higher for exceptional candidates
• Commissions and bonuses structure for this role provides a realistic opportunity to earn well in excess of $200K annually, OTE

***Director of Business Development***
• Candidates MUST have previous experience selling Web Marketing, eCRM/Loyalty or Acquisition Marketing services
• The employer is a Toronto-based digital marketing agency offering strategic Web Marketing and eCRM services
• Base salary is in the $80-100K range (and possibly higher depending on candidate qualifications) plus commissions & bonuses added to bring the total comp package to around $200K, OTE

Out With The Old, And In With The New.

2009-01-14T01:17:00.029-05:00

Happy New Year, all.

My first words of 2009 are in the Out With The Old category. My former employer Primus Canada went through yet another cycle of layoffs last week, which by my count makes several dozen jobs cut since I personally jumped ship about 10 months ago. As in the past, the purging had a direct impact on several friends and colleagues within the Residential Marketing group, along with Outsourced Customer Care, etc.

Heard from one of the remaining insiders that the overall mood is not so good and his feeling was the future looks pretty grim for Primus. No surprising given that some of the people let go this round had been with the organization for 6 years, and another for 9 years…or basically a hundred years in Sionne Time, since I am not personally known for my ability to remain with any company for an extended period.

But I’m sure by applying some obscure EBITDA Math equation, these cuts ended up making sense, at least on paper. Puzzling approach to running a business in my mind. Which makes the observation offered by one of my Primus Canada Alumni Club associates that “With nearly all the mid- and low-level staff gone from the Resi group now who will actually do the work? And why then do they need to keep on two directors, a vice-president and a senior vice-president when there are only around 5 people still left reporting into those guys anyway?” address an interesting point indeed.

One really competent product manager received her layoff news while still at home, on month 10 of her maternity leave. While I learned afterwards that she was at least treated fairly severance-wise I have to say it did disappoint and irritate me anyway. It is a brave new world of employment in the shiny year 2009 when these types of things happen in the workplace but I suppose if one does not like it they can just stop playing, take their ball and go home, right?

Onwards and upwards, into the A Little Of Both (some in/new and some out/old) area. Unless you live under a rock it was pretty difficult to not hear the online media industry announcement that Yahoo! has hired a new CEO. Carol Bartz joins after a celebrated tenure with Autodesk and while I do not know much about her, she does at least address the Mark Cuban requirement that Yahoo! get tough management-wise. I mean, what does it say about a person when she receives a cancer diagnosis in her first week on a new job, takes 30 days off for aggressive treatment - including a mastectomy - returns to working only a month later? Word is the newest Autodesk employee Bartz would arrive early enough to vomit in the company parking lot from the effects of chemotherapy before going into the office. Maybe this anecdote is apocryphal and the work of a clever PR team, but then again maybe it is exactly what really happened. Either way, you can just look it up and decide for yourself.

Oh, and Sue Decker decided that being passed over for the CEO spot and instead reporting into a new boss with a mandate for making aggressive cuts to the Yahoo! business was not how she wanted to spend the few years of her life. Decker’s resignation is of course not surprising but what interests me most is watching to see where she will land and what she will do next. Will she quickly salvage a new gig elsewhere, like Kevin Johnson did after MSFT's failed takeover bid for Yahoo! this past summer? Or will Decker spend time idling on the corporate sidelines with the industry (rightfully?) attributing much of the blame for the recent Yahoo! market cap evaporation to her role as the senior executive primarily responsible for a series of management mis-steps down in Sunnyvale, in tandem with Jerry Yang? Stay tuned as only time will really tell on that score...

Finally, some In With The New. My ongoing fixation with circulating employment leads throughout my personal network has proven successful enough for both candidates and recruiters/employers recently that I currently have several interesting roles worthy of broadcasting. See my next post for these latest opportunities…if you note something appealing and wish to connect an interested, qualified candidate with a prospective employer do get in touch with me so I can arrange that connection ASAP.

Until next time.

Two Men Enter...One Man Leaves.

2008-12-04T23:35:00.004-05:00

Apologies for the title as it will remind some readers of what is quite possibly the worst-ever sequel in the history of Hollywood filmmaking. I mean, exactly how did someone like the Tina Turner character end up running a town in post-apocalyptic Australia, anyway?

Movie criticisms aside, the line is actually appropriate because tonight I am proud to introduce you to the official Web site for the Search Engine Rap Battle series, where the leaders in the space attempt to solve their disputes Old School-style...by rapping!

Now I think this will be much more entertaining if you have previously seen Eminem's 8 Mile, but even if not there is still a laugh or two in there regardless.

The video below leads off with an MSN vs Google showdown and includes the soon-to-be classic line "...cuz all your search results say 'Search Wikipedia'…" but be sure to check out the MSN vs Yahoo! faceoff as well and then wrap it all up with the Google vs Yahoo! finale here.

And in keeping with the overall theme, it is an absolute must for me to also highlight this "Paid Search 101" video from the infamous SEO Rapper, whose messages are just right in a funny-because-it-is-true kind of way...hope you enjoy it.

Aiight? Then I’m Audi, like 5000…until next time.

Word.

Where Does The Time Go?

2008-11-20T12:31:00.022-05:00

Was about to circulate one of my patented Sionne’s Spammy Mass Emails today - or what I really prefer to call an informative update to an intimate group of selected contacts - and remembered what my friend Malcolm would likely tell me, “Uh, excuse me but please stop stuffing my in-box with the kind of info and commentary you are supposed to be posting on your near-dormant blog, dude.” …which is exactly right.

Will spare you the latest litany of excuses as to why Posts By Sionne deserves its ranking as one of the leading Cobweb-Gathering Locations On The InterWeb but suffice it to say it is proof of the fact I lead an extremely rich and full life, which consists of basically the following schedule on a daily basis:

Getting up and hassling the latest iteration of the Roberts family until they get out the door with me and dropped off at daycare, going into work, working all day, coming home from work and starting the Second Shift ie. assisting my wife in throwing some food at our children, getting pyjamas on them and continually chasing them back into bed for about an hour after their supposed bedtime and then doing some more exciting grown-up stuff like cleaning up supper mess, paying bills and walking the dogs followed by catching up on daytime workload overflow and then getting a few hours of sleep…phew. Weekends are not as intense as weekdays but still consumed with buying groceries, usual household repairs and yard work, never-ending laundry piles, various children-focused activities, etc.

While I have never actually been a little mouse running on a wheel, over recent months I can well imagine exactly what that experience feels like. Don’t get me wrong though - life is good overall and no regrets, just the reality of limited time cycles in the past year or so, where blogging falls on the could-do side of the ledger versus the must-do side for me.

So a bit of a departure format-wise this time. Instead of working from a single theme my objective here is to simply get some of these items finally published instead of continuing to have them roll around in my head for weeks on end. So, in no particular order:

> A big shout-out to my friend Andris Pone of Instinct Brand Equity, whose article criticizing Bell Canada’s inability to deliver on its (re)brand promise was featured in the October issue of Marketing Magazine. Check out the article here because I tend to nod my head along with nearly everything Andris and his colleagues at Instinct Brand Equity have to say. Their criticisms and insights are always spot-on…these guys really get it.

> It was announced earlier this week that Jerry Yang is stepping down as Yahoo! CEO and will be reclaiming his former title of Chief Yahoo, reverting to a more strategic role as soon as Jerry’s successor is named. Not really any surprise here but my biggest question is “what comes next?” as this move only reinforces the fact that Yahoo! has been lacking a true get-it-done CEO since the beginning of the Terry Semel era, and what a debacle Mr Hollywood’s tenure turned out to be, huh? Kinda hard to run a leading Silicon Valley-based Web Media company when you fly up from LA once a week and don’t even read emails on your computer but instead have them printed out (!) by your executive assistant.

Don’t get me wrong. Even though they are direct competitor to my employer I am far from a Yahoo! hater and in fact have a long-time affinity for what I consider to still be a leading global online brand. What would make me - and thousands of the company’s employees and shareholders, etc - happiest is for Team Purple to get their sh*t together and develop a clear and focused strategic plan, and then execute against it, before the executive exodus becomes irreversible and/or MSFT makes another bid. With the current economic downturn to navigate through and associated declines in advertising budgets the Yahoo! challenge will be difficult enough without any new Peanut Butter Manifesto-related issues compounding their problems.

Am really hoping for a number of reasons that Yahoo! can get lean and hungry before the entire train comes off the rails for them. From that point of view, Jerry Yang’s relinquishing the CEO role now is a good step in right direction. My favourite comment on this whole situation was one I read recently from the ever-quotable Mark Cuban, where he said "Jerry's too nice a guy. He cares too much. They've got a lot of avenues they could take but all of them depend on being a lot meaner and a lot more aggressive and that's just not their style." The article where Cuban was quoted goes on to say “Cuban should know - he took Yang for $6 billion during the dotcom bubble by selling Broadcast.com to Yahoo, then made sure to collar his shares so they kept their value while Yang's fortune plunged. Never heard of Broadcast.com? Exactly Cuban's point.” which while entirely true also made me laugh out loud. A sweet play by Cuban but gotta love that ValleyWag attitude in describing a classic dotcom-era transaction…

> Finally, I came across the Search Marketing Fact Pack 2008 in Advertising Age and found it really interesting, despite the definite US-market emphasis. Even though I have a new role in my day job and therefore tend not to focus as much on the Search space as I did previously, it holds enough personal interest for me to dig into this stuff any chance I get. Some good info on Keywords and Buying Words, the usual on Analytics as well as solid coverage of Local and Mobile, two areas I have been following much more closely lately. Take a look at the full report for yourself here if you want to know more.

There you go and hope you enjoyed this one. And even though I am “cashing in some credits” (you married dudes know what I mean) and getting out of the house tonight - going to the Ad Club Holiday Party event, after also attending Mobifest yesterday evening - I will see if I can follow up in the not-too-distant future with another update…or at least by sometime before Christmas. I am really not kidding here, OK?

The Rise and Fall of…Twitter?

2008-08-08T23:37:00.004-04:00

Ahoy-hoy. Am now back in town after my 2-week family vacation Back East and just feeling fine.

Today's video is for all you über fanatics of Web 2.0 communications tools out there, especially the Twitter devotees...you hopeless tweet-aholics know who you are.

This parody of a scene from the film Downfall is a fairly popular Internet meme (just check out YouTube for Hitler Gets Banned, etc) but this *Twittler* version struck me as extra-funny and just right for a re-posting here.

Thanks to John Biggs for originally posting on his TechCrunch blog. Just remember, it's supposed to be a joke, and totally about Twitter NOT Hitler. So please keep that in mind before you post a negative comment or send me some nastygram email messages.

On with the show…

The People Have Spoken.

2008-07-18T07:17:00.027-04:00

So I ran into an associate from my previous life (when I was working as a ~~spreadsheet jockey~~ senior product marketing manager in telecom) at a sporting event the other night. In the course of catching up he asked me a very unexpected question, “when are you going to put up a new post on your blog?” and I was quite surprised since it was apparent to me he most definitely wanted to see something updated at Posts By Sionne on a more regular basis. Kind of a minor ego boost but also at the same time a reality check...that there are actual, real-live people out there reading what you are blogging. Sometimes even checking back to see if there is anything new!

This conversation at the soccer stadium triggered a different perspective on my relationship with the (admittedly very few) readers of Posts By Sionne. And it’s something that simply reviewing Web traffic logs doesn’t properly illustrate - even though there may not be many of them, visitors to your blog are real people and they are checking in for one reason, ie. to read what you have to say. So thanks for the equivalent of a friendly kick in the butt, Scot and getting me back at the keyboard again…this one is for you, and of course the five or six other regular visitors to this space.

What some of you may not understand is that I absolutely enjoy the whole blogging thing and it is not in any way a lack of interest contributing to my infrequent/sporadic publishing schedule.

How to explain? OK, try this...maybe I spend too much time with someone who works in the law enforcement field, or maybe it is just the proliferation of TV crime program spinoffs like Law & Order: Jaywalkers and CSI: Boise, Idaho (yes I am exaggerating, but only a tiny little bit - I mean, how many of those shows are running on TV anyway?) but for me successfully blogging lately has been like committing a crime and therefore comes down to the elements of Means, Motive, and Opportunity. As in…

1) Means: Hmm, I have a computer with Internet access and the ability to command a mouse and keyboard. And as a generally opinionated person I typically have something to say, no matter the subject…OK, truth is I probably enjoy hearing myself talk more than the average person but c’est la vie. This trait combined with my long-time affinity for writing contributes to a capacity for producing something blog-worthy without too much difficulty. Never really any significant obstacles for me in the Means category.

2) Motivation: This one is a bit tougher. With a full-time job, a working spouse and two pre-school-aged children in my household, life for me recent has been a series of *weekday survival sprints* punctuated by weekends filled with an equal mix of non-stop family activities, housekeeping, chores and yardwork. Those in similar situations will recognize themselves when I state that blogging falls pretty far down the list of top priorities, somewhere well below convincing myself not to go out to the store for a pack of cigarettes (I don’t smoke, by the way) and just keep on driving ;o)

Thanks to Scot’s comments though, the Motivation part level has at least temporarily been ratcheted up a few notches. So this brings us to the final element - Opportunity.

3) Opportunity: Simply put - there never seems to be enough time. And when there is enough time either I am too tired by a long day to get excited by the prospect of blogging or there are about a dozen other things that seem higher up on the Important Stuff list, which means I end up doing a few of those instead.

Ah, but tonight it is so different. In this case tonight my wife is on a rare overnight work assignment and the rugrats (aka Sweet Little Angels to everyone except their parents) have actually both been sound asleep as of 9PM, for the first time in 3 weeks, I believe. Which leaves me now all alone in front of the computer with nothing but a cold beer and my friends Means and Motive asking me if I am going to invite Opportunity to the party ;o)

Somewhat long-winded introduction aside, here is a series of spots for Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions, aka MDAS. Not sure why but recently I have been enjoying European-based advertising campaigns more than those produced here in North America. This one was created by a creative agency (Openhere - based in Belgium) for Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions, targeting the EMEA market.

On the Full Disclosure front, I am currently employed with BCE (Bell Canada Enterprises) in the Sympatico/MSN portal group. With Sympatico/MSN being a partnership between Bell and Microsoft Canada and my role a hybrid of product marketing and sales, I live in this space and also have the opportunity to work on a daily basis with some very bright and talented counterparts over at MSFT. That said, I am trying to ignore any potential personal biases when analyzing these ad spots. If anything I am possibly inclined to be more critical, since I understand this particular MDAS business better than outsiders would. Why not watch for yourself though and develop your own assessment? Then see my comments below…

The Break-Up / Bring The Love Back

Inspiration, Anyone? - Trailer

Inspiration, Anyone?

Brilliant, just killer, really…don’t you agree? Here is what I found worked best on these:

It's simply very effective at communicating the superficial approach far too many advertisers take when communicating to their customers and prospects, regardless of the medium. Terrific approach, introducing the relationship between a (self-absorbed) man and his frustrated love interest to demonstrate the interaction between advertisers and consumers.

It’s well-executed - irreverent, light and humourous and styled as a parody without incorporating any darker satirical or sarcastic tones.

While not anywhere near as clever as the classic Mac versus PC series, it squarely hits the funny-because-it-is-true button several times. The agency scenes in Inspiration, Anyone? are especially entertaining for those of us who have personally experienced similar scenarios when dealing with a pure creative shop. As in the equation: muffins! + giant Starbucks cup + the bigger logo reco’ = WAY too funny.

It looks (and sounds) good…very solid production overall. In the "Inspiration, Anyone?" trailer, it seems like they even spent the budget dollars to hire a soundalike for that famous Hollywood voiceover artist Don LaFontaine, originator of the now-clichéd "in a world where..." phrase.

Most importantly, after having all the preceding elements in place, you now have something that is viral-friendly and easily shared via emailed links to video clips, or uploaded as embedded content on a Web site…or blog as I have done here.

Interestingly, there are virtually no Microsoft references in these spots, with exception of MDAS thrown up for the closing shot. I think many viewers would be surprised to learn Microsoft actually even has a group devoted to Digital Advertising Solutions, although this is less likely to happen within to the target audience. While this “white-label” approach would be a huge oversight if applied on a traditional TV ad (remember that very entertaining EDS Herding Cats Super Bowl ad from a few years back…the one where virtually no one remembered the company it advertised?) in this online/viral medium it becomes less of a liability.

Now agreed there are some deficiencies, one being that it does not work very well in terms of detailing what MDAS really does and explaining specifically how advertisers can benefit. I am not actually familiar with the original briefing and campaign objectives but as a straight Awareness execution it definitely offers enough to be shared virally and in this format it can easily be re-distributed…which ultimately spreads the MDAS message and results in an effective campaign on the brand awareness level.

Great minds think alike, it seems. In my related research I learned that this spot has received multiple awards to date in Belgium as well as a prestigious Bronze Lion award very recently at the 2008 Cannes International Advertising Festival.

So definitely one of my more expansive efforts here. Suppose that it is to be expected with nearly two months of pent-up blogging energies now finally being released. Thanks as always for reading and come back soon for more, OK?

Happy surfing!

Send In The Clowns.

2008-05-29T23:59:00.008-04:00

See below a fantastic print ad from DDB Stockholm/Sweden for the Volkswagen-owned Škoda car line. This is actually from around mid-2007 but if you have not already seen it, then it’s still in the New To You category…

So sure, the whole "our Pricing department is staffed by a bunch of clowns" thing has been done many times before - and for some reason quite frequently in the automotive space, ie. for spots promoting Wacky Larry’s Super Car Deals Emporium and the like - but in this case the concept’s execution is innovative enough to receive top marks from me.

And of course everybody loves clowns, or don’t they?

(Click image to view larger version in new window)

With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?

2008-05-16T00:08:00.005-04:00

So we are nearly halfway through 2008 already and I still don't have a Facebook account...but one of the (very few) Web 2.0/social networking tools that I do use often and truly find valuable is LinkedIn.

Now for those of you living in a cave the past few years and are therefore not aware of LinkedIn, it is recognized as the top business-oriented Social Networking site and as of March 2008 listed more than 20 million registered users spanning 150 industries. Some references call it “the business version of Facebook” but as one of the few remaining non-Facebook account holders on the planet I would say this comparison is inaccurate at best…and offensive at worst.

LinkedIn offer a free and highly effective method for expanding your network of personal and professional contacts, increasing visibility of Your Personal Brand online as well as digging up information about others in the business world.

OK, for some reason I recently started getting pretty active with efforts to expand my network of LinkedIn contacts…no problem, right?

Wrong. This exercise has proven a bit more challenging than originally expected, for a couple of reasons…first, I tend to only invite or accept invitations from people I know fairly well and have had some level of interaction with previously. This limits the total universe of potential adds I can approach. The second obstacle is that many potential adds either do not respond to an invitation. Or the response is that they have not yet signed on with LinkedIn and don’t want to go to the trouble of creating a profile on yet another service just so they can become connected to me. Fair enough, I suppose…

I believe this is their loss. As I mentioned above I find numerous benefits to using LinkedIn. It is absolutely a good way to present your professional profile online. In the process of being recruited for several jobs over the past few months I would often do a Google search to get info about someone I would be meeting and many times the only hit I would get back (at least with enough information to be of value in terms of their background, anyway) would be on LinkedIn. And in many instances their LinkedIn profile was one of the few – if not only – instances of that person having any kind of online *presence* whatsoever.

Another benefit of LinkedIn is access to a growing number of posted job opportunities. A lot of these require that you are connected in some way to the job poster via your LinkedIn network in order to be eligible to apply. Or sometimes there is a stipulation that you must have received one or more Recommendations from others in your LinkedIn network. This is exactly what it sounds like, since a key feature of LinkedIn is that it allows you to receive Recommendations from connections within your network and also post recommendations for others, basically LinkedIn’s version of an online reference letter.

Like employment references in the Real World, most times they are a sober yet enthusiastic endorsement of the person in question, effusively listing positive abilities, personal qualities and generally describing how great someone is ad nauseum. Well I actually came across a LinkedIn recommendation recently that stood out for its innovative approach and clear sense of humour:

“Jamie is smart, hardworking and very personable...but
I feel I have to relate that on more than one occasion
I witnessed him putting his used coffee mug in the
sink - unwashed. Not only did he not rinse it and
put it in the dishwasher as indicated by the sign "your
mother does not work here etc." but he just left it
there with a little bit of sludge in it. I'm sure he
was really busy at the time, but still. I just felt
I needed to be balanced in my feedback and I probably
should have confronted him with it at the time.”

Thought this was just great…demonstrating creativity on the part of the writer along with a fun easy-going attitude from the recommendee who allowed this recommendation to be posted within their profile.

Back…Back In Black.

2008-03-26T00:59:00.007-04:00

Long time.

So quite a lot has happened since the last time I posted here: relocation to Toronto with the family and a new gig as a ~~spreadsheet jockey~~ senior product marketing manager with Canada's largest alternative telecommunications provider. OK, not much of an excuse for the long period of blog dormancy but those of you who know me best are aware I am a better-late-than-never kind of guy...and it all gets done eventually.

If you are new to Posts By Sionne, this blog was originally intended as a way for me to voice my personal opinions, with the (very loose) common thread of topics being related to marketing in some way. Take note of the title of today’s posting as it is significant on a few levels.

First of all, I am “back” participating in the blogosphere and definitely intend to make a longer run of it this time before my next leave of absence. Second, there is the AC/DC connection…Back in Black was this band’s 1980 album release, the first one recorded after the death of its former lead singer. With its iconic all-black cover art as a sign of mourning/tribute to Bon Scott and containing some of AC/DC’s biggest hit songs, it is easy to see why Back in Black is often ranked as the all-time worldwide best-selling album by a band and second only in all-time worldwide record sales overall behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

The song "Back in Black" is the title single from that album, best-known for the distinctive hard-hitting guitar riff at the song’s opening. This is the default ringtone for my mobile phone now and it simply rocks in a way that puts "In da Club", "SexyBack" and all others like it to shame.

So Back in Black has some significance on a few levels and in my opinion stands for doing something really well while also totally rocking out. But here comes the marketing part, after the jump:

Wow, right? Hard to go wrong with a Summer Blockbuster movie trailer featuring songs from AC/DC, Audioslave and Black Sabbath…and helps quite a bit in my case that Iron Man remains my favourite comic book superhero character from back in the days when I actually used to read Marvel comics with a passion. Would love to be the marketer with that level of budget and responsible for promoting a highly recognizable product like this one. No need to develop a Blair Witch guerilla buzz or Cloverfield stealth-type of campaign (both of them very well executed, by the way) when all you really need is a cool trailer to get the word out. Even the fanboy crowd who may eventually critique the film to pieces after it is released will still go see it at least once, if only to provide fodder for their online diatribes, a la the Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons.

Will you go see Iron Man when it kicks off the Summer 2008 movie season? Maybe you are anticipating the return of Indiana Jones or Sex and the City instead? The big one is no doubt going to be The Dark Knight and it is a cynical thing to say but I will bet you a dollar on this: somewhere right now there is a room of movie executives still debating the benefits of all the added publicity from Heath Ledger’s untimely and scandalous death versus the issue of re-casting the Joker character for future sequels. No doubt.

Appreciate your feedback so hit me up with a comment or two.

I’m back…

And Now You Know...The Rest Of The Story.

2007-01-19T19:21:00.000-05:00

You have very likely already seen these circa-2003 Reebok TV commercials. I recently watched the entire series of ads again and still find them entertaining, even four years later. Take a look at two of the most popular "Terry Tate - Office Linebacker" spots below...my commentary follows after the jump. Oh, and there is some minor (PG-13) language here so consider yourself warned:

Episode 1 - Terry's World

Episode 2 - Draft Day

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! Hey Office Space fans, did you catch the "...cover sheet on your TPS reports..." line at 1:55 of the first video?

Of course these ads were universally acclaimed, on a critical level (2003 Cannes International Advertising Festival "Golden Lion Award" winner, 2003 Association of Independent Commercial Producers award winner, etc) and by the public (most TiVo-ed commercial, most popular 2003 Super Bowl TV ad according to Wall Street Journal poll, voted Funniest Super Bowl Ad Ever by several Internet surveys), resulting in Reebok also being named Ad Week's Reebok Interactive Marketer of the Year as well as “Marketer of the Year” by Footwear News.

Reebok's Terry Tate campaign was also one of the first significant TV-to-Web crossover success stories. After a nine-year hiatus from advertising during the big game, Reebok released the first Terry Tate spot during Super Bowl XXXVII. The day after the first 60-second spot aired on January 26, 2003 the online version of the ad was being downloaded 20 times per second from the Reebok Web site. There was also a seven-fold increase in Reebok's online store traffic where the company began moving Terry Tate-related merchandise like bobblehead dolls and shirts. By June 2003 over 800,000 visitors had registered at www.reebok.com. Approximately 12 months after the commercial was first posted online Reebok passed the 20-million download mark for its series of Terry Tate ads.

After the initial success of the Terry Tate campaign, Reebok began using television not as a primary message-communicating medium but instead to channel traffic to its Web site where visitors could participate in various online promotions. For example, before the 2004 Super Bowl Reebok promoted a new Terry Tate spot via teaser ads on MTV that resulted in 250,000 Web site downloads on the first day...without the substantial expense of investing in an actual television commercial during the Super Bowl telecast.

Very interesting indeed. What is most thought-provoking to me however is the back story behind the Terry Tate concept, something I am guessing very few people are aware of or really appreciate...even Reebok’s VP Global Marketing at the time of the Terry Tate campaign described its success as a "complete accident" when asked if he anticipated such a positive outcome.

In 2000, Rawson Marshall Thurber was a USC Film Production student and director wannabe who created his own original short film pilot based on the Terry Tate character. Thurber then spent the next two years trying to sell the concept in partnership with Hypnotic, an LA-based production company. By the time Reebok was contacted, a total of four Terry Tate shorts had been produced, each with an average run time of four minutes. While the Reebok team believed the Terry Tate concept held potential, the realization dawned very quickly that the only suitable venue for running these long-form commercial treatments was online...and an award-winning campaign was born.

This obviously worked out well for Reebok in the end but what about Mr Thurber? Well, since the *overnight success* of his Terry Tate creation, Rawson Marshall Thurber has gone on to direct his first feature film screenplay, a little project called "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" for 20th Century Fox. In addition to directing TV advertising pieces for Right Guard, Toyota and GM Goodwrench he is also currently tapped to bring "Magnum, P.I." to the big screen for Imagine/Universal Studios. Not bad...

The moral of the story? I personally find it inspiring whenever an individual is able to successfully pursue his (or her) dreams and hit it big in their chosen field . The best part though is that now we are solidly in the year 2007 and there is no longer the same necessity to hit the pavement for two years flogging your film concept or television pilot. Anyone with something to say, a decent Web connection and the desire to make it happen for themselves can put their ideas out there for the world to see, possibly becoming the next Rawson Marshall Thurber in the process. Web publishing is a really powerful equalizing factor and viral marketing is definitely the way to go. Yes, I am talking to you out there so what is the holdup? Get ready, get set, go!

Good night and good luck.

It's Fun for the Whole Family!

2007-01-15T14:09:00.000-05:00

A couple of innovative concepts for Sony's BRAVIA line of high-definition LCD televisions. Both of them are very well-executed - I especially enjoyed the cinematography in Balls - and effectively communicate the brand's message of "Color like.no.other.".

Sony BRAVIA - Balls Creative (extended 180-second version)

Sony BRAVIA - Paint Creative

I am one of those people who is often more interested in the ads than the programming when watching TV. This drives my wife crazy at times since I either A) decline her requests to click away during commercial breaks when I am in control of the remote, or B) ask her to "go back - quick!" when she channel surfs and clicks past a spot I want to see. As a member of one of those stereotypical Opposites Attract-type couples, she unfortunately does not always share my affinity for all things marketing-related and is sometimes *forced* to watch advertising content I feel I absolutely can't miss.

On the other hand, my daughter is at that wonderful age (2.5+ years) where anything Daddy likes, she likes as well. Having first showed Ava these ads about a month ago, at least once a day lately I am fulfilling her request to "go watch the paint" and we will sit together in front of the computer while she provides running commentary over the on-screen events. I admit this does get stale for me after about the 10th viewing in a session...but then I remind myself these are those special bonding moments that I will sorely miss 14 or so years from now when I am impatiently waiting up in the front room and Ava is late for her 12AM curfew yet another time.

The good news here is that my wife actually really likes the Balls commercial, and for the same reasons I do. She agrees it has excellent visual appeal, loves the 'Heartbeats' music track and enjoys seeing the streets of San Francisco again, a city we visited often while living in the Bay area a few years ago.

I indicated these ads are for the whole family, so what's my son's take on them? Owen is only 16 months and not yet much of a seasoned critic at this point but he does approve of the Tango Clear parody version of Balls. I am guessing this clever clip appeals to Owen on basically the same level as it does to me...I mean, who doesn't appreciate watching a nice big pile of smashed-up fruit roll around in the street?

Best. Joke. Ever.

2007-01-15T13:05:00.000-05:00

I should clarify...the title of this post is based on the fact that the corny classic below is my daughter's current favourite. Since Ava does not become a full-fledged 3-year-old for another month and a half she remains a non-discriminating consumer of silly humour. We are getting a lot of mileage out of this one these days. Enjoy!

> Knock, knock
Who's there?
> Banana
Banana who?
> Knock, knock
Who's there?
> Banana
Banana who?
> Knock, knock
Who's there?
> Banana
Banana who?
> Knock, knock
Who is there, already?
> Orange!
Huh? Orange who?
(Wait for it, here comes the big finish...)
Well, orange you glad I didn't say "banana"?

And general hilarity ensues.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...

MySpace - I Really Just Don't Get It.

2007-01-12T07:03:00.003-05:00

OK, have a good laugh watching this video and then read why I think MySpace deserves a Been There/Done That award... (*Warning > mild profanity = possibly NSFW*)

The Kings of Myspace - Myspace Rap Vid

Ha-ha. Full marks to the team behind Kings Of MySpace on concept and execution. As the saying goes, "it has a good beat and you can dance to it" however in my opinion the true entertainment value is that it's funny on multiple levels. While KOM contains some of the corniest rap lyrics on record (eg. "don't even ask for the digits, just get the 3 dubs") there is also humour of the It's Funny Because It's True variety.

Now that I have joined the blogosphere myself I don't want to sound like a hypocrite or hater...but does anyone else besides me ever visit a MySpace page and get a serious flashback to the late-90's? Hmm, it was a little something called Geocities, people! Why is one of the most popular Web sites in the world essentially a modern-day equivalent of the Geocities homepage? Is it because every generation needs something like this to call its own? I might believe that since MySpace is clearly dominated by teens and college students who were only 7 years old back in 1997 when the first Personal Publishing craze took place. I don't really consider it too progressive when 10 years passes and a collection of pages populated with links to My Friends, etc. is hailed by the masses as a major technological and social advancement over a collection of pages with animated gifs of stars and rainbow separator bars.

Oh, the things you can do on the Web. Google came out strong and still rocks. YouTube is an absolutely amazing site. My wife has been buying and selling about one-third of our children's wardrobe on eBay the past few months. There are friends of mine who met and married their life partner via an online personals site. The first really cool job I ever had was the result of my responding to an ad on craigslist and I even have my own LinkedIn profile - which mostly just sits there collecting dust - but MySpace? Two words: bo-ring. Let me know when the relevance of MySpace, Friendster (its predecessor) or even Facebook (the latecomer) matches its popularity, OK?

"No cellphone? No BlackBerry? No e-mail? No way? (It's true.)"

2007-01-11T15:59:00.000-05:00

I was doing some digging around for information an upcoming post and came across this intriguing headline linking to the USATODAY.com Web site. Despite the source - USA Today is definitely not my preferred reference for insightful commentary - the concept of choosing to be only as *connected* as one feels they need to be really resonated with me. I often observe people succumbing to what I think is mainly societal pressure to be constantly utilizing the latest and greatest personal technology tool. Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that...just as long as you are happy with your own personal situation. It is also refreshing though to get a reality check once in a while because there are still many well-adjusted, productive and highly-functional adults in Western civilization who do fine without all the available tech bells and whistles, thank you very much. And once your shiny, expensive toys start weighing you down - literally and/or figuratively - instead of meeting their intended purpose of maximizing productivity then it all gets a little bit silly, doesn't it?

So, read the article for yourself and if you feel so inclined, weigh in with a few words in the Comments section.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised...

2007-01-11T12:14:00.000-05:00

A huge fan of almost everything Web-related, I am probably bordering on Luddite territory when it comes to personal technology. I have never owned a PDA (still use an old-fashioned notebook) or Crackberry device (very cool but just never personally saw the need in my case) and the last video gaming system I owned was a Mattel Intellivision, several light years removed from the present-day Xbox or PlayStation experience. I have often referred to any employer-issued cell phone as "my house arrest ankle bracelet" since it was convenient for making spontaneous calls when mobile but also came with the downside of making me available 24/7, effectively eliminating the concept of Personal Time. About 30-40% of the day I am working on a circa-Y2K Dell laptop running Windows NT - *gasp*, not XP! - but do not find it too constraining at all. I did buy my wife an iPod for her birthday a couple of years ago but she uses it far more than I ever do.

All that aside, everyone is talking about the new iPhone and in my opinion the buzz is 100% valid. Apple has done a bang-up job of combining multiple devices into one and of course the user interface is just amazing. Check it out for yourself soon and form your own opinion.

Dr Geeklove...or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Blog

2007-01-11T08:41:00.001-05:00

I have now officially been using the Internet since 1995 - that's 12 years for those of you who are math-challenged - and over that time the online experience has been a dominating part of my personal and professional life. Having benefited from using email and the Web on a daily basis as well as working on several technology-related ventures, it's long overdue for me to say "thank you" to the Internet community at large...you guys know who you are. The only thing I’m not really proud of though is as a consistent consumer of various digital resources, I rarely provide much of anything in return. Blame it on laziness, procrastination, some deep-seated Personal Privacy issues or simply a fear of nerdiness but it really doesn’t matter anymore. The point is I am diving in head-first with this blog and finally becoming a full-fledged member of the Internet community myself. Watch out world, because here I am.

Oh, and one more thing...it was actually Malcolm's idea.

|*| Posts by Sionne...it was actually Malcolm's idea |*|